My exam results...

[Dragar]

I'm sure you're all aware by now I'm doing a physics degree. I've dropped subtle clues in many of my posts that I have a fondness for the subject.

Anyway, despite a nerve-wracking morning of enduring a lecture and a problems class on Fourier transforms, I finally got a chance to visit my tutor and recieve my grades for the set of exams I had during January. A 70% is a 'first', which is a top notch degree. I was expecting somewhere between 55% and 65%. Also, since this is my second year, these results actually count.

I got an 80% average! :woohoo:

And 88% in Quantum Mechanics! :feynman:

I'm so happy, and surprised!

[Shaguar]

Excellent behaviour Dragar, I will expect you to be at Rutherford Aplleton next time I go.

[Dragar]

Hah. Somehow I doubt that. :P

Thanks, though. :)

[livius drusus]

Oh wow, Dragar, that's amazing! You're like, insanely smart and shit. It really looks like you've picked the right field of study, too. That has to feel great.

Big, huge, wet, sloppy congratulations from me. :cheer: :glomp: :bow2: :yes!: :cheer:

[Dragar]

Thanks livius! I'm really not that smart; there are a good number of people who do better than me. Mostly I enjoy the subject an awful lot, and have a natural skill at verbal reasoning. I'm sure as the maths gets more complicated, my grades will drop off. ;)

[viscousmemories]

Great news, Dragar! Congratulations. :)

[maddog]

Brilliant, Dragar! Kudos, congrats, 'n' all. :ovation: :vibes: :yes!: :winner: :appl:
#259

[Dragar]

Thanks!

[xorbie]

Congratulations, and very excellent use of the Feynman Diagram smiley man.

As an American though, can I have a bit of an explanation. Are these exams your final exam scores? Your grades in the class? Do you have letter grades that go with these? Are they annual?

[Dragar]

As an American though, can I have a bit of an explanation. Are these exams your final exam scores? Your grades in the class? Do you have letter grades that go with these? Are they annual?

My apologies, and you're quite correct, I have been a little vague. I'll explain.

I'm currently in the second year of a four years MSc course at university.

The first year counts for nothing.
The second year counts for 30% of the degree.
The third year counts for 30% of the degree.
The fourth year counts for 40% of the degree.

At least, I think it does. I may be mistaken as to the actual amount it counts. Either way, it counts less in this year than next year and the year after.

Each year is divided into two halves. We have half our modules between September and December. Then we go home for Christmas, and come back and have exams in January. We then have new modules, and more exams in the Summer before we break up for the longer Summer break.

So, I scored 80% on the first ~15% of my degree, in other words. I still have five more 'sets' of exams to go. And the next years are worth more.

Regarding grading - no letters. Degrees are classified from best to worst:

First Class Honours - usually around 70%
Second Class Honours (Division I) - usually around 60%
Second Class Hnours (Division II) - usually around 55%
Third Class HONOURS - usually around 45%
Pass - anything above 40%

[xorbie]

Ah. Sounds like what we have here.

I'm also on a 4 year MSc (started off as physics, math now though), though I suppose I could finish in three.

What you call modules are what I suspect courses are here... I take five courses per semester, have exams before I go home for Christmas, come back in late January and take five courses in the second semester, then go home for Summer Break.

The difference is each class counts exactly alike, and each class grades how it wants (mixing in homework, quizes and tests).

Do you get to pick what modules you take? Or are they prescriped by the physics department?

Also, what sort of Quantum Mech was it? I did take a sort of intro to QM class, where we saw but didn't really work with the basic equations (there was no Dif Eq or Linear Algebra prerequisite for this class), and worked with probability waves and the such.

[Dragar]

Ah. Sounds like what we have here.

I'm also on a 4 year MSc (started off as physics, math now though), though I suppose I could finish in three.

I don't want to leave. ;)

What you call modules are what I suspect courses are here... I take five courses per semester, have exams before I go home for Christmas, come back in late January and take five courses in the second semester, then go home for Summer Break.

I suspect tha tis the case, yes.

The difference is each class counts exactly alike, and each class grades how it wants (mixing in homework, quizes and tests).

The majority of our modules are determined by exams. In three of them I had a small class test during the term, which was worth 5% if you pass (attain a mark greater than 40%) and nothing if you fail. So the exam was worth 95%.

In another we had no exams, just class tests and a research assignment (mine was on the flight of golf balls). However, since the average is determined almost entirely from exams/tests, and we rarely get individual results back, I thought I'd just label all my results 'exam results' to save confusion.

Do you get to pick what modules you take? Or are they prescriped by the physics department?

Were I a 'real' physicist, yes, I would. There are some core modules that everyone must take, but many physics students can pick and choose various options. For instance, last year I took a philosophy module. This year the pure physics students could choose between an stellar structure module, and environmental physics module and a biommedical physics module. Or, I assume, a module outside the school if the other school said they could.

I'm doing a specialised 'Physics with Theroetical Astrophysics' course. This means all my modules are picked (my optional choice last year was a one off, I think). I don't do laboratory work (i.e. experiments) and instead learn computational methods (C programming) and more maths. I also have to take all the astrophysics modules (not that I would take anything else anyway).

Also, what sort of Quantum Mech was it? I did take a sort of intro to QM class, where we saw but didn't really work with the basic equations (there was no Dif Eq or Linear Algebra prerequisite for this class), and worked with probability waves and the such.

I did an introduction last academic year (which included special relativity in the module). It had differential equations, but we were given solutions (we didn't have to solve the equations ourselves, just verify the solution, for instance, and note how quantization appears).

