ODE's, Calc III, OrganicChem, PhysicsII in the same semester?

[QuarkCharmer]

This current semester I was enrolled in O-chem and had to drop it because Calc II, baby-linear algebra, Physics I, and another light course took much more time than I had anticipated. I am told that Calc III and DEQ are both easier than Calc II. I don't want to sign up for O-chem and drop it a second time, and it's just for a minor anyway.

Would this be doable? For reference, I spend about 30 hours a week dealing with Calc II homework/study, and 18 hours with physics I stuff, another 5 with LA. This does not include the time for the lectures, this is out of course homework, study, and whatnot.

 

[bromden]

Honestly, I think it really depends on how difficult your professor makes the course. In my course in ODEs, the homework was very difficult and time consuming, but the exams stressed the basics. Same thing with Calculus III. (Here I am assuming calc III is multivariable calculus.) I had friends at my university who had very different experiences. The best way to figure it out is to talk to older students who have taken these courses with the same instructors, if possible.

I think it is doable. Some semesters are harder than others. But you could always take summer courses to lighten your load.

 

[Chunkysalsa]

Should be about the same level, kinda depends a lot on professor. I enjoyed CalcII a lot and had a great professor so it wasnt very difficult for me. I took Calc III, ODE, Physics II, Statics and a light course all in one semester and it wasnt too bad. My physics II class was a lot less work than Physics I. ODE wasnt a lot of work either but I loved the class so it came easy. Calc III was very boring and had a lot of HW. Statics I didnt even bother showing up.

Its very doable but its hard to tell from our perspective, if you had trouble this semester I'd expect similar workloads the next one. OChem is generally a big time consumer.

 

[ahsanxr]

I took Calc III, ODE's, Physics II, Programming and a Writing class my second semester and it wasn't that tough. I'd say I spent an average of 20-25 hours per week on homework and studying that semester. But like the others have said, it really depends on your instructor. My ODE homework rarely ever took me more than 2-3 hours.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

How was your physics II course? I have physics I with masteringphysics online homework, and it takes ages to complete. Do the physics II topics differ from those in physics I in any significant way?

 

[Chunkysalsa]

In general Physics II is a bit harder, the concepts are not as intuitive as Physics I (obviously). The difficulty can range, my class really didnt use much calculus. The formulas were all presented in such a way but all the integrals almost always simplified completely. Unlike my junior level EE class on EM fields, there was little to no heavy vector calculus work.

Too me physics II was way easier simply because my physics I class went at breakneck speed with large amounts of HW given. Physics II was a lot calmer and my professor was much better. My physics I tests were simple multiple choice and straight up computational problems while physics II had more conceptual problems.

So what I'm trying to say is Physics II topics are more abstract (its easy to see projectiles, not so easy to see magnetic fields) but the difficulty is going to depend a lot on the professor. Just to be safe, I'd assume physics II is more difficult, the majority of people find this the case.

 

[Choppy]

I count only 4 courses. A standard courseload is 5, I'm not sure I completely understand what the concern is - assuming of course you have only a standard set of extra-curricular activities, one part-time job, and no children to take care of. You may want to double check that if you're not taking a full courseload that your university will still classify you as a full-time student.

 

[Chunkysalsa]

^I don't know about your university but at mine, full time is considered 12 credits. By my university's counts he would be taking 16 credits which is normal for a science major. (I'm assuming associated labs are being taken as well). Physics II, OChem, and Calculus are generally difficult with large amounts of HW. They usually serve as weed-out (naturally or on purpose) for engineers, chemists, bio, and physicists.

 

[sjb-2812]

Seems a very odd mix of subjects - what is your major? Maths or something?

 

[ahsanxr]

How was your physics II course? I have physics I with masteringphysics online homework, and it takes ages to complete. Do the physics II topics differ from those in physics I in any significant way?

Again, it depends on your professor. We had masteringphysics as well but I don't think it ever took me more than an hour. And the content of Physics II also varies from place to place. Some people do introductory E&M in it, some do Waves and Oscillations etc etc.

 

[clope023]

I count only 4 courses. A standard courseload is 5, I'm not sure I completely understand what the concern is...

Guess they do things differently in Canadia...

 

[USN2ENG]

I count only 4 courses. A standard courseload is 5, I'm not sure I completely understand what the concern is - assuming of course you have only a standard set of extra-curricular activities, one part-time job, and no children to take care of. You may want to double check that if you're not taking a full courseload that your university will still classify you as a full-time student.

5 of those classes per semester would be horrible..Thats 20 hours, on top of the recommended 3 hours per class you should spend outside on studying/homework, and you have yourself a nice 80 hour work week...no thanks, Ill stick with my 4 classes.