Kathleen Downun

If you're someone who's been breezing through school without any real difficulty, this is probably gonna be your brick wall. Don't expect to do well without doing what Ms. Downum tells you to (get homework done, read sections, review a week before test, SLEEP). It's a difficult course, but it's manageable as long as you build good study and work habits along the way. Ms. Downum is very fast paced, so you will have to get used to that if you aren't at the start. She is more than happy to help you in office hours if you are really struggling, so definitely take advantage of it. General Tips: For labs, do literally exactly what she tells you to do. Word for word, step for step. For lab reports, confirm with other classmates that you're on the right track. For tests, they are a time game first and foremost. If you don't finish the all or MCQs by the halfway point, ignore them and move on. Because it's a time game, you really need to understand the material to be able to keep up and succeed. Memorizing rules and formulas helps, but you will get stuck at points if you don't understand how they truly work and where they apply. For studying, take advantage of summary page of the textbook. At the end of each chapter, there is a page of summary. What I like to do is go through each point and write down all I understand about it. If there is a gap in my knowledge, I go back and relearn it. Good luck.

Tests are really hard. Coming into the class, most people fail their first test which is normal since physics is a hard concept to grab at first. Be careful and make sure you know what you're getting yourself into because it is a fast pace class and Mrs. Downum does not like to waste time. She has after school sessions if you need any help and walks you through the problems. Make sure for the AP exam to study the concept using outside sources like youtube or other websites because the class goes over material pretty fast to the point where you need to create more time to review on your own. She expects a lot from her students. For most people, this class gives their first "B", but don't worry, you are definitely not alone. Labs are fun but challenging so make sure to help each other out (don't cheat obviously).