Science TR071

bscm

kate.m wrote: »

Yeah I've seen the general timetable. But (according to my friend already in science) others are in labs/tutorials based on handing in a form with the classes they've picked?

I looked through the options and was thinking of doing maths, biology and chemistry but havent handed in the form or anything.

I've don't know who's in charge of labs or the classes
Will I be getting a leter telling me who to see/classes to go to, or do I have to arrange this all myself?

I'll try find out tomorrow though! I'll ask my tutor if he knows who I should e-mail.

A lot of tutorials and lab clash with people doing Biology and Chemistry, so some people are put into 'compulsory' tutorials (basically the only time they can make the tutorial).

Maths is Timoney and Sint, if you drop them an email they can sort you into your tutorials, or else just come along at times listed.
(personal homepages: http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~richardt/MA1S11/
and http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~sint/1S11.html )

mockshelp

I have a few questions about this course:

My best subjects at school are biology and geography.

I see Trinity has geography in the science course. But by 3rd year you have to specialize and so I'd have to drop either biology or geography as there's no specialism that complements both biology and geography like biology and chemistry would for biochemistry. So it would be either specialize in geography or something biology related and forget the geography. I'd prefer to get a degree in both but I still love those subjects so wouldn't mind doing this course.

I am currently on a year out and doing a plc course so have time to do other stuff. What textbooks do you use for this course? Is there a lot of labwork for biology and is there any for geography...is there a lot of fieldwork/fieldtrips for geography?

Also does anyone know would it be possible to attend some of the lectures as a visiting student so I can get a feel for the course? I get a Halloween break from the plc course. So have free time next week. Does Trinity have a regular week next week? Or is it a study week? What are the class sizes like for 1st year biology and geography modules. If they are big I suppose I could just go up next week and wander into the lectures!

Anyone that's doing the biology and geography in this course - what's it like? Is it anything like the Leaving Cert stuff?

You can PM me the information. Thanks!

NeuroCat

mockshelp wrote: »

I have a few questions about this course:

My best subjects at school are biology and geography.

I see Trinity has geography in the science course. But by 3rd year you have to specialize and so I'd have to drop either biology or geography as there's no specialism that complements both biology and geography like biology and chemistry would for biochemistry. So it would be either specialize in geography or something biology related and forget the geography. I'd prefer to get a degree in both but I still love those subjects so wouldn't mind doing this course.

I am currently on a year out and doing a plc course so have time to do other stuff. What textbooks do you use for this course? Is there a lot of labwork for biology and is there any for geography...is there a lot of fieldwork/fieldtrips for geography?

Also does anyone know would it be possible to attend some of the lectures as a visiting student so I can get a feel for the course? I get a Halloween break from the plc course. So have free time next week. Does Trinity have a regular week next week? Or is it a study week? What are the class sizes like for 1st year biology and geography modules. If they are big I suppose I could just go up next week and wander into the lectures!

Anyone that's doing the biology and geography in this course - what's it like? Is it anything like the Leaving Cert stuff?

You can PM me the information. Thanks!

I'm gonna post the info I have here because there might be other people who can benefit from it aswell .

I can only comment on the Biology aspect, as I didn't take any modules in Geography in first year or second year. You are correct in that there is no specialism which incorporates both Biology and Geography in equal amounts.

The class sizes for both Biology and Geography are quite big, (approx. 100+ in first year in the same lecture theatre) so I'm sure you could simply wander in and take a seat although I'm not sure of the official position on this. The college is closed on Monday, but the rest of the week is as normal.

The textbook recommended in first year for Biology is: "Biology 7th edition" by Campbell and Reece, it is quite broad. I'm not sure what the recommended textbook for Geography is.

There are approxiamately 3 hours of labs a week in Biology in first year and this remains the same in second year. Geography might not have labwork, but again I'm not sure, they do however have a field trip as far as I'm aware.

Biology in first year is very general, it's a slight step up from the L.C. It becomes more difficult in second year, (Biology becomes at lot more like chemistry than the L.C would lead you to believe).

Not sure about the Geography syllabus, but all the first year modules for science tend to be on a fundamental level, so I can't imagine it would be too much of a shock to the system having come from the L.C

If you have anymore questions feel free to pm me or ask me here, I'll probs be around!

Lawliet

mockshelp wrote: »

I see Trinity has geography in the science course. But by 3rd year you have to specialize and so I'd have to drop either biology or geography as there's no specialism that complements both biology and geography like biology and chemistry would for biochemistry. So it would be either specialize in geography or something biology related and forget the geography. I'd prefer to get a degree in both but I still love those subjects so wouldn't mind doing this course.

