HOW TO READ PHYSICS

For each lecture, there will be a reading assignment which you should
study BEFORE the lecture.

The first thing you must do is learn the lingo. 
What are the definitions? 
What are the symbols, and what physical quantities do they stand for? 
You just have to memorize these things.

When you read, you should constantly question and strive for
understanding. For example ask yourself: Why is that statement you just
read true? Can you prove it is true? What are the alternatives? Why
aren't they correct?

One must be patient. It takes a long time to read a page of physics.
Each sentence and equation must be pondered until it is understood and
one can move on to the next statement.

I suggest that you work through the Exercises as you read and answer the
Two-Minute Problems at the end of each chapter. It is a good way to
check your understanding of the basic ideas of the chapter and to
highlight points that are not so clear and that you might want to bring
up in class for discussion.

Equations, especially those that state fundamental laws, are not just
pretty patterns on the page. Each symbol represents a physical quantity,
and the equation states a relationship among the physical quantities.
Learn to read them in that way. They are organic, nearly living things
that speak to us in a beautiful way about the nature of the world.

Another related issue is reading and interpreting problems. Often that
is harder than solving them. When you read a problem, you should look
for the basic, important physics principles it contains. Then build your
solution up from there.

You should schedule several hours each week to read and think about the
physics and an additional several hours per week to do the problem sets.