UoM General Chat

[Rod]

Hey guys, was wondering if I could can get tips for exam revision for one of my subjects

Specifically its BIOL10001 (bio of australian flora and fauna) and its got A LOT of content. Some of the questions on the mid-sem we did wanted VERY specific answers and basically I have to know everything in depth. It's not too bad, its just there is so much to learn. My notes are very detailed but I'm just wondering how I could retain all this info for the exam. To make it worse there is a big short answer section so I have to know everything inside out.

For other subjects (like BIOL10004 and BIOL10005) I just read through my notes and I can retain everything. But for this subject there is so much!

Any advice appreciated (:

[Rishi97]

Hey guys, was wondering if I could can get tips for exam revision for one of my subjects

Specifically its BIOL10001 (bio of australian flora and fauna) and its got A LOT of content. Some of the questions on the mid-sem we did wanted VERY specific answers and basically I have to know everything in depth. It's not too bad, its just there is so much to learn. My notes are very detailed but I'm just wondering how I could retain all this info for the exam. To make it worse there is a big short answer section so I have to know everything inside out.

For other subjects (like BIOL10004 and BIOL10005) I just read through my notes and I can retain everything. But for this subject there is so much!

Any advice appreciated (:

The thing that works for me in these circumstances is that I go through my notes in depth and then get a friend or a family member to quiz me on some content. As in, I get them to make up some questions and then ask me. It won't really help u memorise ALL the content but you'll get an idea of what area of the course you need to focus on more and memorise. There will always be some things that you've retained throughout the year so you won't need to spend too much time on that. Just makes the revision process a tad easier

[LeviLamp]

Hey guys, was wondering if I could can get tips for exam revision for one of my subjects

Specifically its BIOL10001 (bio of australian flora and fauna) and its got A LOT of content. Some of the questions on the mid-sem we did wanted VERY specific answers and basically I have to know everything in depth. It's not too bad, its just there is so much to learn. My notes are very detailed but I'm just wondering how I could retain all this info for the exam. To make it worse there is a big short answer section so I have to know everything inside out.

For other subjects (like BIOL10004 and BIOL10005) I just read through my notes and I can retain everything. But for this subject there is so much!

Any advice appreciated (:

I don't really know how else you can learn it other than reading over your notes - it's all very content-based, rather than focusing on a core logic-based theme. I found that the lecture content always nested under a bigger picture, so try and relate every fact back to the core topic of the lecture (where there actually is one). You could write out lists of features on a whiteboard (e.g. desert adaptations, rainforest plant adaptations, seaweed types, floral structures of Proteaceae/Fabaceae/Myrtaceae), make mind maps, etc. - there's not really some special hack to internalise the content. Try and read it as a story - I always found that helped, and for most of the lectures it does work (though the final three are pretty crap and that probably won't cut it). The most important thing, if you're struggling, is to just go over it slowly and meticulously, so that you actually read each word and don't skip over the minutiae. Reading your notes aloud is also a really good revision strategy for rote learning-based content. As Rishi97 said, pop quizzing also really helps you to lock in specific facts.

[Pup]

I used to be indifferent to neuro, until I tried going through these torturous pain lectures in FiB.

Doing neuroscience actually helps with the pain lectures for me.


For anyone who's considering doing neuroscience, i'd highly recommend it. the lecture content are great and not too content heavy, multiple choice assessment in core subjects in semester 1.  I mainly did neuroscience because I'd enjoyed the neurophysiology part of HSF (contrary to most people's experiences I know).

[Rod]

The thing that works for me in these circumstances is that I go through my notes in depth and then get a friend or a family member to quiz me on some content. As in, I get them to make up some questions and then ask me. It won't really help u memorise ALL the content but you'll get an idea of what area of the course you need to focus on more and memorise. There will always be some things that you've retained throughout the year so you won't need to spend too much time on that. Just makes the revision process a tad easier

I don't really know how else you can learn it other than reading over your notes - it's all very content-based, rather than focusing on a core logic-based theme. I found that the lecture content always nested under a bigger picture, so try and relate every fact back to the core topic of the lecture (where there actually is one). You could write out lists of features on a whiteboard (e.g. desert adaptations, rainforest plant adaptations, seaweed types, floral structures of Proteaceae/Fabaceae/Myrtaceae, make mind maps, etc. - there's not really some special hack to internalise the content. Try and read it as a story - I always found that helped, and for most of the lectures it does work (though the final three are pretty crap and that probably won't cut it). The most important thing, if you're struggling, is to just go over it slowly and meticulously, so that you actually read each word and don't skip over the minutiae. Reading your notes aloud is also a really good revision strategy for rote learning-based content. As Rishi97 said, pop quizzing also really helps you to lock in specific facts.

