Textbooks at UNSW. (1 Viewer)

[anomalousdecay]

Post any queries you have about textbooks here and maybe someone can help you out.

My query:

What is the difference between prescribed and recommended textbooks?

Which one is better off being bought?

Also, with textbooks like the Fundamentals of Physics one, since they are over 1000 pages, how much of the textbook is relevant to PHYS1131 and would this textbook be useful for future courses?

Thanks.

 

[HeyJes]

Priscribed textbook is the official nominated textbook for the course, usually most of the content taught in class is based on this prescribed textbook. Course required reading is often in this textbook.

Rrcommended textbook means, you dont have to buy this book if you dont have time or energy to read it, or you just wanna pass. If you are aiming for higher grade, its best that you buy this book to extend your knowledge and be competitive among your cohort.

Which one is better? Priscribed is the one I will def buy. I shall see if I have extra time for the recommended one.

 

[HeyJes]

For the over-1000-page ACCT1501 textbook, it is.very relevant to ACCT1501, useful to ACCT1511. I will keep it for revision of the basic knowledge. I am majoring in Accounting btw. It will be useful in the later course in a sense that if you forget some basic knowledge you may look it up in da textbook. Or you feel that you need to extend your knowledge a bit on something useful to the current course, which wasnt necessarily taught in the previous course.

I personally will keep the textbook for accounting, as I am majoring in ACCT. It shall be useful if I wanna be a pass leader or tutor later, or for my own revision with my own markings, which should save me a lot of time.

I do sell out all other commerce textbooks which I wont be majoring/doing anymore.

 

[anomalousdecay]

Ok thanks for that.

In that case maybe its wise to buy and then sell the PHYS textbook as I'm actually doing Electrical engineering.

I'll ask the lecturers before buying the textbooks then about whether its worth it for my course.

But how much of the over 1000 page textbooks actually directly based upon the course content?

Are we examined on random things from about 1000 pages of the textbooks in our final exams?

 

[kaz1]

the phys textbook is for physics 1a and 1b

final exams are usually based on lecture notes, not textbooks

 

[HeyJes]

the phys textbook is for physics 1a and 1b

final exams are usually based on lecture notes, not textbooks

Yes, most of the time it's is similar to any past paper /sample paper given.
BE SURE TO DO THEM OR YOU'LL REGRET FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. yeah

 

[anomalousdecay]

the phys textbook is for physics 1a and 1b

final exams are usually based on lecture notes, not textbooks

So we can use it for the full year without having to get another one?

And we can just read lecture notes and add our own notes to them from lectures, tutorials, labs and textbook to be ready for a good mark in the exam?

Sweet.

 

[cream pirate]

i bought the maths1131 course pack, im wondering is it worth buying the actual math books

 

[yasminee96]

Post any queries you have about textbooks here and maybe someone can help you out.

For BABS1201, they want us to purchase some online textbook. I hate using textbooks on laptops and ipads. Does anyone know if they have a hardcopy available for purchase?

Also for MATH1131, I've heard textbook is unnecessary and course pack is all you need. Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks!

(ps, great thread anom)

 

[Parvee]

i bought the maths1131 course pack, im wondering is it worth buying the actual math books

Also for MATH1131, I've heard textbook is unnecessary and course pack is all you need. Can anyone confirm this?

the coursepack has everything you need so you dont need the textbook

 

[ComputingGuide]

For BABS1201, they want us to purchase some online textbook. I hate using textbooks on laptops and ipads. Does anyone know if they have a hardcopy available for purchase?

Also for MATH1131, I've heard textbook is unnecessary and course pack is all you need. Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks!

(ps, great thread anom)

MATH1131: Yes because the course pack is like a textbook with questions and past test papers + You will have notes for lectures on Moodle

 

[D94]

So we can use it for the full year without having to get another one?

And we can just read lecture notes and add our own notes to them from lectures, tutorials, labs and textbook to be ready for a good mark in the exam?

Sweet.

Since you will be doing both first year Physics courses, getting the textbook might be worth it. Also, purchasing the lab manual from the Bookshop will also be better than printing it out since it includes both Physics courses.

There are good resources on the Physics website, such as these past papers which I highly recommend you to do since they tend to harvest questions from previous years (or are similar): http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/firstyear/exams/exam_papers.html

 

[Traveller0901]

Does anyone know whether you actually whether you need the Management update ebook that comes with the ACCT1501 package? If you do, does it cover management accounting?

 

[EpikHigh]

Fundamentals of Physics 10th Ed + WileyPlus Prescribed Halliday David 156.35
Fundamentals of Physics 10th Ed Binder Ready Version Prescribed Halliday David 114.03

These are two textbooks. both are the same according to site and saying you only choose one. What's the difference because theres like a $42 dollar diff between them.

Are textbooks required for Engg1000/Eng1811?

 

[anomalousdecay]

Since you will be doing both first year Physics courses, getting the textbook might be worth it. Also, purchasing the lab manual from the Bookshop will also be better than printing it out since it includes both Physics courses.

There are good resources on the Physics website, such as these past papers which I highly recommend you to do since they tend to harvest questions from previous years (or are similar): http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/firstyear/exams/exam_papers.html

I'll definitely buy the course pack for both MATH1141 and PHYS1131 this Monday.

And I'll print out past papers around the mid-semester break if I have time and Week 10ish when i've done most theory in the course.

Is the textbook prescribed for both PHYS1131 and PHYS1231 or just PHYS1131.

Because if that's the case then I'll consider it.

Fundamentals of Physics 10th Ed + WileyPlus Prescribed Halliday David 156.35
Fundamentals of Physics 10th Ed Binder Ready Version Prescribed Halliday David 114.03

These are two textbooks. both are the same according to site and saying you only choose one. What's the difference because theres like a $42 dollar diff between them.

Are textbooks required for Engg1000/Eng1811?

One is a printout in binder form (the cheaper one). So its much less stronger and sturdy.

The more expensive one is the actual hard cover copy and it comes with an online WileyPlus membership which gives you extra access to Physics stuff (I had this for HSC Physics but never even used it as there are much more resources).

However, does the binder ready version let you just take what you need to class (instead of carrying a 1000 page textbook this would be easier).

 

[D94]

The "Binder Ready Version" is apparently loose leafs, so as the name implies, you can just take out the necessary pages and put them in a binder. The other is just a binded book, like most textbooks.

No textbook needed for ENGG1000; the ENGG1811 textbook could be useful (probably not necessary since there are heaps of online resources), but wait until your first lecture to see whether or not the lecturer recommends purchasing it (same goes for any subject, unless you know beforehand).

 

[D94]

Is the textbook prescribed for both PHYS1131 and PHYS1231 or just PHYS1131.

Should be both according to the PHYS website: http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/firstyear/syllabi/phys1131.html (it contains 1131 and 1231 information there, then below it, it has the course text).

 

[anomalousdecay]

Should be both according to the PHYS website: http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/firstyear/syllabi/phys1131.html (it contains 1131 and 1231 information there, then below it, it has the course text).

I will have to ask the lecturers because different sites say different things.

Its a shame that the bookshop doesn't specify texts for courses that run only in semester two.

 

[anomalousdecay]

Btw, I looked at PHYS1110 and realised that any Preliminary Physics textbook would be sufficient.

How on Earth is that even a PHYS uni course?

 

[EpikHigh]

Btw, I looked at PHYS1110 and realised that any Preliminary Physics textbook would be sufficient.

How on Earth is that even a PHYS uni course?

Isn't that for kids who didn't do Physics during High School?