I know this sounds stupid, but what equipment do you need for uni? (1 Viewer)

D94

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I'll speak to the lecturers and tutors first week about PHYS.

Though why is the MATH textbook not worth it?

Is it because the exams are based on the course pack, or the course pack is just pointing out the important stuff of the textbook (where 50% of the textbook is not relevant to the MATH course) or what?

Many people have said its not worth buying the textbook for MATH but have never really explained why.
It is because the course pack is sufficient, and buying the textbook doesn't add value to your understanding in engineering maths.

The course pack has notes, tutorial questions and past papers. The final exam is closely related to the questions in the tutorial problems.

The textbook goes beyond the necessary content for engineering maths, since it is actually designed for mathematics majors.
 

anomalousdecay

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It is because the course pack is sufficient, and buying the textbook doesn't add value to your understanding in engineering maths.

The course pack has notes, tutorial questions and past papers. The final exam is closely related to the questions in the tutorial problems.

The textbook goes beyond the necessary content for engineering maths, since it is actually designed for mathematics majors.
Ah I see.

So then in that case I'll probably only invest in the PHYS and ELEC ones for now (I'll still ask around to make sure though).

Btw, there was a link you gave me back a few months ago in another thread. Where was that actually from? (You can pm me if you need to about this).
 
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andybandy

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Ah I see.

So then in that case I'll probably only invest in the PHYS and ELEC ones for now (I'll still ask around to make sure though).

Btw, there was a link you gave me back a few months ago in another thread. Where was that actually from? (You can pm me if you need to about this).
When you say the ELEC ones, do you mean electives? or electrical ?
 

andybandy

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Yeah, mainly music, but say if you want to watch a video tutorial or something on the library computers, then as a courtesy, please use ear/headphones.

Most likely. The approved list is here: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/academiclife/assessment/examinations/Calculator.html You will have to get a UNSW approved sticker put on it - you can get that at most, if not all, faculty student centres (the Engineering Student Centre has been relocated to Level 4 in the Elec Eng building), and as well as the Physics lab.
A yeah I see, thanks for that little tip.

My calculator was on the list, thankyou again!
 

Shadowdude

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It is because the course pack is sufficient, and buying the textbook doesn't add value to your understanding in engineering maths.

The course pack has notes, tutorial questions and past papers. The final exam is closely related to the questions in the tutorial problems.

The textbook goes beyond the necessary content for engineering maths, since it is actually designed for mathematics majors.
and what a beautiful read it is too
 

ifrit112

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You'll be surprised at how comprehensive some lecture notes and supplementary materials are!

Also, text books tend to be more theoretical. Which means it may not necessarily help you a lot for practical/workshop type courses.

That said, if you have a strong interest in a subject the textbooks are definitely worth checking out. They really broaden your knowledge and as Shadowdude said, is a beauty to read.
 

andybandy

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Sorry to bother use again, but where do I get the course pack for maths?
 

anomalousdecay

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Got the lecture notes today for MATH1141 on moodle.

They are like 300 pages long......

If we buy the course pack, will they print out the 300 pages in binder form for us or what?

Sorry to bother use again, but where do I get the course pack for maths?
Where do we get course packs in general?

Do we get them at the UNSW bookshop or the faculty?
 

D94

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Sorry to bother use again, but where do I get the course pack for maths?
At the UNSW Bookshop located near the Quad Food Court, and next to the ASB (well it's kind of attached to it).
 

D94

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Got the lecture notes today for MATH1141 on moodle.

They are like 300 pages long......

If we buy the course pack, will they print out the 300 pages in binder form for us or what?
Assuming nothing has changed since I did MATH1141, the lecture notes were not included. However, there were detailed notes/explanations included (which, really, the lecture notes just followed off) - kind of like a textbook where there's the explanation, then the questions.
 

anomalousdecay

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Assuming nothing has changed since I did MATH1141, the lecture notes were not included. However, there were detailed notes/explanations included (which, really, the lecture notes just followed off) - kind of like a textbook where there's the explanation, then the questions.
Because 300 pages of printing is a lot and I might not even need them if I use the course pack.

I was thinking of maybe just looking at the lecturers slides, and look for the corresponding part in the detailed notes, then right down and do a few questions in my workbook.

I'll see in first week though how necessary it is to print them out.
 

D94

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Because 300 pages of printing is a lot and I might not even need them if I use the course pack.

I was thinking of maybe just looking at the lecturers slides, and look for the corresponding part in the detailed notes, then right down and do a few questions in my workbook.

I'll see in first week though how necessary it is to print them out.
Yeah, it's definitely way too much. I recall students printing 4-6 slides to a side, then double sided, to save money so I guess that is a possibility. Personally, I didn't really annotate my print outs, but rather, if there was a need, I just wrote it in my work book.
 

anomalousdecay

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Yeah, it's definitely way too much. I recall students printing 4-6 slides to a side, then double sided, to save money so I guess that is a possibility. Personally, I didn't really annotate my print outs, but rather, if there was a need, I just wrote it in my work book.
Yeah that's what I'll plan to do.

Can't learn math properly unless I'm writing stuff out. Reading math is not really that helpful to me.
 

MiseryParade

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Got the lecture notes today for MATH1141 on moodle.

They are like 300 pages long......

If we buy the course pack, will they print out the 300 pages in binder form for us or what?



Where do we get course packs in general?

Do we get them at the UNSW bookshop or the faculty?
Were the 300 page long lecture notes from Schief? + If I'm attending Doust's lectures, I don't have to worry about Schief's monstrosity of maths notes, right...? D:

Has anyone worked out a viable system for organising maths notes yet? I was planning to print out the lecture notes beforehand, bring it to class and annotate it if I must, and look at the course notes that were included in the course pack if necessary. Is there a better method?
 

anomalousdecay

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Were the 300 page long lecture notes from Schief? + If I'm attending Doust's lectures, I don't have to worry about Schief's monstrosity of maths notes, right...? D:

Has anyone worked out a viable system for organising maths notes yet? I was planning to print out the lecture notes beforehand, bring it to class and annotate it if I must, and look at the course notes that were included in the course pack if necessary. Is there a better method?
I got both sets.

If you look closely they are the exact same notes. However one set of notes is only for the first chapter (I think 20 pages) and the other set is for the whole course or something (300 pages).

So either way I think you will have to deal with a monstrosity of notes.

IDK but I'm going to use the course notes and probably not bother printing out the lecture notes unless I find it necessary in the first one or two weeks.
 

D94

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You can still use Schief's note - use any you can find, they are all good resources. Sure Doust will go by his slides/notes, but you can always use Schief's notes for more examples or different explanations etc. But above that, the lecture notes follow closely to the notes in the course pack.

I've seen many different methods including:
  • Printing out individual slides, then annotating them
  • Printing out 4-6 to a slide and double sided, then annotating them
  • Having them on a tablet, then annotating on the tablet
  • Having them on a tablet, but writing notes in a workbook
  • Having them on a tablet, but no writing
  • Only using the course notes, and annotating them
  • No lecture notes at all, but writing note in a workbook
  • No lecture notes, no writing, just absorbing information
  • No lecture notes, no writing...sleeping in the lecture

As a word of warning, Schief goes fast in his examples. He doesn't really wait and he has his examples on overhead projector sheets, so you won't find his worked examples anywhere else, not even on Moodle/Blackboard. So pay attention or write quickly.
 

anomalousdecay

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Come to think of it having 6 slides on each page and double paging them will mean you only need about 30 pages max. for the lecture notes.

Might be a good idea if I find it difficult to keep up with Schief in writing in a workbook.
 

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