I am considering to do Chemical Engineering but I don’t really like Physics but I like Maths and Chemistry . What are the kind of Physics involved ? I’ve been looking at the courses and there are topics like mass transfer , heat transfer and there is said to be a lot of thermodynamics. I am not sure what these topics really are and how difficult are they ?
Original post by Jasmine30
I am considering to do Chemical Engineering as I like Chemistry and Maths but I don’t really like Physics . Is there more Maths or Physics in Chemical Engineering ?
There is lots of Physics in chemical engineering. Generally what unis will do is have 'general engineering' modules that involve lots of maths and physics and you then specialise in the second and third years.
Original post by Hoc est Bellum
There is lots of Physics in chemical engineering. Generally what unis will do is have 'general engineering' modules that involve lots of maths and physics and you then specialise in the second and third years.
What can you specialise in ?
What year are you in? I’m currently in sixth form year 12 studying Maths, Physics, Chemistry & Economics and I plan on studying chemical engineering. It would be very advantageous if you do physics a level but it looks like you don’t. As physics isn’t required for some chem eng courses I’m pretty sure they’ll give you the basic foundations. As someone who’s enjoyed physics at gcse and was very good at it A level physics took a big turn. It became very challenging but I managed to keep up so I can only imagine what physics topic at uni are like. All engineering’s are heavy in maths and physics. What subjects do you study??
Original post by Flxmz
What year are you in? I’m currently in sixth form year 12 studying Maths, Physics, Chemistry & Economics and I plan on studying chemical engineering. It would be very advantageous if you do physics a level but it looks like you don’t. As physics isn’t required for some chem eng courses I’m pretty sure they’ll give you the basic foundations. As someone who’s enjoyed physics at gcse and was very good at it A level physics took a big turn. It became very challenging but I managed to keep up so I can only imagine what physics topic at uni are like. All engineering’s are heavy in maths and physics. What subjects do you study??
I am in year 12 too and I study Maths , Chemistry and Physics. I like Maths and Chemistry but I don’t like Physics a lot. I am considering to do chemical engineering but I am a little worried. I am currently struggling in Physics particularly the waves topic and some hard mechanics questions I can’t seem to do. Please could you share some tips?
Original post by Jasmine30
What can you specialise in ?
Chemical engineering, aerospace, mechanical, automotive, civil, software, computer, electrical, manufacturing, structural, petroleum etc. These are just a few off the top of my head.
Original post by Jasmine30
I am in year 12 too and I study Maths , Chemistry and Physics. I like Maths and Chemistry but I don’t like Physics a lot. I am considering to do chemical engineering but I am a little worried. I am currently struggling in Physics particularly the waves topic and some hard mechanics questions I can’t seem to do. Please could you share some tips?
Do u have any other socials??
Original post by Jasmine30
I am considering to do Chemical Engineering but I don’t really like Physics but I like Maths and Chemistry . What are the kind of Physics involved ? I’ve been looking at the courses and there are topics like mass transfer , heat transfer and there is said to be a lot of thermodynamics. I am not sure what these topics really are and how difficult are they ?
Hi Jasmine30
It is great you are considering Higher Education. It may be worth your while to look at some University web sites and chat to current students, I know you have already been looking at course structures and content which is great, you may get some more insights. To get you started you could chat with Oyindasola on https://www.hull.ac.uk/study/ask-a-student , she is a final year Chemical Engineering student here at Hull and would be happy to chat with you.
Good luck
Chris
University of Hull Student Rep
Original post by Flxmz
Do u have any other socials??
Sorry I’ve uninstalled them for the time being
Original post by Jasmine30
I am considering to do Chemical Engineering as I like Chemistry and Maths but I don’t really like Physics . Is there more Maths or Physics in Chemical Engineering ?
Hi there! My name is Leah and I am a placement chemical engineering student at the University of Bath.
So I did physics at AS level but decided to drop it because I didn't really enjoy it at A-level. As it's an engineering degree, there is a lot of physics in chemical engineering, but it's less like it was taught in school. It's more about applying basics physics principles (thermodynamics, pressure and forces, mechanics) to chemical engineering applications. Rather than, say, the study of space, waves or particle physics, which I did not really enjoy. It is important to note that there is also not a lot of chemistry in chemical engineering.
Engineering is all about the application of science to practicle problems. If you prefer pure science, rather than the application, I would recommend studying pure science. In chemical engineering, we learn the basic fundamentals of heat and mass transfer (which is basically about calculating how much heat moves between material, through convection, conduction, radiation and how mass flows through materials (diffusion etc.), as well as keeping track of which components of the system you are studying go where). We also look at the flow and behaviour of solids and fluids, how cells and other biological systems behave when you want to manufacture them at a large scale, the safety of how to run reactions and other processes at a large scale etc. The degree does have a lot of mathematics in it. We have lectures from the maths department in the first 3 years, as well as everything I have described above being heavily dependent on maths.
