The basic goal of this course is to give you a fundamental understanding of astronomy. Through the course, you will learn about the birth and evolution of the universe, the origin of galaxies, the evolution of stars and the formation of planets. Our solar system will also be one of the main topics to be studied. Important cosmology topics will be presented, some unanswered mysteries of the universe and mankind will be discussed and hopefully arise further interest and lead you to further your own exploration. During this course, the diverse facts that form the context of a science will be delivered, and as a result you will understand our place in the Universe. During the course, you will also have opportunities to participate in various practical sessions: a few evening stargazing session are organized during the semester -when appropriate- in order to facilitate direct observation of suitable astronomical objects (Moon, planets, star clusters).
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Taken in: AY 18/19 Sem 2
Grade: B+Midterm 1 (20%): A
Midterm 2 (20%): B+
Finals (60%)Well, there are a lot of mixed reviews on this module out there. I took this module only during add/drop because I did not get any electives and this module had a lot of vacancies left (as you will see why later). I would not recommend this module unless your memorization skills are superb. The content is super heavy, not easy to understand the concepts and the content is very easily mixed up. The first half of the module is easy and will make you feel like this module is very manageable as you will be learning about the planets, the different characteristics which are not too bad and the lecturer is okay. But the second half consists of a lot of physics, the lecturer sucks (I’m sorry) and the slides are horrendous.
Midterms will be relatively easy, but finals will kill you. Finals will consist of a mixture of easy & difficult questions. Easy whereby literally everyone can answer, so it doesn’t really help you get a better grade. Difficult questions are those that require you to think out of the box and more often than not you’ll have no clue what is the answer and just randomly choose. I did not manage to finish studying for this as I had another core final on the same day (which really really sucks). The friends who took this module with me all decided to S/U it, but I decided to take the risk as I was okay with getting a B+ and I thought I would be able to get that (surprisingly I did, so that’s great). Overall, I think you should take this mod only if you are interested in astronomy and have S/Us you wouldn’t mind using.
This review was reposted with the kind permission of Awesome NTU CBC Student. Originally published at https://awesomentucbcstudent.blogspot.com/2018/08/ay1819-y1s2-review.html
July 17, 2021 -
Year Taken: AY 14/15, Sem 1
I’d recommend this module to Year 1 students. ‘Cause while I’d say there’s a considerable amount of content to absorb, there are only lectures (which you can just watch in your own time). And Year 1 students are generally more free, I think? So more time to absorb – more chances to score and beat the steep bell curve. But first you need to be interested in science because you think you’re learning about astronomy but really you’re learning science and sometimes there are formulas you need to digest to help in understanding (not required of course, but if you’re completely put off by them you’ll feel daunted by the notes especially those by a certain prof who likes varying fonts).
Exam format:
30% CA (20 questions, so each question really counts)
70% FinalsThis review was reposted with the kind permission of Min. Originally published at https://dancingwithroses.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/ntu-modules-sem-1-201415/
June 27, 2021 -
Year Taken: AY 18/19, Sem 1
Midterm 1 – 20%
Midterm 2 – 20%
Final – 60%I saw many reviews on this course so shall not say much here. This course is really content heavy and actually I took this also because it fitted into my timetable nicely. One interesting thing about this course is that there were 3 stargazing sessions where we could use the telescope to view the planets at night. I went for one but there were too many people there so didn’t manage to see much. It is really up to one’s personal preferences whether to take this course~ All the tests were in MCQs but still too hard for me. Dx
This review was reposted with the kind permission of Hairdryer. Originally published at https://ionhairdryer.blogspot.com/2019/08/ay-201819-ntu-spms-cbc-y3s1.html
June 15, 2021 -
Year Taken: AY20/21, Sem 1
Grade: A+The only thing I will ever complain about this course is the memory work and the psychedelic- inducing slides… This course rewards last minute studying and all stakes lie in the finals which is 80% and a midterms worth 20%.
Assoc Prof Ken Tye Yong taught the first half of the course which lectures I kind of dozed off in (maybe because it was the dry and fundamental parts about astronomy) but I really appreciate Assoc Prof Poenar Daniel Puiu who lectured the second half of the course. He left an impression on me because he was a stellar lecturer and story teller (you know those really cool grandpas to hang out with?) that truly was passionate and knowledgeable about the subject.
The finals was actually quite difficult as some MCQ choices was rather similar and they really LOVE testing the obscure parts of the notes where you will definitely scan through. There are question banks online that can help you with preparations… but there’s like at least a thousand questions in there… so good luck. I was better off memorising the lecture notes!
This review was reposted with the kind permission of Roy. Originally published at https://djtangent.wordpress.com/2021/04/02/eess-y2s1-2020/
June 11, 2021
