The world through my eyes

AY 12/13 | Year 1 | Semester 1 

 

1. MH1800 Calculus For The Sciences I |3 AU | Core | Grade: B+

This module is all about JC math- you have differentiation, integration, differential equations etc. I love Math in JC so this module was quite enjoyable for me. To do well, a lot of practice is required. Math is all about practice right? The annoying part of this module will probably be the Matlab session. Its a math software that you use to compute solutions and throughout the whole session, I didn't know what was going on even though I managed to complete my assignment. Many of my course mates from Poly felt that this course was quite difficult because the last time they touched differentiation and integration was during E. Math or A. Math and a few topics were new for them. My advice for Poly students will be to do constant practices and always get the concept right first before doing drills and practices. 

 

2. CM8002 Forensic Science | 3 AU | GER-Prescribed (STS) | Grade: B+

This course is also offered as an UE. Topics include fingerprinting, firearms and ammunition, hair, and DNA methods. Half of the lectures were by CBC profs, and the other half are by guest speakers who are local forensic science experts. We had one speaker from the police force and he shared (gruesome) pictures with us, like Huang Na's body when it was recovered and people who were left with unrecognisable features after accidents. People who cannot take gore were advised to leave the hall. The CA (20%) consisted of 25 MCQs and it was easy and hilarious, but easy to make mistakes. One question was like, "Which of the following is not a blood type? a) A, b) B, c) C, d) O" People really score for the CA and the average was around 23/25 (I got 21/25). Finals (80%) consisted of MCQs and Short Answer Questions, including a case study where you're supposed to make a deduction using the evidence found. I'd say that its hard to score for this module unless you memorised all the content, because the profs like to test the really nitty gritty stuff. I have a CM8002 summary here but its not enough for an A so you'll need to add your own notes too (sorry!). 

 

3. CM1031 Basic Organic Chemistry with Laboratory | 4 AU | Core | Grade: B+

This module was 4 AUs because of the 3 hour lab session. If you think this module will be like JC's organic chemistry, I'm sorry, you're so wrong :( I loved organic chemistry in JC because it seemed so logical and its interesting how you synthesize molecules and deduce the structure of the molecule after a series of tests. But here, there is A LOT of info to memorise. Arrow-pushing and all the mechanisms are really scary. The prof gave us this summary below towards the end and it was intimidating. Its not about the reagents that you have to memorise, its the reaction mechanisms that are really scary. P.S. A good tutor will help A LOT.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. PH1801 Foundation of Physics I | 3 AU | Core | Grade: Passed

I was so glad that this module was Pass/Fail. I SUCK AT PHYSICS. I was already failing it in Secondary 1 (22/100) , so when I say that I suck at Physics, I really do HAHAHAHA. I cannot memorise Physics equation for nuts even though I love memorising A. Math formulas. Thanks to this course, I can finally remember Work = Force x Distance (even though this module covers WAY more than that). To pass, like every SU-ed module, you need to score at least 40%. The CA (40%) consisted of about 20 MCQs and if you get full marks for this, congratulations, you've passed this module. I think I must have gotten full marks for the CA (Trick is to sit near the foreign scholars who took this as a bridging module) because I didn't write anything logical for the final exam. Didn't understand a single question and there was only one formula in my head- Work = Force x Distance. 

 

5. CM1021 Basic Inorganic Chemistry with Laboratory | 4 AU | Core | Grade: B

This module was taught by a very interesting lecturer- Dr Sumod. But he speaks very fast and teaches you what is university like- teaching is fast-paced and you're solely in charge of your own learning. There is an introduction on Molecular Orbitary Theory (which will be back to haunt you in your subsequent years) and Infared Spectroscopy. I felt that this was easier than CM1031 but I actually scored worse, I guess it must be the bell curve! P.S.: A good tutor is useful. 

 

 

 

AY 12/13 | Year 1 | Semester 2 

 

1. MH1801 Calculus For The Sciences II | 3 AU | Core | Grade: B+

More Math! This is basically MH1801 and more! 

 

2. HW0303 Mastering Communication | 3 AU | GER-Core | Grade: Passed

Boring, but its a "bopian" course. Every NTU student needs to take communication courses, but not everyone takes the same communication course. For SPMS students, we have this, Mastering Communication and Research Writing. For the first year, its a pass/fail module. My slot was in the afternoon and we were always sleepy during lesson. The tutor tried to make it interesting, but sorry, the content is... just dry. We needed to form groups of 4 or 5, and we're supposed to work on a topic and give a presentation at the end of the course. Class participation is graded too but since its a pass/fail course, we can just take it easy. 

