How hard is the maths in BEng Chemical Engineering?
Hey,
I have an offer to study mechanical engineering next year, however I'm beginning to worry whether ill cope with the maths, as usually most candidates are on A* equiv in maths and I am struggling, aiming for a B grade.
I called up the uni to see if I can switch courses to something else however I am only limited to switching to another engineering course such as chemical.
I was wondering how hard the maths is? and whether the maths in chemical is less intense than mechanical
Thanks
I have an offer to study mechanical engineering next year, however I'm beginning to worry whether ill cope with the maths, as usually most candidates are on A* equiv in maths and I am struggling, aiming for a B grade.
I called up the uni to see if I can switch courses to something else however I am only limited to switching to another engineering course such as chemical.
I was wondering how hard the maths is? and whether the maths in chemical is less intense than mechanical
Thanks
Scroll to see replies
Original post by harry218
Hey,
I have an offer to study mechanical engineering next year, however I'm beginning to worry whether ill cope with the maths, as usually most candidates are on A* equiv in maths and I am struggling, aiming for a B grade.
I called up the uni to see if I can switch courses to something else however I am only limited to switching to another engineering course such as chemical.
I was wondering how hard the maths is? and whether the maths in chemical is less intense than mechanical
Thanks
I have an offer to study mechanical engineering next year, however I'm beginning to worry whether ill cope with the maths, as usually most candidates are on A* equiv in maths and I am struggling, aiming for a B grade.
I called up the uni to see if I can switch courses to something else however I am only limited to switching to another engineering course such as chemical.
I was wondering how hard the maths is? and whether the maths in chemical is less intense than mechanical
Thanks
If you're struggling to get a B then you will find the maths in engineering quite difficult I am afraid, unless you can improve between now and then.
The maths across all engineering disciplines at university is practically identical; you'll probably have the exact same maths classes shared between all of the engineering disciplines.
Original post by Smack
If you're struggling to get a B then you will find the maths in engineering quite difficult I am afraid, unless you can improve between now and then.
The maths across all engineering disciplines at university is practically identical; you'll probably have the exact same maths classes shared between all of the engineering disciplines.
The maths across all engineering disciplines at university is practically identical; you'll probably have the exact same maths classes shared between all of the engineering disciplines.
Thank you for clarifying this!
Original post by harry218
Hey,
I have an offer to study mechanical engineering next year, however I'm beginning to worry whether ill cope with the maths, as usually most candidates are on A* equiv in maths and I am struggling, aiming for a B grade.
I called up the uni to see if I can switch courses to something else however I am only limited to switching to another engineering course such as chemical.
I was wondering how hard the maths is? and whether the maths in chemical is less intense than mechanical
Thanks
I have an offer to study mechanical engineering next year, however I'm beginning to worry whether ill cope with the maths, as usually most candidates are on A* equiv in maths and I am struggling, aiming for a B grade.
I called up the uni to see if I can switch courses to something else however I am only limited to switching to another engineering course such as chemical.
I was wondering how hard the maths is? and whether the maths in chemical is less intense than mechanical
Thanks
I got a B in A-level maths and destroyed the engineering maths exams. If you work hard you can do it
Original post by a10
I got a B in A-level maths and destroyed the engineering maths exams. If you work hard you can do it
Oh really that is good! thanks
which engineering?Original post by harry218
Oh really that is good! thanks which engineering?
which engineering?mechanical.
The maths does get very difficult but if you learn the concepts and understand how it works it becomes rather easy
Original post by a10
mechanical.
The maths does get very difficult but if you learn the concepts and understand how it works it becomes rather easy
The maths does get very difficult but if you learn the concepts and understand how it works it becomes rather easy
Ohh I see! cool
How time consuming is the course as I heard medicine and engineering courses are the most time consuming courses and take up all your time, do you still have time to go socialize/go on nights out/societies. (ofc when it comes to exams it is a different story) but in general throughout the year?
Original post by harry218
Ohh I see! cool
How time consuming is the course as I heard medicine and engineering courses are the most time consuming courses and take up all your time, do you still have time to go socialize/go on nights out/societies. (ofc when it comes to exams it is a different story) but in general throughout the year?
How time consuming is the course as I heard medicine and engineering courses are the most time consuming courses and take up all your time, do you still have time to go socialize/go on nights out/societies. (ofc when it comes to exams it is a different story) but in general throughout the year?
In general you will have free time to do other things like socialise/sports etc.
In terms of workload well it's high in general, in my first term it was a bit more relaxed and sort of eased you into the work and we had a few weeks were the workload was a bit draining. This term though I ain't going to lie I have so much work to do it's not even funny lol
Original post by a10
In general you will have free time to do other things like socialise/sports etc.
