Problem with third–year exams

It is that time of year again, that I feel more comfortable to blog than revise for examinations.

I have to assume there must be some sort of fishy thing happened to have me done this far. As a third-year student, you are assumed to know your first and second which barely happens. I think it is easier to learn something new than learning something you thought you know but you really don't. This is what exactly happening. In the name of maximising exam performance, I reduce my revision time which hopefully would push me doing more thinking during exam. You thought you know it and the only to find out is examination which is the probably the only way and it depends on so much else. And as a third-year, you had far too much experience to evaluate from which is a great waste of time. You also know exactly what will happen, how to prevent it if it is not good, but you always decide not to.

Time to revise! Ouch!

: 21 Apr 2009 16:25 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Beginning of the end?

I just discovered I didn't do that much revision. I don't even dare to estimate how long I've spent. Everything in the notes seems so unfamiliar. I know some of the stuff but I can't do questions. And exams are consist of questions. Exam stress takes all the concentration out. Leaving me sitting somewhere doing a lot of daydreaming and wondering around. The volume needed to done is expanding all the time, thus underestimation is unavoidable. The stake of the exam is high. Not just the progession to 4th year, but my not-too-much-left reputation as well. I have no idea how I am going to survive the exam. May be this is the beginning of the end? I rather have the end of the beginning, which means that the exams would be a milestone of my so-called career. But there are so many ends. So exams must be an end of some sort. I don't know, that's nothing to do with exam materials and it would be quite time-consuming to proof...

: 14 Jun 2008 15:35 |  Comments (10) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Good and fair

Personelly I think fair exam result is more important than good one. It is because if you are good you get bad result or the other way round due to some unforseen circumstances, that would be quite bad. But even it is fair, sometimes you deserve bad results. And bad results is no good for the future. Looks like I am not too happy with revision. I believe the exam here is fair and would like to get some good results (>60%). More revision!

: 07 Jun 2008 13:29 |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Euro without England

Another inrelevant blog entry to celebrate exam stress. Euro football tournament this weekend and I am not really a football fan.

Everyone knows England is not in the Euro tournament final this year. Despite the fact that I am in England, I personelly think it is not too bad. It is a good change and I always found people feeling too attached to the national team. Maybe that's because I don't have one. Another point worth noting is we all know England is not as good as everyone considers. It is sort of declining as well.

I like Euro more than World Cup in some sense since the very strong South Americans are absent (obviously) and the unknown teams occupy a smaller percentage. Also, you got a good mix as well. But my exam starts around the time when group stage ends. Still in time for knock-out.

Without England, the final outcome is still quite unpredictable as all international football fans aware. Analysing the groups, it is not too difficult to see that with France, Netherland and Italy in group C, there is a group of death. The fierce competition would ensure high quality of football thus teams in group D would have some difficulties with them in first knock-out stage, but group C may get tired, so again unpredictable. Thus group A and B is safer and easier to guess. I am not going to name a team. Better not get too involved.

: 04 Jun 2008 18:31 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Report writing, again!

Another allnighter for my report! 12 hours till deadline! (which is less than 50000s, haha)

It becomes a tradition now (and another blog entry to celebrate that). Dig out old stuff and remember how sad you were is not the way to do before exam revision but that's exactly what I am doing at the moment. I quite like writing precise theory section. But working to produce data of better quality (shhh!) is not a good thing to do yet essential. The worry that something got left out is unbearable depite it is extremely acceptable depending on the amount. My head's hurting, ouch!

P.S. The past has passed. The future is still the future and the present is never absent. All the best and good luck!

: 03 Jun 2008 03:46 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Early morning exam panic!

Yeah, time to panic a bit. Exam at 2pm.

Maths II for physicists is harder (a lot to remember) than I thought and I spent too much time on Maths I and power generation. I don't think I am going to spend too much time on Einstein notation. May try to do some tensors but unlikely to make progress. And I don't think I could do optics even there were another week. Try to spend time on Fourier stuff while praying for luck to lagrange multipliers.

Looks like I am not the only one with such a terrible strategy. Two of the four main areas dismissed is devastating even 15% was in the bag already (from online tests). At least I THINK I am not alone. Marks get normalised a bit, but that's too much to compute.

I am in a situation so bad that give-away questions are not a give-away. Looks like I'll have to walk into the exam without further revision on maths I which is in the same exam as II. What a mess... I don't even have the mood to attempt question and notes reading is not a good way to revise, believe me.

