Maths and Theoretical Physics Course Thread TR031 TR035

ride-the-spiral

Great stuff, may as well allocate sundays to the dreaded lab report then.

Also, do the maths or physics department have a talk about schols at any point?

Reek_The_Meek

I don't think so.

What do you want to know?

ride-the-spiral

I don't know I think I felt it would become more "real" if they had one...

Well for each Maths paper, I'm presuming you can answer 4 on one module and 2 on the other, (or 3 and 3) as it just says to answer six questions.

And any general advice for physics would be great.

larkin1993

I'm a second year TP and I'm thinking about swapping into maths for 3rd year. I was just wondering how much of a disadvantage it will be to have missed some of the maths courses? Someone mentioned you might be able to do 2nd year maths courses other than those they list for 3rd/4th years if you ask nicely? Also on the maths page it says you can apply to do modules from other departments, has anyone heard of people doing ones from the physics department? Thanks

PurpleFistMixer

larkin1993 wrote: »

I'm a second year TP and I'm thinking about swapping into maths for 3rd year. I was just wondering how much of a disadvantage it will be to have missed some of the maths courses? Someone mentioned you might be able to do 2nd year maths courses other than those they list for 3rd/4th years if you ask nicely? Also on the maths page it says you can apply to do modules from other departments, has anyone heard of people doing ones from the physics department? Thanks

The time I almost transferred into third year maths, the physics department was very definite that I wouldn't be able to take labs with them, at least. I've never heard of someone taking physics modules while in maths. It seems to be mostly computer science/statistics type stuff that people do outside the maths department.

larkin1993

Well I wouldn't exactly be devastated about missing out on labs to be honest It's more the computer simulation modules in 3rd and 4th year I'd be possibly wanting to do

Maybe_Memories

Time for a bit of a bump to this.

Anyone who's taken Fry's QM class, are the exam questions pretty much just problems from the assignments? The tutorial guy said they would be but the past problems look very different and Fry doesn't come across as someone that changes his assignments very often :pac:

TehFionnster

Hi guys,

So, I'm doing the LC at the moment and I know I want to do maths or theoretical physics. But for the life of me, I can't decide which. I've done some research but it hasn't been that helpful. So, I've just got a few questions;

What're the hours like in TP in comparison to maths?

How difficult is the maths in both courses?(I get A1s in Applied Maths, Maths and physics and I do love maths, but I'm genuinely worried I won't be able for this stuff.)

I'm not a fan of the leaving cert physics exam, I really dislike rote learning things, although I do enjoy reading the theory and doing the maths behind it.
Is there much learning off in either course?

Much appreciated guys.

ride-the-spiral

TP do two thirds of that maths course up until third year, and half the courses after that, so you'll be doing most of the same modules except for some of the more abstract maths courses. The hours are pretty much the same as well.

If you're getting A1's you'll be fine. You won't breeze through like you may have in school but as long as you don't get disheartened by not understanding something and stay on top of things you'll be grand.

There isn't much learning off at all, although you can do that if you want to. That maths in physics isn't too demanding (integration's as hard as it gets in 1st year) but the physics part of the course is more about teaching you how to use the maths to do physics problems, as opposed to just learning off things.

I'd personally recommend TP, but a good few people do switch to maths. And in TP you can always switch to maths up until the beginning of third year anyway so having to decide between the two isn't as urgent as it may seem at the moment.

Maybe_Memories

ride-the-spiral wrote: »

There isn't much learning off at all, although you can do that if you want to. That maths in physics isn't too demanding (integration's as hard as it gets in 1st year) but the physics part of the course is more about teaching you how to use the maths to do physics problems, as opposed to just learning off things.

Unless things change and Vlad goes back to teaching linear algebra. His course was a lot more hardcore than Pete's. Seriously, 90% of people didn't actually understand jordan normal form.

