AY19/20 Y2S1 Review

This semester workload was heavier but somehow the content was more manageable, I guess because I found the content interesting thus is less of a chore to study it. However, I feel that my grades do not show the amount of effort put in though, I felt like I could do much better had I put in more time and effort hahah. Before this semester started, I had a strong motivation to pull up my GPA as it dropped by A LOT last semester. Now that the semester has ended, I am not sure if that goal is still attainable 🙃 I can only hope for the best, will update my results when I get them.

CM2011 - Analytical Chemistry | CORE | 3AU | B+

Midterm CA1 (20%): 22/25 → 17.6/20

Midterm CA2 (20%): 19/20

Finals (60%)

This module is conducted by 2 professors (Dr. Webster & Dr. Zhang). Apart from theory, this module has quite a bit of calculation involved, like how to calculate PSI, electrochemistry, chromatography, etc. The first part by Dr. Webster is quite easy (except electrochem which can be slightly more difficult to grasp but if you do the exercises he gives you should be fine) and he teaches well at a good pace where we can keep up. The second prof does not teach that well, in my opinion, his slides have very little information but he elaborates a lot in lecture, the stuff he says that are not in the slides are super important too and if you happen to miss it, it can be detrimental. The second prof's exercises comprise of questions that you cannot do even after attending all lectures and with the lecture notes. Then he will spend some lecture slots to go through the questions that require content he has not taught yet. Then what is the point of asking us to attempt the exercises before he goes through them when we obviously would not know how to do right, what a waste of my time 🙃 Anyway, try to attend his last few lectures because he will give hints that may or may not be recorded in the lecture recording because he may extend his lecture past the stipulated time.

Both midterms comprise of MCQs only. The first midterm was more tricky than the second midterm, but both are manageable. The finals, though, was a mad rush and super tricky. I did not study hard enough for it because I thought since I did quite well for the midterms the finals should be fine for me, but I was so so wrong. I spent my time focusing on other modules, not sure if that was the right move. Some of my friends found the finals manageable so if you study sufficiently, it should not be a problem.

CM2021 - Inorganic & Bioinorganic Chemistry | CORE | 3AU | B+

Midterm CA1 (20%): 17/20

Midterm CA2 (20%): 52/68 → 15.3/20 [average: 13.93/20]

Finals (60%)

This module is also conducted by 2 professors (Dr. Kinjo & Dr. So). This module is taught in both sem 1 and 2 by different profs. I would suggest that you take it in sem 1 because the profs teach better. The first part was taught by Dr. Kinjo (same prof that taught CM1021), he is very nice but the only problem is that his accent can be quite difficult to understand. The content can also be very dry. Also, he teaches quite slowly which results in him being unable to finish teaching 2 short chapters and his solution to that is not examining it in the finals which is a good thing for us I guess 😂 To do well for his part, you will just need to pay special attention to the parts marked with the yellow star that is not in his lecture notes, he will flash it as a question during the lecture itself and you will need to copy the answers down. His part requires mainly memorisation. MO diagram is back again as well as main group chemistry reactions where you will need to memorise which elements/compounds are able to undergo what reactions as well as their corresponding equations. The second part was taught by Dr. So, and his teaching style is very entertaining and interesting as he would use a lot of real-life examples to explain abstract concepts. His most iconic example is using the titanic video to explain how complex undergoes dissociation of ligands 😂 He also emphasizes that understanding is more important than pure memorisation. His pet phrase is that if you try to memorise everything in his lecture notes, you are bound to fail his part. And I can attest that this is really true, like his Dr. Kinjo's part you cannot run away from memorising but Dr. So's part you will "die" if you try to memorise. One more thing, please please attend his lectures as he likes to reward students who attend his lectures by giving them hints for the midterms/finals. The hints will not be recorded in the lecture recording as he will remove the microphone. I attended almost all of his lectures and got all the hints but his questions sometimes make you have a strong urge to kill him after the paper HAHAH. Our TA says Dr. So is a nice guy but his exam questions are not nice lol. If you do have any questions just ask him after lectures or book consults with him, he will try his best to explain it to you and he always tells us there are no stupid questions, just ask everything you are unclear about.

