University Physics Triage: From “Lost” to a Passable Plan in 7 Days

Day 1: Inventory the course

• List topics (Mechanics → E&M → Thermo → Modern). Pull past midterms if available.

• Mark “exam-heavy” areas (often kinematics/dynamics integration, Gauss’s law, circuits, thermodynamic cycles).

Day 2–3: Rebuild models, not memories

• For each heavy topic: definitions → governing law → limiting cases → one proof/derivation you can explain.

Day 4–5: Problem sets in families

• Do 3–4 problems per family (e.g., Atwood variants; RC transients; work-energy with non-conservative forces). Write the family’s tell-tale features.

Day 6: Timed set + error taxonomy

• 90 minutes. Label errors (concept vs. setup vs. algebra vs. units vs. time).

Day 7: Patch and re-test

• Fix the top two error categories. Re-run a shorter timed set.

If you need outside help, look for physics tutors near me who will show their modeling choices out loud (system, sign conventions, assumptions) before solving.