Physics 152: "How-To"'s

Many of the problems you will encounter in the course may be approached very systematically. The following "how-to"'s give you some steps to follow to solve different kinds of problems.

How To Use These How-To's: Do not simply read them! You need to practice by using them. We will be applying them to many example problems in homework, recitation etc. A good way to study is to go through the homework and lecture/recitation example problems to review how these procedures can be applied step-by-step.

Also, think about what you are doing at each step and what it means... do not just apply the how-tos mindlessly. Keep in mind that how-tos will not work for every problem. For the cases where the systematic approach does not work, your habits of thinking about the meaning of what you are doing will help you.