Thursday, September 9, 2010

Memorizing Equations

A touchy subject. Here's the thing, it's really easy to make an argument for not memorizing equations - that's why we didn't memorize them last year, but there's a lot more at stake now and, to put things in perspective, we're in a college course now.
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The best argument for why we should memorize equations is because you won't be given an equation sheet for the multiple choice section. And you don't want to be forced to skip multiple choice questions because you don't have an equation memorized. There aren't a ton of M.C. questions that involve using an equation, but there's enough of them to put you at a severe disadvantage if you don't know the equations. I understand it's a lot to ask, especially considering the amount of equations we deal with and memorizing them definitely takes a lot of time. I can offer a few tips to help with the process:

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1. Practice solving homework problems without looking up the equation and then checking later to make sure you've picked the right one.
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2. Keep a copy of the equation sheet somewhere visible, where you'll see it often. (I keep mine on all of the mirrors in my car. The sheer panic that's induced when switching lanes has burned those equations into my mind forever.)
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3. Try a mnemonic device or a unique way to remember the equation. (For example, I memorized the quadratic formula to the tune of pop-goes-the-weasel.)
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4. Practice them using flash cards.

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