What is taught in the first semester in BITS Pilani? What textbooks are used?

The first-year syllabus of every engineering college generally consists of basic science subjects, along with some subjects common to all departments of engineering. Here are the subjects taught in BITS Pilani during the first and second semesters of engineering.

First Semester:

• MEOW stands for Mechanics Oscillations and Waves. The “waves” part of the subject is easier and scoring. If you like Mechanics, you will find it easy.
• General Chemistry is also taught during the first semester. The quantum chemistry part is a bit difficult to understand, so most students just learn to solve problems in this.
• General Biology consists of interesting lectures. The exams of this subject consist of conceptual questions and so, you should have your concepts cleared.
• M1 is the first paper for mathematics, having series, sequences, and some parts of advanced calculus in it.
• Engineering Graphics is a subject in which you will be taught the usage of AutoCAD. It is better for you to get used to AutoCAD 2014 before joining college because some find this difficult due to poor visualization skills.
• The Labs in physics and biology are usually normal. You just need to be regular, work properly in labs, and be prepared for viva to get a decent grade in those lab papers.

Second Semester:

• M2 is the second paper for engineering mathematics, having chapters in linear algebra and complex numbers. The part of linear algebra is very scoring.
• The most important course in the second semester is computer programming, which has 4 units of credit.
• Probability and Statistics is a very easy course, even easier in the midterm component. Attend all lectures till post the midterm. In those, new concepts are taught.
• Thermodynamics is an interesting subject. You need to learn the use of tables, which is utterly important.
• Electrical Science is a vast course. Usually, most students have a low average in this subject and so, try to do well in the tutorial tests.
• Technical Report Writing is a small course. You will need to learn the format used in writing and write in brief.
• The workshop is considered a mechanical laboratory. You need to choose between sections wisely as per interest and do well in the 3-unit shops.

These are the subjects taught in the first two semesters of engineering at BITS Pilani, along with a brief overview of each.