Course Schedule Fall 05: Double Majoring Advice

[Nusc]

Fall 05
Introduction to Computer Science
Real Analysis I
Linear Algebra
E&M
Classical Mechanics I

Is that suicide or should I drop CPSC and take it later? I'm going to be slightly behind if I decide to do a double major and I would try to refrain myself from postponing courses.

Thanks

 

[leright]

doesn't look bad at all.

I am taking the following in the fall:
analytical mechanics
chemical physics
contemporary physics
contemporary lab
adv. eng. math (sorta like a mathematical physics class)
prob and stats

 

[quasar987]

For my first semester in uni, I had

Real Analysis I
Linear Algebra
Classical Mechanics I
Calculus I

I mastered all these subjects to a higher degree than my friends but that left me with absolutely no free time. And I spent 0 hours on calculus per week on average.

Personally, I couldn't not have done well in all these classes if I had taken E&M on top of that. As for your computer thing, I don't know what it is, but that would just be too much.

But that's just me.

 

[Brad Barker]

my guess is somewhere between "not bad at all" and "suicide."

will lin alg and real analysis be your first proof-oriented math courses?

 

[Brad Barker]

For my first semester in uni, I had

Real Analysis I
Linear Algebra
Classical Mechanics I
Calculus I

I mastered all these subjects to a higher degree than my friends but that left me with absolutely no free time. And I spent 0 hours on calculus per week on average.

Personally, I couldn't not have done well in all these classes if I had taken E&M on top of that. As for your computer thing, I don't know what it is, but that would just be too much.

But that's just me.

whoah, huh. what's real analysis, if it doesn't require calc as a prereq?

 

[leright]

I can't believe they make you take linear alg your first semester...it is a 3rd year physics major course here...
and diffEQ is a pre-req.

Also, wtf is real analysis? Complex analysis is required by math majors here, but not "real analysis"

 

[Brad Barker]

I can't believe they make you take linear alg your first semester...it is a 3rd year physics major course here...
and diffEQ is a pre-req.

Also, wtf is real analysis? Complex analysis is required by math majors here, but not "real analysis"

fwiw, harvey mudd requires an introductory linear algebra course along with the first semester calc class (which is like the second semester calc class in other schools). and to top it all off, they're both only one credit hour!

 

[leright]

fwiw, harvey mudd requires an introductory linear algebra course along with the first semester calc class (which is like the second semester calc class in other schools). and to top it all off, they're both only one credit hour!

Sounds like a good way to teach.

I'll take a conventional curriculum over that any day.

 

[Nusc]

my guess is somewhere between "not bad at all" and "suicide."

will lin alg and real analysis be your first proof-oriented math courses?

Yes

My classical mechanics course is the second year one, don't confuse it with first year general mechanics.

Real Analysis is not required by physics majors but I wish to take upper division math courses.

As for linear algebra, some institutions do it in one semester first year, but the one I'm taking is a second half which is carefully done with proofs.

I've never taken CPSC before and programming will take much of my time.
I most likely will be postponing it but I don't want to! I just want to get it out of the way!

If we could import all human knowledge into our brains like the Matrix, there would be no need for this hassle.

 

[quasar987]

fwiw, harvey mudd requires an introductory linear algebra course along with the first semester calc class (which is like the second semester calc class in other schools). and to top it all off, they're both only one credit hour!

Here in Quebec, after high school and before university, we have a thing called CEGEP. It lasts 2 years. This is where we take a first linear algebra course and 3 calculus classes. Then in uni, we literally redo Calculus 3, which is called Calculus I. This is why I could afford to spend 0 hours on it. The Linear Algebra course at a university level covers more material but it's not much more difficult.


leright: Real Analysis is THE hard course for new uni students. It really bit.ch-slap you across the face when you don't know what to expect. It's the study of sequences, limits, continuity, series etc. according to the epsilon-delta formulation.

 

[Nusc]

Real Analysis is THE hard course for new uni students. It really bit.ch-slap you across the face when you don't know what to expect. It's the study of sequences, limits, continuity, series etc. according to the epsilon-delta formulation.

