Courses Will I be able to manage this course load?

[Zack K]

So this is what my course load is going to look like for my fall of second year as a physics major.

math 251= Calculus 3
phys 211= Intermediate mechanics
phys 201= just some weekly seminar that "expose students majoring in any Physics program to opportunities available with a physics degree " and it's a pass or fail class so I don't think there's any studying/homework or exam involved.
phys 255= Vibrations and waves
math 310= ODE's
phys 231= 2nd year fall physics lab

Do you guys think that this is a reasonable schedule? I assume that I will have no social life at all during this semester, but I'm ok with that. My goal is to get a "good grade"(in the A ranges) in all of these courses, and I'm not sure if this schedule will lead me to some nightmarish burnout. I have no electives at all and I can't really afford to not take any of these classes for the fall.

 

[phinds]

Will I be able to manage this course load?

I have no idea. Will you? I once took a heavier load than that and managed it just fine but a friend of mine took 1 hour less and had to drop a class. It's entirely up to you whether you can or not.

 

[Zack K]

I have no idea. Will you? I once took a heavier load than that and managed it just fine but a friend of mine took 1 hour less and had to drop a class. It's entirely up to you whether you can or not.

How many hours a week would you say you spent studying? I have a pretty good work ethic during the week(though I do tend to get a bit lazy during the weekends).

 

[phinds]

How many hours a week would you say you spent studying? I have a pretty good work ethic during the week(though I do tend to get a bit lazy during the weekends).

I don't recall any exact number, just that I had to cut back on my late night chat sessions w/ my friends and skip some of the Friday and Sat. night beer get-togethers. I already always studied on Sat and Sun afternoons so that was not problem but I did miss seeing as much of my friends.

 

[Orodruin]

How many hours a week would you say you spent studying? I have a pretty good work ethic during the week(though I do tend to get a bit lazy during the weekends).

You cannot base your estimate on how long others have spent studying. There are people who just show up to class and the information gets ingrained into their minds. There are others who struggle to keep up with the most basic of curricula even though they spend a significant amount of their time studying. It comes down to study effectiveness and personal affinity for the subject matter.

 

[gwnorth]

Looks like a pretty typical 2nd year physics time table to me but why are you doing Calc III and ODE in the same semester? Also isn't there a 200 level ODE course?

 

[Zack K]

why are you doing Calc III and ODE in the same semester?

I'm not entirely sure, but I guess it's because we did some ODE's in Calc 2 and they see fit that we start ODE's as well as Calc 3.

Also isn't there a 200 level ODE course?

No ours starts off at level 300 for some reason. My uni is weird in that there are some courses that are listed as a level x course, but are usually taken a year before. For example, our introductory linear algebra course is listed as a level 200 course, but it's usually meant to be taken in your first year.

 

[gwnorth]

Well just for comparison, Physics programs at universities in Ontario for 2nd year generally go:

1st Semester 18-21 hrs/wk
Electricity & Magnetism I (3x1hr lecture + 1x3hr lab every other week)
Modern Physics (3x1hr lecture)
Scientific Computing (2x1hr lecture + 2x1hr lab)
Calculus III (3x1hr lecture + 1x1hr tutorial)
Free Elective (usually 4 hrs)

2nd Semester 20-24 hrs/wk
Electricity & Magnetism II (3x1hr lecture + 1x3hr lab every other week)
Mechanics (3x1hr lecture)
Thermodynamics (3x1hr lecture + 1x3hr lab + 1x1hr tutorial every other week)
Ordinary Differential Equations (3x1hr lecture + 1x1hr tutorial)
Free Elective (usually 4 hours)

 

[NotGauss]

I’m taking a fairly intensive course load this fall as well; Calc II (4hrs), General Physics (4hrs), General Chem (4hrs), Linear Algebra (3hrs), and C++ Programming (3hrs); and have been getting opinions from others about if it is doable.

One piece of advise I’ve gotten repeatedly is to revise how I study. I’m currently reading Alcock’s How To Study For A Mathematics Degree, completed Polya’s How To Solve It last week and will be doing more research to effectively use my time once the semester begins.

Additionally, I’ve contacted all my professors and some have replied with list of material to review as well as list of things that just need to be memorized; such as trig formulas for Calc II and ion names and formulas for Chemistry.

I think the semester will be tough, but start making efficient use of your time now and know your withdrawal deadline if everything goes south.

Best of luck!

 

[Zack K]

I’m taking a fairly intensive course load this fall as well; Calc II (4hrs), General Physics (4hrs), General Chem (4hrs), Linear Algebra (3hrs), and C++ Programming (3hrs); and have been getting opinions from others about if it is doable.

One piece of advise I’ve gotten repeatedly is to revise how I study. I’m currently reading Alcock’s How To Study For A Mathematics Degree, completed Polya’s How To Solve It last week and will be doing more research to effectively use my time once the semester begins.

Additionally, I’ve contacted all my professors and some have replied with list of material to review as well as list of things that just need to be memorized; such as trig formulas for Calc II and ion names and formulas for Chemistry.

I think the semester will be tough, but start making efficient use of your time now and know your withdrawal deadline if everything goes south.

Best of luck!

Thanks for the reply, I'll definitely be sure to check those readings out. Good luck and welcome to Physics Forums!

 

[gwnorth]

Out of curiosity are you at SFU?

 

[MidgetDwarf]

I’m taking a fairly intensive course load this fall as well; Calc II (4hrs), General Physics (4hrs), General Chem (4hrs), Linear Algebra (3hrs), and C++ Programming (3hrs); and have been getting opinions from others about if it is doable.

One piece of advise I’ve gotten repeatedly is to revise how I study. I’m currently reading Alcock’s How To Study For A Mathematics Degree, completed Polya’s How To Solve It last week and will be doing more research to effectively use my time once the semester begins.

Additionally, I’ve contacted all my professors and some have replied with list of material to review as well as list of things that just need to be memorized; such as trig formulas for Calc II and ion names and formulas for Chemistry.

I think the semester will be tough, but start making efficient use of your time now and know your withdrawal deadline if everything goes south.

Best of luck!

you can actually derive all of the trig identities in less than 3 min...

 

[member 587159]

you can actually derive all of the trig identities in less than 3 min...

If you use something a lot, it's worth memorising. But I agree. Especially using properties of the complex exponential the formulas are very straightforward.

 

[MidgetDwarf]

If you use something a lot, it's worth memorising. But I agree. Especially using properties of the complex exponential the formulas are very straightforward.

true, but sometimes as we progress in our education, we may forget things that we once memorized. I am of the learn how to do something "from scratch" type. If you do it once, you can do it again,

 

[StatGuy2000]

Out of curiosity are you at SFU?

According to @Zack K 's previous posts, he is a university student in Canada, and the course descriptions do match SFU's physics and math department courses, so he probably is a student SFU.

Note: For those outside of Canada, SFU stands for Simon Fraser University in the province of British Columbia in Canada.