What also might help is if I give a brief overview of what a chemical engineer may do in industry. A chemical engineer needs to be able to take the principles that they’ve learnt at University and beyond and apply them to a huge array of different scenarios. A chemical engineer in industry may be involved in the monitoring of a manufacturing process: is the process achieving the right yield, how can the process be optimised and improved, why did something go wrong and so on. In a more research heavy role, you may be designing a reactor, a tank, a separation process or other stages of a manufacturing process. In this case, you will be looking at something that no one has done before. Other people may have done similar things in the past, but the problem you are trying to solve will each come with its own unique challenges and you have to apply fundamental science and engineering knowledge to work out why a material or process behaves they way it does and how you are going to overcome it.
I hope this helps and do let me know if you have any questions!
Leah
Placement Chemical Engineering
Original post by University of Bath
Hi there! My name is Leah and I am a placement chemical engineering student at the University of Bath.
So I did physics at AS level but decided to drop it because I didn't really enjoy it at A-level. As it's an engineering degree, there is a lot of physics in chemical engineering, but it's less like it was taught in school. It's more about applying basics physics principles (thermodynamics, pressure and forces, mechanics) to chemical engineering applications. Rather than, say, the study of space, waves or particle physics, which I did not really enjoy. It is important to note that there is also not a lot of chemistry in chemical engineering.
Engineering is all about the application of science to practicle problems. If you prefer pure science, rather than the application, I would recommend studying pure science. In chemical engineering, we learn the basic fundamentals of heat and mass transfer (which is basically about calculating how much heat moves between material, through convection, conduction, radiation and how mass flows through materials (diffusion etc.), as well as keeping track of which components of the system you are studying go where). We also look at the flow and behaviour of solids and fluids, how cells and other biological systems behave when you want to manufacture them at a large scale, the safety of how to run reactions and other processes at a large scale etc. The degree does have a lot of mathematics in it. We have lectures from the maths department in the first 3 years, as well as everything I have described above being heavily dependent on maths.
What also might help is if I give a brief overview of what a chemical engineer may do in industry. A chemical engineer needs to be able to take the principles that they’ve learnt at University and beyond and apply them to a huge array of different scenarios. A chemical engineer in industry may be involved in the monitoring of a manufacturing process: is the process achieving the right yield, how can the process be optimised and improved, why did something go wrong and so on. In a more research heavy role, you may be designing a reactor, a tank, a separation process or other stages of a manufacturing process. In this case, you will be looking at something that no one has done before. Other people may have done similar things in the past, but the problem you are trying to solve will each come with its own unique challenges and you have to apply fundamental science and engineering knowledge to work out why a material or process behaves they way it does and how you are going to overcome it.
I hope this helps and do let me know if you have any questions!
Leah
Placement Chemical Engineering
So I did physics at AS level but decided to drop it because I didn't really enjoy it at A-level. As it's an engineering degree, there is a lot of physics in chemical engineering, but it's less like it was taught in school. It's more about applying basics physics principles (thermodynamics, pressure and forces, mechanics) to chemical engineering applications. Rather than, say, the study of space, waves or particle physics, which I did not really enjoy. It is important to note that there is also not a lot of chemistry in chemical engineering.
Engineering is all about the application of science to practicle problems. If you prefer pure science, rather than the application, I would recommend studying pure science. In chemical engineering, we learn the basic fundamentals of heat and mass transfer (which is basically about calculating how much heat moves between material, through convection, conduction, radiation and how mass flows through materials (diffusion etc.), as well as keeping track of which components of the system you are studying go where). We also look at the flow and behaviour of solids and fluids, how cells and other biological systems behave when you want to manufacture them at a large scale, the safety of how to run reactions and other processes at a large scale etc. The degree does have a lot of mathematics in it. We have lectures from the maths department in the first 3 years, as well as everything I have described above being heavily dependent on maths.
What also might help is if I give a brief overview of what a chemical engineer may do in industry. A chemical engineer needs to be able to take the principles that they’ve learnt at University and beyond and apply them to a huge array of different scenarios. A chemical engineer in industry may be involved in the monitoring of a manufacturing process: is the process achieving the right yield, how can the process be optimised and improved, why did something go wrong and so on. In a more research heavy role, you may be designing a reactor, a tank, a separation process or other stages of a manufacturing process. In this case, you will be looking at something that no one has done before. Other people may have done similar things in the past, but the problem you are trying to solve will each come with its own unique challenges and you have to apply fundamental science and engineering knowledge to work out why a material or process behaves they way it does and how you are going to overcome it.
