It's been a while since I last posted.
I started this blog just as a way of keeping track of my thoughts about each module (inspired by other module reviews out there) and I'm glad to know that many juniors have found it helpful. However, as it's been quite a while, the format and my understanding of the module contents and assessment formats may have changed significantly (and I know some CBC Y1 modules have had major changes), so please just take this information as a reference only.
I've since graduated and am in the midst of working life, so this is the end of my module reviews. I will also not reply to comments and queries as promptly anymore, unless I happen to check them once in a long while.
All the best with your exams and enjoy university life!
Saturday, 5 October 2019
Wednesday, 2 January 2019
Y4S1 Module Review
This will be my last semester of module reviews, since I will be going for internship in the next semester. Didn't take many modules this semester, just two MPEs and 2 UEs since I had 2 S/Us remaining.
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CM4012 - STRUCTURAL DETERMINATION (3 AU)
Type: MPE
Grade: B
Comments: Taught by Profs Robin Chi and Leung Weng Kee. Prof Chi's part was relatively easier to understand and had less content. In contrast, Prof Leung's style is to provide you with a basic concept, while you read up the details on your own. His uploaded lecture notes are not enough; you'll need to make your own notes as well from the short videos he posted and from what is discussed during lecture time. Good thing: both midterms and finals are open book, with Prof Leung's midterm also being open internet. Finals for my semester had 5 questions: first 2 questions were on assigning the chemical shift on H NMR and C NMR, and determining how many different H and C signals for a given compound (standard stuff you have been doing during class time). Third question was on determining the correct structure (out of 4 provided) based on the H NMR and C NMR chemical shifts provided. Question 4 and 5 were on Prof Leung's part, which included NMR and X-ray crystallography. Most of the content was covered before in tutorials or during the weekly reflection sessions (a bit like a weekly test, except that it's not graded).
CM4013 - CURRENT TOPICS IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: MPE
Grade: B
Comments: Taught by Prof Bonanni (who also teaches CM9102) whose style is pretty fixed: 2h lecture time per week + online LAMS sequences for some parts + clickers during lecture time to reinforce concepts. Bonus marks were awarded for participating in the clickers. Databook of relevant equations are provided during the midterm exam. Finals were a tad tricky, especially with many 'propose the best method based on certain criteria provided' type of questions. There was a mix of MCQs, True/False questions and open-ended questions.
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A bit of info for people considering taking introductory modules in translation: NTU offers English to Chinese translation and vice versa only. All classes are taught mainly in Chinese, with the occassional English. You can attend the first lesson to get a better feel of classes if you cannot make up your mind. That said, if you are looking for an easy mod to S/U, don't consider this. If you are looking to score, bear in mind that many of your classmates are majoring in Chinese and would probably have better language proficiency. That said, there is flexibility in assignments and tests to express yourself in either English or Chinese. Choose your better language (mine is English, unsurprisingly). Dictionaries are allowed for midterm and finals. HT9101 allows the use of electronic dictionaries as well.
HT9101 - TRANSLATION - HISTORIES, THEORIES AND PRINCIPLES (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade:S
Comments: Taught by Prof Uganda Kwan, this module focuses more on translation principles and theories, as well as the history of translation in the East and West. It reads like a history mod in Chinese (which I do not like) and I found myself distracted most of the time. Not the fault of the Prof, she is really good at teaching. However, you do get to watch 3 movies related to translation as part of the course (movie titles change periodically). I watched Babel, Lost in Translation and Devils on the Doorstep. For the first two movies, we had to write a short report answering the questions provided during tutorial. For the last movie, we had to write a midterm report on it (~3000 words, either in English or Chinese) to be submitted via Turnitin. There was another final report based on the street where you stay at. Another ~3000 words on the history of the street name, how it got its Mandarin Chinese translation, propose a better translation for the place etc. There is also a compulsory individual presentation based on the contents of either report. I was selected to present on the translator featured in the film Devils on the Doorstep. For finals, there were only 2 questions: one was a statement about translation principles and a translation concept, where you had to bring in examples from one of the movies watched in class. The second question was to translate a passage (mine was a news article) from English to Chinese. I barely finished translating this part when time was up. 2.5h paper but time allocated does not seem to be enough for me, when I had to flip the dictionary ever so often. You are allowed to bring a cheat sheet for finals.
HT9102 - LANGUAGE FOUNDATION FOR TRANSLATION (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: S
Comments: Taught by Prof Wang Shengyu this semester (covering for another Prof). She teaches well in my opinion, and what you learn is directly applicable to improving your translations. You'll get to learn the differences between English and Chinese, how to ensure that your translations sound natural in the target language etc. A bit of linguistics knowledge would help, as you'll need to identify the parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs, conjunctions, prepositions, attributive clauses etc and know the Chinese terms for them as well. There is a midterm exam and a group presentation (which turned out to be individual due to the small class size of my tutorial group). Presentation topic is based on last week's lecture and readings. A ballot was done on the first tutorial to decide the order of presentation. Finals involved 3 questions: translating English sentences to Chinese, identifying parts of speech in an English passage and discussing the differences in Chinese and English language, and lastly to translate a short story from Chinese to English. A maximum of 2 paper dictionaries (English-Chinese and Chinese-English) are allowed for the examination.
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CM4012 - STRUCTURAL DETERMINATION (3 AU)
Type: MPE
Grade: B
Comments: Taught by Profs Robin Chi and Leung Weng Kee. Prof Chi's part was relatively easier to understand and had less content. In contrast, Prof Leung's style is to provide you with a basic concept, while you read up the details on your own. His uploaded lecture notes are not enough; you'll need to make your own notes as well from the short videos he posted and from what is discussed during lecture time. Good thing: both midterms and finals are open book, with Prof Leung's midterm also being open internet. Finals for my semester had 5 questions: first 2 questions were on assigning the chemical shift on H NMR and C NMR, and determining how many different H and C signals for a given compound (standard stuff you have been doing during class time). Third question was on determining the correct structure (out of 4 provided) based on the H NMR and C NMR chemical shifts provided. Question 4 and 5 were on Prof Leung's part, which included NMR and X-ray crystallography. Most of the content was covered before in tutorials or during the weekly reflection sessions (a bit like a weekly test, except that it's not graded).
CM4013 - CURRENT TOPICS IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: MPE
Grade: B
Comments: Taught by Prof Bonanni (who also teaches CM9102) whose style is pretty fixed: 2h lecture time per week + online LAMS sequences for some parts + clickers during lecture time to reinforce concepts. Bonus marks were awarded for participating in the clickers. Databook of relevant equations are provided during the midterm exam. Finals were a tad tricky, especially with many 'propose the best method based on certain criteria provided' type of questions. There was a mix of MCQs, True/False questions and open-ended questions.