In terms of workload well it's high in general, in my first term it was a bit more relaxed and sort of eased you into the work and we had a few weeks were the workload was a bit draining. This term though I ain't going to lie I have so much work to do it's not even funny lol
In terms of workload well it's high in general, in my first term it was a bit more relaxed and sort of eased you into the work and we had a few weeks were the workload was a bit draining. This term though I ain't going to lie I have so much work to do it's not even funny lol
Oh god haha! sounds crazy! Which university you at?
Are you in your 1st year?
Yeah I was warned about this degree xD I went to an introduction lecture at a uni and the lecturer was saying how we we'll be the flatmate that has to stay in and work whilst everyone else is out, I have always been one to enjoy going out as much as possible!
Original post by harry218
Yeah I was warned about this degree xD I went to an introduction lecture at a uni and the lecturer was saying how we we'll be the flatmate that has to stay in and work whilst everyone else is out, I have always been one to enjoy going out as much as possible!
Yeah I was warned about this degree xD I went to an introduction lecture at a uni and the lecturer was saying how we we'll be the flatmate that has to stay in and work whilst everyone else is out, I have always been one to enjoy going out as much as possible!
That statement is probably true at some points during the term.
Original post by harry218
Which university you at?
Are you in your 1st year?
Are you in your 1st year?
Sussex
Yeah I'm about to finish my first year soon!
Original post by a10
That statement is probably true at some points during the term.
Sussex
Yeah I'm about to finish my first year soon!
Sussex
Yeah I'm about to finish my first year soon!
Will be worth it in the end though!
It is mainly things like integration topics I am struggling with
Congrats
Do you enjoy it?Original post by harry218
It is mainly things like integration topics I am struggling with
It is mainly things like integration topics I am struggling with
Hmm keep practising it and get help if you can because there's a lot of integration in the course which gets very complicated and if you're struggling with basics it will only get worse..
Original post by harry218
Do you enjoy it?
Do you enjoy it?
Mostly I enjoy it (but sometimes I hate it haha). There have been some modules which were really difficult and I'm glad I'm done with some of them to be honest lol (particularly the electrical engineering stuff yuck...)
Original post by vela1
Very hard. People hear chemical and think half the degree is chemistry- its mostly maths and physics.
Oh I see, so it is all the same really!
Original post by a10
Hmm keep practising it and get help if you can because there's a lot of integration in the course which gets very complicated and if you're struggling with basics it will only get worse..
Mostly I enjoy it (but sometimes I hate it haha). There have been some modules which were really difficult and I'm glad I'm done with some of them to be honest lol (particularly the electrical engineering stuff yuck...)
Mostly I enjoy it (but sometimes I hate it haha). There have been some modules which were really difficult and I'm glad I'm done with some of them to be honest lol (particularly the electrical engineering stuff yuck...)
Ahh damn. Yeah my teacher is a bit of a dick, he doesn't help he believes if you need help you weren't paying attention.. Was hoping it was more mechanics, I am pretty good at that, destroyed M1
Oh god, I 100% hate the thought of electrical engineering!!
Original post by harry218
Was hoping it was more mechanics, I am pretty good at that, destroyed M1
Don't be fooled by M1, the mechanics you learn in mech eng isn't like it is in M1. It's hard.
This is not intended to scare you in anyway but mechanics is the hardest module I have this term by far and it is the module that has one of the worst pass rates at my uni (only about 52% of last years cohort at my uni passed it the rest failed).
Original post by a10
Don't be fooled by M1, the mechanics you learn in mech eng isn't like it is in M1. It's hard.
This is not intended to scare you in anyway but mechanics is the hardest module I have this term by far and it is the module that has one of the worst pass rates at my uni (only about 52% of last years cohort at my uni passed it the rest failed).
This is not intended to scare you in anyway but mechanics is the hardest module I have this term by far and it is the module that has one of the worst pass rates at my uni (only about 52% of last years cohort at my uni passed it the rest failed).
Oh ****, That sounds dreadful! When is the exam? What about in your 2nd/3rd year ? I heard the maths/mechanics fade away after the 1st and you start doing more practical modules, is this true?
Original post by harry218
What about in your 2nd/3rd year ?
Apparently it gets worse in year 2 (which is not good news for me but ill find out soon) because that's when you learn more of structural mechanics.
Original post by harry218
I heard the maths/mechanics fade away after the 1st and you start doing more practical modules, is this true?
I heard the maths/mechanics fade away after the 1st and you start doing more practical modules, is this true?
Not true, you learn more advanced engineering maths (and mechanics) in the second year. Essentially they will be theoretical modules that delve deeper into the science of your particular discipline.