Last semester (in this module alone) we looked at the experimental work leading to the theory, used and solved differential equations, partial differential equations, went through the various postulates, covered eigenfunctions and eigenvalues, expectation values (essentially the mean values resulting from measurements), operators for energy, momentum and position, and the uncertainty principle, as well as the commutative properties of those operators (thus deriving the uncertainty principle along the way).

We also examined simple set-ups, such as a 1-D 'Particle in a box' and the quantum harmonic oscillator. I may have covered linear algebra, or I may not have. If we did, we didn't call it that.

I have Quantum II this semester, and we've just started on angular momentum and 'spin'. And have just moved into 3-D. Yes, only just. We're being extremely detailed in our analysis, which is why we haven't done anything more difficult than 1-D yet.

[xorbie]

Ah. Sounds like what we have here.

I'm also on a 4 year MSc (started off as physics, math now though), though I suppose I could finish in three.

I don't want to leave. ;)

Neither do I. ;)

Fortunatly, I have grad school to look forward to. :yup:

Do you get to pick what modules you take? Or are they prescriped by the physics department?

Were I a 'real' physicist, yes, I would. There are some core modules that everyone must take, but many physics students can pick and choose various options. For instance, last year I took a philosophy module. This year the pure physics students could choose between an stellar structure module, and environmental physics module and a biommedical physics module. Or, I assume, a module outside the school if the other school said they could.

Yeah, basically what we here. I'm just about done with my core though (just two more courses.. and I have two more years, which is about ten or so courses of my choosing).

Also, what sort of Quantum Mech was it? I did take a sort of intro to QM class, where we saw but didn't really work with the basic equations (there was no Dif Eq or Linear Algebra prerequisite for this class), and worked with probability waves and the such.

I did an introduction last academic year (which included special relativity in the module). It had differential equations, but we were given solutions (we didn't have to solve the equations ourselves, just verify the solution, for instance, and note how quantization appears).

Last semester (in this module alone) we looked at the experimental work leading to the theory, used and solved differential equations, partial differential equations, went through the various postulates, covered eigenfunctions and eigenvalues, expectation values (essentially the mean values resulting from measurements), operators for energy, momentum and position, and the uncertainty principle, as well as the commutative properties of those operators (thus deriving the uncertainty principle along the way).

We also examined simple set-ups, such as a 1-D 'Particle in a box' and the quantum harmonic oscillator. I may have covered linear algebra, or I may not have. If we did, we didn't call it that.

I have Quantum II this semester, and we've just started on angular momentum and 'spin'. And have just moved into 3-D. Yes, only just. We're being extremely detailed in our analysis, which is why we haven't done anything more difficult than 1-D yet.

Yeah, I think what you had your first year is what I had my first year (makes sense ;)). I dropped physics after the intro stuff, and I sort of look back fondly from time to time.

If you're doing real Quantum Mech though, and if you derive the uncertainy principle, you must have covered linear algebra, which is essentially the study of systems of linear equations and eigenvalues of these systems (to put it very simple).

[Dragar]

I dropped physics after the intro stuff, and I sort of look back fondly from time to time.

Any particular reason? I hear pure maths at degree level is much more based around 'sets' and number theory than it is around the sort of maths I encounter in physics. Do you prefer that sort of stuff?

If you're doing real Quantum Mech though, and if you derive the uncertainy principle, you must have covered linear algebra, which is essentially the study of systems of linear equations and eigenvalues of these systems (to put it very simple).

Hmm. I think so, yes. I could confirm if you gave some examples of linear algebra. Are we talking about the way a solution to the Schrödinger equation is a linear combination of all the possible eigenstates of the system? Are we talking about messing around using operators to act on linear combinations of eigenfunctions?

[xorbie]

I dropped physics after the intro stuff, and I sort of look back fondly from time to time.

Any particular reason? I hear pure maths at degree level is much more based around 'sets' and number theory than it is around the sort of maths I encounter in physics. Do you prefer that sort of stuff?

I'm not 100% sure yet. My current goal is to go for what is a somewhat broad field called computational biology (or systems biology). The goal is to develop computational models for incredibly complex biological systems. So while sets and number theory and what not are cool, I'm really going more into the applied areas. I have taken and will continue to take complex analysis, linear/non-linear analysis and differential equations. Stuff that's actually rather useful in many physics and engineering applications.

If you're doing real Quantum Mech though, and if you derive the uncertainy principle, you must have covered linear algebra, which is essentially the study of systems of linear equations and eigenvalues of these systems (to put it very simple).

Hmm. I think so, yes. I could confirm if you gave some examples of linear algebra. Are we talking about the way a solution to the Schrödinger equation is a linear combination of all the possible eigenstates of the system? Are we talking about messing around using operators to act on linear combinations of eigenfunctions?

Well, a first course in linear algebra would cover solving systems of linear equations, using least square methods, finding eigenvalues, factorization, and singular value decomposition. The simplest thing is solving a system such as:

Ax = B, where A is a co-efficient matrix, x is your variable vector and B is your solution vector.

For example,

6(x1) + 0(x2) + 4 (x3) = 5
-1(x1) + 3(x2) + 7(x3) = 11
0(x1) + 2(x2) - 1(x3) = -3

The fact that the you can solve differential equations and add together linear combinations comes from the fact that the differential operator is linear, where a linear operator is defined as one in which:

L(ax + by) = a*L(x) + b*L(y)

So basically, if any of this looks familiar, you've probably taken the class. If not, you may have just learned the necessary stuff in your Quantum Mech class.

[Dragar]

Ah, yes. That looks like a combination of which matrices we covered last year, as well as the work we did with linear operators in Quantum Mech. Linear operators cropped up, but the first part of your example did not (though it is appearing in ray optics this semester!).