How to take notes in Physics

TLDR

  1. Question practice should take up the majority of your study time.

  2. Note-taking is secondary.

  3. Use note-taking mainly to reinforce what you’ve learned after practising questions.

Action points

  1. Take notes in class when the teacher goes over theory.

  2. Look over some examples if needed.

  3. Then go straight to question practice.

  4. Write notes and/or flash cards on whatever you learn from questions.

Stop taking so many notes! (rephrase)

Physics is all about applying knowledge. Many students feel like they need to memorise all the theory before tackling questions. It gives students anxiety to go into questions without knowing all the theory. But trying to memorise all the theory before tackling questions is ineffective. It doesn’t teach you how to apply your knowledge. The most effective process of learning physics should be centred around doing questions. Once you’ve learnt some introductory theory, go straight to questions. Get as far as you can with the knowledge that you have. If stuck, refer to your textbook/notes to find any information that can help. Go back to doing the question. Once finished with the question, add any information that you’ve learnt to your notes. It’s a constant back and forth between question practice, reading theory, and note-taking. But it’s all centred around doing questions. This is the core. This should take up the bulk of your revision time. The process of doing questions will help you memorise the content more effectively than taking extensive out-of-context notes before question practice. This is because you are engaging in active recall and you are tying your stores of knowledge to cues that you see in the question. A lack of question practice is usually the main reason why students don’t achieve their full potential. Note-taking always comes second to question practice. Note-taking embellishes question practice - it doesn’t facilitate it.

Question practice vs note-taking

Increasing your amount of question practice will help you more effectively:

  • Learn to apply your knowledge.

  • Strengthen your memory by recalling theory during practice.

  • Train yourself to draw on the appropriate stores of information when prompted by cues in the question.

  • Know where you stand with A-level Physics. The marks don’t lie!

Note-taking can give you a sense of mastery, but all you’re gaining is familiarity. Familiarity is that feeling you get when you read your notes or textbook and think, ‘Ah, yes, I remember this.’. The words all ring a bell. You’ve seen them before. Mastery is being able to recall information and apply it effectively. Question practice is a complete tool for developing these skills. Helps remember. and apply. Note taking isn’t affective with either.

When to take notes

Take notes when you’re learning the topic for the first time in school. I’m assuming that your teacher will give you time to take notes whilst they teach the theory. Use this time for that purpose. Don’t go home and look through the textbook to take more notes. Cover a few examples if needed, and start question practice.

Whenever you learn a key concept or equation from question practice, add these to your notes. Add definitions or important explanations to flash cards. Have the prompt/question on one side and the answer on the other.

  • This strategy will ensure that your notes and flash cards contain only the theory needed to answer questions successfully.

  • This is a good way to reflect on the salient points of theory. Reflecting on mistakes after doing questions is an effective method for solidifying your understanding.

  • By writing notes on the theory that you’ve learnt whilst doing questions, you are strengthening the attachment of that knowledge to the question itself. This is one of the biggest benefits of the method. Every question provides cues through keywords, phrases, and diagrams that prompt recall. You want the ability to retrieve the correct bit of information when prompted by these cues. Reflecting after doing each question by writing down the salient points helps attach the key information to the relevant prompts.

You may ultimately produce a similar volume of notes, but every page will be tied to real problem-solving. That makes them far more valuable for achieving mastery in A-level Physics.

Example

Question

Using Newton’s three laws of motion, describe and explain how a rocket can lift off from the surface of the Earth. [5 marks]

This question tests both your recall of Newton’s laws and your ability to apply them to a real scenario.

A good answer would include the:

  • 1st law: The rocket remains at rest until it experiences a resultant force.

  • 2nd law: When the upward thrust force exceeds the rocket’s weight, there is a resultant force and therefore acceleration.

  • 3rd law: The rocket exerts a downwards force on the exhaust gases, and the exhaust gases exert an equal and opposite force on the rocket.

If you struggled to recall the correct laws, create flashcards for them:

  • Write ‘What is Newton’s [nth] law’ on one side of the flash card and have the definition on the other side.

If you struggled to apply the individual laws to the scenario, create flashcards such as:

  • ‘How does Newton’s 2nd law apply to rocket launching?’

  • ‘Give an example of Newton’s second law in action.’