Both midterms comprise of short answer questions that are totally doable just do not be careless (like I was). Overall, this is quite a manageable modules if you put in the effort and not be careless. Also, I managed to spot some questions from Dr. So's part based on his hints and some logical deduction 😏

CM2061 - Chemistry & Biological Chemistry Lab 1 (LAB) | CORE | 3AU | A-

Lab Reports (75%)

Finals (25%)

This module requires you to complete prelab quizzes each week before the lab session, similar to labs in year 1. However, as this lab is a whole module on its own, you are required to do each experiment individually so try to understand why you are doing certain things in the lab. To do so you need to read and understand everything in the lab manual and google for answers that you cannot find in the lab manual for questions you may have when reading the lab manual. I did that and I felt that it is very beneficial as it makes sure you will not be lost during the lab itself as there is no re-doing of experiments. Also, if you understand the rationale of every step in each experiment, it will reduce the time you need to study for the final exam. Some things to take note of in the lab that many people will make mistakes: make sure to throw the needle and the syringe separately into their respective bins. The TAs will close one eye for these mistakes in the first 1 or 2 weeks, but subsequently, they will check the CCTV to find out who threw it wrongly and deduct your lab behaviour marks. If you break anything in the lab (quite common), they will also deduct your lab behaviour marks but we do not know how many marks they will deduct. Lab skills learnt in CM1041 is also applicable here such as using the IR and NMR software, so do make sure you read up on them before the lab. If you have already forgotten it, it is okay as there will be TAs around to guide you during the first few experiments, so do learn/recap it during then and try to operate the machine yourself as you will definitely need it in future. Do not just rely on your friends who know how to do it.

The lab reports will have a section that requires you to write an experimental procedure in the correct format that we briefly learnt in year 1. Remember to leave a space for the units (mmol, mL, °C, etc). For example, "13.1mmol" is wrong, "13.1 mmol" is correct. Also, for the NMR spectrums that you will need to attach to your lab reports, do remember to include the peak for CDCl₃ at 7.26ppm, as marks will be deducted if you omit it.

The final exam comprises of 30 MCQs and 2 short answer questions with subparts (not sure if the format varies each year). There are some tricky questions but most are quite doable if you understand everything in the lab manual. There are no questions asking you to draw mechanisms, so you do not have to memorise that. You will need to remember the structures of common reagents used in experiments, there were 10 structures of reagents that were asked, 2 marks each. If you understand and know how to do each experiment yourself in the lab (i.e. you do not just blindly follow your friends/TAs) then you should be fine for this module.

PS0002 - Introduction to Data Science & Artificial Intelligence | GER-CORE | 3AU | A-

Assignment 1 (10%): 10/10

Assignment 2 (10%): 9.5/10

Assignment 3 (10%): 10/10

Project (20%): 15.5/20

Finals (50%)

This is a new ger-core module introduced for our batch. The programming language we have to learn is the R language, using a software called RStudio. The module is conducted in such a way whereby we have to watch online lectures before attending lab/tut each week (they do not have any deadline for this so if you choose not to watch it and leave it to right before finals no one can stop you, but I would not recommend that!). There will be lab notes and lab tasks uploaded before each lab/tut. The lab tasks are very similar to whatever covered in the lab notes, so I would suggest that you read through and understand everything in the lab notes before class and note down any questions you may have and clarify them during the lab itself. Or maybe your doubt may be cleared during the 1st hour of the lab as the TA will go through the lab notes. But the TA goes through the lab notes very quickly so if you get lost in the beginning you would have no idea what is going on and be unable to attempt the lab tasks in the 2nd hour. OR if you understand everything in the lab notes then you can choose not to listen to the TA during the 1st hour and go straight into attempting the lab tasks (like what I did). Because I have a lecture right after the lab/tut meaning I have to leave early and usually do not have the full hour to attempt the lab tasks. I was lucky to get a TA that really knows her stuff and teaches in a way that I could understand and I really enjoyed/looked forward to each lab/tut, she also sends us her lab demo she uses to teach the lab notes. The other TA from the other lab/tut timing does not do that 🙃

The 3 assignments are really doable and many people even asked the TA how to do the assignment, you could even refer to the lab notes, google for answers and discuss with your friends so there is nothing to worry about. Since this module was only introduced for our batch we had no idea about this and studied super hard for the first assignment 🙃 what a waste of time and energy hahah.

The project can be done in a group of a maximum of 6 people. I did mine in a group of 3 (same members as PS0001 module in yr1). If you have been keeping up with lab/tut each week and understand the content, this project would be a piece of cake. We had to choose a dataset and come up with a 3-page report to answer our study aim/hypothesis that we came up with ourselves. Tip: start early and have questions to clarify during the lab/tut AND if necessary, schedule a consultation with the prof/TA. Our group wanted to consult the prof but I guess she was too busy and did not reply to our email, so we met with our super nice TA instead. Also, choose a dataset where you can understand and can come up with relevant study questions that allow you to use as many methods taught in this module. We do not know how the cohort did but after asking a few of our friends, I think 15.5 is considered not bad already.

The finals comprised of 15 MCQs and 4 short answer questions with a few subparts. You are allowed to bring in 2 sided A4 helpsheet. There were minimal R code tested, but more of what does the output of each method mean, what does each method aim to achieve and when to use which method, etc. I would not say it is difficult, there are some tricky questions but overall quite easy. As compared to PS0001, this module is much much more manageable. Another note: if you do not understand the statistical equations in the lecture slides it does not matter but the equations in your lab notes are important. Make sure you understand them and what each component means. 