--------------------
A bit of info for people considering taking introductory modules in translation: NTU offers English to Chinese translation and vice versa only. All classes are taught mainly in Chinese, with the occassional English. You can attend the first lesson to get a better feel of classes if you cannot make up your mind. That said, if you are looking for an easy mod to S/U, don't consider this. If you are looking to score, bear in mind that many of your classmates are majoring in Chinese and would probably have better language proficiency. That said, there is flexibility in assignments and tests to express yourself in either English or Chinese. Choose your better language (mine is English, unsurprisingly). Dictionaries are allowed for midterm and finals. HT9101 allows the use of electronic dictionaries as well.
HT9101 - TRANSLATION - HISTORIES, THEORIES AND PRINCIPLES (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade:S
Comments: Taught by Prof Uganda Kwan, this module focuses more on translation principles and theories, as well as the history of translation in the East and West. It reads like a history mod in Chinese (which I do not like) and I found myself distracted most of the time. Not the fault of the Prof, she is really good at teaching. However, you do get to watch 3 movies related to translation as part of the course (movie titles change periodically). I watched Babel, Lost in Translation and Devils on the Doorstep. For the first two movies, we had to write a short report answering the questions provided during tutorial. For the last movie, we had to write a midterm report on it (~3000 words, either in English or Chinese) to be submitted via Turnitin. There was another final report based on the street where you stay at. Another ~3000 words on the history of the street name, how it got its Mandarin Chinese translation, propose a better translation for the place etc. There is also a compulsory individual presentation based on the contents of either report. I was selected to present on the translator featured in the film Devils on the Doorstep. For finals, there were only 2 questions: one was a statement about translation principles and a translation concept, where you had to bring in examples from one of the movies watched in class. The second question was to translate a passage (mine was a news article) from English to Chinese. I barely finished translating this part when time was up. 2.5h paper but time allocated does not seem to be enough for me, when I had to flip the dictionary ever so often. You are allowed to bring a cheat sheet for finals.
HT9102 - LANGUAGE FOUNDATION FOR TRANSLATION (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: S
Comments: Taught by Prof Wang Shengyu this semester (covering for another Prof). She teaches well in my opinion, and what you learn is directly applicable to improving your translations. You'll get to learn the differences between English and Chinese, how to ensure that your translations sound natural in the target language etc. A bit of linguistics knowledge would help, as you'll need to identify the parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs, conjunctions, prepositions, attributive clauses etc and know the Chinese terms for them as well. There is a midterm exam and a group presentation (which turned out to be individual due to the small class size of my tutorial group). Presentation topic is based on last week's lecture and readings. A ballot was done on the first tutorial to decide the order of presentation. Finals involved 3 questions: translating English sentences to Chinese, identifying parts of speech in an English passage and discussing the differences in Chinese and English language, and lastly to translate a short story from Chinese to English. A maximum of 2 paper dictionaries (English-Chinese and Chinese-English) are allowed for the examination.
Monday, 4 June 2018
Y3S2 Module Review
I have no idea why I took 3 memory-intensive mods this semester, even as I grow to dislike such mods with age. Results this semester are still not satisfactory, but better than last semester. I've could S/U-ed CM9103 but I wanted to see what grade I would get. Alas, that pulled my cGPA down this semester, but it's okay. Next semester I can take 2 more enjoyable electives and S/U. At this point, I've stopped caring so much about cGPA since I've decided to do internship instead of FYP.
A little advice if you're considering doing internship in Sem 1 or Sem 2. Most people seem to want Sem 2 internship, which leaves more vacancies for Sem 1 internship + you get to graduate about a month earlier if you opt for Sem 1 internship (end in mid-May or earlier compared to mid-Jun if you do Sem 2 internship). The argument for Sem 2 internship is probably for those who don't want to go back to studying for a last semester and/or want to work immediately after internship and think that it is an advantage because your internship company probably remembers you better. Consider these points well!
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CM3031 - ORGANIC REACTIONS MECHANISMS AND SYNTHESIS (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: B+
Comments: Well, well, well. I don't think I'll do well for organic this sem, because I have been making careless mistakes during midterms even when I do know my stuff. Took me awhile to see the stereochem for Zhao Yanli's part (all the models), but I surprisingly enjoyed Tan Choon Hong's part (pericyclic reactions). I like the endo/exo for cycloaddition the most :D 2 midterms and finals, all open book + can bring molecular kit. Finals had a questions which stumped me, which did not make for a satisfying paper...
CM3061 - CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY 3 (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A-
Comments: Organic lab is taxing as always, especially with the new double experiments in 1 week and 2-week experiments. There's also a journal style report for 2 experiments. However, I feel that it is much less taxing than Year 2 organic lab, especially since we have a very nice Chief TA this sem (Anders). Finals were weird as they didn't really test experiment content like in the last 2 sems, but was more like the first lab paper. They tested chemical structures, one question on an experiment, some common glassware etc and calculations for dilution (which caught me by surprise).
HW0228 - SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION II (3 AU)
Type: GER-CORE
Grade: A-
Comments: I feel like I didn't learn anything new and useful in this module. After all, CBC lab modules have already taught us how to search literature using the school database, read journal articles and more. Assignments consist of an individual critique of the introduction of a journal article, a group report and presentation based on a study the group conducted over a few weeks. My tutor was Glenn Toh and he was very carefree. Lessons ended earlier (as he won't go through the slides in too much details) and he gave in-class time for discussion as well. His marking seemed to be lenient as well (?)
CM4011 - ADVANCED ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: MPE
Grade: A
Comments: Feels like I've only learnt half the content due to Pumera's part being mostly a rehash of CM2011 knowledge. And with Pumera having left NTU, I'm not sure what will happen to his part in the next year. For my sem, we were only tested on Webster's part (which may sound good because half the content, right? But Pumera's part is actually easier...) Surprise, surprise. My only A this semester.
CM4014 - NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY (3 AU)
Type: MPE
Grade: A-
Comments: A memory mod with graded clickers (but most lectures the clicker fails/doesn't work OTL). Good if you like remembering stuff. For midterms, refer to the sample past year paper on NTU Exam Papers site and it'll have a similar format. For finals, hmm there were some weird parts, but I don't remember much already haha... (post-exam amnesia lol)
CM9103 - FOOD PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: B
Comments: Taught by Li Tianhu again (from CM9101), but content is more difficult this year because it's all new information. Format of testing is the same: 2 midterms, choosing the better grade (makes up 40% of final score). If you did well for the first midterm, you can choose not to attend the second :D For finals, it's an short answer fest. 3 questions, 1 for each topic. Be warned, each question has a lot of parts. For Question 3 (Food Additives), there are parts from a to p... Takes around 1h20min to complete writing your answers. Although it's not that easy to score (since content is easy + small class, bell-curve is relatively steeper?), the content learnt is pretty interesting and useful.
A little advice if you're considering doing internship in Sem 1 or Sem 2. Most people seem to want Sem 2 internship, which leaves more vacancies for Sem 1 internship + you get to graduate about a month earlier if you opt for Sem 1 internship (end in mid-May or earlier compared to mid-Jun if you do Sem 2 internship). The argument for Sem 2 internship is probably for those who don't want to go back to studying for a last semester and/or want to work immediately after internship and think that it is an advantage because your internship company probably remembers you better. Consider these points well!
