Anyone do Physics?

Raskolnikov

Is it me or is the new Physics course a bit of a joke? I am a repeat and did the old course last year thought it was very difficult, this year it seems like they cut all the tricky bits out and left nothing difficult left in the course. Don't get me wrong here though, Physics is still a difficult subject relative to other ones but i think they went a bit too far with trying to tone down the difficulty!

Dave

Yeah they took out all the hard maths and left mainly definitions etc. Which was nice.

stereo_steve

ssssssssshhhhhhhh!!!!!!! there might be some people from the department of education lurking around! Don't want them making it all hard again! I do chemistry aswell and thats easier too this year!

Oeneus

Well I've just started Leav Cert Physics this year and I find really hard. Our teacher said they have toned the difficulty down a bit, but it just makes me think "How Fooking hard was it before? Can it get harder?"

I'm like, doing an experiment one day...

The next I'm writing up the experiment in my book and I'm like "What was this experiment meant to prove again?"

Friend replies "Whatever 'A' stands for in that formula that has 'A' on the front"

smiles

It's not quite a joke!

Last year we had a substitute teacher (our other physics teacher went back to college), and we did 8 chapters out of... 25? or something close, less than 1/3 of the course, eg. we spent 3 classes learning how to read thermometers. (ahhhh!!!!) And so this year (6th) we get to do a chapter a week, and that is only _slightly_ crazy, we did particle physics in 2 days! My head hurts! :P

<< Fio >>

kaimera

Tis kinda a joke but compared to the old course..tis aite...

I did TY so I missed the old course..*lucky me*!

Tis more having to 'member all the formula and how to incorporate them into the question which seems to be one thing but turns out to be not what you expected....

But it's all good.....in an all lads sk00l, we get women up for the classes from the Convent.......

pity tho they got better marks than all the lads @ Christmas....:(

Raskolnikov

Originally posted by smiles
It's not quite a joke!

Last year we had a substitute teacher (our other physics teacher went back to college), and we did 8 chapters out of... 25? or something close, less than 1/3 of the course, eg. we spent 3 classes learning how to read thermometers. (ahhhh!!!!) And so this year (6th) we get to do a chapter a week, and that is only _slightly_ crazy, we did particle physics in 2 days! My head hurts! :P

<< Fio >>

I can tell you a few horror stories about crappy Physics teachers that i had :P I think it is important not to feel too overwhelmed with the subject though, just take it in small chunks and you should be fine

Repli

I find physics very easy atm.. maybe because our teacher is good at explaining stuff..
Some of the higher level stuff is difficult but in general it's not too hard.. you know what's coming up in the exam.. it's just a matter of studying the material
Also this year's paper will be marked easier because we are the first year doing the new course

red_ice

I chose physics over biology! silly me...

Physics is a joke. TBH i cant understand anything at all about it, (the maths part) but learning the definitions is easy peasy!

From what i was told, last year you could get 85% if you left out the maths in the paper. This year i think its 72%, its good that the course is getting easyier imo - im just sad they didnt do it earlier...

reD.

Raskolnikov

Chemistry easier this year??!?! You are kidding right? In the old course all you had to do was know Organic and Volumetric really well and you were guarenteed a B, not to say that i studied it though, only got a C2 :P From what i have seen this year you have to answer a greater number of questions on a greater number of topics. True they did get rid of a few things but they also added a bunch of other stuff. Please prove me wrong and and find some error in my reasoning to show that Chemistry is easier though!

phaxx

The only part of physics I don't like is the derivations. *shudder*

Like bad mathematical poetry.

Celt

I think physics is a great subject, it's interesting, the maths part is challenging but doable, and its just plain good

Chaos-Engine

Yep... I'm repeating too and it is a shiite easy course.... I actually miss those Astronoical telescopes... I did them so much last year it seems such a waste....
Both the new Physics and Chemistry courses are toss easy(20% less). They r just aloud of stuff to memerise... Whom ever memerises the most gets the points... Its turning the LC into more of a joke than it already is!

