Advice on Between Specialist Maths and Physics

[runninghorse]

Hi! I am an AUSMAT / SAM student at INTEC, sponsored by JPA to further my education in Australia in 2010.

Now i am in a dilemma between two subjects choice in the coming second semester: Specialist Maths or Physics. I am hoping for some comments from anyone of you in helping me to make the right choice. Any comments and replies on this topic are welcomed and much appreciated.

Below are some of the facts and conditions that i have organized for your smooth reading:

Fact/Truth


The Australia universities prefer Physics although it is not an entry requirement subject. Let's say A and B have the same TER score. One taking physic and one without it and there is only one place in the university, they will pick the former. (verification needed)
My future course - Pharmacy doesn't require physics as a prerequisite subject.
The knowledge I gain in Physics will be more helpful to my future career compared to Specialist Maths.
The internal assessments for physics are tests, lab reports and information search and oral presentation.
The internal assessments of Specialist Maths are tests and directed investigation ONLY.


Conditions and Problems


I hate Physics and like Maths.

Nevertheless, i still have some kind of confidence to do well in physics too (with suffering throughout the course because lack of interest and motivation). The case is just the opposite if i take spec maths. [some kind to more and with to without]

In doing Specialist Maths i just have to focus on study the concept and application without the worry of lab reports and research and presentation.
Seniors advice - Specialist Maths is only for those who really good at Maths. Only those people can handle the subject well. The problem: Is there any standard or measurement to measure how good my maths is?
Teachers' advice - Stick with physics if you feel ok with it for this semester. The problem is, what am i studying now for the previous sem is the Year11 syllabus which i have studied before during SPM. So i feel really very OK with it. What about Year12 syllabus?
If you ask me to choose, i am more inclined to Specialist Maths. But because of Fact1,3 and Condition 4, i have no choice but to think twice again.

[youngyew]

It's interesting that you hate physics but like maths. I thought most people either like both or dislike both. :P

Specialist maths is more demanding than the "ordinary maths" we do for SPM or maths method in SAM. Do you usually have problem when it comes to maths questions requiring abstract reasoning? What about questions that require proofs rather than just calculations? And if you don't mind, what kind of scores have you been getting for methods?

There's no right answer for everyone, and your choice will very much depend on your requirement and priorities. To be honest both specialist maths and physics are not immediately relevant to pharmacy, and as far as I know about physics syllabus (from my time in year 2004), all we learned about physics are not closely related to biomedical sciences. We learned stuff like diffraction, optics, sound, lasers, brushed a bit on relativity, mass-energy equivalence etc. Not too related to biomedical research.

So at the end of the day, it is more about "which subject you could score better in" than "which is more related to pharmacy". From my point of view, both are equally removed in terms of relevance, as far as the SAM syllabus is concerned. I would say that chemistry and biology are far more related, especially chemistry.

[runninghorse]

Specialist maths is more demanding than the "ordinary maths" we do for SPM or maths method in SAM. Do you usually have problem when it comes to maths questions requiring abstract reasoning? What about questions that require proofs rather than just calculations? And if you don't mind, what kind of scores have you been getting for methods?


Thank you for your reply and useful information that can provide me a good reference. :)

What is abstract reasoning? Is it kind of the questions involving pictures and patterns in IQ Test? I love both questions that require proofs and just calculations. For the former question type, sometimes i cant think of the solutions at the first sight but later i will try to look at it again and most of the time i can do it. For Maths Study subject at INTEC, so far i have only the result for topic test 1 and that is 67/70 and quiz2 19/23. However i have the confidence to score high in other tests and quizes and the final exam. Usually i lost mark in math exam mainly because of my careless nature, not that i dont know the solutions. :P

Does that provide a scale to measure my suitability to take spec maths?

And concerning the relevance of physics to pharmacy, what i heard from my senior is her teacher told her that pharmacist might require to handle radioactive medicine if working in hospital. Therefore a foundation in radioactive knowledge might be useful.

[Athersin]

You are suitable to take it.

May i know is sepacialised Math a further maths?

