Reading Guidelines

Reading is your primary means of acquiring the content in this course. Reading a science text for understanding isn't easy, but there are strategies that you can use to enhance your understanding of the material. If you form good reading habits, they'll work to your benefit throughout the course. Here are some guidelines.

1. Have a writing instrument and notebook available.

2. Remember that you're reading for understanding. That means you need to do your best to understand the content that's being presented. If you don't understand something, make a note in your notebook to ask about it in the Question & Answer forum. Also, write down the important ideas in the reading. You can write in the form of an outline or a list, but the important thing is to take notes.

3. Go through the equations step-by-step. Make sure you know what the symbols mean. Do your best to understand how the author moves from one equation to the next.

4. Tables usually list information that will be useful in solving problems. Don't overlook them.

5. Examine the diagrams and graphs to make sure you understand what information they convey.

6. Study the Exercises included with some of the sections. These are basic problems that use the material presented in the section.

7. Likewise, study the Example Problems. These are your guides to solving problems. They're more important than in a regular classroom, because in an online course, the teacher won't be doing example problems at the board.