As for practical modules they are maybe one or two "practical like" modules but it depends on the uni tbh for example at mine we only have one practical like module in second year and the rest is exams. Depends what you mean by practical too....if you mean making stuff you don't do a lot of that stuff in the earlier years till maybe in your individual project were you have more room to play with stuff.
If you study at a Scottish uni you get an extra year where they go over the maths again. I'm in the 1st year of a mech eng degree at Strathy and my maths has really improved and stuff I struggled with at advanced higher is clearer. The workload is high but at least at Strathy a lot of folk are doing engineering type degrees, there aren't as many artsy wastrels to distract you!
To answer the thread poster's message (I'm a final year ChemE, taking a break from my chemical plant design course)
The math by itself isn't an absolute disaster compared to what math majors do; in fact, we are limited to ODEs and PDEs more often than not, because chemical engineers, like many other engineers, are concerned with 'rates' (rates of fluid movement, rates of mass transfer, rates of reaction), which are more often than not in ODE/PDE form.
In introductory courses, the math that you see in MechE will be roughly similar to that in ChemE, because both of them focus on transport phenomena (movement of fluids through pipes/surfaces) as a foundation. After that, ChemE can arguably take on more math, because chemical engineers are much more theoretical engineers than MechEs; we design the chemical plants (that is, use equations to specify how big the tanks should be, how much chemicals I should be feeding into my reactors/separators), whereas MechEs have more hands-on work.
That being said, the most difficult part about engineering in general isn't the math. It is the applied thinking that you need. Every problem is something you have to simplify first, then synthesize the equations, and solve them. This calls for memorization skills (to know which assumptions to apply), mathematical skills (to solve the equations), and lastly, the applied thinking skills to even start piecing the problem together to tackle it. That's why people deem Engineering one of the hardest majors to take in university, because hard sciences such as Biology tend to be skewed towards memorization, whereas social sciences are highly-ambiguous.
But the logical thinking skills you acquire after 4 years (it will be beaten into you, don't worry), will make you highly-employable and sought after as an engineer, regardless of what engineering you choose. ChemEs are perceived to earn more because they have a gateway into the Oil and Gas industries.
Choose wisely, and enjoy your university life.
The math by itself isn't an absolute disaster compared to what math majors do; in fact, we are limited to ODEs and PDEs more often than not, because chemical engineers, like many other engineers, are concerned with 'rates' (rates of fluid movement, rates of mass transfer, rates of reaction), which are more often than not in ODE/PDE form.
In introductory courses, the math that you see in MechE will be roughly similar to that in ChemE, because both of them focus on transport phenomena (movement of fluids through pipes/surfaces) as a foundation. After that, ChemE can arguably take on more math, because chemical engineers are much more theoretical engineers than MechEs; we design the chemical plants (that is, use equations to specify how big the tanks should be, how much chemicals I should be feeding into my reactors/separators), whereas MechEs have more hands-on work.
That being said, the most difficult part about engineering in general isn't the math. It is the applied thinking that you need. Every problem is something you have to simplify first, then synthesize the equations, and solve them. This calls for memorization skills (to know which assumptions to apply), mathematical skills (to solve the equations), and lastly, the applied thinking skills to even start piecing the problem together to tackle it. That's why people deem Engineering one of the hardest majors to take in university, because hard sciences such as Biology tend to be skewed towards memorization, whereas social sciences are highly-ambiguous.
But the logical thinking skills you acquire after 4 years (it will be beaten into you, don't worry), will make you highly-employable and sought after as an engineer, regardless of what engineering you choose. ChemEs are perceived to earn more because they have a gateway into the Oil and Gas industries.
Choose wisely, and enjoy your university life.
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- chemical engineering 2024
- can you go into chemical engineering with a chemistry degree
- chem eng
- a level subjects for chemical engineering
- 2024 Engineering Applicants
- University Application - Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, Manchester, Eidngurgh
- Chemical engineering 2021 applicants thread
- Degree Apprenticeship in Chemical Engineering vs University route
- Subject combinations and Entry Requirements for University.
- Is it worth doing foundation courses for engineering
- UCL VS Warwick Engineering for IB as a Career
- Is University Portsmouth Civil engineering course too chemistry oriented
- I want to do chemical engineering but I applied for chemistry on UCAS
- BEng or MEng for Chemical Engineering
- what degree should I do to become a petroleum engineer
- Worth to change major? BME to Chem Eng
- Subject Options + Overall
- Considering Msc in Civil Eng. after Chem Eng. Bachelors- Need help
- Mechanical vs general engineering
- GSK process engineering degree apprenticeship
