Image Taken from Vermont Technical College Facebook Fan PageHard to believe, but half of this semester is already completed! I am 3/4 of the way to completing my second year of college at Vermont Tech., and things have been going quite well. I know that it has been 5 weeks since I last updated my blog, but I have been super busy they past 5 weeks with studying Calculus for Engineering and Electronics for Computer Engineers.
I wouldn't say that I am kicking ass in Calculus, but I am doing well enough to where I am probably averaging somewhere around a 75. This really isn't too bad for me because math has always been something that I have had minor problems with. The big thing with me is that I seem to master concepts AFTER I have been tested on them, so my grades don't actually reflect my true knowledge of the material. I will take a test on one subject, get somewhere around a 75 or 80 on it, and then a week later it will seem like I have mastery of it! It is kind of a pain in the ass, but I don't let it bother me because the fact that I am learning the material is truly the important factor.
In Calculus we have looked at the various ways to take the derivative of functions, applications using derivatives, solving for tangents and normals, and related rates. For the majority of the class up to this point I was learning the material simply because I knew that it would come in handy for later courses, BUT I wasn't sure exactly how I could use my newly discovered mathematical abilities. Earlier in the week we started looking at "related rates" which is, as it sounds, two or more rates that increase alongside one another. An example of this would be blowing up a balloon. As the balloon inflates the volume increases, the surface area increases, and so does the radius at the center of the balloon. It is pretty cool stuff, and this topic is the first mathematical topic that I have ever been introduced to that actually gave me a sense of newly found power... I think that it is because I had countless ideas popping into my head as to what these mathematical processes could allow me to solve. I was thinking primarily along the lines of circuits because that is the subject within my major where I will be using calculus the most.
Electronics for Computer Engineers has been going amazingly well. It is easily my favorite class because it is perfectly focused on what my major is about. We have been learning how to make circuits that amplify signals, circuits that can add two values and convert to binary output, and how to make switches that toggle on and off based on the conditions we have them wired to operate with.
I have been studying some pretty cool stuff this semester, but the cooler the topics the more advanced they are. I am learning some amazing things, but at the same time my work is getting significantly more challenging. This will continue until graduation, obviously, but I am more than looking forward to it. Bring it on, college! I am ready to kick your ass! :D
I wouldn't say that I am kicking ass in Calculus, but I am doing well enough to where I am probably averaging somewhere around a 75. This really isn't too bad for me because math has always been something that I have had minor problems with. The big thing with me is that I seem to master concepts AFTER I have been tested on them, so my grades don't actually reflect my true knowledge of the material. I will take a test on one subject, get somewhere around a 75 or 80 on it, and then a week later it will seem like I have mastery of it! It is kind of a pain in the ass, but I don't let it bother me because the fact that I am learning the material is truly the important factor.
In Calculus we have looked at the various ways to take the derivative of functions, applications using derivatives, solving for tangents and normals, and related rates. For the majority of the class up to this point I was learning the material simply because I knew that it would come in handy for later courses, BUT I wasn't sure exactly how I could use my newly discovered mathematical abilities. Earlier in the week we started looking at "related rates" which is, as it sounds, two or more rates that increase alongside one another. An example of this would be blowing up a balloon. As the balloon inflates the volume increases, the surface area increases, and so does the radius at the center of the balloon. It is pretty cool stuff, and this topic is the first mathematical topic that I have ever been introduced to that actually gave me a sense of newly found power... I think that it is because I had countless ideas popping into my head as to what these mathematical processes could allow me to solve. I was thinking primarily along the lines of circuits because that is the subject within my major where I will be using calculus the most.
Electronics for Computer Engineers has been going amazingly well. It is easily my favorite class because it is perfectly focused on what my major is about. We have been learning how to make circuits that amplify signals, circuits that can add two values and convert to binary output, and how to make switches that toggle on and off based on the conditions we have them wired to operate with.
I have been studying some pretty cool stuff this semester, but the cooler the topics the more advanced they are. I am learning some amazing things, but at the same time my work is getting significantly more challenging. This will continue until graduation, obviously, but I am more than looking forward to it. Bring it on, college! I am ready to kick your ass! :D