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CM3031 - ORGANIC REACTIONS MECHANISMS AND SYNTHESIS (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: B+
Comments: Well, well, well. I don't think I'll do well for organic this sem, because I have been making careless mistakes during midterms even when I do know my stuff. Took me awhile to see the stereochem for Zhao Yanli's part (all the models), but I surprisingly enjoyed Tan Choon Hong's part (pericyclic reactions). I like the endo/exo for cycloaddition the most :D 2 midterms and finals, all open book + can bring molecular kit. Finals had a questions which stumped me, which did not make for a satisfying paper...
CM3061 - CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY 3 (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A-
Comments: Organic lab is taxing as always, especially with the new double experiments in 1 week and 2-week experiments. There's also a journal style report for 2 experiments. However, I feel that it is much less taxing than Year 2 organic lab, especially since we have a very nice Chief TA this sem (Anders). Finals were weird as they didn't really test experiment content like in the last 2 sems, but was more like the first lab paper. They tested chemical structures, one question on an experiment, some common glassware etc and calculations for dilution (which caught me by surprise).
HW0228 - SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION II (3 AU)
Type: GER-CORE
Grade: A-
Comments: I feel like I didn't learn anything new and useful in this module. After all, CBC lab modules have already taught us how to search literature using the school database, read journal articles and more. Assignments consist of an individual critique of the introduction of a journal article, a group report and presentation based on a study the group conducted over a few weeks. My tutor was Glenn Toh and he was very carefree. Lessons ended earlier (as he won't go through the slides in too much details) and he gave in-class time for discussion as well. His marking seemed to be lenient as well (?)
CM4011 - ADVANCED ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: MPE
Grade: A
Comments: Feels like I've only learnt half the content due to Pumera's part being mostly a rehash of CM2011 knowledge. And with Pumera having left NTU, I'm not sure what will happen to his part in the next year. For my sem, we were only tested on Webster's part (which may sound good because half the content, right? But Pumera's part is actually easier...) Surprise, surprise. My only A this semester.
CM4014 - NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY (3 AU)
Type: MPE
Grade: A-
Comments: A memory mod with graded clickers (but most lectures the clicker fails/doesn't work OTL). Good if you like remembering stuff. For midterms, refer to the sample past year paper on NTU Exam Papers site and it'll have a similar format. For finals, hmm there were some weird parts, but I don't remember much already haha... (post-exam amnesia lol)
CM9103 - FOOD PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: B
Comments: Taught by Li Tianhu again (from CM9101), but content is more difficult this year because it's all new information. Format of testing is the same: 2 midterms, choosing the better grade (makes up 40% of final score). If you did well for the first midterm, you can choose not to attend the second :D For finals, it's an short answer fest. 3 questions, 1 for each topic. Be warned, each question has a lot of parts. For Question 3 (Food Additives), there are parts from a to p... Takes around 1h20min to complete writing your answers. Although it's not that easy to score (since content is easy + small class, bell-curve is relatively steeper?), the content learnt is pretty interesting and useful.
Wednesday, 3 January 2018
Y3S1 Module Review
Finished another sem of uni, only 3 more sems left. Not exactly looking forward to it, as I prefer school > work. This sem has been another disappointing one in terms of results (my grades dropped again, but at least it was in the median of my predictions), but otherwise I felt that I've achieved a lot. I took on a part-time job during the sem (finally! I've been thinking of doing this for ages but haven't got to it), was really busy with CCA stuff and somehow still manage to keep up with the modules and assignments.
A bit of advice for my CBC juniors:
Don't take 4 cores (especially if you're taking either CM3041, and maybe CM3031) unless you can cope and allocate enough time to study. I didn't have enough time, so welp.
CM3041 isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be, as long as you have a good math foundation and spend time practicing. Again, I didn't do the practice part, welp. If you're smart enough, I guess you don't need much practice. But for the rest, be prepared to work hard.
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CM3011 - CHEMICAL SPECTROSCOPY AND APPLICATIONS (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade:B+
Comments: Taught by Prof Yoshikai and Prof Leung. Yoshikai's questions are known to be the 'killer' questions, but he is pretty generous with his mark scheme, so it is possible to do decently for the first midterm. Prof Leung's lectures were really funny and interesting, but he does spend quite a lot of time on analogies and other stuff, so you don't feel like you've covered a lot of content. Didn't do as well as I thought, as I got tricked for some questions and didn't complete a question (this usually doesn't happen to me). But with practice, and help from the SPMS club answers, you'll most likely be able to do better than me...
CM3021 - ORGANOMETALLIC CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade:B
Comments: Taught by Prof Soo and Prof Zhou. Han Sen's lectures were interesting, but his pace is a little too quick, so be prepared to have to rewatch lectures n times till you catch everything he's saying. For his part, there were weekly quizzes so it forces you to revise the topic every week. Not for busy people who want to cram lecture content before the major tests. There's also a group presentation for CM3021 in Sem 1, where pre-assigned groups have to do a 5 min presentation on a relevant journal article + answer questions, so if you want to avoid that, then don't take in Sem 1 :)
For Prof Zhou's part, well, I didn't catch what he was saying most of the time. His notes are also not that easy to understand and are lacking some things, so it was pretty confusing for me. Best to self study his part. It is very important to do well for his midterm though, as it has a higher percentage than Han Sen's midterm. And in case the finals were not kind to you (like they were to me), you won't do too badly. For the finals, Han Sen's part was pretty similar to his usual midterm format, and for Prof Zhou's part, he tested the same topics that came out for the midterm. Makes me wonder why we are learning all the other stuff if it isn't tested... As for my grade, I just passed the second midterm, and couldn't really do much of Prof Zhou's part, so that's why I got a B.
Edit: Have heard from my juniors that there are changes for this course in Sem 1. The presentation is no longer compulsory (instead, it awards bonus marks) and seems to be for presenting tutorial answers instead of a research paper. Please confirm with others and don't take my word for it.
CM3041 - PHYSICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: B
Comments:Both lecturers for Sem 1 (Prof Loh and Prof Edwin) are really good - they have a good understanding of the content and can teach pretty well. The only challenge is that the content is pretty hard to digest, so multiple revisions are needed. But once you see the light, then you won't think it's difficult anymore. Enough said here.
CM3062 - CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY LABORATORY 4 (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade:A
Comments: The only A to save my results this sem, haha... For physical lab, we manage to end early most of the time ~ the lab reports are harder, but still manageable. Lab finals seem to get tougher every sem ever since CM2061, so be prepared to study your lab manual carefully + remember how data collection is done etc. For people not taking CM3041 in Sem 1, they may find Experiment 2 hard to understand. In that case, make sure you ask your friends studying CM3041 about everything you're not sure of because it will definltely come out. As usual, they will ask questions related to every experiment. And this sem, our final exam had all MCQs, with some needing justification in order to earn the full credit. Not sure how mark allocation is done though.