Thank you both, greatly appreciated

[Faith-PoweR]

"You will be allowed to take your digital or analogue watch into an exam venue. However, smart watches must be switched off. See here for more info - http://go.unimelb.edu.au/ra3n. "

Unimelb actually listens 

[vox nihili]

"You will be allowed to take your digital or analogue watch into an exam venue. However, smart watches must be switched off. See here for more info - http://go.unimelb.edu.au/ra3n. "

Unimelb actually listens 

Credit to them, they are usually pretty responsive to students' concerns with respect to exams. Last year they had scheduled exams at 8am on cup day and a day after it was pointed out to them that this meant outer suburbs/Geelong students wouldn't be able to get in on time via public transport, they changed the exam timetable straight away.

[Kalopsic]

Anyone else doing chem 2 feel overwhelmed by the amount of content needed to be remembered? Was already struggling with the concepts and now with all the common ligands required to be memorised, I feel like I'm out of my depth

[ChickenCh0wM1en]

Anyone else doing chem 2 feel overwhelmed by the amount of content needed to be remembered? Was already struggling with the concepts and now with all the common ligands required to be memorised, I feel like I'm out of my depth

Chem 2 is definitely one of the hardest subjects you'll do in undergrad. Just work at it one step at a time and attempt the practice exams. It will come by soon enough

[Whynot123]

Anyone else doing chem 2 feel overwhelmed by the amount of content needed to be remembered? Was already struggling with the concepts and now with all the common ligands required to be memorised, I feel like I'm out of my depth

Hang in there man. Can seem a bit daunting at times but its not too bad once you start reviewing everything. Try doing the past papers, they really help.

[sjayne]

since we're approaching a few hot days... where are the coolest places to chill out at uni??

[vox nihili]

since we're approaching a few hot days... where are the coolest places to chill out at uni??

Wherever I am 








*that's right folks, I'm losing my mind.

[spectroscopy]

has anyone on here done/know anyone whose done uni psych successfully without any prior or concurrent biology/chemistry knowledge (lmao does that even exist on atarnotes)?
i started off doing psych last sem but the lectures jumped straight into behavioural neuroscience and i had no clue what was going, i left the subject in week 3. i never really tried to learn the stuff though, it kinda just overwhelmed me and i gave up thinking "wtf is going on", but now im kinda worried that i legged it too quickly and am starting to regret leaving it because it really does interest me.

should i yolo it enrol in it next year and if its too much again just drop it again?

[Mieow]

When does the 2016 handbook get released?

[silverpixeli]

Hey guys any idea on the date the new 2016 handbook is going to be released?



Also if anyone is doing second year physics next year, they're mixing around the subjects from this year

the three second year subjects
thermal and classical, quantum and special rel, electromag and optics (each with assessed labs)

are becoming
thermal and quantum, special rel and electromag, laboratory and computational physics (and possibly a 4th optics/classical subject? will know when handbook comes out)


Idk if this applies to anyone else here but I for one did thermal and classical this year but because I'm not a physics major I only wanted to sneak in one more second year physics subject in 2016 (this allows me to become a physics teacher in the future) so I wanted to do quantum mechanics and special rel to learn about quantum mechanics

I emailed the department and for reasons which are pretty fair I guess they unfortunately wont let me do quantum and thermal because I have already done the thermal half, but they are going to allow enrolment in the old quantum and special rel subject, and just send me to half of the quantum/thermal lectures, half the laboratory subject labs, and half the electromag/special rel lectures. This sounds silly to me as I'd be taking one subject across two semester and it kinda unbalances my 3rd year study plan quite a bit, plus I have no idea what would happen with assessment and exams!

So I guess I've gotta look for an alternative physics subject, I don't want to do special rel and electromag because I'm not so keen on either topic and so I don't think I would enjoy it. And laboratory/computational physics (if I was allowed) I would probably not enjoy either because I really disliked labs in the physics subjects I have taken already.


/rant