How do I remember these terrible Physics Formulae?

Some of the students I teach are pretty good at maths. If you give them a formular, say K.E.= 1/2 m v squared, they can rearrange it, plug the numbers in, take the square root if necessary, everything. But some of them have trouble remembering the formula in the first place! So what does a tutor do then?

One way is a boring, solid way: rote repetition, time and time again until they are sick to death of saying "G.P.E.= mgh". But at least when June comes the formula is ingrained and it becomes a trivial 4-marker.

But for some formulae, there are short cuts, in the form of mnemonics. Not all- I still haven't found a good mnemonic for E=Pt! But for others, some of these memoryreally workising words really do work. For some odd reason, most of the ones I have discovered are in the field of circuits and electronics.

Take Ohms' law for example. I tell them this is such a useful and brilliant equation that it has gone VIRal over social media. V=IR (voltage or p.d.= current times resistance). It seems to stick, even though I sound like a crusty old guy trying to be "down with the kids", but that's a price worth paying as the formula shows up every year in the Higher paper without fail. If any of my students know one formula, it is the VIRal equation!

Also on electronics, I try to get them to remember the word "PIVot". The PIVot equation is of course P=IV (power of a component equals voltage across it x current through it). As an aside, it is much easier to rearrange the "multiplication" version of the formula than the division, so I don't teach it as V=P/I, though that is of course equally true, but trickier to reaarnage if you need current as the subject. I'd also warn them off "formula triangles" which are okay for three variables but start to break down when they get more complex, such as the kinetic energy equation I mentioned above.

I have to start getting more inventive on some of the other equations. Much as I don't like advertising potatot crisps, (Gary Lineker does a much better job than me!) the best I can get for Energy transferred= charge flow (Q) times Voltage (V) is as follows.

"If you need some Energy, open a packet of QuaVers!"

E=QV, of course. Other cheesy snacks are available.

And finally, a nice, motivational mnemonic (even if it is misspelled!). People can get jolly discouraged with physics on occasions, so I just keep telling them: "Don't Quit!". Which, by the way, is also a handy way of remembering that the total Charge flow round a circuit (Q) is equal to the current (I) in amps times the time (t) the circuit is switched on in seconds. 

Q=It. Don't QuIt.

Hope these thoughts have been useful- if you want to discuss tutoring for your child, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Happy calculating! Colin