In theory, the only thing you should ever have to learn off in either course is definitions, since in theory you should be able to understand everything and derive results just from basic principals and logical steps. :P

As for difficulty, it's very progressive. First year for us was pretty much just an extension of LC maths, though analysis and the second half of linear algebra were totally new, as was group theory unless you did that option in section B. Second year is just a more general / in depth first year. 3rd/4th year is just an extension of that.

Also an interesting thing to note (based on what I've seen) is that the guys who are gods at leaving cert maths have a habit of not lasting and most are gone by the start of second year.

ride-the-spiral

Maybe_Memories wrote: »

Unless things change and Vlad goes back to teaching linear algebra. His course was a lot more hardcore than Pete's. Seriously, 90% of people didn't actually understand jordan normal form.

My bad, I was just referring to the maths that's used in physics. Understanding linear algebra II was no cakewalk for us either :P

I see what you mean about the "gods" thing. For some people, actually having to study to understand maths comes as a bit of a shock.

Fringe

Maybe_Memories wrote: »

Time for a bit of a bump to this.

Anyone who's taken Fry's QM class, are the exam questions pretty much just problems from the assignments? The tutorial guy said they would be but the past problems look very different and Fry doesn't come across as someone that changes his assignments very often :pac:

Do all the past exam papers. Ask Fry for photocopies of solutions.

blagards

Fringe wrote: »

Do all the past exam papers. Ask Fry for photocopies of solutions.

Exactly this, there's loads of homework questions and only a few of them will ever come up on exam, while exam's pretty repetitive (to an extent) and new stuff rarely comes up

EuropeanSon

Maybe_Memories wrote: »

Also an interesting thing to note (based on what I've seen) is that the guys who are gods at leaving cert maths have a habit of not lasting and most are gone by the start of second year.

That isn't true at all. I'd say almost all the top results every year (in TP and Maths) come from people who found LC maths very handy. That's just because it (LC Maths) IS very handy, though.

CJC86

ride-the-spiral wrote: »

I see what you mean about the "gods" thing. For some people, actually having to study to understand maths comes as a bit of a shock.

I can think of a handful of people from my year who found LC maths a cakewalk, then found Trinity a cakewalk too. Of course, they found Masters/PhDs a lot more difficult due to not having to work too hard to get there.

ride-the-spiral

Well yeah, I guess I was just trying to say that some people who would've found LC maths a breeze get a bit of a shock with having to actually study maths, and realise that they don't really like maths as much as they thought.

Niiall

Can anyone tell me how much of a disadvantage it will be to me, going into 1st year tp next year, having not done applied maths for LC?

Maybe_Memories

Niiall wrote: »

Can anyone tell me how much of a disadvantage it will be to me, going into 1st year tp next year, having not done applied maths for LC?

Most of the people in that boat find mechanics pretty tough, but that's it. Even then mechanics is meant to be understandable from the course alone

EuropeanSon

Niiall wrote: »

Can anyone tell me how much of a disadvantage it will be to me, going into 1st year tp next year, having not done applied maths for LC?

Not very much at all. A majority, I think, haven't done applied maths. If not a majority, then certainly a very large proportion.

optimus125

TP first choice on CAO, cannot wait for September! Looks like an absolutely incredible course. Maths and physics? What more could one ask for.

KJY

What can I expect difficulty wise from Mathematics, in comparison to LC maths?

EuropeanSon

KJY wrote: »

What can I expect difficulty wise from Mathematics, in comparison to LC maths?

In our first year (I'm now in 3rd year), 5 of 28 single honours Mathematics students got firsts (over 70% average). Of the rest, about 20 failed at least one exam and then had repeat exams. Most had gotten As in LC Maths.
In second year, there were 8 firsts, and I'm not sure how many had repeats.

KJY

EuropeanSon wrote: »

In our first year (I'm now in 3rd year), 5 of 28 single honours Mathematics students got firsts (over 70% average). Of the rest, about 20 failed at least one exam and then had repeat exams. Most had gotten As in LC Maths.
In second year, there were 8 firsts, and I'm not sure how many had repeats.

Do you know how much more manageable it would be in TSM? I don't think I'd be up for it Single Honours but am hoping at TSM it would be more achievable. Any thoughts?