LJ9004 - JAPANESE LANGUAGE LEVEL 4 (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: S
Comments: My tutor this semester was Saito Tsugumi. She's very funny and likes to tease certain students in class haha. Ugh, there are quizzes every lesson, except for a few breaks. Seems like there's a lot of content to study also. I felt like I couldn't catch up fully (and I didn't have much time to dedicate to studying it out of class). Oral test format was related to the comprehension topic (dreams during childhood + your current dreams). 6 minutes per person, and talk for as long as you can. Sensei will ask you questions. The comprehension questions in the written exam were a tad tricky. In the end, my written test results were below average, although listening was slightly above average. Guess my oral results and skit won't be good again this semester, so I clicked the S/U option immediately.
CM9101 - FOOD CHEMISTRY AND NUTRITION (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: S
Comments: The labs are more demanding than CM9102 labs. They take up almost all of the 3 hours (or longer), and usually you're stuck waiting for other groups to weigh stuff etc, because the size of the lab group is pretty large. Skill-wise, not that demanding but the lab reports certainly require more effort than just copying the notes. More googling and understanding needed. Seems that the lab and lecture contents are not closely related also, so more time is needed -.- Both midterms are ok and the instructor (Prof Li Tianhu) will take the better score. Finals was okay as well. 3 questions with many sub-parts (up to j for one?). Thought I could finish earlier, but spent 1h30min writing out my answers. Not hard though, just recall + thinking for some questions. In the end I decided to S/U as I predict that my results this sem will be bad (due to me not doing well in my core subjects this time)
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A bit of advice for my CBC juniors:
Don't take 4 cores (especially if you're taking either CM3041, and maybe CM3031) unless you can cope and allocate enough time to study. I didn't have enough time, so welp.
CM3041 isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be, as long as you have a good math foundation and spend time practicing. Again, I didn't do the practice part, welp. If you're smart enough, I guess you don't need much practice. But for the rest, be prepared to work hard.
--------------------
CM3011 - CHEMICAL SPECTROSCOPY AND APPLICATIONS (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade:B+
Comments: Taught by Prof Yoshikai and Prof Leung. Yoshikai's questions are known to be the 'killer' questions, but he is pretty generous with his mark scheme, so it is possible to do decently for the first midterm. Prof Leung's lectures were really funny and interesting, but he does spend quite a lot of time on analogies and other stuff, so you don't feel like you've covered a lot of content. Didn't do as well as I thought, as I got tricked for some questions and didn't complete a question (this usually doesn't happen to me). But with practice, and help from the SPMS club answers, you'll most likely be able to do better than me...
CM3021 - ORGANOMETALLIC CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade:B
Comments: Taught by Prof Soo and Prof Zhou. Han Sen's lectures were interesting, but his pace is a little too quick, so be prepared to have to rewatch lectures n times till you catch everything he's saying. For his part, there were weekly quizzes so it forces you to revise the topic every week. Not for busy people who want to cram lecture content before the major tests. There's also a group presentation for CM3021 in Sem 1, where pre-assigned groups have to do a 5 min presentation on a relevant journal article + answer questions, so if you want to avoid that, then don't take in Sem 1 :)
For Prof Zhou's part, well, I didn't catch what he was saying most of the time. His notes are also not that easy to understand and are lacking some things, so it was pretty confusing for me. Best to self study his part. It is very important to do well for his midterm though, as it has a higher percentage than Han Sen's midterm. And in case the finals were not kind to you (like they were to me), you won't do too badly. For the finals, Han Sen's part was pretty similar to his usual midterm format, and for Prof Zhou's part, he tested the same topics that came out for the midterm. Makes me wonder why we are learning all the other stuff if it isn't tested... As for my grade, I just passed the second midterm, and couldn't really do much of Prof Zhou's part, so that's why I got a B.
Edit: Have heard from my juniors that there are changes for this course in Sem 1. The presentation is no longer compulsory (instead, it awards bonus marks) and seems to be for presenting tutorial answers instead of a research paper. Please confirm with others and don't take my word for it.
CM3041 - PHYSICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: B
Comments:Both lecturers for Sem 1 (Prof Loh and Prof Edwin) are really good - they have a good understanding of the content and can teach pretty well. The only challenge is that the content is pretty hard to digest, so multiple revisions are needed. But once you see the light, then you won't think it's difficult anymore. Enough said here.
CM3062 - CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY LABORATORY 4 (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade:A
Comments: The only A to save my results this sem, haha... For physical lab, we manage to end early most of the time ~ the lab reports are harder, but still manageable. Lab finals seem to get tougher every sem ever since CM2061, so be prepared to study your lab manual carefully + remember how data collection is done etc. For people not taking CM3041 in Sem 1, they may find Experiment 2 hard to understand. In that case, make sure you ask your friends studying CM3041 about everything you're not sure of because it will definltely come out. As usual, they will ask questions related to every experiment. And this sem, our final exam had all MCQs, with some needing justification in order to earn the full credit. Not sure how mark allocation is done though.
LJ9004 - JAPANESE LANGUAGE LEVEL 4 (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: S
Comments: My tutor this semester was Saito Tsugumi. She's very funny and likes to tease certain students in class haha. Ugh, there are quizzes every lesson, except for a few breaks. Seems like there's a lot of content to study also. I felt like I couldn't catch up fully (and I didn't have much time to dedicate to studying it out of class). Oral test format was related to the comprehension topic (dreams during childhood + your current dreams). 6 minutes per person, and talk for as long as you can. Sensei will ask you questions. The comprehension questions in the written exam were a tad tricky. In the end, my written test results were below average, although listening was slightly above average. Guess my oral results and skit won't be good again this semester, so I clicked the S/U option immediately.
CM9101 - FOOD CHEMISTRY AND NUTRITION (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: S
Comments: The labs are more demanding than CM9102 labs. They take up almost all of the 3 hours (or longer), and usually you're stuck waiting for other groups to weigh stuff etc, because the size of the lab group is pretty large. Skill-wise, not that demanding but the lab reports certainly require more effort than just copying the notes. More googling and understanding needed. Seems that the lab and lecture contents are not closely related also, so more time is needed -.- Both midterms are ok and the instructor (Prof Li Tianhu) will take the better score. Finals was okay as well. 3 questions with many sub-parts (up to j for one?). Thought I could finish earlier, but spent 1h30min writing out my answers. Not hard though, just recall + thinking for some questions. In the end I decided to S/U as I predict that my results this sem will be bad (due to me not doing well in my core subjects this time)
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Monday, 29 May 2017
Y2S2 Module Review
This semester's results are the worst for me so far. Shall need to be more diligent in my studies ~
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CM2041 - PHYSICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A
Comments: This module mainly covers Kinetics and Thermodynamics, including the proofs (not just calculations like in CM1041). For thermodynamics, I feel that some parts overlap with PH1801, so if you didn't get it then, this may be harder to understand. It is also the first time the two lecturers (Prof Goto and Prof Lu) taught this mod. Prof Goto's part on kinetics was fairly easy to understand, while I needed more time to understand Prof Lu's explanations on thermodynamics. For midterm, the paper had equal focus on proving and calculations, so make sure you study the right things! (I didn't think that proving would be that important, so I was ill-prepared...) I don't know how I managed to get an A, think that many people didn't do well also? I remember feeling lost during midterm and the finals. After getting the paper, I just kept skipping so many questions...
