Module Review Year One Sem 2 (AY2014/15)

Modules for this semester...

MA1506	Mathematics II	4
IE2140	Engineering Economy	4
ST2131	Probability	4
GEM2900	Understanding Uncertainty & Statistical Thinking	4
EC1301	Principles of Economics	4

Update: 16 Apr 16 >>Deleted Grades attained

Before I start, note that you will be entering SEM TWO! I mean no more grade-free semester, more effort is needed to survive as students generally pull up their socks then. But still, not much stress if you follow me, just aim for 'B's!

MA1506 Mathematics II

Pretty much the same lecturers as MA1505. Follow Prof. Chew's lectures, his notes are concise and well-structured for your learning, though it is very different from the official notes. Webcast is enough, attending lectures not important. Tutorials must go! Just crash any tutorial slot, usually the classes will only be at most half-full (because alot of smart ppl no need go).

All the students gained lots of experience from MA1505, I say they all leveled up. Sem 2 has no more SU and more students will be hungry for A. Blur freshmen no more! So, you gotta put in more effort in this than MA1505. For illustration of what I mean, median score for mid term test of MA1505 is about 6/10 while that for MA1506 is 8/10.

Mid term test will only cover Chapter One. Unlike MA1505, content tested in this test is still examined in the finals. Make sure you do at least 4 Past year papers to score average. It shouldn't be difficult to score full marks if you like. The final exams will be more tricky. Past year papers will help you secure about half of the marks with ease. The rest is up to you. I left almost half of the paper blank, yolo! However, I still think I have no regrets because I did proper exam preparation.

Topics covered:

• Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs): 1st & 2nd order
• Population Models
• Laplace transformation
• Matrices (much more than your JC H2 maths)
• System of linear ODEs
• Partial differential equation

IE2140 Engineering Economy

Engineering economy is like an intro to decision making. I assure you, there is nothing in relation to A Lvl econs. You will learn about choosing between alternatives, the alternatives involves cashflows.

Group project carries quite a big weightage, which is a good thing, means less stress during exams. Groups of 6 will start any project you like and do the financial analysis, present in front of professors at the end of semester. Group mates can be chosen or random, up to you, but I suggest you make sure the group has  a mix of genders. You will know why, I will leave that a mystery now.

I did okay for mid terms but that landed me at below average with an all-ISE class. Finals is chaotic, I did not really do a thorough revision. It was the last paper and I guess I slacked. Many mistakes and doubts during the exam but my instinct tells me I was not be alone.

Topics covered:

• Time value of money (interest rates, blah blah)
• Determining if a project is viable
• Comparing 2 or more projects
• Monte Carlo Simulation using Excel (all about probability and randomness)
• Capital (how projects get financed? bonds, shares and how they work)
• Estimate (learn estimation of cost)
• Real options analysis (nothing technical here)
• Replacement analysis
• Tax (learn how income tax is calculated)

ST2131 Probability
If you have read other module reviews, you got to read mine, definitely boost your morale. I was taunted by those reviews back then. Then, as I dwell into the semester, I start to doubt if those reviewers are trying to add rigor to the module in order to satisfy their ego... Let me assure you, this module is very much manageable.

Webcasts or lecture is fine. Make sure you attend all tutorials, even if you can do the questions. And make sure you go for slots taught by lecturers, very useful. They will show you how to tackle each qn efficiently.

I did horrible for mid terms (30%), got red flagged as lowest 25th percentile. I blame my lack of sleep. Finals (70%), was easier than I expected, I see a good chance for my comeback. No need to rush for finals paper, I did every qn slowly and carefully, then still got half an hour left to think about the more challenging qns. Some students will experience mental block because they rush the paper, end up cannot do simple questions. Past year papers with answers will help you best for exam preparation.

Topics covered:

• Counting methods (mostly P & C)
• Conditional probability (Baye's, etc.)
• Random variables (geometric, hypergeom, negative binomial, etc.)
• Continuous R.V. (normal, exponential, poisson, etc.)
• Jointly distributed R.V.
• Expectation, Variance, Covariance, etc. (this part alot of formulas to copy on cheat sheet but end up like never appear for my exam)

GEM2900 Understanding Uncertainty & Statistical Thinking
Cap-puller mod to most students, I dare not say because I am not the kind that would make almost no mistakes in exams. In fact, I made quite a few regrettable mistakes in final exams. But I assure you this is a slack mod, at least for me. Reason being, half of the content overlaps with what I am learning in ST2131.

No mid terms!! Horray! The lecturer also understands that it is a GEM, so he does not go into complex stuff in lectures, even so at a slow pace. Webcast available but I always attend the 8am lectures, I knew I will not follow the webcasts. Don't know why I am so hardcore in attending lectures... Don't say I never give you tip, you may arrive at the lecture theater 20min late. I am always spot on, that is when he (Dr David Chew) finishes his recap on last lecture.

Finals make up 70 or 80%, which I forgot- trait of a B student. The rest goes to weekly IVLE quizzes and 2 IVLE Assignments. All have 2 tries, please triple confirm answers with friends. When in doubt, I go to google or yahoo, managed to score full marks for all these. The finals paper wasn't fully quantitative.

Contents covered:

• Counting methods (mostly P&C, odds)
• Interpretations of probability
• Conditional Probability (Baye's...)
• Data presentation (small part on graphs)
• Sampling (covered in ST1131, std error, margin of error, C.I.)
• Chebyshev's Theorem (like empirical rule, something new to me, surprizing that ST2131 never cover in my semester)
• Important questions (Birthday problem, Matching problems, Syphillis test problem)

EC1301 Principles of Economics
I love slack modules, can't stop loving them. This one fully MCQ module, confirm plus chop. Even weekly tutorials are MCQs. The only thing I would complain is doing tutorial on MyEconlab- an online portal. It is quite slow in loading, please only use Chrome browser, else just hang. The FREE etextbook is useless too, would be better if it is a real book. I am not recommending you to buy, do not misunderstand, notes are sufficient.

Although this is another chance to 'confirm' answers with friends, I highly recommend you to at least try once yourself. Go read through ppt slides, and attempt once, helps your understanding of content. Mid terms was packed with tricky questions, I think I scored 31.something out of 40. It sort of gives me doubts about the difficulty of this module. However, at finals, I feel like I know every single questions. However, my friends say it was a very tricky paper, hmmm. I have like 1 hour left to check answers but I was shy to submit early, though a lot of other students did. I guess the extra practices provided by lecturers are very helpful, MCQs. They are sorted by chapter, just attempt them all and make reference to notes when in doubt. I jot down important points after every practice, easy for exam-day-revision.

Topics covered:

• Demand & Supply
• Elasticity
• Output & Costs
• Perfect competition
• Efficiency
• Monopoly
• GDP & Growth
• Employment & inflation
• Savings & Investments
• Money
• Exchange rate & BOP
• AD/AS
• Fiscal Policy
• Phillip's curve

I forgot to advise that having A level H2/H1 Economics is huge advantage, though it is not a pre-requisite.

End of module review, I hope it is insightful to you. Feel free to ask questions in comments, I am a man with no life, will answer quick. Now I need to think of what for my next post... any ideas? (don't let me feel like I am talking to the wall please)