For pharmacist, specilist maths is somehow important as every prescription of medicine need a great deal of calculation.

Physics is not really relevant, just my 2 cent. Perhaps you can try to concentrate on radioactive parts as to complement what you want to learn.

[jay3349]

I have to agree with youngyew. Neither Physics or Specialist Maths has any relevance to pharmacy. (No, you do not need calculus to write or check prescriptions)All the radioactive materials or math you need for your profession, you will learn in uni.

If you think you can do very well in Specialist Maths, go for it. I think what will be most important at the end is if you have a high TER and if you have high marks in the prerequisites, Chemistry and Biology.

[youngyew]

What is abstract reasoning? Is it kind of the questions involving pictures and patterns in IQ Test? I love both questions that require proofs and just calculations. For the former question type, sometimes i cant think of the solutions at the first sight but later i will try to look at it again and most of the time i can do it. For Maths Study subject at INTEC, so far i have only the result for topic test 1 and that is 67/70 and quiz2 19/23. However i have the confidence to score high in other tests and quizes and the final exam. Usually i lost mark in math exam mainly because of my careless nature, not that i dont know the solutions. :P
I see. In that case you might want to consider maths then. But I would suggest you to discuss with your current maths teacher, as he or she would know whether you are suitable for specialist maths.

And concerning the relevance of physics to pharmacy, what i heard from my senior is her teacher told her that pharmacist might require to handle radioactive medicine if working in hospital. Therefore a foundation in radioactive knowledge might be useful
You don't need to study physics just to deal with radioactive medicine. I am not familiar with what pharmacists need to know to deal with them; but I figure that they would need to calculate the half life, know how to protect themselves from the radiation, and probably how to dilute the medicine. Those things are more related to maths than physics. Even if you need to learn about radioactivity in the context of nuclear medicine, you can learn it with a quick wiki or google.

There are certain pre-u studies that are indeed helpful, or even quite necessary for future studies, e.g. calculus for engineering, probability for actuarial science etc. However, there are also many other "prerequisites" that are simply not very relevant. For example, people often say things like "do biology will help you in medicine", but after 4 years of studies I can safely tell you that I didn't miss out much by doing specialist maths instead of biology in SAM. I believe it is the same case here for physics / specialist maths in the context of pharmacy. Just pay attention to your chemistry, and probably biology; while for physics and specialist maths, you are probably better off choosing something that you could score better in to make sure you enter a better university.

[runninghorse]

You are suitable to take it.

May i know is sepacialised Math a further maths?


Yes. In A-Level it is called further math and specialist math in SAM. They have the same meaning.

I see. In that case you might want to consider maths then. But I would suggest you to discuss with your current maths teacher, as he or she would know whether you are suitable for specialist maths.


Too Sad.:cry I am now in holiday and cant see her personally already until next year.

In general, thanks to Arthesin, jay3349, youngyew and bluez_aspic. You guys are really helpful in providing suggestions and advices to me. Thanks.:)

[tong]

can somebody tell me wat are da topics involve in the specalisit math syllabus that will be taught in year12 in Intec...

[youngyew]

Mainly complex number, fractals, vectors. Can't remember much else. I think probably kinematics and some basic calculus too.

[runninghorse]

can somebody tell me wat are da topics involve in the specalisit math syllabus that will be taught in year12 in Intec...

These are chapters:


Trigonometric Preliminaries
Complex Numbers
Real Polynomials
3-Dimensional Vector Geometry
Geometry (Vector and Deductive Proof)
Calculus
Trigonometric Calculus
Differential Equations
Systems of Differential Equations


Taken from Year12 Specialist Maths Textbook. :amuse

[tong]

thank you very much, running horse and youngyew

[evening_go_jogging]

Hi, runninghorse!
I just finished my SSABSA exam two weeks ago in INTEC.

For someone who is going to pursue medicine in Australia, it would be advised for him or her to take up physics. But since you are going to study pharmacy, it doesn't really matter if you choose physics or specialist maths. For my friends who are going to study pharmacy, some of them chose physics and some chose specialist maths.