Then I am certain to take 4 courses.

 

[Brad Barker]

Then I am certain to take 4 courses.

yeah, i think that'll make it more managable.

did you get the first year courses out of the way with ap physics c?

 

[ObHassell]

mine's way impressive:

College Algebra
Writing 101
Intro to Gen Chemistry
Humanity
Arts

lol...I'mma loser...totally slacked off in HS...plus my teachers weren't supportive at all...had no goals...wanted to join the military...

stay in school kids!

 

[Flat]

Strong bump!

 

[KelCatrell]

ha, this thread was four years old... i wonder if the OP graduated yet

 

[Flat]

Well I have a similar question, so rather than start a new thread, I will hijack this four year old one :p

Next Fall quarter I am thinking about taking:

Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations
Dynamics of Particles and Waves I (second year physics)
Introduction to Nuclear Science and Engineering
Radiological Safety
Introductory Linear Algebra

The problem is, is that all of these classes besides the first two are 3 credit hours (quarters) so it adds up to only 17 credit hours. The two NE courses are grad level and this will be the first time I have taken grad level courses. I am thinking about pushing back linnear algebra, but it only means that winter would have a crazy schedule as opposed to fall. Is this doable? or should I try to keep tweeking my schedule?

(there are a few interesting math and NE courses I would like to take later on, but in order to do that I will have to take two NE and two MATH courses for a few quarters).

 

[Bourbaki1123]

I thought real analysis went about things from a point set topology point of view eliminating the epsilon-delta formulation? I've only read the first couple of chapters in Rudin though, so I haven't started into the analysis part of the material. I don't see how it could deal with the epsilon-delta formulation unless the whole thing was restated more accurately in terms of a defined topology, which I was pretty sure was going to be the case, in which case saying that the course deals with the epsilon delta formulation is a little misleading.

 

[khemix]

Fall 05
Introduction to Computer Science
Real Analysis I
Linear Algebra
E&M
Classical Mechanics I

Is that suicide or should I drop CPSC and take it later? I'm going to be slightly behind if I decide to do a double major and I would try to refrain myself from postponing courses.

Thanks

I would not recommend real analysis without having done linear algebra, unless you have experience with proofs. Especially if this is third year real analysis, not first. That course is a slaughter house. I think I spent more time on it than all my courses combined and still got only a C.

 

[owlpride]

I thought real analysis went about things from a point set topology point of view eliminating the epsilon-delta formulation? I've only read the first couple of chapters in Rudin though, so I haven't started into the analysis part of the material. I don't see how it could deal with the epsilon-delta formulation unless the whole thing was restated more accurately in terms of a defined topology, which I was pretty sure was going to be the case, in which case saying that the course deals with the epsilon delta formulation is a little misleading.

Real Analysis is all about deltas and epsilons. Point-set topology is more general but also a lot less powerful. In point-set topology, you typically do not assume that you are in a metric space - there's just no measure of distance and hence no epsilons and deltas. Real Analysis happens in Euclidean space, where we do have a very well-defined notion of distance. The standard topology on R^n is the open epsilon-ball topology: a set is open iff around every point in the set, there exists a small epsilon-ball which is entirely contained in the set. In this setting, theorems from point-set topology can be stated and proved entirely in terms of deltas and epsilons. This explicit description gives us a lot more tools to develop a theory with stronger results. For example, in a general topological space, you can talk about a function being continuous and a sequence of functions converging but that's about it. In Euclidean space, we can talk about functions being differentiable or integrable, we can talk about different rates of convergence (pointwise vs uniform) and we can play all sorts of other fun games that depend on a notion of distance or area or angle.

The first few weeks of an analysis course feel like a special case of point-set topology. Once you get deeper into the subject, it becomes very clear that analysis and topology are not quite the same...

--------

And just for the record, this thread is 4 years old.

 

[khemix]

owlpride, i think you just became my favorite poster on pf.