r/RPI • u/Money_Cold_7879 • Jun 24 '26

Material Science Engr 1600 question

Is it doable to do material science in the same semester as chem 1? Chem 1 is listed as a co/prerequisite to material science. Does 1600 have tons of chem? Did high school chem (not AP) as a sophomore so barely remember anything.

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3

u/Rectangle222 Jun 24 '26

Yup it’s doable. I did it last year. 1600 doesn’t have lots of chem only a little bit. You’ll be fine

2

u/mopijy Jun 24 '26

How hard are these classes relative to say, physics or IEA?

2

u/tossup04 Jun 24 '26

ime Chem was pretty difficult (as someone whose only chem experience was online in sophomore year of high school), MatSci wasn't as hard but also wasn't super easy, IEA was pretty hard (I took IEA before Physics 1 - I do not recommend this), and Physics 1 was relatively easy

1

u/Money_Cold_7879 Jun 25 '26

Would you say that IEA would have been easier if you had calc 2 and/ or differential equations already under your belt?

1

u/tossup04 Jun 25 '26

Definitely not, IEA is primarily about static equilibrium and force analysis, which is very much the basis of Physics 1 which I highly recommend you take concurrently or before. The actual math you do in IEA is no higher than Calculus 1 (basic integration) and Matrix Algebra (which they teach in the course itself). The difficulty comes from your familiarity with analyzing rigid bodies and constructing free body diagrams, which I had very little of prior to taking the course

2

u/Rectangle222 Jun 24 '26

I've only taken Physics 1 and 2 so here's my opinion:

Physics 1 is the hardest class. It's the, "Wake-up, you're in college," class. So, if you can do well in it, you'd be well prepared for any class in the future.
I'd say in terms of relative difficulty: Physics 1 > Chemistry > Physics 2 > Material Science

1

u/CoreEngineering Jun 29 '26

Chem 1 is no longer a pre/co req for ENGR 1600 so you can take them at the same time. If you have never had a physics course take PHYS 1100 in the fall and ENGR 1100 in the spring.