Physics 1D03 is a physics course mandatory specifically for first year engineering students. Roughly 60 to 70 % of it's content is review of high school physics with some stuff on torque and simple harmonic motion thrown in. If you had good teachers in high school, you should be pretty set for this
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The breakdown of this course is as follows:
- Two tests worth 10% each
- 4 in class Labs worth 3% each (Additional 3% deduction for each lab missed without a good reason - means a total loss of 6%! :o)
- 5 tutorials worth 7.5% total
- One exam worth 50%
- 5% in class participation (through "i>Clickers")
- 2.5% for CAPA problem sets
The only thing I found really difficult in this course were the labs, mostly due to the fact that unlike Physics 1E03, where everything is electronic, these labs were all mechanical... which meant you had to do a really good job to get reasonable measurements. The TAs (at least a lot of them) mark pretty easy though, so it's not a big deal in the end.
i>Clickers, in case you're wondering, are little $40 remote control like things that you buy with all your first year text books. Basically part way through the lecture the professor will put up a single question multiple choice quiz and you press button on the i>Clicker to submit your answer. You only have to answer 85% of quizzes to get the full 5%. Some professors try to make it 2.5% participation, and 2.5% whether or not you get it right. Be hopeful that you don't get one of those professors.
CAPA problem sets are basically a set of problems you're given each week with a set of around 18 questions or so. You have 10 chances to get each on right before the computer gives up on you. There is normally lots of help through the forums on WebCT though in case you're stuck.
Other than that... all I can say is study hard for the exam at the end. It is worth 50% of your mark, so it can easily make or break you depending on how hard you study.
My advice for this course is
DO NOT buy the text book. This is actually one of the worst text books I've ever read... the example problems are so drawn out with BS steps like "conceptualize" and "analyze" that you forget what you were doing by the time you get to the end of the problem. Also, the solution manuals only cover the absolute easiest problems in the back.
As long as you do the CAPA problem sets, and understand them, you should be set for this course. A lot of the test and exam questions come from there. Also, make sure you read the multiple choice really closely on the tests/exam. They tend to like to throw in small words that you miss if you read the question too quickly. Questions regarding labs do not appear on the exam.
Good luck future Engineering 1 first years