Any Electrical Engineering students, please help me. (1 Viewer)

[OreoMcFlurry]

Hey Everyone,

I'm a HSC year 12 student and I am interested in studying electrical engineering at UNSW. I've been recently checking out the UNSW electrical engineering society website, and have found some study resources. I decided to check out some stuff that I might be doing next year, but this was the biggest mistake I've made in 2021. I'm panicking a lot ever since I found this. I attempted some questions, and could not understand anything and have ZERO clue on what to do for the questions. I am not confident at all that I'll be able to keep up with the electrical engineering content next year. This stress caused by me panicking about the insane difficulty of the UNSW electrical engineering course is way bigger than the stress I have for HSC. I sometimes can't believe that they say only HSC physics and HSC maths ext 1 is assumed knowledge because HSC level physics and maths ext 1 is so much easier than the first year electrical engineering at UNSW.

I can't stop worrying about how badly I'll perform next year as I can't understand anything at all. I feel like I've been lied to about how hard the course really is.

In high school at the moment, I'm topping physics and have been consistently scoring above 80 in ext 1 maths, so I always thought that I'll be fine for engineering at UNSW as these two subjects are the only assumed knowledge for UNSW engineering. After seeing the past papers for first year electrical engineering final exams, I've experience a huge shock - and I doubt I'll be able to get close to passing the course.

This question gave me the biggest panic attack (I don't know how anyone is supposed to interpret this lol):


I have heard of Thevenin's theorem, Norton's theorem, Mesh analysis and Nodal analyse before, but I have no clue what they are and how to use them. It would be greatly appreciated if someone could please explain to me what they are and how to use them?

 

[jazz519]

I'm not an engineering student, but relatively speaking the HSC to uni is always a big jump for most degrees. With HSC knowledge obviously you won't be able to do the uni questions, because you haven't learnt about the content at uni yet. They will teach you how to do it, I wouldn't be put off by the degree based on that

 

[vishnay]

I'm not an engineering student, but relatively speaking the HSC to uni is always a big jump for most degrees. With HSC knowledge obviously you won't be able to do the uni questions, because you haven't learnt about the content at uni yet. They will teach you how to do it, I wouldn't be put off by the degree based on that

^this

and the fact that elec eng is one of the most difficult engineering disciplines due to the amount of maths it has

 

[OreoMcFlurry]

I'm not an engineering student, but relatively speaking the HSC to uni is always a big jump for most degrees. With HSC knowledge obviously you won't be able to do the uni questions, because you haven't learnt about the content at uni yet. They will teach you how to do it, I wouldn't be put off by the degree based on that

Yes, I would say that's true. I wish I knew this a lot earlier though. I used to really believe that I'll be fine due to my great performance in relevant subjects but now I've realised the harsh truth. At least I now know that I'm completely screwed for uni, better late then never.

 

[dasfas]

Hey Everyone,

I'm a HSC year 12 student and I am interested in studying electrical engineering at UNSW. I've been recently checking out the UNSW electrical engineering society website, and have found some study resources. I decided to check out some stuff that I might be doing next year, but this was the biggest mistake I've made in 2021. I'm panicking a lot ever since I found this. I attempted some questions, and could not understand anything and have ZERO clue on what to do for the questions. I am not confident at all that I'll be able to keep up with the electrical engineering content next year. This stress caused by me panicking about the insane difficulty of the UNSW electrical engineering course is way bigger than the stress I have for HSC. I sometimes can't believe that they say only HSC physics and HSC maths ext 1 is assumed knowledge because HSC level physics and maths ext 1 is so much easier than the first year electrical engineering at UNSW.

I can't stop worrying about how badly I'll perform next year as I can't understand anything at all. I feel like I've been lied to about how hard the course really is.

In high school at the moment, I'm topping physics and have been consistently scoring above 80 in ext 1 maths, so I always thought that I'll be fine for engineering at UNSW as these two subjects are the only assumed knowledge for UNSW engineering. After seeing the past papers for first year electrical engineering final exams, I've experience a huge shock - and I doubt I'll be able to get close to passing the course.

This question gave me the biggest panic attack (I don't know how anyone is supposed to interpret this lol):
View attachment 32205

I have heard of Thevenin's theorem, Norton's theorem, Mesh analysis and Nodal analyse before, but I have no clue what they are and how to use them. It would be greatly appreciated if someone could please explain to me what they are and how to use them?

Of course you're going to struggle, you haven't learnt the prerequisite knowledge

This question is okay, assuming you know about KVL, KCL, mesh and nodal analysis.

I have made a youtube playlist that helped me do well in the course - have a watch of the first few videos (I skip basic stuff such as V = IR and start as soon as it gets tricker ie. mesh/nodal analysis).