One of the third years told me that 2nd year of the physics course is the hardest because of the complusories, looks like he is quite right there. Maybe I should start doing some more outside stuff next year. 

P.S. The quatity of maths terminology used in 2nd paragraph is to illustrate how sad and geeky a 'trainee physicist' can get. I still like to using the term 'trainee physicist' depite the fact that I would probably see the end of my physics career after that exam. Still thinking what option to take for exam in mid-June. And the air-ticket home for summer. And the lab. And the Deutsch oral. And learning tactics. *sighing*

: 24 Apr 2008 07:53 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Facing my last maths exam

I am currently revising for probably my last examination on proper mathematics because there would not be any more course on maths in my physics course. Apparently I am not the only one feeling the pressure, everyone on my course is sort of nervous about the exams.

The progress is dreadful as with all kind of maths exam. You can never do enough. There is always a way for the examiners to come up with questions that most of the candidates would fail. Of course that's unlikely but this thought comes to light every time I revised for maths and I feel fortunate that my maths seems fine so far (except a few). The problem about maths is forgeting something and that something is usually fundamental and examinable.

Anyway, physics exams are pretty mathematical... 2 days away from 3 hrs of maths with another phys exam in between. SO the aim now is at least to attempt a few questions from each topic and have a look in the notes if there's spare time. Some of the past papers look challenging.

: 21 Apr 2008 21:30 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Exam crisis cycle

I didn't have a good series of exam last year, especially the bit right after Easter.

I decided not to visit my aunt in Cambridgeshire (so no hair cut and home cooking) just to get some more 'revision time' but on the same time I spent my last two week of the holiday in a placement in school. So I really don't have much time but procastination took over the weeks.

I suppose to do revision without school. School is fun but tiring. Revision progress doesn't look good. I can't say anything. It is actually quite worrying, just like last year. I expected some sort of cycle, not one in school (i.e. carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, water cycle, or even motor cycle, none of them was encountered in the school I did my placement in).

Everything happens all over again, with heavier consequences. I REALLY need to get 60% in all of them, especially the two I have most trouble with (maths!). OUCH! All due to lack of commitment time during ... most of the time! (even I attend all of my lectures except quite a few which I can count with a single hand) Maybe I should start missing lecture intentionally, not! Looks like I should have done some revision during the first two terms but still, OH NO!

Time to get on!! (p.s. sorry for the unnecessarily excessive exclamination marks!)

: 20 Apr 2008 20:29 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Earthquake

Last night, I experienced an earthquake. That was the first one I was able to feel.

At 1 am, I was surfing the internet and the house shook for a bit. I was sitting on my wheelie chair (just ordinary office one), so I was fortunate enough not to miss it. I raise my head with surprise, staring on my bookshelf on the wall and recalled that I was the only one at the house. So no one was having party or crashing my wall. So it must be earthquake. Well, there isn't much earthquake here, nice. And I went to sleep.

When I went to school, I discovered everyone was talking about that. As a physics student, I am well aware that earthquakes are on all the time, but you can't experience most of them and that is why I am still surprise to find out that was a quake of Richter scale 5 and the centre was in Lincoinshire. So I think I would write something and pay my sympathy to anyone unfortunate.

Now I start to feel I little bit scared by how I reacted to the incident.

P.S. For those didn't feel that, there is a stimulation of a quake in the Natural history museum (or science, not sure, but they are within walking distane to each other) in London, with scene of a Japanese supermarket (moving floor!).

And for those thinking I am bluffing, here's something for you: 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/7266492.stm 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7266146.stm 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Lincolnshire_earthquake 

: 27 Feb 2008 23:12 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Mission unaccomplished

I really don't have the motivation to do work. Like this early morning, I decided to go to sleep instead of working on my laboratory report on astronomy. Than I overslept myself. When I arrived in school, I seem to have the feeling that I can accomplish it within the time limit which is 4 hours in laboratory in front of a computer. The other computer on campus do not have a minor program I may have needed. As everyone would have expected, I could not finish the report up to satisfactory level. Not even finished. May be I am just thinking to much. The things are not difficult. Yeah, nothing is difficult. Just not enough time. haha. ==

P.S. The report actually seems to matter a lot in the "physics skills" module and I really would like 60% on that to ensure my passage to the 4 year degree. OH NO! Maybe I am just making my later work harder or un-do-able. The result turns out to be 42%. Looks like I got quite a bit to do.

: 11 Feb 2008 22:00 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem