Word games
Physics has a reputation for being a difficult subject. I think that's partly because of the focus on problem solving -- which is an inherently high-level activity -- and partly because of the pride of place it gives to mathematics -- which makes it like studying two subjects at the same time.
But much of what a physics student is asked to do (at least in high school and first year uni) is not difficult. Instead it's the relatively simple business of learning vocabulary, and showing you know what the word means.
Consider the following question:
This question will neatly divide students into two groups: those who can define "momentum" and those who can't*. For the first group (who know that the momentum of an object is the product of its mass and velocity) this will be easy marks (the answer is -4.3 kgm/s, assuming the initial velocity of the ball is in the positive direction). The second group will be left scratching their heads.
The question was not difficult to formulate or visualise, required making no connections between different physical principles, did not require chaining together multiple steps to complete, nor even required particularly challenging (or even fiddly) mathematics. It was just a matter of definition.
Physics is a relatively "low memory" subject (that's one of the reasons it appealed to me). Learning a language requires memorising a vast vocabulary. And other sciences -- particularly biology, but even chemistry -- can require their students to internalise many facts. But even in physics there are some things that just have to be learned.
It can be useful to borrow a technique from the languages: flash cards. Write the word on one side, and the definition on the other. It could look something like this:
You can test yourself, and you and your friends can test each other. And never miss out on those easy marks again.
* Ok, there is one more word to know: "change". In this context it is the difference between the final value and the initial value.
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