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7avsXUj8-E53SpVGLnv0whq3-94aeguQ

Watch the videos and you should be able to have a better idea of how to solve this. I can solve it for you if you're lost

The ELEC course I did at uni was honestly the most difficult course I've done so far. But it was super challenging in a good way. I'm very happy that I was able to get through it and quite frankly proud of how far I came (I never did physics in HS so it was a pretty brutal introduction).

By the end of the course, you will be able to breeze by these questions.

 

[totally_screwed]

Yes, I would say that's true. I wish I knew this a lot earlier though. I used to really believe that I'll be fine due to my great performance in relevant subjects but now I've realised the harsh truth. At least I now know that I'm completely screwed for uni, better late then never.

I think you misunderstood jazz519. there is no harsh truth and you're not screwed for uni, I'll just reiterate: uni is a big jump from hsc, if you look at uni content now of course it's gonna seem overwhelming and impossible because you haven't even learned or been exposed to it yet. once you're in uni you will be taught everything you need to know in order to answer these questions, right now at hsc level you're equipped with basically no knowledge, this shouldn't deter you from pursuing electrical engineering just go for it if you're interested, rn you're not expected to know anything lol

just a bit of anecdote I had no coding experience before uni and one of my compulsory math units involves coding, so naturally I was shitting myself at first because coding seemed so foreign to me and I knew nothing about it. fast forward a few weeks and it's not even that bad lol, the lecturers and tutors are there to help you learn things right from basics, you're not expected to be an expert from the get go

so if you're interested in electrical engineering and are doing well in hsc subjects, I'd say that's enough reason for you to pursue it in uni. I doubt any electrical engineering students in first year would be able to answer the questions you're stressing about now, you'll learn everything when the time comes

 

[dasfas]

Thevenin and Norton are ways to simplify circuits. It's useful if you want to reduce a circuit into just a voltage/current source and a resistor, which can make subsequent analysis easier.

So here, you could replace the entire circuit on the LHS from the perspective of a, b with either a thevenin or norton equivalent circuit. To interconvert between the two, you can just do a source transformation.



Mesh and nodal analysis are just clever applications of KCL and KVL to determine the voltages and currents through parts of a circuit.

For example here, I would use nodal analysis to systematically determine the current and voltages across all the resistors.




If you want me to teach you this stuff when you do EE, send me an email and I'll help you out. If you want to self teach during the holidays, I recommend using my playlist (as the people teaching on youtube make it waay simpler) alongside with a textbook, which teaches you a more rigorous approach. Basic Engineering Circuit Analysis by Irwin and the accompanying textbook solutions are good and are what I used personally.

 

[uniqueusername1]

I think you misunderstood jazz519. there is no harsh truth and you're not screwed for uni, I'll just reiterate: uni is a big jump from hsc, if you look at uni content now of course it's gonna seem overwhelming and impossible because you haven't even learned or been exposed to it yet. once you're in uni you will be taught everything you need to know in order to answer these questions, right now at hsc level you're equipped with basically no knowledge, this shouldn't deter you from pursuing electrical engineering just go for it if you're interested, rn you're not expected to know anything lol

just a bit of anecdote I had no coding experience before uni and one of my compulsory math units involves coding, so naturally I was shitting myself at first because coding seemed so foreign to me and I knew nothing about it. fast forward a few weeks and it's not even that bad lol, the lecturers and tutors are there to help you learn things right from basics, you're not expected to be an expert from the get go

so if you're interested in electrical engineering and are doing well in hsc subjects, I'd say that's enough reason for you to pursue it in uni. I doubt any electrical engineering students in first year would be able to answer the questions you're stressing about now, you'll learn everything when the time comes

Would something similar apply to a subject like computer science? I have currently ruled it out as I know nothing about coding but, I am willing to learn. Will this impact my ability to succeed in the subject?

Sorry guys for all the questions i'm nervous just like OP.

 

[dasfas]

Would something similar apply to a subject like computer science? I have currently ruled it out as I know nothing about coding but, I am willing to learn.

Yeah, CS is just practise. I came into uni not knowing how to program at all and I was terrified, especially since there was a 50% fail rate for the introductory unit. However, if you just do the problems, ask questions on the forums (I was texted by the coordinator because they noticed I asked like 500 questions over the semester lmao) and make sure you understand something deeply rather than superficially - you're golden.

They don't spoonfeed you in CS - you gotta do a lot of self learning. The assignments are brutal (we had to code a maze runner game in our first semester of learning), but you learn so much from doing them. If you're willing to learn and acknowledge that this will be a lot of hard work, you'll do fine.

 

[jazz519]

Yes, I would say that's true. I wish I knew this a lot earlier though. I used to really believe that I'll be fine due to my great performance in relevant subjects but now I've realised the harsh truth. At least I now know that I'm completely screwed for uni, better late then never.

