Entry requirements
If you come to this course without any recent practice in basic maths and physics, it will help if you could look at the following areas before you start:
- Maths: Numeracy: use of brackets, scientific notation, powers, indices and exponents, improper fractions, circular measures, logarithms
- Algebra: Simple rearranging of formulae, substitution of numbers into formulae, equations of lines and circles.
- Trigonometry: sines, cosines, tangents and their numerical properties
- Physics S.I. units (metric system), basic wave phenomena (reflection, refraction, diffraction, superposition), concepts of velocity, energy, intensity and pressure.
- You will need to be able to use a scientific calculator.
- It is essential that you are or become computer literate i.e. proficient at using word processing software for preparing assignment answers, laboratory and project reports and at using spreadsheet software (such as Excel) for any calculations that warrant it.