Maths and Sciences (1 Viewer)

[Lainee]

What's maths at uni like?

I'm considering Science (Psychology)/Law but to qualify for BSc I need to do 12cp of Maths and Statistics. For HSC I did Maths Ext1 (95) and Maths Ext2 (89) but Maths isn't an area that I'm particularly skilled or interested in. I did find that maths classes in high school were a relief after studying mostly humanities subjects because there was a fair amount of 'practice' involved (doing lots and lots of sometimes mindless questions) rather than hard-core thinking (some maths fanatics may disagree). That's probably why I found that there was a huge leap between Ext1 and Ext2.

How does uni maths compare with high school maths? And is there substantial difference between Normal maths units and Life Sciences maths?

I didn't do any HSC sciences, and the program requires 12cp Junior science electives, 16cp Intermediate and 4cp in 3rd year. Are there any science units which do not have any assumed knowledge of HSC sciences? And will it be difficult for me to persist through a science degree without any real experience or passion for it?

Why do I want a science degree? Because I want to do Psychology with law. It seems like a not too overly popular combination and a psychology degree could go well with law. I can't study psychology under any other degree (not Arts because I can only have one major and that must be from the arts faculty). I don't have any other choice but to do a science degree if I want to do psychology. It's just the small matter of maths and sciences that I'm worrying about.

 

[acmilan]

How does uni maths compare with high school maths? And is there substantial difference between Normal maths units and Life Sciences maths?

Uni maths is definitely harder and more advanced. There is substantial difference between Normal maths units and Life Sciences maths, Life sciences is more for people not very strong at maths and only do it just to satisfy the requirements of the degree.

Are there any science units which do not have any assumed knowledge of HSC sciences? And will it be difficult for me to persist through a science degree without any real experience or passion for it?

Not much unit dont have assumed knowledge, i think in Physics the only one is Astronomy in the first year. Most likely you will have to do bridging courses. Some biology subjects dont have assumed knowledge but a bridging course is recommended. Also if you persist with physics subjects in further years you will probably have to do atleast normal maths units of study.

 

[Super Pig]

1st year geography/geology does not require any previous knowledge. Either does one chemistry course and one physics course (apart from astronomy) in semester 1 of 1st year. The phy/chem courses in semester 2 will follow the ones in sem 1, so you should have no trouble carrying on if you want to. 1st year computational science (offered by physics and involves some elementary programming) does not have assumed knowledge in any science apart from 2u maths.

If I remember correctly a psychology major requires 32cp in 3rd year rather than the usual 24cp. So that should lower the other 2nd/3rd year science units to 12 cp. And you can always do more than 32cp of psychology in 3rd year (if you desire) to lower that number further. Note that you'll need 12cp in a science subject area (bio or whatever) in 1st year in order to get into 2nd year courses. Computational science is the only exception on top of my head.

Have a look at the faculty handbook at http://www.science.usyd.edu.au/about/handbook.html

EDIT: some courses at 2nd year level do not have any assumed knowledge on previous studies. e.g. history and philosophy of science.

 

[Lainee]

Uni maths is definitely harder and more advanced. There is substantial difference between Normal maths units and Life Sciences maths, Life sciences is more for people not very strong at maths and only do it just to satisfy the requirements of the degree.

In your experience do you think my standard of achievement (95 and 89) would indicate whether I could cope with Normal maths units? Or is that too hard to say?

1st year geography/geology does not require any previous knowledge. Either does one chemistry course and one physics course (apart from astronomy) in semester 1 of 1st year. The phy/chem courses in semester 2 will follow the ones in sem 1, so you should have no trouble carrying on if you want to. 1st year computational science (offered by physics and involves some elementary programming) does not have assumed knowledge in any science apart from 2u maths.

Thanks for this list! I'll look up the courses to see if they interest me. I'm having second thoughts about pursuing a science degree though - I don't particularly mind sciences, but because I've never had any real experience of them I don't really know how well they'll suit me. UNSW's Science(Psychology) seems much simpler by comparison (no compulsory maths units and I can choose Philosophy courses as science electives) but I've got my heart set on USyd Law.

If I remember correctly a psychology major requires 32cp in 3rd year rather than the usual 24cp. So that should lower the other 2nd/3rd year science units to 12 cp. And you can always do more than 32cp of psychology in 3rd year (if you desire) to lower that number further. Note that you'll need 12cp in a science subject area (bio or whatever) in 1st year in order to get into 2nd year courses. Computational science is the only exception on top of my head.

