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20230109 EE97/98/110/140 Advice
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Links and Tips for Succeeding in Difficult Classes.

EE98 110 and 140

  1. You can enroll in an EE140 myopenmath course that will quiz you on vector calculus
  1. https://www.myopenmath.com/
  2. Course ID:177033
  3. Course name: EE140
  4. Enrollment key: EE140forlife!
  1. If you wish to review EE98 here is a myopenmath full course with almost all the assignments automatically graded. (Does not count for official grade.)
  1. https://www.myopenmath.com/
  2. Course ID:90509
  3. Course name: EE98 Practice
  4. Enrollment key: EE98_Rocks!
  1. EE110 Myopen math practice Shell (Does not count for an official grade, not as well developed as EE98)
  1. https://www.myopenmath.com/
  2. Course ID:16522
  3. Course name: EE110
  4. Enrollment key: EE110rocks!
  1. EE110 course notes, videos, case studies (Link)
  2. Please listen to the scarcity trap (Link)
  1. Some do not do HW.
  1. HW is worth points.
  1. Join MESA/MEP
  2. Test Anxiety: Fear is the Mind Killer
  1. Box Breathing (Link) every day for 5 minutes do in the exam.
  2. Vagus Nerve Stretch (Link)
  3. Get sleep
  4. Exercise: Get blood going
  1. Professor Kwok/Parent/Ghadiri care deeply. Karate kid old school
  2. How to make profs approachable: Go to office hours and engage early.
  1. Do a 140/110/98/97 problem that has a solution, then modify it and try to solve it.  Take it to the professor to verify your answer.
  2. Read the material before class, and come up with questions in class or OH, or TA.
  3. Ask him about EE172 or the Projects they work on.
  4. Ask them about research.  Look it up on Google Scholar
  1. Make sure you know everything covered for the week
  1. Start HW early
  1. Read questions before class
  2. Work every  day
  3. Get TA’s schedule
  1. Test yourself.
  1. Reading is not enough.
  2. Do  a problem
  1. How do you find out if your answer is correct?
  1. Can not study one day a week.  
  2. Study every day.
  3. 10  hours per week minimum.
  1. Reading
  2. Problems, not just HW.
  3. Got to Office Hours
  4. Working with friends. Meet in room ENGR 376
  1. Good friends
  1. Answer a question in class
  1. Test Prep
  1. Do problems in a timed environment.
  1. Math (140 advice)
  1. Need Calc three cold
  1. Do Kahn Academy's problems
  2. Vector math
  1. Need to know the meaning
  1. Great set of videos. (Link)
  2. MIT open courseware
  3. Cal Tech Mechanical Universe
  4. Do every problem in the book.
  1. Dot
  2. Cross Product
  3. Curl
  4. Know what it means, not just memorize integral and derivatives
  1. dV=dxdydx=
  1. Make a study plan
  1. List classes, due dates, and when you will work on things
  1. Make good friends
  1. Avoid toxic venting
  2. Challenge each other.
  3. Teaching helps you learn.
  4. Just sitting in the group is not enough.
  1. EE110:
  1. Convolution videos:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-zd-T17uiE
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rrHTtUzyZA
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuXjwB4LzSA
  1. You need a win.
  1. Do a problem that has the solution again and again until you have the answer right. Email it to me. (charge on a line)
  2. Email him before the semester starts that you want to do well and wish to meet to see your issues.

Deficiencies in Math Skills needed for EE140 Identified by the Prof.

Rough ideas:

Most students do not know what vectors are or how to do vector algebra (such as dot & cross products).

Most students know how to do the mechanical part of calculus but have no idea what they are.  What does dV (when doing a volume integral) mean?  What does dy/dx mean in differentiation?

Many students cannot do simple algebra (more so in recent years) and would effectively write  1/(a+b) = 1/a + 1/b !! Panic?  They must know

He tries to review most of these basics at the beginning of each semester.  My first chapter is always a math review (integration, vector algebra...etc).  The review is brief, but raises enough questions for students to think about and know what to refresh if needed.  It also gives them some topics to discuss and ask in review sessions.

Failing the math part is not devastating in EE140, but failing to understand the concept is.

It's ok to make mathematical errors.  We all do that sometimes.  But it's not ok to write a formula and not know what it represents.  I tell my students that math is our language (as an engineer or a STEM student).  Just like in English, our sentences must convey an idea even though our grammar or spelling might not be perfect all the time. But at least there is a message in what we speak or write.  So when we write an equation, we need to know what is the "message" we are trying to deliver.

All the formulas are given in the exams; students need to know what they are and understand them well enough to use them in solving problems.