EuropeanSon

KJY wrote: »

Do you know how much more manageable it would be in TSM? I don't think I'd be up for it Single Honours but am hoping at TSM it would be more achievable. Any thoughts?

I'm not saying it isn't doable. Just saying that everything in college will be a big step up from LC. Maths included.
Tsm do many of the same modules, just fewer of them. It's bit less intense, as they have another subject taking up half their time.

KJY

EuropeanSon wrote: »

I'm not saying it isn't doable. Just saying that everything in college will be a big step up from LC. Maths included.
Tsm do many of the same modules, just fewer of them. It's bit less intense, as they have another subject taking up half their time.

I know it would be doable but I'm not an absolute whiz at maths or anything just trying to buff up my Economics degree, and know I wouldn't be up for the Single Honours

Maybe_Memories

Right so ironically enough I put more effort and study into this year (3rd) yet I've done an awful lot worse in exams. :pac:

So if the poop hits the fan does anyone know anything about repeating off books in 3rd year maths? I'd imagine it gets a little messy considering the rotation of the maths modules, but I'm doing all the physics ones so at least 3 of the 6 would be the same.

larkin1993

Is it just me or are the module choices for Hilary pretty bleak?

ride-the-spiral

Are the maths modules for next year up already?

larkin1993

They're not on the website but module choice forms were emailed to maths students

Evan93

larkin1993 wrote: »

Is it just me or are the module choices for Hilary pretty bleak?

Yeah I'd hate to be Hilary.

larkin1993

Evan93 wrote: »

Yeah I'd hate to be Hilary.

I can't remember if you used to be funny or I've just started listening to you :-\
But yeah I think they got rid of the standard model course and the double pdes is now a single, bad time to be a 4th year tp I'd imagine.

Has anyone ever heard of people being allowed to split their semester credits 35-25? Theres loads I want to do in Michaelmas.

wantacookie

larkin1993 wrote: »

But yeah I think they got rid of the standard model course and the double pdes is now a single, bad time to be a 4th year tp I'd imagine.

The pdes course is there specifically for the tps so that they get a chance to do it. They used to do a learn long course every year but I think they decided against it. That was the case two years ago as well. It's not a bad course.

Has anyone ever heard of people being allowed to split their semester credits 35-25? Theres loads I want to do in Michaelmas.

I did that this year but I was fourth year maths so I just made sure to put my project credits after christmas and take more before christmas. I would go ahead and they will stop you if they aren't happy with it. They won't process the choices for a while yet.

Bottleopener

Just saw the SF pure maths results. More fails than passes, wow.

Evan93

Bottleopener wrote: »

Just saw the SF pure maths results. More fails than passes, wow.

I'd imagine there was a bogey exam or something. Anyone care to hazard a guess?

It's also irritating that the breakdown is in the hands of the mytcd website. The idea of the website is good but I'd also like to be able to have my breakdown sometime this year and not nearly have a heart attack everytime i want to check my timetable.

Aoibheann

Evan93 wrote: »

I'd imagine there was a bogey exam or something. Anyone care to hazard a guess?

It's also irritating that the breakdown is in the hands of the mytcd website. The idea of the website is good but I'd also like to be able to have my breakdown sometime this year and not nearly have a heart attack everytime i want to check my timetable.

If it's anything like how it was for JS/SS Maths/TP students, you should have your breakdown via an automated email from the maths department within the next few days.

wantacookie

Aoibheann wrote: »

If it's anything like how it was for JS/SS Maths/TP students, you should have your breakdown via an automated email from the maths department within the next few days.

Yes but it is very likely you will just start having a heart attack everytime you check your email instead - that's exactly what we were like :P The most stressful few days ever waiting for SS breakdown. My poor phone couldn't cope with all the refreshing.

wantacookie

I think the breakdown might be available on my.tcd.ie for the third years - including your CA if Aoibheann is to be believed

It can be found under my student record -> my academic record. The website appears to have been updated to accommodate for results so I would expect to see the rest of the years soon. The fourth year ones don't appear to be up yet.

my.tcd.ie takes soooo long to do anything, and its terribly incompatible with most browers :mad:

larkin1993

Anyone know why pdes is a choice for 4th years but not 3rd years?

