Honors chem and Honors physics?

<p>So I’m a chemE major, might be switching to biochemE. Would it be too much to take both honors chem and honors physics in the same quarters? (CHE2AH and PHY9HA). I also need one more class, which would be either workload english, intro to microecon, intro to macroecon, or intro to winemaking.</p>

<p>This sounds like a question better posed to your major advisor than to the CC crowd. I’d say it depends how comfortable you are in science classes and whether you’re going to have a part-time job or significant commitments to a club or sport. Every student is different; I have no doubt there are many students who could handle the course load you suggest. We have no way to know whether you are one of them.</p>

<p>Hah I actually called my major adviser today, and she said “it depends on you”. I guess I’m trying to get a general consensus here. I won’t find a job first quarter, maybe later on. My main commitment would be Band-Uh!, researching in lab, and BJJ classes at the ARC. Other than that, probably just some recreational sports and a string quartet for fun. AP physics at my school was a joke (teacher talked about baseball all the time, we only have proper lectures for the first two months). AP chem is known as the class that’s pretty much impossible to get an A in at my school. First semester, we had 2 A-'s. Second semester, none. I managed to come in 3rd with my grade…almost there but not quite, got B+ both times.</p>

<p>Are you an incoming freshman?</p>

<p>Yes I am an incoming freshman.</p>

<p>I would caution you against setting your expectations for coursework at UC Davis based on your experience in high school. When I was taking AP Physics in high school, I barely ever did homework, goofed off in class pretty regularly, but because I was comfortable with the subject matter and I test well, I think I pulled an A- final grade. Given the same performance in a college classroom, I would have been more likely to get a C. Mainly because the structure of the class is different and topics are covered much more quickly. You really have to be on top of things because in many courses you’ll never get a “catch-up” day in class, where you can make up lost ground. (At least there won’t be any snow days to deal with in Davis!)</p>

<p>The 9H physics series, according to daviswiki, sets students up for eventual study of modern physics more than does the standard 9 series. As a chem/biochem engineering major, this might not be something you’re interested in, or it might not be something you’ve got time for with all your other coursework. Relativity and quantum can be really difficult to grasp when you first encounter it in college. If that excites you, I’d say go ahead and plan to complete the honors 9 series. As an engineering student, you’re likely to benefit considerably more from a breadth of study than a pure chem student, and if you plan to continue immediate to grad school, advanced math and physics are really good things to have under your belt.</p>

<p>If the idea of studying modern physics, even in an introductory or basic context, doesn’t excite you, and if you aren’t very confident about both your work ethic out of class and your test-taking ability in class, then you might be better off sticking with the standard 9 series. While there isn’t going to be any modern physics in 9HA, if it’s setting you up for relativity it’ll probably spend a bit more time (relative to 9A) on frames of reference, certain implications of physical laws, possibly more derivations. </p>

<p>I have no doubt you can go from 9HA to 9B if the honors material feels like too much, but it might be tough to go the other direction. So the question to me is really whether you might be interested in the modern physics topics that will come later in the 9H series. If you do try two honors sciences at once in your first quarter, intro to winemaking might be a good choice for your third course. It’ll give you a change of pace from lab sciences and probably require less work outside of class than an english or econ course.</p>

<p>Thanks bakemaster for the great help. I’m still thinking, but this helps a lot. :)</p>

<p>I actually had a similar question also. I’m going to be an electrical engineer and I was wondering how much of a workload the Honors Calculus and Honors Physics series would be. (I’m also trying to get a general consensus here :P) Right now, I’m planning to do research in a lab (if possible), recreational activities and badminton for sure. If it helps, I’ve self-studied AP Calc BC and Physics C: Mech and E&M this year and got 5s in all of them. My high school AP Physics B and AP Calc AB classes were easy for me.</p>

<p>It sounds to me like you’re in good shape to take honors calc and physics simultaneously, kinetix64, based on your independent study performance. Being motivated outside of class is a huge factor in handling a demanding college schedule. In your case, for EE, both of these series are hugely important. If you have to choose one or the other, go with Honors physics, because quantum is going to be a big deal when you start to study semiconductors and diodes and so forth. But diff. eq. will also be very important, and the more you cover in the math 21 series, the better prepared you’ll be for diff. eq.</p>

<p>I’ll be in Honors Physics 009HA for the Fall Quarter, too. Physics is a very cut & dry science to me so if you’re up for the class it should be fine.</p>

<p>Between those four classes, intro to winemaking would NOT be my choice. It’s by far the hardest out of those four. I aced Econ 1a, 1b, and ENL 3, so workload shouldn’t be very hard.</p>

<p>Really? I’m surprised. What sort of work is there to do outside of class time?</p>

<p>it’s a lot of memorization, which would be a lot to handle especially with honors physics and chem. i guess it’s personal preference - memorization versus minimal busy work (ecn 1a/1b) or some writing (wkld enl)
who would be the winemaking professor? adams is the easier of the two (if the other person is still teaching) so if you don’t have any problems with memorization then maybe you would want to take winemaking.</p>

<p>Different strokes, I guess. I find memorization of processes and functional characteristics relatively easy. As long as I don’t have to memorize dates, or names of people or places. Essays and written work take me much longer than quantitative problem-solving. I tend to assume the same of other engineers, especially when someone is considering doubling up on honors coursework; but that may be a poor assumption.</p>

<p>it’s more along the lines of memorization of people/places (well, things, like what kind of grapes you use to make x wine and what wines correspond with which appellations of origin) rather than processes and functional characteristics. definitely a flash card type class, not something that’ll make sense to certain people and will be hard to grasp for others. not much problem solving or essays - just memorizing facts.
and yeah the engineer stereotype would lead to that assumption. i’m in econ so the OP is probably better listening to your advice than mine, heh.</p>

<p>Which grapes make which wines, I could probably remember pretty well. Appellations of origin, though, is something I have never been able to handle. I know that Champagne comes from Champagne, and that’s pretty much it. I expected the class would be more like a lab where you learn to make your own wine than a lecture where you learn about viticulture generally. Another bad assumption!</p>

<p>I think I’d be better at understanding concepts than at memorizing, but it would be a nice change. Also now, I found out about EMS002, diversity of materials in life. I’m thinking about taking that class instead, only 2 units.</p>

<p>yep, it’s an overview of winemaking from the vine to the glass</p>