CM2062 - CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY 2 (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A-
Comments: Weekly lab sessions (and most end early, yay!). Some experiments have pro-forma while others require you to write a full lab report. Finals had around 30 MCQs and short questions regarding the experiments and calculations. Think that I got an A- as I couldn't remember simple lab calculations and made some careless mistakes.
PS8001 - DEFENCE SCIENCE (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: P
Comments: Pass/fail module with lectures totally online. Midterms (40 MCQs, 2 tries) are online as well and have a flexible deadline (quite a generous period of time to complete it). Finals were okay, though they didn't seem to include topics already tested for the midterm.
HY0001 - ETHICS AND MORAL REASONING (1 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: P
Comments: Interesting module in my opinion. I learnt about Utilitarianism, Deontology, Virtue Ethics etc. For assignments, I needed to write a 300 word response to questions from one topic that I chose. Afterwards, a 100 word reflection on any student's response was required. When you are required to submit would be dependent on which group you are assigned to at the start. Workload is okay. I highly recommend finishing this as soon as possible.
HG8001 - LANGUAGE PUZZLE: THE STUDY OF HUMAN LANGUAGE (3 AU)
Type: GER-LA
Grade: A-
Comments: Fun and interesting module to take, with lots of videos and an engaging lecturer (Bee) for the first half of the semester. The more interesting content is in the first half; after recess week, it's more of the proper and boring linguistics content. You may find it easier if you know what kind of words are nouns, verbs etc (have basic grammar knowledge). You'll also learn about Singlish from a linguist's viewpoint, and some rules that Singlish has that we know, but can't really explain. I recommend you to take it if you have even a slight interest in it. From what the lecturer says, and the midterm results, many people scored quite well. There are two midterms, one near recess week and one around Week 13. You'll need to get some form of the course textbook if you're planning on getting an A, since quite a few questions are from the required readings. I couldn't remember what some hypothesis was, but apparently many people could, so I lost some marks there.
LJ9003 - JAPANESE LANGUAGE LEVEL 3 (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: A-
Comments: My tutor this time was Hiroko Fujita. In level 3 there is also a skit (which will be held in the last few weeks. The weeks before this would have script writing as an assignment), so the composition to be submitted would be pushed forward to before recess week. The oral format is slightly different from the last level as well. First, we talked for 1 minute about a topic in polite form (5 topics will be announced; you will randomly choose one card), then ask your partner 3 relevant questions. Describe 1-2 people, then ask your partner to identify a person based on some characteristics that you describe. Switch over, and then it's time for the final component - dialogue in plain form. The scenario will be given on a card. We had 30 seconds to plan (but cannot discuss with your partner). Think my A- is due to skit and oral (again -.-). My written and listening sections were quite well-done.
CM9102 - FOOD ANALYSIS AND SAFETY (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: B+
Comments: I took this module to see if I would want to take the concentration in food science. This whole module has pretty easy content and labs, but I tend not to do well for such modules as I'm pretty careless. I scored below average for midterm (really easy questions but I don't know where I made mistakes). Finals had more application questions. Data booklet with formulae are also provided for finals. For lab, the experiments are quite easy and can be finished before 3 hours, so you can go back early :D Lab reports are pretty easy to answer as well, since answers can be found in the notes.
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CM2041 - PHYSICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A
Comments: This module mainly covers Kinetics and Thermodynamics, including the proofs (not just calculations like in CM1041). For thermodynamics, I feel that some parts overlap with PH1801, so if you didn't get it then, this may be harder to understand. It is also the first time the two lecturers (Prof Goto and Prof Lu) taught this mod. Prof Goto's part on kinetics was fairly easy to understand, while I needed more time to understand Prof Lu's explanations on thermodynamics. For midterm, the paper had equal focus on proving and calculations, so make sure you study the right things! (I didn't think that proving would be that important, so I was ill-prepared...) I don't know how I managed to get an A, think that many people didn't do well also? I remember feeling lost during midterm and the finals. After getting the paper, I just kept skipping so many questions...
CM2062 - CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY 2 (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A-
Comments: Weekly lab sessions (and most end early, yay!). Some experiments have pro-forma while others require you to write a full lab report. Finals had around 30 MCQs and short questions regarding the experiments and calculations. Think that I got an A- as I couldn't remember simple lab calculations and made some careless mistakes.
PS8001 - DEFENCE SCIENCE (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: P
Comments: Pass/fail module with lectures totally online. Midterms (40 MCQs, 2 tries) are online as well and have a flexible deadline (quite a generous period of time to complete it). Finals were okay, though they didn't seem to include topics already tested for the midterm.
HY0001 - ETHICS AND MORAL REASONING (1 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: P
Comments: Interesting module in my opinion. I learnt about Utilitarianism, Deontology, Virtue Ethics etc. For assignments, I needed to write a 300 word response to questions from one topic that I chose. Afterwards, a 100 word reflection on any student's response was required. When you are required to submit would be dependent on which group you are assigned to at the start. Workload is okay. I highly recommend finishing this as soon as possible.
HG8001 - LANGUAGE PUZZLE: THE STUDY OF HUMAN LANGUAGE (3 AU)
Type: GER-LA
Grade: A-
Comments: Fun and interesting module to take, with lots of videos and an engaging lecturer (Bee) for the first half of the semester. The more interesting content is in the first half; after recess week, it's more of the proper and boring linguistics content. You may find it easier if you know what kind of words are nouns, verbs etc (have basic grammar knowledge). You'll also learn about Singlish from a linguist's viewpoint, and some rules that Singlish has that we know, but can't really explain. I recommend you to take it if you have even a slight interest in it. From what the lecturer says, and the midterm results, many people scored quite well. There are two midterms, one near recess week and one around Week 13. You'll need to get some form of the course textbook if you're planning on getting an A, since quite a few questions are from the required readings. I couldn't remember what some hypothesis was, but apparently many people could, so I lost some marks there.
LJ9003 - JAPANESE LANGUAGE LEVEL 3 (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: A-
Comments: My tutor this time was Hiroko Fujita. In level 3 there is also a skit (which will be held in the last few weeks. The weeks before this would have script writing as an assignment), so the composition to be submitted would be pushed forward to before recess week. The oral format is slightly different from the last level as well. First, we talked for 1 minute about a topic in polite form (5 topics will be announced; you will randomly choose one card), then ask your partner 3 relevant questions. Describe 1-2 people, then ask your partner to identify a person based on some characteristics that you describe. Switch over, and then it's time for the final component - dialogue in plain form. The scenario will be given on a card. We had 30 seconds to plan (but cannot discuss with your partner). Think my A- is due to skit and oral (again -.-). My written and listening sections were quite well-done.