I hope this helps and do let me know if you have any questions!
Leah
Placement Chemical Engineering
Thank you , that was very helpful . I’m trying to work on my Physics over the summer as the main reason I don’t like it is because of my grade . I am trying to write my personal statement and I don’t have work experience anywhere . I am struggling on what to include. Please could you give any tips .
Original post by University of Bath
Hi there! My name is Leah and I am a placement chemical engineering student at the University of Bath.
So I did physics at AS level but decided to drop it because I didn't really enjoy it at A-level. As it's an engineering degree, there is a lot of physics in chemical engineering, but it's less like it was taught in school. It's more about applying basics physics principles (thermodynamics, pressure and forces, mechanics) to chemical engineering applications. Rather than, say, the study of space, waves or particle physics, which I did not really enjoy. It is important to note that there is also not a lot of chemistry in chemical engineering.
Engineering is all about the application of science to practicle problems. If you prefer pure science, rather than the application, I would recommend studying pure science. In chemical engineering, we learn the basic fundamentals of heat and mass transfer (which is basically about calculating how much heat moves between material, through convection, conduction, radiation and how mass flows through materials (diffusion etc.), as well as keeping track of which components of the system you are studying go where). We also look at the flow and behaviour of solids and fluids, how cells and other biological systems behave when you want to manufacture them at a large scale, the safety of how to run reactions and other processes at a large scale etc. The degree does have a lot of mathematics in it. We have lectures from the maths department in the first 3 years, as well as everything I have described above being heavily dependent on maths.
What also might help is if I give a brief overview of what a chemical engineer may do in industry. A chemical engineer needs to be able to take the principles that they’ve learnt at University and beyond and apply them to a huge array of different scenarios. A chemical engineer in industry may be involved in the monitoring of a manufacturing process: is the process achieving the right yield, how can the process be optimised and improved, why did something go wrong and so on. In a more research heavy role, you may be designing a reactor, a tank, a separation process or other stages of a manufacturing process. In this case, you will be looking at something that no one has done before. Other people may have done similar things in the past, but the problem you are trying to solve will each come with its own unique challenges and you have to apply fundamental science and engineering knowledge to work out why a material or process behaves they way it does and how you are going to overcome it.
I hope this helps and do let me know if you have any questions!
Leah
Placement Chemical Engineering
So I did physics at AS level but decided to drop it because I didn't really enjoy it at A-level. As it's an engineering degree, there is a lot of physics in chemical engineering, but it's less like it was taught in school. It's more about applying basics physics principles (thermodynamics, pressure and forces, mechanics) to chemical engineering applications. Rather than, say, the study of space, waves or particle physics, which I did not really enjoy. It is important to note that there is also not a lot of chemistry in chemical engineering.
Engineering is all about the application of science to practicle problems. If you prefer pure science, rather than the application, I would recommend studying pure science. In chemical engineering, we learn the basic fundamentals of heat and mass transfer (which is basically about calculating how much heat moves between material, through convection, conduction, radiation and how mass flows through materials (diffusion etc.), as well as keeping track of which components of the system you are studying go where). We also look at the flow and behaviour of solids and fluids, how cells and other biological systems behave when you want to manufacture them at a large scale, the safety of how to run reactions and other processes at a large scale etc. The degree does have a lot of mathematics in it. We have lectures from the maths department in the first 3 years, as well as everything I have described above being heavily dependent on maths.
What also might help is if I give a brief overview of what a chemical engineer may do in industry. A chemical engineer needs to be able to take the principles that they’ve learnt at University and beyond and apply them to a huge array of different scenarios. A chemical engineer in industry may be involved in the monitoring of a manufacturing process: is the process achieving the right yield, how can the process be optimised and improved, why did something go wrong and so on. In a more research heavy role, you may be designing a reactor, a tank, a separation process or other stages of a manufacturing process. In this case, you will be looking at something that no one has done before. Other people may have done similar things in the past, but the problem you are trying to solve will each come with its own unique challenges and you have to apply fundamental science and engineering knowledge to work out why a material or process behaves they way it does and how you are going to overcome it.
I hope this helps and do let me know if you have any questions!
Leah
Placement Chemical Engineering
hey! what grades did you get to go into chemical engineering at bath? how would you describe your experience?
Original post by Jasmine30
I am considering to do Chemical Engineering as I like Chemistry and Maths but I don’t really like Physics . Is there more Maths or Physics in Chemical Engineering ?