Did you get these cp requirements from a straight Science(Psychology) degree or combined with law? I based my original requirements on the sample combined program that was in the handbook (but then again, it -is- called a sample program). I'm not sure what you mean when you say it lowers 2nd/3rd year science units to 12cp?

 

[withoutaface]

What's maths at uni like?

I'm considering Science (Psychology)/Law but to qualify for BSc I need to do 12cp of Maths and Statistics. For HSC I did Maths Ext1 (95) and Maths Ext2 (89) but Maths isn't an area that I'm particularly skilled or interested in.

With marks like that I would have to disagree...

 

[Super Pig]

95 and 89 in 3u and 4u maths should be more than enough to indicate your capability to handle normal maths courses. With some effort you could even excel in advanced maths Work consistently throughout the year and you'll be fine.

I just had a look at the handbook, the BSc/LLB degree requires 96cp of science units, including 36cp of 1st year courses and 60cp of 2nd/3rd year courses. Now I think the psychology major requires the same amount of workload regardless of which degree you are doing (someone correct me if that's wrong). So that alone will take at least 12 + 16 + 32 = 60 science cp, leaving 36cp. Then there are 12cp of maths and 12cp of other science units in 1st year, hence you'll only have to do 12cp of science in 2nd/3rd year. Hope that make sense.

You may wanna ask the uni ppl during the open day on Wednesday. They are the authority on all these after all. Good luck.

 

[Lainee]

With marks like that I would have to disagree...

3U maths was mostly because I didn't mind doing a billion practice papers, but my lack of talent shows up in 4U which actually required mathematical problem solving (REAL maths!) rather than just being familiar with types of questions asked. I find it hard to wrap my mind around mathematical concepts but I could do questions that require me to apply that knowledge directly but not manipulate it to suit an unfamiliar question. That's what I really wanted to know about uni maths - if it's anything like 4U maths I may have some trouble with it.

I just had a look at the handbook, the BSc/LLB degree requires 96cp of science units, including 36cp of 1st year courses and 60cp of 2nd/3rd year courses. Now I think the psychology major requires the same amount of workload regardless of which degree you are doing (someone correct me if that's wrong). So that alone will take at least 12 + 16 + 32 = 60 science cp, leaving 36cp. Then there are 12cp of maths and 12cp of other science units in 1st year, hence you'll only have to do 12cp of science in 2nd/3rd year. Hope that make sense.

You may wanna ask the uni ppl during the open day on Wednesday. They are the authority on all these after all. Good luck.

I did look through the Science handbook, but I found it a bit hard to grasp the whole structure of the program (I'm still having a hard time comprehending the credit points system). So I mostly focused on the sample program (in the table at the bottom of pg17) and filled in the blanks. If you could please have a look for me... from there it indicates 12cp of junior science electives (that is, other than psychology courses), 16cp intermediate electives and 4cp of "Science elective" in 3rd year (which I presume to be an intermediate or senior course? Because I would've done the maximum allowed units of junior courses - is that correct?)

I'll be sure to ask at open day definately. I just want to have an accurate snapshot of the program so I don't sound totally clueless! So thanks everyone for helping out!

 

[SeDaTeD]

Well did you feel like you struggled during Ext1 and 2 Maths? With those marks I'd say you can definately do well in Normal maths. You might even give Adv Maths a go.

 

[Super Pig]

All I said above were based on the 2004 handbook. There are quite a few changes in 2005 however, namely:

1) The structure of the Psychology major has changed from 12+16+32 to 12+24+24. Have a look at Table I in Chapter 3 of the 2005 online handbook;

2) The Faculty of Science is currently in a process of restructuring its 2nd/3rd year courses. Most (if not all) 3cp/4cp courses will be replaced by 6cp courses progressively (2005 for 2nd year courses and 2006 for 3rd year courses).

Taking all these into account, your BSc/LLB degree with a Psychology major will probably look something like this:

1st year: 12cp Maths, 12cp Psychology, 12cp Junior Science electives, 12cp Law;
2nd year: 24cp Psychology, 16cp Law, 12cp Science Intermediate/Senior electives;
3rd year: 24cp Psychology, 20cp Law.

You may choose to complete part or all of the 12cp Science Intermediate/Senior electives (probably two 6cp courses) in 3rd year. Read the BSc/LLB section in Chapter 2 and 5 of the handbook. You should confirm this with the uni advisors tomorrow.