Y1S1 Module Review

Since I only started to do a module review after my first year ended, bear in mind that this is based on what I can remember. I didn't register for any additional courses for the first semester and only took the modules listed in the timetable.

A quick background about me: I came from JC, took H2 Biology, H2 Chemistry, H2 Mathematics and H2 Geography.


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CM1021 - BASIC INORGANIC CHEMISTRY WITH LABORATORY (4 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A+
Comments: I found this module to be quite easy. The first few topics are just a rehash of JC chem and it was a bit boring sitting through the lectures. The toughest bit of this module (for people who took JC chem) is probably Molecular Orbital Theory. If you do not have any chem background, rest assured that the lecturer (Sumod) is very understanding and explains even basic concepts thoroughly so that you can understand. There is another lecturer (Rei) teaching Bonding, Hybridisation and MO Theory. There are some overlaps in content between the two lecturers (which is intentional) but it can make lectures even more boring for people who have taken JC chem.

As for lab sessions (CM1021 and CM1031 labs alternate every week), I don't distinguish between the two modules' lab sessions so I shall just write a general post about lab work. Coming from a JC where we just do titration in J2 to prepare for practical exam, I don't have much experience and exposure in lab work. Luckily, the first experiment was titration, although they have much more sophisticated titration equipment than my JC. For the first year, we are paired with another student, so there's no need to panic if you are like me. However, you will still need to do the necessary preparations (taking LAMS quiz and reading up on the experiment procedure before lab).

There are two midterms and finals. Midterms by Sumod are all MCQ while midterms by Rei have some MCQ and some short-answer questions. They are manageable if you understand what you are studying; I managed to get full marks for both midterms. Finals were pretty easy too, without many hard questions.

CM1031 - BASIC ORGANIC CHEMISTRY WITH LABORATORY (4 AU)

Type: CORE
Grade: A
Comments: I love organic chem, so this module was fun for me. There were many new things I learnt, so even people who take JC chem need to properly watch the lectures. Besides learning about the different functional groups, Structure & Bonding and Acids & Bases are also covered. There is new content in almost every chapter (if I'm not wrong) so you need to pay attention to every chapter.

I don't remember much about the midterm, but I think it was all MCQ. The finals had its mix of challenging and standard questions. I was quite well-prepared for this exam, having done many PYPs and compiled reactions for each functional group together. I like how organic chem questions can be easy or hard. I especially love deductive questions. Sorry, that was not very helpful :D

CM8002 - FORENSIC SCIENCE (3 AU)
Type: GER-STS
Grade: B
Comments: This course consists of two parts. One part (before teaching week) consists of online lectures and assignments on Coursera which are not counted towards the final grade. However, it provides the content tested for finals and the case studies are good practice. After teaching week, people from various organisations (usually people from the Forensic Science division in HSA) talk about a particular section in forensics (e.g. DNA, handwriting etc) and sometimes share recent cases. These lectures are not recorded but are interesting, so it would be good to attend. Some information is even tested in the finals.

Midterms consist of all MCQ. Questions are projected on the screen and you are given around one minute to answer each question. In case you missed a question / to allow you to check, questions are repeated once. Remember to study your lecture notes properly! For the finals, there are MCQs and a case study. You have to read the case scenario and provide a logical explanation for the questions. One reason why I didn't do well for this paper was because I didn't really understand the scenario and couldn't think of logical explanations at that time. As for the MCQs, besides lecture content, sometimes current cases are tested as well, so you would do well to read the articles posted in NTUlearn and do some extra reading on your own.

MH1800 - CALCULUS FOR THE SCIENCES I (3 AU)
Type: CORE
Grade: A-
Comments: I have heard from my poly classmates that they find it challenging, maybe because they have not touched Mathematics for a long time. I find things a bit easier, since I have learnt some things before and know how to use (and own) a graphic calculator. This year (AY15/16), the lectures are posted online, with the lecture time slot being reserved for 5 clicker questions. Hence, we are expected to watch and understand the content before the lecture time slot, which I remember to be on a Monday. There is also quite a fair bit of content every week, so if you are not consistent with watching the lectures, it may be easy to fall behind. There's also a 1h tutorial, but I think it's too short given the amount and difficulty of questions. I'm lucky that I had a kind tutor who took it upon himself to extend the tutorial by 1h for anyone who wanted more help with Mathematics. There's optional Lab sessions for people who want to learn MATLAB. I tried a few exercises but stopped when it began to get difficult.

I cannot remember anything about midterms (or if there even is one). As for finals, I did the PYPs and found it manageable.

ML0001 - ABSOLUTE BASICS FOR CAREER (1 AU)
Type: GER-CORE
Grade: P
Comments: This is a compulsory online module. Not much to say about it except to keep to the deadlines and don't leave things to the last minute.

PH1801 - FOUNDATIONS OF PHYSICS I (3 AU) 
Type: CORE
Grade: P
Comments: This is a pass/fail course for undergraduates, so there's not much to worry about even if you dislike Physics. There were 2 lecturers for this course, Dr Zhang Baile and Assoc Prof Phan Anh Tuan. Dr Zhang taught the first part of the course on Mechanics and there were always real-life demonstrations of physics experiments in lecture. It helped to keep me engaged even though I usually feel sleepy upon looking at anything with Physics. Prof Phan taught the second part on Thermodynamics and I found him less interesting than Dr Zhang. Sorry!

There was an all-MCQ midterm and finals with a mix of MCQ and structured questions. Interestingly, we could vote for how hard we wanted our midterms to be and the format for finals. Naturally, everyone wanted the easy option :D For the finals, even though the open-ended questions were more challenging, there were enough easy questions in the MCQs to allow students to pass easily.
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