 

3. EM9107 Environmental Health and Safety Management | 3 AU | UE | Grade: Passed (S/U)

ULTRA content-heavy. It was really the nightmare of my sem. Initially, I planned to pursue a minor in Environmental Management so I took up this module and wasted my first S/U on this :( Course content reads: Basic safety, health and environmental issues; legislations and regulations, exposure to toxic chemicals, biohazards, chemical hazards, noise, vectors and disease control, occupational health; air, water and noise control. Sounds interesting! But each topic consisted of a thick stack of notes (one whole page full of words, not powerpoint slides) and I actually felt like I was back to studying Geography in secondary school, selecting only a few topics to study because everything is simply too much. 

 

4. CM1051 Basic Biological Chemistry | 3 AU | Core | Grade: B+

Think enzymes' Lock-and-Key Hypothesis, pH, Michaelis constant. A bio background will help you at the beginning of this module but if you slack and don't keep up with the lectures, you'll be lost in the sea of amino acids and polypeptides (Trust me, this happened to me). In Sem 2, our chemistry cores don't have tutorials. 

 

5. CM1041 Basic Physical Chemistry with Laboratory | 4 AU | Core | Grade: A-

My first A in NTU! Really pulled up my GPA (didn't know what was it about until I learnt that GPA is actually cumulative after the first sem). This was actually the first core that I felt was truly manageable. As usual, there are 4 questions during the 2-hour final exam and you can only afford to devote 30 minutes for each question but I finished the paper in 1.5 hours. This mod made me realise that I prefer physical chemistry and inorganic chemistry to organic chemistry. 

 

 

 

AY 13/14 | Year 2 | Semester 1  

 

1. EE8084 Cyber Security | 3 AU | UE | Grade: A

After reading many reviews online (good and bad), I decided to take the risk and registered for this course alone. For this course, there is a group report (50%) and final exam, 50 MCQs if I'm not wrong (50%). When I took it, there were two profs- Dr Chan Chee Keong, who was SUPER FUNNY and Prof Wang Lipo, who was very notes-based and just read everything from the slides. Important: Choose the right group mates. NBS students write great reports (I'm sorry, my fellow science mates and engineering friends). I was lucky that my hall mate is from NBS and her friend happened to take this module too and her group needed one more person so I joined them. Its true, from other reviews, that the group report is critical to your overall grade (because the MCQs during the final exam is so easy, albeit tricky). After submitting the report, we emailed the prof to find out our grade so that we can decide if we need to S/U this. We got A for the report so I didn't SU it and really study for it. I don't have any background in technology but I felt that the content is manageable. Note that many people score for the final exam because this module is one of the requirement of the minor in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) so there are many tech geeks around. The final exam was 2 hours and you're only allowed to leave after 1 hour. After 1 hour, many people started to get up but they were stopped because it was 2 or 3 minutes before an hour was up (whuttt) and I saw a guy mouth "But the paper so easy." to an invigillator. Download the EE8084 summary here, feel free to edit it! 

 

2. EE8061 Innovation and Technology Management | 3 AU | GERPE-BM | Grade: Passed (S/U) 

I read from reviews that EEE modes are generally easier and more interesting so I chose this to clear for BM. NBS mods have group work and class participation so I don't really like it. Like Cyber Security, there are two profs in this course too- Prof Foo Say Wei (THIS GUY IS HILARIOUS AND SO LOVABLE) and Prof Siyal. The CA (40%) consisted of MCQs only and its really easy, but very hard to score. One mistake and you drop a grade I guess because the average was very high, about 85% or higher. This course is more "practical" in the sense that you learn from real-life examples. Get the course description here. Prof Foo will drop hints during his last few lectures so remember to attend them or in my case, listen to the recordings. I did a brief EE8061 summary here (probably on Prof Foo's part only), please add more if you want to use it as a study material because this alone is only enough for you to pass if you S/U it. 

 

3. ES8005 Environmental Earth Systems Science | 3 AU | UE | Grade: Passed (S/U) 

Probably as intense as H2 Geog. Its seriously content-heavy and even though its just MCQs for all the CAs and final exam, its hard to score and too much content to memorise. The average for the CAs are always high and I totally died during the final exam when there were 100 MCQs. I'll not recommend anyone to take it unless he/she is a H2 Geog student, LOVES geog, or just want an all-MCQ elective to S/U. 3-hours of geog lecture is draining, be it online or offline. The profs said that lecture objectives, which came in the form of questions, are important so here is my ES8005 summary. 

 

4. CM2031 Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry | 3 AU | Core | Grade: B

Died. More organic chemistry. For some mental preparation, you might wanna take a look at the mid-term revision slides here. Note: Its just mid-term, not finals. 

