<p>How hard are BME electives? I mean, people always talk about how 153 and 154 are supposed to be really hard, how EGR 75/BME 110's supposed to be one of the easier BME courses, etc. But no one ever talks about how the BME electives are. I'm double-majoring and I'm trying to get a rough plan of my next 2 yrs (I'm a sophomore) and to figure out if I need summer classes or not. Right now, it looks like I might have to take 3 BME electives + stat 113 or something in one semester. Is that a realistic load or should I try and spread that out some?</p>
<p>No one? =(</p>
<p>I'm going to be taking one next semester. I'll get back to you in May. But if you want to know how hard 153/154 are or egr75 or bme100, I can tell you about those :)</p>
<p>Go for it. I've already taken 75 but will be taking 153 this coming semester. Any tips? =)</p>
<p>I don't know who you are taking it with but I'll just say that the class is very concept driven. Meaning that you have to know the concepts pretty well and know how to apply them. </p>
<p>The important principles, laws, etc are easy on the surface but this is really the case of there are an infinite number of ways that one can write problems to test those concepts so you really have to have a firm grasp of the material. I remember in that class when I thought I knew the stuff pretty well and then I'd get this circuit on the test which totally blew my mind. When the teacher showed me the solution, it used the same basic stuff that I knew and studied, except in ways I didn't even think to look at.</p>
<p>Of course, teaching style is very important. I took both 153/154 with Malkin (who I think is a pretty decent teacher actually) and I got used to his style and his methods. Dr. G and Prof Palmeri will likely have their own styles that you will need to figure out.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! Ugh, sounds like most BME classes are supposed to be...Is it pretty much the application of stuff we learned in Physics 62 or will there be many new concepts?</p>
<p>I'll have Palmeri (Dr. G's class was pretty much full by the time the first window finished registering) - have you ever heard of him/had a class with him?</p>
<p>It should be more advanced than physics 62. I've never taken phys62 at Duke but if it's anything like AP Physics C E&M, then you'll go into a lot more detail. </p>
<p>BME 153 is a circuits class, physics dealt with circuits for all of like 2 chapters. In BME you'll learn all the ways to solve circuits, use circuits, analyze circuit behavior, analyze circuit elements, etc etc. All the basic stuff like DC/AC circuit analysis, Kirchoff's Laws, phasors, thevenin/norton equivalents, filters/bode plots, transient responses, etc are covered by every teacher. Then the different teachers differ on how much advanced stuff to cover. The standard fare includes diodes, transistors, logical circuits, etc. So if any of that is new to you, you'll learn new things. </p>
<p>As for Palmeri specifically, I don't know anything about him. His profile on the BME website says he just graduated from Duke Med school in 2007 so I doubt he's taught many courses before if at all. Maybe the BME department is training new lecturers or something. 154 is also pairing an experienced teacher with a new teacher next semester and 171 is going to be taught by a pretty new teacher as well.</p>
<p>My friends who took AP Phys C and Phys 62 said 62 went more in-depth, but I doubt it was substantially more in-depth. Here's to hoping Palmeri will look back on his days as a Duke Grad/Med student (apparently he's a PhD/MD?) and feel sorry for all of us struggling through BME and only teach a few of the advanced topics....lol. Thanks for your help!</p>