Chemical engineering is mostly maths and physics, with very little chemistry - and what little chemistry there is, is physical chemistry that overlaps a lot with physics anyway. If you are mainly interested in chemistry (especially organic/inorganic chemistry) you may find a chemical engineering degree somewhat disappointing. Apparently this is not too uncommon - the former admissions tutor for chemistry at Southampton told me (about 10 years ago, before they had their own chemical engineering course!) that most years they get a handful of applications from students who started studying chemical engineering elsewhere then realised it wasn't what they thought and they would rather be studying chemistry.
I think there are a couple of courses involving slightly more chemistry that are somehow joint/combined honours courses with chemistry, such as Strathclyde's Applied Chemistry & Chemical Engineering course, or courses that are "Chemical Engineering and/with Chemistry".
Original post by Jasmine30
Thank you , that was very helpful . I’m trying to work on my Physics over the summer as the main reason I don’t like it is because of my grade . I am trying to write my personal statement and I don’t have work experience anywhere . I am struggling on what to include. Please could you give any tips .
Hi there - glad I could help!
For personal statements, I would not worry too much about work experience - it's very difficult to get work experience when you're at school in chemical engineering. Particularly because of COVID, Universities are not expecting work experience.
Most importantly, Universities want to here why you are interested in the course. Tell a story showing your thought process, how you found out more about the subject etc. For example, in my personal statement I explained how I explored different engineering disciplines and eventually came to chemical engineering. Making it personal to you is key! Be specific.
I would recommend looking at several Universities modules list of chemucal engineering. Pick 1 or 2 that really spark your interest and research more in depth about them - what specific content is in the modules, what you learn, what applications there are and most importantly why it interests you. Try and relate the specific bits of the degree you've picked out to your studies and to anything extra-curricular you have done --> maybe extra reading, magazines, blogs, academic articles. If you have been involved in any extra-curriculars, specifically science / engineering / maths related, that could be interesting.
I would also recommend researching more in depth into a specific application of chemical engineering you are interested in. Chemical engineering is very broad with a huge range of applications. Pick 1 that really interests you - maybe why the subject caught your interest in the first place. Do some reading, find more abuot how chemical engineering is applied in that area. Some advice from the University of Bath on writing a personal statement can be found here.
I hope this helps and do let me know if you have any questions!
Leah Placement Chemical Engineering
Original post by bbdiya
hey! what grades did you get to go into chemical engineering at bath? how would you describe your experience?
Hi there!
I am not sure if it's helpful for me to share my grades. The entry requirements for Bath chemical engineering is A*AA and most students have these grades, sometimes higher and occassionally students will be accepted if they miss say 1 grade, but this is by no means guaranteed and the likelihood of this happening varies year to year.
Generally my experience has been good and I have enjoyed the subject. I struggled a bit in first year, as there are quite a lot of fundamental concepts you need to learn before combining your knowledge to be able to apply problems. These fundamental concepts were often quite challenging and sometimes felt a little bit abstract as I often struggled to see the application. As the degree has progressed, however, I have enjoyed it a lot more as I am beginning to understand the breadth and depth of the application of chemical engineering.
The course is primarily lectures: typically 1-2 hours long in a lecture hall (or online) with 80-150 people depending on the size of your year. It varies year to year but I would say I have between 10 and 15 lectures a week. You tend to be given the lecture material beforehand to read through, then during the lecture the lecturer will explain all of the content and will also give you time to ask questions. You are also able to ask questions at the end of the lecture, or depending on the lecturer, by email afterwards. We also have problem classes, where problem sheets are assigned outside of class and then in the problem class, the lecturer will go through the problems and you can discuss any questions you have about the content. In addition to lectures, we also have interactive computer sessions (depending on the year and module), which may be 1 or 2 hours a week.
We also have labs in first and second year (6 x 3 hr labs per year). This is where we have a practical application of a chemical enigneering subject for which we need to produce results for and write up in an assessed lab report. This is a great opportunity to hands on apply content we've learnt in lectures. I also really enjoying my masters research project, where I spent the semester in a research lab investigating drug delivery devices. It was really exciting to be at the forefront of new research!
Design projects are also a good opportunity to apply knowledge from across the modules to a specific challenge. I really enjoy seeing the application of the theory from my lectures applied to something conceptual. I think that is why I have really enjoyed being on placement - having the opportunity to see chemical engineering principles applied in an industrial setting is a great way to cement theoretical knowledge. Plus it's been really beneficial for exploring career options and improving employability!
I hope this helps and do let me know if you have any questions.
Leah
Placement Chemical Engineering
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