Note Cards
Physics & AP Physics
On almost every test in Physics and AP Physics, you will be allowed to use a note card to help you
remember important information that is not embedded in your head yet. You are free to put any
information you want on the note card, but you must follow these rules:
1. Size restriction
The note card must follow the appropriate size restriction – 3”x5” for unit tests and 8.5”x5.5” for
semester exams. If you don’t have the right size paper, measure the appropriate length and width
on a larger piece of paper and cut it down to size. Any note card that violates the size limitations
will be cut down to the appropriate size. You may not add layers to your note card to increase
the available writing space
2. Handwritten
Any information on your note card must be written by hand. While the note card is a memory
aid, its other purpose is as a study tool – you have to review the material in a unit to decide what
belongs on your note card because you can’t hand-write everything. Any note card with
computer printing, photocopying or any other duplication will have that section cut off.
It is worth spending some time on your note card so that it can be as big a help as possible. Be sure
to put as much information as you need on the note card to understand the contents. For example, it is
worth labeling an equation that you write on your note card so that you understand where it is used and
can apply it to the right situations. It is also worth defining any variables in the equation whose meaning
you are unsure of; there are few things more frustrating that knowing you have the right equation on
your note card, but don’t know how to use it. Similar cautions apply to concepts and definitions – be
sure to give yourself enough information to apply them correctly.
It is also worth organizing your note card so that the information is easy to find. This is important
from a time perspective – the tests are comprehensive and can be long. If you spend too much time
searching your note card for information you need, that is time you are not working on completing the
test. One strategy is to make a list of all the information you want on your note card and then fit it on
the actual card in an organized manner – sort of a rough draft and then final draft.
If you do the work of creating a note card properly, you should never (or, at the most, rarely) have to
use it. The time spent in review will help to stick the material in your head and you won’t need to go
back to the note card. That helps a lot from a time management perspective, but it also helps you to
learn the material more deeply. And you are more likely to keep deeper understanding for the long term,
which can be helpful as the next unit usually builds on the current one.
Good luck and have fun building your note card