ONly subjects that are actually hard anymore are: Higher Maths, Higher Applied Maths and Memerising a TON of Biology(but there is a smaller course next yr too)

amen

the derivations are the fun part.

if u know why they are derived then u don;t even need to learn the derivation off. All u need is the 1st and last line and away you go.

stereo_steve

The chemistry is alot easier this year! It may seem like theres alot but its not done in great detail. For example we covered the entire Radioactivity section in a class! There is alot of learning still to be done though.

I got a cd off my physics teacher, it has the new physics and chemistry notes for teachers. The two files are about 17mb each. They are both *.pdf files. I found them a great help, there are loads of worked examples and hints. If someone has a server I could upload the two files for everyone to download. Maybe they could be put up on the boards.ie site?

Also the department of education has just spend ALOT on designing the new course and they are trying to encourage more people to sit physics and chemistry. So I would imagine that they want to show that its a success and the points will be higher this year.

phaxx

Do you mean the syllabus books in PDF format? They're available in PDF format on www.irlgov.ie/educ somewhere, I believe.

stereo_steve

They contain everything to do with the course. They are both about 400 pages long each. They were given to teachers for the new course. It tells them what to teach and gives them examples for the class. I don't think its on the irlgov.ie site. could be wrong?

phaxx

Oh I see.

What you describe sounds like the syllabus booklet, it's what my teacher uses, although I believe it has only 50/60 pages.

bkehoe

My teacher has one with all the answers for the questions in the book with the methods (could be more, but didn't look at it myself). Something I have to make a copy of sometime.

Brendan

Elwood

The new physics course is a piece of cake i did it three years ago and my brother is doing it now, there is no comparison the whole thing is a watered down version of the previous course. I am in third year Engineering and i will pity any one who:

a)has no physics
or
B)has done this version of the course

maths physics and experamental physics are made easier by the knowledge of physics for the leaving and at that the standard previously sought which the lecturers have grown to expect over the years. Bear in mind that maths physics is two years long and a pain in the ass to the most MP loving freak, a good knowledge base supports one well for the future.

Repli

Are you sure you did the NEW course three years ago..
this year's Leaving Cert is the first to be examined on the new course..

Nietzschean

Erm we wanna keep high standereds in eduction system? seems not.... the new phyics course ye could do in yer sleep...tis a complete joke.

they took out all the nice ole maths n just left ****e defn's and whats more the phyics books that seem to have come with the new course r utterly brutal formula's we are supposed to learn off are just left in examples? like wtf is the story with that.

Dave...well i had expected u to be in favour of it ye lazy ****er tis too damn easy n boring.........


be nice if they did like the first 2 years of something theoritical phyics degree course as the leaving cert course fer phyics...the new course is brutal...nothing substancial in it at all and the new questions due to a lack of content seem to just be off the wall......especially capatiance questions in my opinion....

Still tho i do applied maths so the maths that was on the old course i mostly do anyway tis all easy

Dont be at yourself

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Nietzschean

Speaking of how easy it is i got 95% in mock deserved 98% with not a hell of alot of study.......don't get much easier :cool:

Frenzy

I really wish I did Biology or geography instead!
I've ot untill June to get the whole Physics course into my little brain.:(

Raskolnikov

Originally posted by Serialkiller
Speaking of how easy it is i got 95% in mock deserved 98% with not a hell of alot of study.......don't get much easier :cool:

You mentioned that you are going to Bruce Limerick, do you have Pauline Gallery as a physics teacher?

Nietzschean

nope julie............principle of bruce...............excellent teacher tho there is no real concepts so i really don't need teacher of her standered..i'm not complaining tho ...but some of the less capable people in the class have benefited alot from having the good teacher

havok*

Yeah physics is much easyier this year.
I done my lc 3 years ago, and tbh its not the only thing they've dulled down,

Irish, Business, English have also been changed (to make them ez'r since i did them)

(tho i'm not complaining btw )

Man U babe

The new physics course is real easy, i spent most of 6th year staring out the window in class and i got an A1 in the mock. chemistry is harder, (i think).Labs are a pain in the ass, cant do those sect.A questions. I do applied maths as well, bit more of a challenge but still not too bad. still waitin on damn mock result, hopefully A! fingers crossed.

Molly

You mentioned that you are going to Bruce Limerick, do you have Pauline Gallery as a physics teacher?

That's bruce cork.