 

5. CM2021 Inorganic and Bioiorganic Chemistry | 3 AU | Core | Grade: B

This is when the point groups, character tables and molecular orbitals kill you. I'd say that Year 2 Sem 2 was a rough sem because of CM2021 and CM2031. The prof made this course more interesting when he kept pronouncing "character table" as "carrot table" (Yeah, its that bad). 

 

6. CM2061 Chemistry and Biological Chemistry Laboratory I | 3 AU | Core | Grade: B+

And hardcore lab session starts. Unlike my engineering friends, I have actually a 3 AU lab module. That's 6 hours of lab a week, form 0930-1530 but usually you'll get to leave at around 12-1pm. This mod is examinable with MCQs and a short answer question, testing you about the rationale of certain steps and calculations in the reactions that you've carried out the past semester. Reading through the lab manual before every experiment and knowing what is going on exactly (which is always not my case) will be VERY HELPFUL. 

 

 

 

AY 13/14 | Year 2 | Semester 2 

 

1. HW0203 Research Writing in the Physical and Mathematical Sciences | 3 AU | GER-Core| Grade: B+

Okay, this was more interesting that the HW0303 that I took in Year 1. You get to do research on a topic related to science and give a presentation. I felt that my group did great for the presentation (because our slides had more pictures than words so it wasn't boring), but the tutor said that we had too many pictures and GIFs were a no-no so... we got a B+. 

 

2. CM9102 Food Analysis and Safety | 3 AU | UE | Grade: A

After taking EM9107, I decided not to pursue a minor in Environment Management and decided to do a concentration in Food Science and Technology. Check out all CBC concentrations here. I'd say that this module is easy partly because the prof makes an effort to make her notes short and sweet so studying for it isn't very tiring (you can finish revising the whole module in a day so imagine revising it for a week before the final exam). The CA (20%) consisted of short answer questions, and fill-in-the-blanks. Yeah, seriously. E.g. Mid-IR Spectroscopy is mostly applied to ________ analysis, whilst Near-IR is mostly for ________ analysis. The lab (30%) was wayyyy cooler and less stressful than CBC labs. We got to test lipid levels, water content and many other interesting stuff. I handed a lab report 3 days late (seriously, I totally forgot about it after the holidays) and got a B for it. You know, we usually get A for lab reports so I thought I'll lag behind my peers but it turned out that I did alright. Perhaps the final exam (50%) helped me. I wouldn't say that this module isn't content-heavy, because there are a series of tests to memorise but its not as painful as organic chemistry. Here is my CM9102 summary with a bit of blanks (oops) because I wrote another summary on paper instead. 

 

3. CM2062 Chemistry and Biological Chemistry Laboratory II | 3 AU | Core | Grade: B

This lab paper was more intense than the one in the first semester, perhaps because we are more "experienced" now. The paper is about 70% MCQ and 30% short anwer questions. You should know basic formulas like E=hv and A=bc, and graphs (like the ones you attach to your lab reports) will appear in the paper too so don't be stunned when you see them (because I was HAHA).  

 

4. CM2041 Physical and Biophysical Chemistry | 3 AU | Core | Grade: B+

This mod allowed 2 pieces of cheat sheet, considering the fact that there are a lot of equations (kinetics and thermodynamics). The CA (40%) was manageable, score in the CA (because you can) and you won't need to worry much about the final exam (60%). 

 

5. CM2011 Analytical Chemistry | 3 AU | Core | Grade: B-

I can't believe that I actually got my first B- and its not organic chemistry. I even did a CM2011 summary. The final exam was extremely tricky and no one expected it. It was THAT tricky. 

 

6. PS8001 Defence Science | 3 AU | GER-Core | Grade: Passed

Learnt how is Singapore being protected using science. 100% MCQ and honestly, I didn't even study for this and just skimmed through the notes, without listening to all the lecture recordings. I attended 2 lectures though, the first and the last. The prof will give hints during the last lecture SO GO FOR IT because it won't be recorded.

 

 

AY 14/15 | Year 3 | Semester 1 

 

1. MA9001 Introduction to Energy | 3 AU | UE | Grade: A+

This is the standard favourite elective for everyone. Its all about energy. You can get the course syllabus here. 

1. No reports, no exams, no final examination.

2. 3 x In-Class Continuous Assessments (CA1: 30% + CA2: 40% + CA3: 30% = 100%) . 

3. 100% MCQ. 

Its an elective that most people will do well and the profs said that there'll be no bell curve (again, I have some friends tell me that NTU's grading system is based on merit and not the bell curve) so you'll be awarded the grade that you deserve. I don't think I got full marks for every quiz, probably 2-3 mistakes (out of 10 questions) per quiz and I still managed to get an A+. 

