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Should I choose these Modules?

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  • 06-09-2010 12:14pm
    #1
    JoseGonzalez
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3 ✭


    I'm thinking of choosing AM1052 and AM1053; and PY1052 and PY1053, but I have never done Applied Maths or Physics before - do you think I'll be able to handle these modules or will they be too hard for a beginner?


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    #2
    Eliot Rosewater
    Registered Users Posts: 3,745 ✭✭✭Eliot Rosewater


    What course are you doing?

    I can't speak for the physics ones, but I know that people who didn't do LC applied maths found AM1052 hard. They all passed though; it just took a bit of work. AM1053 was easy enough last year, however one of the lecturers passed away recently so it will probably be harder this year (he was an easy marker).


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    #3
    .E_C_K_S.
    Registered Users Posts: 1,147 ✭✭✭.E_C_K_S.


    I did not do the Physics modules but heard they can be quite difficult and you could really struggle with them if you have not done Leaving cert physics.

    I had two friends doing AM1052-both hadn't done applied maths for their leaving cert. One of them worked really hard and passed and the other didn't and failed so it would depend what amount of work you are willing to put in really.

    AM1053 is mainly all new stuff and you will probably find it difficult to get used to at the start but it is the easier of the two IMO. As the user stated above, one of the lectures for this module passed away (He was the Applied Maths head) so I don't know how it will be thought and marked this year.

    What got me through these modules was going to the tutorials, doing exam questions and asking questions in class/tutorials.


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    #4
    JoseGonzalez
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3 ✭JoseGonzalez


    What course are you doing WALSHY16291?
    Did you do both AM1052 and AM1053?


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    #5
    Eliot Rosewater
    Registered Users Posts: 3,745 ✭✭✭Eliot Rosewater


    JoseGonzalez wrote: »
    What course are you doing WALSHY16291?
    Did you do both AM1052 and AM1053?

    He's doing Arts with Maths and Applied Maths, and, yes, he did both of these. ;)

    What course are you doing?


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    #6
    JoseGonzalez
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3 ✭JoseGonzalez


    Im doing Chemical Science!, so ill be doing Chemistry, Maths, Applied Maths and Physics! :(


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    #7
    MoogPoo
    Registered Users Posts: 156 ✭✭MoogPoo


    I'm doing physics and maths, I did applied maths for leaving cert so I thought AM1052 was easy enough. The notes for most of it are online here

    http://euclid.ucc.ie/pages/staff/thomas/AM1052/Notes/Section1_2009.pdf
    http://euclid.ucc.ie/pages/staff/thomas/AM1052/Notes/Section2_2009.pdf
    http://euclid.ucc.ie/pages/staff/thomas/AM1052/Notes/Section3_2009.pdf
    http://euclid.ucc.ie/pages/staff/thomas/AM1052/Notes/Section4_2009.pdf

    I dont think it would be that hard to learn, really big overlap with PY1052 if you do that too. If you know about vectors and stuff you should be fine. The lectures are REALLY boring though... I didnt go to any lectures really, maybe the first few but it was literally him reading those notes for an hour word for word. After christmas thought it got harder and we had another lecturer who was great, you should go to each of those lectures if you do it.

    PY1052 would be hard alright if you didnt do it for leaving cert but if your good at maths and do study and go to tutorials it should be manageable. PY1053 is a lot harder but same lecturers and similar structure. Deals with harder topics and as its an introduction to physics you don't really have enough information in the course to fully understand it. It goes into electromagnetism and quantum mechanics and bits of particle physics etc. and most of it seemed to be just learn it off and plug in formulas. Those two modules are tough but if your really interested in physics or engineering it would give you a solid understanding of the subject. If your in Cork at the moment you could wander in to UCC and check out the book for those subjects in the college bookshop, its Understanding Phyiscs(You could pick it up cheap second hand before others get it). Its a big book full of derivations and symbols you mightnt know but don't be too put off either, everything seems really complicated if you don't know anything about it.

    As for AM1053, I still don't have a clue what its about and I'm in third year haha. That said it was my best result and got 90% which is by far the best result if ever got. Its kind of like calculus and stuff and you won't understand the course really. A lot of it was just learning things by rote again and memorising what to do etc. its about dynamic systems like population growth and about finding stable equilibriums as things evolve over time. But to really understand it, I would say you'd need to have done more advanced calculus. If you pick it, go to all classes and lectures!

    So basically
    PY1052 - Hard but great foundation of physics. Covers motion, coordinates, vectors, inertia. Classical mechanics basically.
    PY1053 - Harder and slightly less necessary I would say unless your pursuing physics. Covers more specific areas of physics like magnetism, electricity, heat, gases, particle and nuclear physics(sounds scary but its not gone into too much detail)
    AM1052 - Good foundation of applied maths. Not too hard.
    AM1053 - Didnt get much out of this. Kind of interesting still...

    As a genereal rule though, all science exams are pretty repetitive and you really wont fail if you do some study and go to tutorials etc. Almost every question in all my exams this year was in a past paper.


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