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is it just me or is phys1121... (1 Viewer)

Omie Jay

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...quite insane?
I havnt done physix in ages and assumed knowledge is apparantly 'nothing', so how would someone with a nothing knowledge know anything with whats goin on right now? I have knowledge, from hsc, even if it is a bit, but it is quite difficult to understand.
Someone please tell me that im not the only one.:eek:
 

Iruka

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First year phys at UNSW has lots of problems.

For a start, when they changed to the so-called new HSC in 2000 the HSC physics course was dumbed down immensely. The people at uni still don't seem to have come to terms with this - they try to run the course the same way it was being run twenty gazillion years ago.

Secondly, it is run in conjunction with higher physics (as a cost saving device on the part of the uni, no doubt), which means that it is not actually all that much easier than 1131. The presentation of concepts still moves at a very fast pace, even if the exam questions are slightly easier.

Thirdly, the phys people and the math people never actually talk to each other, so they will try to teach you physics that uses maths that you haven't actually learned yet.

In short, unless you really need first year physics for your degree, I think it is best avoided.

If you do need it, I guess you are just going to have to work extra hard. Make sure you get a good textbook. When I did physics, the recommended textbook was Hecht, and it is a useless, verbose heap of crap. (Has many nice photos, though.) Maybe they are recommending a better one these days. I see from the bookshop textlist that they do have course notes, which is an improvement from when I did it...
 

Omium

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Man, this subject is way too hard, like FFS, Im struggling so bad in this. The dude rushes so fast and every concept is new, He just keeps moving and moving.
In the maths subject the guy moves equally as fast but i actually know that if i work hard i will go really well. But for physics... OMG!
 

Mumma

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Have fun and welcome to uni.

It gets alot harder so enjoy it now while you can :D
 

drynxz

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I got 92 in HSC physics, did 4u maths..and yet , I find it extremely difficult to follow along during lectures.
 

Omium

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drynxz said:
I got 92 in HSC physics, did 4u maths..and yet , I find it extremely difficult to follow along during lectures.
hmmm, you would think that the course- coordinators would realise that EVERY SINGLE concept is NEW to us and actually go SLOW for a bit.

Also common sense would tell them to put more than 1 tutorial a week...
 

chucknthem

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Get used to it you weaklings :p You have to learn not to be spoon fed everything, and learn quickly, because as with most uni subjects, the pace and difficulty starts to escalate exponentially after the first couple weeks.:rolleyes:
 

Mumma

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To actually stay up to date you have to
- read notes and textbook before the lecture
- attempt tutorial questions ahead of time
- do your own research

Especially in later weeks. I mean week 1 is just like, kinematics or something.

Does Joe Wolfe still say "This is trivial" every couple of seconds?

BTW, I don't think anyone is ever up to date in physics, most people just crammed before the exams.
 

Forbidden.

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I must admit PHYS1121 is rushed very quickly.
It actually takes me an entire weekend to sit down with the prescribed Physics textbook and actually understand Mechanics.

Mumma said:
To actually stay up to date you have to
- read notes and textbook before the lecture
- attempt tutorial questions ahead of time
- do your own research

Especially in later weeks. I mean week 1 is just like, kinematics or something.

Does Joe Wolfe still say "This is trivial" every couple of seconds?

BTW, I don't think anyone is ever up to date in physics, most people just crammed before the exams.
- Yeah.
- Oh noes ...
- Research is actually required ?
 

Mumma

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By own research I mean, looking up things on the net you dont understand, looking things up in the textbook, trying to get a better understanding of things. Thats if you want a D or HD I suppose.

In the end to get good results and stay up to date you have to put a lot of effort in. I don't think barely passing should be too hard though.
 

chucknthem

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Mumma said:
To actually stay up to date you have to
- read notes and textbook before the lecture
- attempt tutorial questions ahead of time
- do your own research

Especially in later weeks. I mean week 1 is just like, kinematics or something.

Does Joe Wolfe still say "This is trivial" every couple of seconds?

BTW, I don't think anyone is ever up to date in physics, most people just crammed before the exams.
So that's how you get all those HDs? I guess I should go to fewer lectures and do more self study/research instead:eek:
 

Crylias

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2 years later.. fuck phys1121 is hard =/

midsession exam dis week sighh.. i dun even know the content from week 1
 

henry08

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Yes, it is still hard although also interesting. I find the textbook is a lot better to learn from than the lecture notes/examples.
 

tommykins

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phys1121 has a huge learning curve as u get used to it

but its actually pretty simple
 

henry08

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How did you get 98 lol, lost half a mark and they round up? Thanks, although I done it earlier today and got 90, it was far easier than I thought it was going to be. Maybe final exam could possibly be harder to make up for having an easy mid session exam etc.
 

kaz1

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Yeah Phys1121 is the hardest of my Uni subjects by far. The gap between HSC and this course is huge.

and thx for the help Xcelz :D
 

macochris1

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how hard was it (the exam)??

any hints or questions we should be aware of lol??
tys
 

tommykins

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i can't believe they dumbed down the course for t he mid sem to be online

what the fuck
 

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