 

2. CM3041 Physical and Biophysical Chemistry 2 | 3 AU | Core | Grade: B+

S C A R Y. SCARY MOD. It was truly terrible and horrifying for someone like me who hates Physics. This mod is mostly (if not all) about quantum mechanics. In my year, it was taught by Prof. Loh Zhi Heng (heard that he wasn't teaching this mod after my year) and Prof. Edwin Yeow. Prof. Loh doesn't seem to like typing or providing lecture notes for us so during his lessons, he will be scribbling on his tablet and we will be furiously copying. After the lecture he'll upload his scribbles but still, $@^%#*&% because 99.999% of the time, we don't know what is he talking about. It was a tough mod for everyone. Life got a little better when Prof. Edwin Yeow took over because he was more humorous and he seemed to be more humane. We finally had lectures notes and his part was easier to understand. Molecular spectroscopy was MUCH MORE easier than quantum mechanics. 

 

3. CM3062 Chemistry and Biological Chemistry Laboratory IV | 3 AU | Core | Grade: B

Similar to CM2062, the paper consisted about 70% MCQ and 30% short anwer questions. 

 

4. CM3011 Chemical Spectroscopy and Applications | 3 AU | Core | Grade: B

I always thought that this mod was easy. The concepts were easy to grasp but the questions for quizzes and exams were always tricky. Prof. Leung Pak Hing taught the first part and he was SO CUTE. Sometimes a slacker but always humorous. 

 

 

AY 14/15 | Year 3 | Semester 2  

 

1. AAA189 Batik | 3 AU | UE | Grade: Passed (S/U)

I thought it'll be good to try an NIE mod to just have fun so I decided to spend my last S/U on this mod. Mr Kamal Dollah was the instructor for this mod and he is well, lepak but still does his job of teaching us the basics of Batik. Assessment is based on coursework only and a 500-word essay which was really doable. Its really enjoyable and zen to be painting batik after lectures. My art was BAD compared to the others in class. There were several students from ADM but those who weren't from ADM were equally impressive. But if you have an S/U to spare, just give this a go! 

 

2. EE8092 Digital Lifestyle | 3 AU | UE | Grade: MC

My very first time being an escapist. Okay back to the mod. This is an EEE mod and its ALL ABOUT digital equipments, from computers to camcorders. At first I took it because it was 100% MCQ. Assessment consists of 2 x CAs (50%, 30 MCQs each) and the final examination (50%). I did quite badly for the first quiz - 19/30 but totally the opposite for the second quiz - 28/30 LOL. I was contemplating if I should go for the finals. One senior of mine who was from EEE flipped through my notes and told me straight in the face that any EEE student will be able to beat me. Meaning if I wanted to do well for this mod I had to put in extra effort compared to a EEE student. So I decided to MC this paper and focus on my other two cores because they were quite content-heavy too. 

 

3. ES8006 Environmental Sustainability | 3 AU | GER-Core | Grade: A+

Like our engineering friends, SPMS has our own "Environment Sustainability" mod and its about how mankind are protecting/destroying our beloved Mother Earth. Assignments include a group essay, individual essay and 2x CAs (100% MCQ). After doing the individual essay, we were supposed to do a peer review for 3 essays and grade them. This seemed like an opportunity for some people to sabotage others because the comments and grade given didn't make sense. Personally, I have two people grading me 3/4 and the other person graded me 1/4. So some people emailed the co-ordinator and they decided to grade our essays instead and the average was above 90 if I'm not wrong. Well well. 

 

4. CM3061 Chemistry and Biological Chemistry Laboratory III | 3 AU | Core | Grade: B

WORST lab paper ever. They changed the co-ordinator from Prof. Phillip Chan to Dr. Mihaiela Corina Stuparu so we couldn't practise any questions that our seniors advised us because Dr. Ela decided to "revamp" this mod. So instead of 70% MCQ and 30% SAQ, we had 100% Short-answer questions. One question was about drawing molecular structures only and it was worth 20 marks. Like, they expect you to know the structure of TEMPO when you only "see" it once thoughout the 12 weeks of lab. 

 

5. CM3021 Organometallic Chemistry | 3 AU | Core | Grade: B

Open-book exam. So it was really manageable. The first part of the module was more difficult with all the molecular orbitals, SALCs (if you even remember them) .But you'll require lots and lots of practice because there are many factors to consider when approaching a question. The finals was so tricky and the drawing of molecular orbitals made me dizzy zzz. 

 

6. CM3031 Organic Reaction Mechanism and Synthesis | 3 AU | Core | Grade: C+

Surprisingly this is not as hardcore as the organic mods taken in year 1 or 2. This was also an open-book exam. The only confusing thing is this new "endo/exo" concept, on how molecules place themselves during an attack and after a while I forgot that they were molecules. BUT the final exam was extremely tricky and I earned my very first C grade from this mod. Check this out: