If you look at a typical mathematics class, you will find that they follow a similar rhythm. First, students are presented with a definition. A few examples of how that definition applies might be given, and then the rest of the class is spent proving results based on this definition.

“How did you get so good?”

A cornerstone of physics and mathematics is the process of labeling. If you want to learn any subject, you need to get familiar with the jargon of the field. In physics, terms like “work”, “resistance”, “capacitance”, “energy”, “potential”, and many more have precise meanings. Likewise, the terms “function”, “continuous”, and “one-to-one” have precise meanings in mathematics. When you first start learning the subject, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of terms. By the time you remember one term, several more have been introduced. Frankly, it can be frustrating and can ultimately turn you off from the subject.

Here’s a thought: what if the class you were in had no final exam?