This not really the correct mindset to have in my opinion. The degree and level of content will increase because now you are specialising in a certain area. That happens in every degree. HSC is just to give you a good base and introduction to the concepts broadly speaking. However, it's not like at uni day 1 they are going to be like solve this advanced problem without any guidance. The concepts are built up over time throughout the course like you would at school. You start on easier examples and then progressively they become more difficult as you learn more content and knowledge. You're like essentially trying to climb a mountain in one go in thinking you can do the uni questions right away. Need to build up the knowledge and ability in small steps which will happen over time, similar to how if someone asked you in Year 9 or 10 to look at the HSC maths ext 1 syllabus you would think the same and be like why can't I do any of these questions.

 

[uniqueusername1]

Yeah, CS is just practise. I came into uni not knowing how to program at all and I was terrified, especially since there was a 50% fail rate for the introductory unit. However, if you just do the problems, ask questions on the forums (I was texted by the coordinator because they noticed I asked like 500 questions over the semester lmao) and make sure you understand something deeply rather than superficially - you're golden.

They don't spoonfeed you in CS - you gotta do a lot of self learning. The assignments are brutal (we had to code a maze runner game in our first semester of learning), but you learn so much from doing them. If you're willing to learn and acknowledge that this will be a lot of hard work, you'll do fine.

Thanks so much bro. Thats all I needed to hear.

I was just worried that everyone entering the degree were gods at coding. Hacking their neighbours wifi for fun.

 

[dasfas]

Thanks so much bro. Thats all I needed to hear.

I was just worried that everyone entering the degree were gods at coding. Hacking their neighbours wifi for fun.

Not at all, I transferred into engineering in my second semester of uni. One of my reasons was literally "I liked minecraft redstone, engineering should be fun" hahaha

I'm loving it right now, it's definitely not easy and I'm working my ass off, but I feel like I'm constantly learning cool new skills and being challenged intellectually.

I think the most important thing before starting engineering is to change your mindset and take on challenges head on, rather than be intimidated by them.

 

[uniqueusername1]

Not at all, I transferred into engineering in my second semester of uni. One of my reasons was literally "I liked minecraft redstone, engineering should be fun" hahaha

I'm loving it right now, it's definitely not easy and I'm working my ass off, but I feel like I'm constantly learning cool new skills and being challenged intellectually.

I think the most important thing before starting engineering is to change your mindset and take on challenges head on, rather than be intimidated by them.

May I ask what made you leave computer science?

Also what type of engineering are you doing now?

 

[dasfas]

May I ask what made you leave computer science?

Also what type of engineering are you doing now?

I never left CS, I left another science degree - I'm studying Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science

 

[uniqueusername1]

I never left CS, I left another science degree - I'm studying Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science

Ok thank you.

 

[electricityzapper]

Hey Everyone,

I'm a HSC year 12 student and I am interested in studying electrical engineering at UNSW. I've been recently checking out the UNSW electrical engineering society website, and have found some study resources. I decided to check out some stuff that I might be doing next year, but this was the biggest mistake I've made in 2021. I'm panicking a lot ever since I found this. I attempted some questions, and could not understand anything and have ZERO clue on what to do for the questions. I am not confident at all that I'll be able to keep up with the electrical engineering content next year. This stress caused by me panicking about the insane difficulty of the UNSW electrical engineering course is way bigger than the stress I have for HSC. I sometimes can't believe that they say only HSC physics and HSC maths ext 1 is assumed knowledge because HSC level physics and maths ext 1 is so much easier than the first year electrical engineering at UNSW.

I can't stop worrying about how badly I'll perform next year as I can't understand anything at all. I feel like I've been lied to about how hard the course really is.

In high school at the moment, I'm topping physics and have been consistently scoring above 80 in ext 1 maths, so I always thought that I'll be fine for engineering at UNSW as these two subjects are the only assumed knowledge for UNSW engineering. After seeing the past papers for first year electrical engineering final exams, I've experience a huge shock - and I doubt I'll be able to get close to passing the course.

This question gave me the biggest panic attack (I don't know how anyone is supposed to interpret this lol):
View attachment 32205

I have heard of Thevenin's theorem, Norton's theorem, Mesh analysis and Nodal analyse before, but I have no clue what they are and how to use them. It would be greatly appreciated if someone could please explain to me what they are and how to use them?

I'm also thinking of doing electrical engineering at UNSW for 2022. You're literally the first person I found who wants to do it, do you know anyone else who wants to do it?

 

[Velocifire]

I'm also thinking of doing electrical engineering at UNSW for 2022. You're literally the first person I found who wants to do it, do you know anyone else who wants to do it?

I might choose electrical since I want to do flexible first year

But I did actuary for the gateway program

 

[electricityzapper]

I might choose electrical since I want to do flexible first year

But I did actuary for the gateway program

Ooo, flexible year? What's the difference between that and the normal course? I've been trying to find sample timetables for this course but there's no timetables available for electrical .

 

[Velocifire]

Ooo, flexible year? What's the difference between that and the normal course? I've been trying to find sample timetables for this course but there's no timetables available for electrical . ps: We should defo keep in touch if the two of us get in

Needle in haystack found boss