Chances are that the further you get into the course, the more you'll want to specialise. You're probably basing what you want to do in two years on the leaving cert geography and biology that you're familiar with. I can't speak for geography, but biology is very different by the time you get to second year. As you study the courses in more detail and discover what you like, it's going to be much easier to make a decision.

mockshelp

mockshelp wrote: »

My best subjects at school are biology and geography.

I'd prefer to get a degree in both but I still love those subjects so wouldn't mind doing this course.

Bear in mind that no college course is exactly like the Leaving cert subject. And that some subjects you might like aren't covered by the LC (like Geology). I had a very clear idea in first year of what I was SURE I didn't want to do in 3rd year and it ended up being my first choice. The great thing about it is unlike most college courses, you get a real, 2 year experience of what it is you're getting into before you get into it, and no matter what you specialise in, you'll always have the experience of the other subjects under your belt. Don't feel pushed to know as soon as you go in what it is that you want to do in third year.

What textbooks do you use for this course?

Also does anyone know would it be possible to attend some of the lectures as a visiting student so I can get a feel for the course?

I only have experience with biology and that textbook has already been listed, but just to note that you wont actually have to buy any books for the course as they're all in the college library. As for the lectures, the biology lectures are MASSIVE. If you wander in and sit in the back you wont be noticed at all.

mockshelp

true-or-false wrote: »

Bear in mind that no college course is exactly like the Leaving cert subject. And that some subjects you might like aren't covered by the LC (like Geology). I had a very clear idea in first year of what I was SURE I didn't want to do in 3rd year and it ended up being my first choice. The great thing about it is unlike most college courses, you get a real, 2 year experience of what it is you're getting into before you get into it, and no matter what you specialise in, you'll always have the experience of the other subjects under your belt. Don't feel pushed to know as soon as you go in what it is that you want to do in third year.

Thanks for your advice! You are right. I might have an interest in other subjects like Geology but don't know because they aren't covered by the LC. For example there is an Earth and Ocean Science degree in NUIG and it is made up of subjects: geology, hydrogeology, geophysics and oceanography.

I think career guidance is really poor in school as my career guidance person in school doesn't know anything about these subjects (geology, hydrogeology, geophysics and oceanography) and neither do I so it's hard to decide if I'd like this course since I don't even know what the subjects are about, and the little detail on the prospectus doesn't help much, are those 4 subjects listed above anything like geography? Well at least this year I have time and can visit lectures and get a feel for the different courses. It's the only way to find out...Find out everything myself!

I posted about this here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056435931

mockshelp

Also I got timetables from NUIG's website so can visit lectures next week there!

I was on Trinity's website and can't find the timetables. I found this: http://www.tcd.ie/Science/PDF/JuniorFreshmanBooklet201011.pdf

There is a draft version of the science course timetable on page 36 of it. But is it still correct??

EDIT: Just realized that it's the 2010/2011 timeable....

Where could I find the 2011/2012 timetable?

dynamot

Hi guys,

I've just transferred into science and I'm doing Biology, Chemistry and Maths methods. If you had to pick one textbook to buy for each of those modules, what would they be? ( I'm starting Chemistry from scratch btw)

Thanks

Scrappychimow

dynamot wrote: »

Hi guys,

I've just transferred into science and I'm doing Biology, Chemistry and Maths methods. If you had to pick one textbook to buy for each of those modules, what would they be? ( I'm starting Chemistry from scratch btw)

Thanks

Subscribe to this guy for 10 euro , hes a great chemistry teacher , gets to the point quickly.

http://www.chemguy.com/Chemguy/index.html

I found him a great help last year , just used him and the internet for chemistry , didn't use the recommended book at all and still got a decent mark.

dynamot

Would you believe I was thinking of doing that? I stumbled across him yesterday. Cheers for that.

By the way, did you have any prior Chemistry before last year?

NeuroCat

I didn't purchase any of the prescribed textbooks in first year or second year. I never had any trouble find them in the library. (Apart from the maths methods textbook which was constantly checked out)

I think for chemistry the recommended book was: Chemistry and Chemical Reactivity by John C Kotz. Easy enough to follow. Personally though, I felt the chemistry lecture material was enough. Especially since the entropy and thermodynamics lecturer gave a tutorial in which he went over the questions which would come up in the exam (unbeknownst to us of course) and the organic chemistry lecturer put questions from his tutorials on his exam.

Scrappychimow

dynamot wrote: »

Would you believe I was thinking of doing that? I stumbled across him yesterday. Cheers for that.

By the way, did you have any prior Chemistry before last year?

No i didn't , seriously sign up to his site , you get membership for a year , he has short videos for every topic you will do in Chemistry , you could spend hours looking in books/ on the net , and his videos explain the stuff in 5 mins or so.