EuropeanSon

larkin1993 wrote: »

Anyone know why pdes is a choice for 4th years but not 3rd years?

I'd guess that's an error. Can't see any reason for that to be the case.

KarlD93

Bottleopener wrote: »

Just saw the SF pure maths results. More fails than passes, wow.

Yeah, that was pretty surprising. I had one of my exams checked though and there was an actually an error in the marking. Just shows they also make mistakes :rolleyes:

wantacookie

larkin1993 wrote: »

Anyone know why pdes is a choice for 4th years but not 3rd years?

It's normally an option for 3rd and 4th year maths but only 4th year TPs can do it, not third year!

It should be available for 3rd and 4th year - I would email Helen in the office about it, or Karen!

Tweej

I've been taking a look around, anyone know which maths modules TPs take for 2nd year?

Tears in Rain

Tweej wrote: »

I've been taking a look around, anyone know which maths modules TPs take for 2nd year?

http://www.maths.tcd.ie/undergraduate/mod-theoretical-physics/sf.php

countbezukov

Any maths students here do erasmus, specifically to France? I know its rare enough so if anyone has any info that would be great!

sponsoredwalk

Samson + second year mechanics =

"Andre Geim, a graduate and Nobel prize winner stated "The pressure to work and to study was so intense that it was not a rare thing for people to break and leave, and some of them ended up with everything from schizophrenia to depression to suicide.""
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Institute_of_Physics_and_Technology

EuropeanSon

sponsoredwalk wrote: »

Samson + second year mechanics =

Schols is going to be murder this year if Samson sets a new exam.

2nd year maths guys: do stats if you fancy getting schols this year, I'd say.

Tweej

EuropeanSon wrote: »

Schols is going to be murder this year if Samson sets a new exam.

2nd year maths guys: do stats if you fancy getting schols this year, I'd say.

And the TPs should just cry

larkin1993

I'm going into JS maths. I'm really interested in trying to do CS3061 Artificial Intelligence I in the C.S. department and/or 3B2 Fluid Mechanics in the mechanical engineering department as modules outside the maths department. The issue is I can't see any of the notes to see whats involved and if I'd be able for it. I was kind of hoping someone on here might have taken one of them or know someone who might have access to the notes?

Fringe

Samson is great! I preferred him over Frolov for QFT. I'm not sure how he'll handle mechanics but it should be good.

steve2929

Hi lad's

I'm a sixth year student and hope to study maths in TCD next year if I can get a good leaving cert this year. I just have a couple of questions and this looks like a good place to ask, hoping someone can help.

Looking at the maths syllabus for the course the first 2 years look very good. But in third/fourth year there seems to be a lack of pure maths courses to keep you going for 2 full years. So if you were entering third year now say, would there be different pure maths courses on offer next year when you get to your final year. It's just that I'm studying physics for my leaving cert and I find the subject a bit of a bore. I'd really rather avoid doing physics orientated courses in the last 2 years like quantum mechanics and relativity if they can be avoided.

Also after having read a few popular maths books in the last couple of years I've become very fond of the idea of studying number theory. The maths course has a course in number theory in second year but that seems to be it. Would it be fair to say the school is a bit light in this area. That would be a disappointment but I could live with it.

Finally what are peoples opinions on the computing courses offered to maths students. My vague plans would be to study maths in college but when it comes to the world of work afterwards I wouldn't mind working in the area of computing. That said I'd probably need to go on to do a masters or something after the degree to qualify to do that. Also although I'd like to work in computing after college I don't think I want to spend too much of third and fourth year studying computer courses if there are interesting maths courses on offer. I'd rather leave that until later. So I guess what I'm asking is will the computer courses in the first two years give me a good foundation for the serious study of computing later on.

Thanks for reading and I hope someone can help answer.

Steve.