CM9102 - FOOD ANALYSIS AND SAFETY (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: B+
Comments: I took this module to see if I would want to take the concentration in food science. This whole module has pretty easy content and labs, but I tend not to do well for such modules as I'm pretty careless. I scored below average for midterm (really easy questions but I don't know where I made mistakes). Finals had more application questions. Data booklet with formulae are also provided for finals. For lab, the experiments are quite easy and can be finished before 3 hours, so you can go back early :D Lab reports are pretty easy to answer as well, since answers can be found in the notes.
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Tuesday, 27 December 2016
Y2S1 Module Review
Today is the release of results, and I just thought to quickly review the modules I've taken before I forget.
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CM2011 - ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A-
Comments: There are two lecturers for this course, Prof Webster and Prof Pumera. I found Prof Webster to be easier to understand. Prof Pumera mumbles and is quite soft, so I don't really know what he's talking about sometimes (even though I sit around the 3rd or 4th row). Watching the recorded lecture helps though. He is clearer in the recording.
Easiest chem core module this semester in terms of the difficulty of content and questions asked. Looking at the past year papers, the same few types of calculation questions are always asked. The rest would just be to take note of small details that you may have missed. For Prof Pumera's midterm, he asked questions that needed you to memorise details, like the size and length of the column for Gas Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid Chromatography, which I didn't think would come out. And in the finals, for Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography, he tested to see if you remembered the critical micellar concentration of SDS, which I unfortunately did not remember. So do be sure to remember all details.
CM2021 - INORGANIC AND BIOINORGANIC CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A-
Comments: This was a pretty difficult module for me, in terms of understanding the content. I also had some difficulty visualising molecules in 3D - a skill that is needed when determining the symmetry elements and point group. Either use the molecular kit to visualise or try to draw in 2D.
CM2031 - ORGANIC AND BIOORGANIC CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade:A
Comments: Some reactions overlap with those in CM1031, but most are new. You'll learn retrosynthesis, which will help you when you propose the synthesis of molecules. The tutorials are very useful, and a few parts of tutorial questions were even repeated in the midterms.
There were two Profs teaching this module, Prof Yanli and Prof Bates. Prof Bates will sometimes send you comments about how the cohort fared when marking his midterm and his share of the finals.
CM2061 - CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY 1 (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A
Comments: 6 hour lab weekly and finals. Being in the Friday lab group, I've sometimes benefited from advice from the Thursday lab group. I spent a lot of time reading the experiment and trying to understand the steps before reaching the lab, because I'm afraid that I can't end on time.
For the finals, there was a short answer question (with many parts) based on an experiment procedure. It may not directly resemble the ones in the lab manual, but the same few techniques are used e.g. column chromatography, TLC etc. It also helps if you ask yourself why when looking at every step of the procedure so that you understand why you're doing it. It'll also help for the finals :) There was another section where you had to draw the structure of some common lab chemicals and reagents used in the experiments. There was another page also, but I forgot what was tested. Finally, there were 30 MCQs. The first 10 or so MCQs were related to the short answer question and the rest of the MCQs tested details in the lab manual.
ES8005 - ENVIRONMENTAL EARTH SYSTEMS SCIENCE (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: A
Comments: I took this module as I have taken H2 Geography. There is quite a lot of content to study, as per any Geography-related module, so don't take if you aren't prepared to remember a lot of things. There are 2 midterms and finals. The average for both midterms was about 31 and 33 out of 40. My midterm scores were 35 for both. There are some options to the questions that will make you go 'lol, seriously?', but there are also questions that test details that I don't remember reading before.
You'll need to have access to the recommended textbook, The Blue Planet - An Introduction to Environmental Earth Systems Science by Brian J. Skinner and Barbara W. Murck, but you can find an online pdf of the book, if you look hard enough. There are assigned readings every week, and the questions do test content that's in the textbook but not covered in the lectures, so do be sure to get hold of the textbook.
For the finals, it is 100 MCQs in 2 hours. There's plenty of time to finish the paper; most people left early. Many questions were repeated in the sample exam paper uploaded, so it isn't too difficult.
LJ9002 - JAPANESE LANGUAGE LEVEL 2 (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: A-
Comments: I remember basing my decision to take Japanese Level 2 based on the workload that I've had in Level 1. However, the workload for Level 2 is much much more that Level 1. There are either kanji or vocab quizzes every week, there is homework due every class, and there's a composition to be written as well. For the finals, you also have to write a composition. Two topics will be given beforehand so you can prepare. However, only one topic will come out. I've heard somewhere that the composition topic changes for different classes? Anyway I prepared both topics just to be sure.
The oral exam format is also a bit different. You'll still enter the room with another person, but each person needs to talk for a minute or so, then the other person will ask 3 questions. After that, the teacher will ask both people questions (they may be related to the topic or not). Then, it is the other person's turn to talk, and so on. 5 possible topics are given beforehand, and you'll be tested on 2 topics.
My tutor was Suhama Ayari, same as last semester. Apparently, from what I've heard, her classes are more engaging and entertaining. Some of my classmates went for make-up classes with other tutors and found the classes to be more quiet.
Was expecting to get an A as based on the written and listening scores (results for these two components will be emailed to you, so you can decide to S/U or not), my scores were much higher than the average. I think that my oral exam went well too. However, I don't think I put that much effort into my homework and composition exercise, so that could explain the grade I got. Remember to study and put in effort consistently and you'll do well.
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CM2011 - ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A-
Comments: There are two lecturers for this course, Prof Webster and Prof Pumera. I found Prof Webster to be easier to understand. Prof Pumera mumbles and is quite soft, so I don't really know what he's talking about sometimes (even though I sit around the 3rd or 4th row). Watching the recorded lecture helps though. He is clearer in the recording.
Easiest chem core module this semester in terms of the difficulty of content and questions asked. Looking at the past year papers, the same few types of calculation questions are always asked. The rest would just be to take note of small details that you may have missed. For Prof Pumera's midterm, he asked questions that needed you to memorise details, like the size and length of the column for Gas Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid Chromatography, which I didn't think would come out. And in the finals, for Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography, he tested to see if you remembered the critical micellar concentration of SDS, which I unfortunately did not remember. So do be sure to remember all details.
CM2021 - INORGANIC AND BIOINORGANIC CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A-
Comments: This was a pretty difficult module for me, in terms of understanding the content. I also had some difficulty visualising molecules in 3D - a skill that is needed when determining the symmetry elements and point group. Either use the molecular kit to visualise or try to draw in 2D.
CM2031 - ORGANIC AND BIOORGANIC CHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade:A
Comments: Some reactions overlap with those in CM1031, but most are new. You'll learn retrosynthesis, which will help you when you propose the synthesis of molecules. The tutorials are very useful, and a few parts of tutorial questions were even repeated in the midterms.
There were two Profs teaching this module, Prof Yanli and Prof Bates. Prof Bates will sometimes send you comments about how the cohort fared when marking his midterm and his share of the finals.
CM2061 - CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY 1 (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A
Comments: 6 hour lab weekly and finals. Being in the Friday lab group, I've sometimes benefited from advice from the Thursday lab group. I spent a lot of time reading the experiment and trying to understand the steps before reaching the lab, because I'm afraid that I can't end on time.
For the finals, there was a short answer question (with many parts) based on an experiment procedure. It may not directly resemble the ones in the lab manual, but the same few techniques are used e.g. column chromatography, TLC etc. It also helps if you ask yourself why when looking at every step of the procedure so that you understand why you're doing it. It'll also help for the finals :) There was another section where you had to draw the structure of some common lab chemicals and reagents used in the experiments. There was another page also, but I forgot what was tested. Finally, there were 30 MCQs. The first 10 or so MCQs were related to the short answer question and the rest of the MCQs tested details in the lab manual.
ES8005 - ENVIRONMENTAL EARTH SYSTEMS SCIENCE (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: A
Comments: I took this module as I have taken H2 Geography. There is quite a lot of content to study, as per any Geography-related module, so don't take if you aren't prepared to remember a lot of things. There are 2 midterms and finals. The average for both midterms was about 31 and 33 out of 40. My midterm scores were 35 for both. There are some options to the questions that will make you go 'lol, seriously?', but there are also questions that test details that I don't remember reading before.
You'll need to have access to the recommended textbook, The Blue Planet - An Introduction to Environmental Earth Systems Science by Brian J. Skinner and Barbara W. Murck, but you can find an online pdf of the book, if you look hard enough. There are assigned readings every week, and the questions do test content that's in the textbook but not covered in the lectures, so do be sure to get hold of the textbook.
For the finals, it is 100 MCQs in 2 hours. There's plenty of time to finish the paper; most people left early. Many questions were repeated in the sample exam paper uploaded, so it isn't too difficult.
LJ9002 - JAPANESE LANGUAGE LEVEL 2 (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: A-
Comments: I remember basing my decision to take Japanese Level 2 based on the workload that I've had in Level 1. However, the workload for Level 2 is much much more that Level 1. There are either kanji or vocab quizzes every week, there is homework due every class, and there's a composition to be written as well. For the finals, you also have to write a composition. Two topics will be given beforehand so you can prepare. However, only one topic will come out. I've heard somewhere that the composition topic changes for different classes? Anyway I prepared both topics just to be sure.
The oral exam format is also a bit different. You'll still enter the room with another person, but each person needs to talk for a minute or so, then the other person will ask 3 questions. After that, the teacher will ask both people questions (they may be related to the topic or not). Then, it is the other person's turn to talk, and so on. 5 possible topics are given beforehand, and you'll be tested on 2 topics.
My tutor was Suhama Ayari, same as last semester. Apparently, from what I've heard, her classes are more engaging and entertaining. Some of my classmates went for make-up classes with other tutors and found the classes to be more quiet.
Was expecting to get an A as based on the written and listening scores (results for these two components will be emailed to you, so you can decide to S/U or not), my scores were much higher than the average. I think that my oral exam went well too. However, I don't think I put that much effort into my homework and composition exercise, so that could explain the grade I got. Remember to study and put in effort consistently and you'll do well.
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Tuesday, 28 June 2016
Y1S2 Module Review
I have finished my second semester at NTU! Have already gotten used to university life. Time for some more module reviews~
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CM1041 - BASIC PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY WITH LABORATORY (4 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A
Comments: Most topics were covered in JC physical chem portion. There are some new equations and concepts to take note, but they are not hard. Taught by the friendly Sumod and physical chem expert Lee Soo-Ying.
CM1051 - BASIC BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: EX
Comments: I was exempted from this course as I passed the exemption test at the start of the first semester, however I have heard some things about the course. Firstly, the course has been revamped to focus more on biology instead of chemistry. Secondly, there are online lectures every week and a mass tutorial to clarify questions posted by students in the discussion board. As the first batch of students to take this revamped course, expect technical glitches (wrong answer being shown, inaccurate diagrams etc). What's worse is that notes are released after the lecture is over. Online lectures are released every 2 weeks, so notes for those topics will only be available after the two weeks are over. Better to make your own notes. On a happier note, finals are all MCQs, though there are also multiple-options MCQs so you must know the content well.
GC0001 - INTRO TO SUSTAINABILITY (1 AU)
Type: GER-CORE
Grade: P
Comments: Easy compulsory module. You can easily clear it within the first two weeks of the semester. Has 6 online modules with a 48h waiting period after the completion of the previous module's quiz, so you cannot rush to complete all modules at once or do it last minute. I found the content covered to be pretty interesting.
HW0138 - SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION I (2 AU)
Type: GER-CORE
Grade: A-
Comments: My first university course where I have to write an essay. I've been lucky to have an essay-less and presentation-less first semester, but I have to do it this semester. There are three assignments (Annotated Bibliography, Review Paper and Oral Presentation). The second assignment is done in pairs. Managed to get through the module even though I'm not good at presenting.
MH1801 - CALCULUS FOR THE SCIENCES II (3 AU)
Type: GER-CORE
Grade: A+
Comments: This math course is so much easier than MH1800. It doesn't cover as many topics as the previous course. The pace of lectures is also slower and lectures almost always end early (at least by half an hour). It mainly covers Differential Equations and Infinite Series. The lecturer (Conan) prefers to write out his lecture notes and use the projector instead of using powerpoint. Notes would be uploaded after lectures, but I find it more helpful to take down my own notes. It helps me keep focused and I don't have to deal with the large file size (he scans the lecture notes).
There is a graded assignment in the form of a group project or MATLAB. For the group project (around 5 people per group), we are expected to write about Differential Equations and its real-life applications. I didn't choose this option and done MATLAB instead. There are 3 graded activities for MATLAB, but you need to go through all the 12 activities to understand how to go about answering the 3 graded sections.
The midterm average was quite high because midterms were easy as long as you studied the content (which is not much). For finals I still found it okay as question formats were similar to PYPs.
BU8201 - BUSINESS FINANCE (3 AU)
Type: GER-BM
Grade: A
Comments: I took this module to clear my business GERPE. If you like calculations and can remember what AP/GP is, then this course is for you. If you like memorising, you may want to look at BU8301 instead. I did not find a need to purchase a financial calculator because my graphic calculator had a finance app. If you don't have a gc, then you may want to get one or a financial calculator.
I found the first few lectures hard to understand, but after constant reviewing, I managed to understand enough. There are seminars in place of tutorials, where you have to prepare tutorial questions beforehand and present them to the class. In the first class, you will be split into groups and randomly allocated one tutorial to present. Answers to computational questions are provided so that you know you are on the right track, but for other questions, you don't know if you are right until the teacher tells you so.
The midterms is done online at a computer lab. Each person is randomly allocated 10 questions from a huge question bank, so chances are that you won't get the same questions as your neighbours/friends. Questions are supposed to be easy (according to the lecturer). For the finals, I found them manageable and was quite confident of my answers.
LJ9001 - JAPANESE LANGUAGE LEVEL 1 (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: A
Comments: I chose to study Japanese as I love anime and Jap culture, and have been hearing the language for a long time. In terms of vocabulary, I didn't have to pick up as many new words because I already knew some basic words from shows. I had also self-learnt Hiragana and Katakana during the December holidays so that I wouldn't struggle so much at the start.
There are no finals. There are 4 quizzes and a writing exercise. In place of finals, there is an exam paper, listening comprehension and oral examination in Week 13. By a stroke of (good) luck, my Japanese teacher wasn't free on one day and decided to combine the exam, listening comprehension and oral examination into one day, one after the other. Did I mention that the listening comprehension is not repeated? If you missed it, good game. For the oral exam, our class was tested in pairs. At the start, the teacher asked us questions individually and we answered them. Afterwards, for the conversation part, we had to invite the other party to an event. If you are in the later batches, you can probably get to hear what your classmates were tested on.
MS800M - AN EXPLORATION OF SYMMETRY (3 AU)
Type: GER-STS (or UE depending on your choice)
Grade: P
Comments: This is an online course on Coursera spanning 8 weeks. It is pretty difficult, even though it doesn't appear that way. How many things are there to symmetry? Not a lot, right? Well, you are quite wrong.
It is important to keep to deadlines and remember to do peer marking, otherwise you could lose out on marks and fail. When I took this module, they had already adjusted it such that you need to do the Writing Exercise and get a decent grade to pass this module. I researched and saw that sometime back, some people didn't do the Writing Exercise and could still pass.
After the release of results (whether you passed or not), there were quite a lot of appeals, mainly for the Writing Exercise. You may want to check out some of the threads for stress relief :)
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CM1041 - BASIC PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY WITH LABORATORY (4 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A
Comments: Most topics were covered in JC physical chem portion. There are some new equations and concepts to take note, but they are not hard. Taught by the friendly Sumod and physical chem expert Lee Soo-Ying.
CM1051 - BASIC BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: EX
Comments: I was exempted from this course as I passed the exemption test at the start of the first semester, however I have heard some things about the course. Firstly, the course has been revamped to focus more on biology instead of chemistry. Secondly, there are online lectures every week and a mass tutorial to clarify questions posted by students in the discussion board. As the first batch of students to take this revamped course, expect technical glitches (wrong answer being shown, inaccurate diagrams etc). What's worse is that notes are released after the lecture is over. Online lectures are released every 2 weeks, so notes for those topics will only be available after the two weeks are over. Better to make your own notes. On a happier note, finals are all MCQs, though there are also multiple-options MCQs so you must know the content well.
GC0001 - INTRO TO SUSTAINABILITY (1 AU)
Type: GER-CORE
Grade: P
Comments: Easy compulsory module. You can easily clear it within the first two weeks of the semester. Has 6 online modules with a 48h waiting period after the completion of the previous module's quiz, so you cannot rush to complete all modules at once or do it last minute. I found the content covered to be pretty interesting.
HW0138 - SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION I (2 AU)
Type: GER-CORE
Grade: A-
Comments: My first university course where I have to write an essay. I've been lucky to have an essay-less and presentation-less first semester, but I have to do it this semester. There are three assignments (Annotated Bibliography, Review Paper and Oral Presentation). The second assignment is done in pairs. Managed to get through the module even though I'm not good at presenting.
MH1801 - CALCULUS FOR THE SCIENCES II (3 AU)
Type: GER-CORE
Grade: A+
Comments: This math course is so much easier than MH1800. It doesn't cover as many topics as the previous course. The pace of lectures is also slower and lectures almost always end early (at least by half an hour). It mainly covers Differential Equations and Infinite Series. The lecturer (Conan) prefers to write out his lecture notes and use the projector instead of using powerpoint. Notes would be uploaded after lectures, but I find it more helpful to take down my own notes. It helps me keep focused and I don't have to deal with the large file size (he scans the lecture notes).
There is a graded assignment in the form of a group project or MATLAB. For the group project (around 5 people per group), we are expected to write about Differential Equations and its real-life applications. I didn't choose this option and done MATLAB instead. There are 3 graded activities for MATLAB, but you need to go through all the 12 activities to understand how to go about answering the 3 graded sections.
The midterm average was quite high because midterms were easy as long as you studied the content (which is not much). For finals I still found it okay as question formats were similar to PYPs.
BU8201 - BUSINESS FINANCE (3 AU)
Type: GER-BM
Grade: A
Comments: I took this module to clear my business GERPE. If you like calculations and can remember what AP/GP is, then this course is for you. If you like memorising, you may want to look at BU8301 instead. I did not find a need to purchase a financial calculator because my graphic calculator had a finance app. If you don't have a gc, then you may want to get one or a financial calculator.
I found the first few lectures hard to understand, but after constant reviewing, I managed to understand enough. There are seminars in place of tutorials, where you have to prepare tutorial questions beforehand and present them to the class. In the first class, you will be split into groups and randomly allocated one tutorial to present. Answers to computational questions are provided so that you know you are on the right track, but for other questions, you don't know if you are right until the teacher tells you so.
The midterms is done online at a computer lab. Each person is randomly allocated 10 questions from a huge question bank, so chances are that you won't get the same questions as your neighbours/friends. Questions are supposed to be easy (according to the lecturer). For the finals, I found them manageable and was quite confident of my answers.
LJ9001 - JAPANESE LANGUAGE LEVEL 1 (3 AU)
Type: UE
Grade: A
Comments: I chose to study Japanese as I love anime and Jap culture, and have been hearing the language for a long time. In terms of vocabulary, I didn't have to pick up as many new words because I already knew some basic words from shows. I had also self-learnt Hiragana and Katakana during the December holidays so that I wouldn't struggle so much at the start.
There are no finals. There are 4 quizzes and a writing exercise. In place of finals, there is an exam paper, listening comprehension and oral examination in Week 13. By a stroke of (good) luck, my Japanese teacher wasn't free on one day and decided to combine the exam, listening comprehension and oral examination into one day, one after the other. Did I mention that the listening comprehension is not repeated? If you missed it, good game. For the oral exam, our class was tested in pairs. At the start, the teacher asked us questions individually and we answered them. Afterwards, for the conversation part, we had to invite the other party to an event. If you are in the later batches, you can probably get to hear what your classmates were tested on.
MS800M - AN EXPLORATION OF SYMMETRY (3 AU)
Type: GER-STS (or UE depending on your choice)
Grade: P
Comments: This is an online course on Coursera spanning 8 weeks. It is pretty difficult, even though it doesn't appear that way. How many things are there to symmetry? Not a lot, right? Well, you are quite wrong.
It is important to keep to deadlines and remember to do peer marking, otherwise you could lose out on marks and fail. When I took this module, they had already adjusted it such that you need to do the Writing Exercise and get a decent grade to pass this module. I researched and saw that sometime back, some people didn't do the Writing Exercise and could still pass.
After the release of results (whether you passed or not), there were quite a lot of appeals, mainly for the Writing Exercise. You may want to check out some of the threads for stress relief :)
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