Also hes funny. You won't regret it.

dynamot

Scrappychimow wrote: »

No i didn't , seriously sign up to his site , you get membership for a year , he has short videos for every topic you will do in Chemistry , you could spend hours looking in books/ on the net , and his videos explain the stuff in 5 mins or so.

Also hes funny. You won't regret it.

Done!

Jammyc

Khan Academy is good too for online videos explaining stuff.

Also, +1 on what Neurocat said, don't buy books. Their all either in the library or you'll come across someone that has it on their usb.

dynamot

Can anyone tell me where the east end Mac Lab is?

Thanks

Lawliet

dynamot wrote: »

Can anyone tell me where the east end Mac Lab is?

Thanks

In the basement, to the left as you go down the stairs, if I remember correctly there's two doors on it's the one on the right. There should be a sign on the door anyway.

ciara1052

hey guys!
Just transferred into science myself - and while I'm certain on biology and chemistry I could relly use your advice on maths.

I only did OL in my leaving cert - and I got an A2.
So would I find the normal maths (for 2 semesters) too hard? Even if I decided to try study it? I'm also pretty behind.

I have friends who did OL who are doing it and they think it's tough - but do - able.

i'm really conflicted about this. I need to hand in my module choice form asap - I'm already in chemistry and biology labs anyway.

Another thing is that people I know in JF pharmacy, human genetics and medicinal chemistry have to do maths so if I want to do genetics in 3rd yeat (for example) would it be a huge disadvantage to not have done maths (as opposed to only having maths methods)?

Thanks so much if anyone can offer advice

NeuroCat

ciara1052 wrote: »

hey guys!
Just transferred into science myself - and while I'm certain on biology and chemistry I could relly use your advice on maths.

I only did OL in my leaving cert - and I got an A2.
So would I find the normal maths (for 2 semesters) too hard? Even if I decided to try study it? I'm also pretty behind.

I have friends who did OL who are doing it and they think it's tough - but do - able.

i'm really conflicted about this. I need to hand in my module choice form asap - I'm already in chemistry and biology labs anyway.

Another thing is that people I know in JF pharmacy, human genetics and medicinal chemistry have to do maths so if I want to do genetics in 3rd yeat (for example) would it be a huge disadvantage to not have done maths (as opposed to only having maths methods)?

Thanks so much if anyone can offer advice

It depends really on how motivated you are to try the harder Maths. I think they take it as read that you have covered Integration and understand everything on the leaving cert. Higher Level syllabus to quite a high standard.

It wont effect you at all not having done maths as opposed to Maths Methods in first year if you wish to do Genetics in third year. Consider the fact that if you take Maths Methods with say Geology, you keep your options open in second year and don't limit yourself to taking Chemistry or the more difficult maths. (Geology had a much higher pass rate than Chemistry in 2nd year last year)

By the time you get to second year, you'll want to choose modules which fulfill the prerequisites and modules which interest you/are easy to do well in. Genetics was one of the most popular courses this year and the moderatorships are distributed based on your results in second year.

So by all means, choose Maths if you think you'll be able to cope with it, but maths methods is much easier and it wont hamper you by the time you get to third year.

Craguls

Word of warning though. Maths Methods does fill up and it would be easier to transfer from Maths Methods to Maths later in the year rather than the other way around.

ciara1052

Thanks guys

I thik I'll just do maths methods, i looked at the form and it says the only thing you need maths (the hard one) for is physics or astro physics. And I just really like chemistry and biology anyway so It wont stop me from doing those subjects or the relevant moderatorships

Its a tie now between picking geology, geography or foundation physics. I've been told doing f.p is pointless...and that geology is more interesting. Once I havee biology and chemistry I think I'll be grand.

nommm

Anybody else in JF finding the Maths very difficult? I used to love Maths, got a b1 in Higher in the LC but I seem to be useless at Calculus section this year. I'm hoping to get to grips with it during Reading week. Anybody got any tips?

mockshelp

Hi everyone,

What if I wanted to study Geology. Is the only way to specialize in it through the common entry science course? As my favourite subject for the LC was geography. Isn't geology similar? And I know from someone I know who specialized in geology that they even organized careers for their students! They had 3 choices - Australia, South Africa or South America. And she is in Australia now mining for gold (well I don't think she's actually mining just doing report/paper/analyzing work).

I heard geology is more sciencee - like chemistry applied to geography? Is this true? I don't know anything about subjects I haven't done for LC so need to ask.

Anyone here currently doing Geology in this course? What's it like? And what books do you use for it? If I could get a hold of the book for a while at least I'd get a good idea of what the subject is about!