As mentioned by the others above, instead of torn between those two subjects due to various reasons, I would advise you to go for the subject that you think you can handle and do best.

All the best for your studies in INTEC and may you be blessed...

[runninghorse]

Hi, runninghorse!
I just finished my SSABSA exam two weeks ago in INTEC.

For someone who is going to pursue medicine in Australia, it would be advised for him or her to take up physics. But since you are going to study pharmacy, it doesn't really matter if you choose physics or specialist maths. For my friends who are going to study pharmacy, some of them chose physics and some chose specialist maths.

As mentioned by the others above, instead of torn between those two subjects due to various reasons, I would advise you to go for the subject that you think you can handle and do best.

All the best for your studies in INTEC and may you be blessed...

Thanks :)

If you dont mind, can you please share some experiences on your friends who take physics and specialist maths like have they ever complaint to you that the subject is hard and they regret taking that or the lecturer is boring etc. ?

So far i dont know anyone who will be majoring in pharmacy taking specialist maths at INTEC. All that i know opt for physics instead.

And is it true that all those who takes specialist maths will be streamed into a class or are we streamed according to our major or final exam result?

[evening_go_jogging]

Ah, for those of my friends who take specialist maths, it seemed like it is very easy for them. One of the main reason is that they have a good foundation of maths and that's why they have the confidence to opt for specialist maths. And yes they did quite well. In comparison, there are more people who get better results for specialist maths compared to physics. Not much people managed to get A for physics. No, they never regret about it.

About boring lectures, haha... This is difficult. I'll say that it depends on the lecturers. But that's not the most important thing. The more important thing is how you look at the subject and how is your attitude during the class.

About streaming... At the beginning of your second semester, you will be put into a new class, different from the one in first semester. Basically it can be divided into four types - physics, specialist maths, malay literature and business/accountancy/actuarial science. so yes all the specialist maths students will be in one class.

It is not according to the results of the first semester. It is said to be so. It is said to be random. But for my batch, all the brilliant students seemed to gather in one class. anyway don't worry about that. the purpose of putting you all in classes if that towards the end of the year, your results will be moderated according to your class (most of the time it is known as group).

Hope that I have helped you much.

[tong]

Any seniors from Intec that can give their experience on specialist math especially in terms of the exam questions. Is it the queations mostly based on the types of the questions as being shown in the text book? Or the other way?

[weiz]

Hi, runninghorse!
I just finished my SSABSA exam two weeks ago in INTEC.

For someone who is going to pursue medicine in Australia, it would be advised for him or her to take up physics. But since you are going to study pharmacy, it doesn't really matter if you choose physics or specialist maths. For my friends who are going to study pharmacy, some of them chose physics and some chose specialist maths.

As mentioned by the others above, instead of torn between those two subjects due to various reasons, I would advise you to go for the subject that you think you can handle and do best.

All the best for your studies in INTEC and may you be blessed...

Hi.You mentioned that for someone who is going to pursue medicine in Australia, it would be advised for him or her to take up physics.Why?
BTW,I'm going to pursue dentistry in Aus.Is it more advisable for me to choose physics over spec maths for year 12?
thx.

[evening_go_jogging]

Hi.You mentioned that for someone who is going to pursue medicine in Australia, it would be advised for him or her to take up physics.Why?
BTW,I'm going to pursue dentistry in Aus.Is it more advisable for me to choose physics over spec maths for year 12?
thx.

It is mentioned in the university admission that the universities prefer physics for their medicine course. I would advise you to choose physics. Where are you taking SAM or AUSMAT now? Nice to meet you!

[henry_yew]

Strange as it may seem, but universities that accept students specialising in physics for medical courses are not an out-of-earth phenomenon. Even our local universities accept students studying physics to take up medical courses and become medical doctors.

Some universities do not specify Physics as one of the prerequisites to do a medical course, some do. Some universities accept students who did Physics but not Biology to do a medical course, some want only purely Biology students for medical courses.

In the end, there is a possibility that, no matter how much you hate Physics, you might need to live with it for another year or so!