Science module selection

jack.h

Hello at present i am to be studying 7 of my 12 modules in semester 1. I would have liked to do 6 each semester but i want all my modules to be about my course and there were no other modules in the second semester which i liked the look of except PHYC20030 Thermal Physics and Materials but it says
Prior Learning
Requirements:
Students should either have passed modules (PHYC 10060, PHYC 10070 & PHYC 10080) or (PHYC 10020 & PHYC 10030). Students who have passed PHYC 10150 & PHYC 10160 may also take this module

And i will not have completed any of those 3 sets of modules by then.
So would anyone recommend against me doing 7 of my modules in semester 1.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Improbable

jack.h wrote: »

Hello at present i am to be studying 7 of my 12 modules in semester 1. I would have liked to do 6 each semester but i want all my modules to be about my course and there were no other modules in the second semester which i liked the look of except PHYC20030 Thermal Physics and Materials but it says
Prior Learning
Requirements:
Students should either have passed modules (PHYC 10060, PHYC 10070 & PHYC 10080) or (PHYC 10020 & PHYC 10030). Students who have passed PHYC 10150 & PHYC 10160 may also take this module

And i will not have completed any of those 3 sets of modules by then.
So would anyone recommend against me doing 7 of my modules in semester 1.
Any advice would be appreciated.

There's absolutely no harm to it at all. I did it several times.

jack.h

Improbable wrote: »

There's absolutely no harm to it at all. I did it several times.

That is a relief as i do not want to choose a module that i would not be interested in but was unsure if doing 7 modules in one semester was do able.

Ruski

I did that module last year and I can't say that I liked it very much. The lectures were pretty boring, but the content is pretty easy if you follow the Halliday and Resnick book so I ended up not going to many of the lectures. One of the classes every week was a problem-solving class.
There are labs for it which are three hours on tuesday or wednesday afternoon. I found the labs themselves pretty fun to do but for each one that you do you have to write a report, and those are quite tedious especially with calculations and plotting.
Another thing was the microlabs in which we worked with computers and an analog-to-digital signal converter. Most of those are pretty much copying and pasting out of the pdf manual that the instructor gives you, so there's not much learned there. You 'write' the programs using C++.
Also ignore the module descriptor recommending the three first year physics classes. There were several first years doing it.


If you'd like something a bit more interesting, look at COMP20090 (Introduction to Cognitive Science) if you haven't looked at it already. I found it the best class ever.

jack.h

Ruski wrote: »

I did that module last year and I can't say that I liked it very much. The lectures were pretty boring, but the content is pretty easy if you follow the Halliday and Resnick book so I ended up not going to many of the lectures. One of the classes every week was a problem-solving class.
There are labs for it which are three hours on tuesday or wednesday afternoon. I found the labs themselves pretty fun to do but for each one that you do you have to write a report, and those are quite tedious especially with calculations and plotting.
Another thing was the microlabs in which we worked with computers and an analog-to-digital signal converter. Most of those are pretty much copying and pasting out of the pdf manual that the instructor gives you, so there's not much learned there. You 'write' the programs using C++.
Also ignore the module descriptor recommending the three first year physics classes. There were several first years doing it.


If you'd like something a bit more interesting, look at COMP20090 (Introduction to Cognitive Science) if you haven't looked at it already. I found it the best class ever.

Thank you for the advice that module looks interesting but it looks like something where you would just need to rote learn a lot of material and personally i prefer to learn through understanding and subjects which have a lot of maths in them . However correct me if I am wrong as if that is not the type of learning required for that module i might consider doing it.

Ruski

I didn't find Thermal Physics very mathematically challenging. Most of the maths is taking a formula and working about them some way. I found myself rote learning a good amount in the book/notes.
Even though Cognitive Science still involves some rote learning the topics are so interesting that you'll find yourself thinking about them and understanding them. It's assessed by a midterm worth 40% in which you answer a few questions in about three sentences. And the final exam is three short (about a page and a half) essays.

What course are you doing, just out of interest?

jack.h

I am doing Science-mpg and am aiming to get a degree in either applied and computational maths or theoretical physics or astronomy and space science. I have not decided which one yet but i am hoping once i try out the different modules i will find out which one i prefer.

Raphael

Well the good news is that up until final year those are all preeeety much the same course.

Ruski

Sure it's all the way in semester two so you can wait until christmas to choose. I remember it was nice to get a break from all the maths. :P