NUS year 1 semester 1 module review AY2013/14

The beginning of a new journey of my life was filled with uncertainties. Having studied in an ICSE/ISC school in India, I took quite some time to get adjusted to the academic system in a Singaporean university. Concepts such as the module system, bidding, lectures and tutorials were absolutely new for me. At that point of time, I felt extremely nervous and wondered whether I would be able to follow the fast pace and fit in.

I proved myself wrong! After a year of study, I can now proudly claim that I belong to NUS and am having a delightful time here. I hope this blog post helps freshmen to know more about their modules and also aid seniors who are 'module shopping'.

Course: Computer Engineering (CEG)

Year: AY 2013/14, Semester 1

Note: The module codes, names, lecturers and content may change. This information is correct as of AY2013/14.

CG1001 - Introduction to Computer Engineering

This is a 2 MC (modular credits) module with no exams and no term tests. Its purpose is to give students a brief introduction to the field of computer engineering. Every week, guest lecturers were invited to speak about their specialized field. The topics introduced were embedded systems, system on a chip, communications and networking, big data, intelligent systems and interactive digital media. Basically, these are the technical electives CEG students study in year 3 or 4.

The module was graded on the basis of three report-writing assignments related to the content discussed in the lectures. There were no tutorials. The first two reports were done in groups of 2 while the last one had to be done in groups of 4.

Tips

 Do NOT plagiarize in your reports. You will pay heavily.

The professors want unique and creative content in your reports. Show them that you have gone beyond Google and you will get the extra credit.

Stick to the page limit or word limit, if any. I exceeded it and my marks got deducted. :(

Difficulty: Easy

My grade: B+

CS1010 - Programming Methodology

This one was my favourite module this semester. It teaches programming in C language and builds your logical thinking and analytic skills. I was lucky to be in a lab-based teaching class. With a computer in front of me, I found it easy to type code and run a program as lecturer is teaching. Since the class size was about 30-40, any doubts could be cleared right away and the lecturer can move around and check and even help to debug your code if necessary. There was a mid-term test, two practical exams and a final exam (open book). The course website is very informative. Remember to check it regularly.

The module assumes you have no programming knowledge and begins with the basics - variables, functions, constants, mathematical expressions, data types in C, but you have to catch up very fast, since pointers and arrays are slightly tricky. The practical exams focus on your coding skills, so you have to practise, practise and practise.

Tips

Recursion will be hard unless you have a knack for recursive thinking. Read a lot of examples from books and the Internet.

The exams are open book, but you will hardly have any spare time to read a page of your book or notes. And nothing from your book can save you in the final exam, in the end you must rely on your brains, so it's prudent to make a cheat sheet and copy the most important information (such as sorting and searching algorithms).

In my year, I had to use VIM editor. It helps in the practical exam if you are familiar with VIM shortcut commands so that you do not waste time unnecessarily.

During practical exams, always INDENT your code, and do not forget to write your name, matriculation number and program description at the top of the program.

Manage your time well in the final exam. Do all the easy questions first, then go for the hard ones.

Difficulty: Medium

My grade: A+

CS1231 - Discrete Structures

The module was divided into 2 halves - mathematical proofs, boolean algebra, relations, functions, logical reasoning, natural deduction for the first part, and graphs, trees, permutations and combinations for the second half. I found the proofs rather difficult and some content of the lecture notes really seemed Greek and Latin to me. I liked some parts of the module - natural deduction and propositional logic, boolean algebra and combinatorics, but I felt that the tutorials and final exams were too hard. I found plenty of books,videos and lecture notes from other universities on the net from where I learnt many of the topics in this module. Frankly, I was relieved when this module was over.

Tips

If you do not understand the notes, especially in the 1st half of the module, don't panic. Search for the topic on the Net and you will get excellent resources. If you can understand the notes, you are a genius.

Difficulty: Very hard

My grade: A

MA1505 - Mathematics I

The calculus module may seem easy in the first few weeks. You may even laugh when you learn the basic differentiation and integration you already learnt in high school. Beware, this is only an introduction. The later chapters are pretty hard and you have probably not studied Fourier series, line integrals, surface integrals and multiple integrals. Be serious as all engineering students take this module so the bell curve is very steep. Pay full attention to the lectures and attempt the tutorials diligently. The answers for the tutorials will be released, but it is important you attempt the questions by yourself.

Tips

Practise all the past year papers. The questions set are usually of a similar type.

Try to score good marks in the midterm which is MCQ.

In the final exam, show your working clearly so that you can get partial marks even if your answer is incorrect.

Difficulty: Hard

My grade: A

PC1432 - Physics IIE

One of the longest syllabi I have ever seen for a single semester module. It entirely covers the topics of electrostatics, current electricity, magnetism, electromagnetism, light (interference & diffraction), nuclear physics and quantum mechanics. There were more than 20 chapters altogether. It is almost similar to the ISC class 12 Physics syllabus, just that the coverage in NUS is more in-depth and requires more thinking. Rote learning will not get you through this module, so take time to understand the concepts, proofs and theories. It will be good to practise the tutorials. The homework assignments were done through Mastering Physics. The questions are for practice but the difficulty level of Mastering Physics is very easy compared to the actual term test and final exam, so do remember to study hard even if you score well in Mastering Physics.

Tips

Some of the chapters I found easy were static electricity, Coulomb's law, electric potential, capacitors and dielectrics, nuclear physics and photoelectric effect (mostly this one). I prayed that may there be more questions from photoelectric effect. :)

Be familiar with the chapters you like and find easy so that you can answer any question which comes from there. 

Numericals are generally easy to solve if you know the formula and understand the question. Don't be overwhelmed when you see large numbers like electron mass or Planck's constant. 

Difficulty: Hard

My grade: A+

Cumulative average point (CAP): 4.89 

I am on the Dean's list :D