Charlie Sheen

ciara1052 wrote: »

Thanks guys

I thik I'll just do maths methods, i looked at the form and it says the only thing you need maths (the hard one) for is physics or astro physics. And I just really like chemistry and biology anyway so It wont stop me from doing those subjects or the relevant moderatorships

Its a tie now between picking geology, geography or foundation physics. I've been told doing f.p is pointless...and that geology is more interesting. Once I havee biology and chemistry I think I'll be grand.

I did Maths Methods and semester 2 geography. I went to 2 geography lectures in the whole year, and did all the continuous assessment last minute and without much effort. I literally didn't study for the exam and ended up getting just under 60% in the exam. When you're cramming and stressing out over the Chem and Bio exams next year, it's nice to have something like Geography that you'll already have passed. I don't know if what Geology is like though.

bscm

nommm wrote: »

Anybody else in JF finding the Maths very difficult? I used to love Maths, got a b1 in Higher in the LC but I seem to be useless at Calculus section this year. I'm hoping to get to grips with it during Reading week. Anybody got any tips?

Calculus is ridiculous... even with the book it's near impossible Linear Algebra is ok though, that's the only upside

NeuroCat

mockshelp wrote: »

Hi everyone,

What if I wanted to study Geology. Is the only way to specialize in it through the common entry science course? As my favourite subject for the LC was geography. Isn't geology similar? And I know from someone I know who specialized in geology that they even organized careers for their students! They had 3 choices - Australia, South Africa or South America. And she is in Australia now mining for gold (well I don't think she's actually mining just doing report/paper/analyzing work).

I heard geology is more sciencee - like chemistry applied to geography? Is this true? I don't know anything about subjects I haven't done for LC so need to ask.

Anyone here currently doing Geology in this course? What's it like? And what books do you use for it? If I could get a hold of the book for a while at least I'd get a good idea of what the subject is about!

If you like the idea of Geology and Geography then you should look into the Earth Sciences degree programme as it combines Geography and Geology!

I took Geology in first year and second year, some of the modules were inetesting but personally I didn't get much from it. (But I never intended to stick with it after the first 2 years).

The module for it in first year comprises a little of everything, early universe formation, paleontology etc.

stealinhorses

bscm wrote: »

Calculus is ridiculous... even with the book it's near impossible Linear Algebra is ok though, that's the only upside

It's the other way around for me. Calculus seems quite intuitive, whereas with Linear Algebra it's in through one ear and out the other the moment I leave the lecture hall. Tutorials are a nightmare, I have to copy everything step by step from the lecture notes, otherwise I wouldn't have a clue.

thunderdog

nommm wrote: »

Anybody else in JF finding the Maths very difficult? I used to love Maths, got a b1 in Higher in the LC but I seem to be useless at Calculus section this year. I'm hoping to get to grips with it during Reading week. Anybody got any tips?

I did Maths in first and second year (now doing a phd in Geology). What I found about Maths in 1st year is that it is actually mostly LC stuff just explained in a different (usually more complicated!) way. I didn't spot this til after xmas but you'll find when you come to study for exams that its mostly LC material. Also most people in 1st year get their best mark in Maths.

thunderdog

mockshelp wrote: »

Hi everyone,

What if I wanted to study Geology. Is the only way to specialize in it through the common entry science course? As my favourite subject for the LC was geography. Isn't geology similar? And I know from someone I know who specialized in geology that they even organized careers for their students! They had 3 choices - Australia, South Africa or South America. And she is in Australia now mining for gold (well I don't think she's actually mining just doing report/paper/analyzing work).

I heard geology is more sciencee - like chemistry applied to geography? Is this true? I don't know anything about subjects I haven't done for LC so need to ask.

Anyone here currently doing Geology in this course? What's it like? And what books do you use for it? If I could get a hold of the book for a while at least I'd get a good idea of what the subject is about!

Geology is a little bit of all the sciences put together. A bit of chemistry, biology and physics. Like most other courses in science it is quite general to start off with in 1st and 2nd year. Then in 3rd year is gets quite detailed.

You can do it through general science or you can also do the Earth Science course and then transfer into Geology in 3rd year.

ciara1052

Hi

Sorry about this, really stuck finding notes for biology and maths methods. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I found the chemistry notes....I think - physical chemistry (part 1) and general chemistry.

Don't know whats been happening in maths regarding classes up until now. I'm still not on the *system* apparently which means I can't be put into any tutorials...

Anyone know where I could find the notes for biology and maths? I know biology for JF have done biochemistry and genetics...just when I go into the school of genetics or whatever I can't find the notes.

Thanks if anyone can help

Lawliet

The biology teaching center should have must -if not all- of the notes, just look under local and junior freshman.