HG8001 - Language Puzzle: Study of Human Language | GER-LA | 3AU | A

Quiz 1 (20%): 92/100 [average: 71.71/100] {moderated 8%}

Quiz 2 (20%): 82/100 [average: 69.54/100] {moderated 10%}

Finals (60%)

This is the most interesting elective I have ever taken, apart from forensic science, perhaps because I have an interest in English. This module is conducted by Dr. Ng (Bee). Lectures are not recorded (although I have feedback to the prof already, not sure if there will be a change). Thus, I would recommend that you attend all the lectures because looking at the slides only does not suffice. You are strongly encouraged to buy a textbook that cost $31(original price $100+) from NTU book shop. If you looking to get an A, the textbook is necessary. The module will teach you: Animal Communication, Child Language, Language & the Brain, Deaf Culture, What's in a Word, Language & Gender, Word Meaning, Phonetics (Consonants & Vowels), Syntax, Language & Speakers. Some of the interesting things you will get to learn: Sign language, IPA symbols (e.g. language → /ˈlaŋɡwɪdʒ/), what words are nouns/verbs/adjectives/auxiliary/etc, The different stages children go through when learning a language and the list goes on. There will be readings each week, some are short (4 pages) while some are long (22pages) as well as certain chapters from the textbook. There will be online quizzes on Blackboard that is not graded but you are encouraged to do so that you can get a sense of the type of questions that can be asked. The 2 midterms and finals will test content from all these areas: lecture (50%), videos (20%), readings (30%). The 1st half of the module is more interesting, Bee is very funny and sometimes even uses vulgar in her lecture for educational purposes. The content of 2nd half is slightly more "dry", but not difficult to understand. In my opinion, the first half requires more memory work while the second half requires more understanding of the content and how to apply them.

The 2 midterms have the same format: 25 MCQs in 30 minutes. The final exam comprises 50 MCQs and a few short answer questions. If you are consistent in your studying and put in enough effort, this module is not difficult at all. I would recommend that you attend the consultation during the study week and ask the prof to go through the 2 midterms answers and understand why you got those questions wrong because the prof has the habit of re-using questions that many people answered wrongly in the midterms. She does not return back our midterm scripts and does not post the answer key on Blackboard and thus, you will only know your score but not which questions you got right/wrong. 

P.S. This module has become HG1001 - Mind & Meaning. Also, if you wish to buy the textbook from me: https://tinyurl.com/y2uf9or5 

MA8103 - Human Resource Management | GER-BM | 3AU | S

Case Study: Workplace & Organisation (40%)

Finals (60%)

I would recommend taking this mod to clear your GER-BM requirement as well as if you plan to use your S/U on this. As someone who does not really like presentations, this course only requires a part of the group to do the presentation, not all members are needed. In our batch, the whole cohort was split into 4 groups of 29 people. We get to choose our group, so you can take this module together with your friends. The grading includes 2 case studies, 1 on workplace and another on organisation. We are required to submit a report and do a presentation for the workplace case study, but only a report is required for the organisation case study. It is totally up to your team to split the work and there is no specific format for the report. He does not grade us on our presentation skills, instead, he focuses on the content and the logical presenting of the content only. My team split ourselves into 2, the workplace group met up twice (once for doing the report, once for doing the presentation slides) and the organisation group met up once to do the report. I was in the organisation group. The bulk of the report was done within 2 hours of meeting up because most of us did our preparation before the meeting. After the meeting, we just had to cut the words to meet the 1500 word limit, as well as do some minor editing. Only a few people took the initiative to do this. It also too time-consuming if we had to seek everyone's approval before moving ahead with the editing. All lectures are recorded and there is honestly no need to attend them hahah, except for maybe the last lecture, where he may give hints during the review lecture. The hints given are very very straightforward as to what kind of essay questions will come out for the finals. You can also look up PYPs to see the type of questions he likes to set, he sometimes will repeat questions from past years, just with different phrasing.

Overall, this module is very manageable, the only possible stressful part is if no one in your team takes the initiative or if you are unlucky to get freeloaders (if this does happen, raise it up to the lecturer, he will investigate). Apart from that, even though the content is heavy, I just did selective studying based on the hints in his review lecture and could do every single essay question. I S/U-ed it in the end because the final exam was so easy and I felt that the bell curve would be very steep.

I actually enjoyed all modules this semester (not that I did well for every module, but I do not hate/dread any of these modules this semester. Last semester, I really hated the bio and astro modules and so I had a tough time studying for those. Thus, overall this semester has been a good one for me! I hope my subsequent semesters would be as good or better hahah! Not sure if my results are representative of my feelings, so we shall see 🤞

Edit: definitely did better for this sem than my last, but I expected better! I'm dreading next sem as I need to take CM2031 (organic) haiz but okay I need to be positive! :) I will do well so that I can pull up my GPA! 💪