Working these problems is a necessary step in preparing for the exams. The quizzes will be graded and will become part of your assignment score. The exam problems will appear simpler for those who work the problem sets and complete the quizzes. No amount of reading will help you consolidate the material if you do not work the problems. I will give more specific guidance concerning each problem set as the semester progresses.
Most students find the course material to be very rigorous.
Memorization of facts, definitions, etc., will not suffice. Relying on your calculator as a means to simply plug in numbers for an answer will get you in trouble since problems do not always fit neatly into one formula.