Well, I have just attended my first bio 1a03 lecture, and was told that there would be three skills labs worth 3% of our final grade that we had to complete by the 24th. How difficult are these labs to do? The lecturer said that they could take anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours...so that kind of scared me. Are the online quizzes also quite tricky?! I also find it weird that a lab coat is mandatory for bio but not for chemistry :S.

Originally Posted by Angoose

Well, I have just attended my first bio 1a03 lecture, and was told that there would be three skills labs worth 3% of our final grade that we had to complete by the 24th. How difficult are these labs to do? The lecturer said that they could take anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours...so that kind of scared me. Are the online quizzes also quite tricky?! I also find it weird that a lab coat is mandatory for bio but not for chemistry :S.

The skills labs are super easy. It's basically for you to learn the techniques that you will be using throughout your years at McMaster and perhaps even beyond.

I don't remember any online quizzes, so I can't help you with that...

Originally Posted by jhan523

The skills labs are super easy. It's basically for you to learn the techniques that you will be using throughout your years at McMaster and perhaps even beyond.

I don't remember any online quizzes, so I can't help you with that...

I think the OP means the prelab quizzes? You can look up all of the answers, and (I think?) we had multiple tries, so they were pretty easy.

The main reason the skills labs take so long is because of the amount of people and the lineups involved. 45mins for all three is actually quite short. 3hrs is like one normal lab session, so it's not as long as it seems. They weren't hard at all. iirc, there was one on aseptic techniques, one on microscopy and one on micropipetting...for me, the micropipetting one was most useful.

You have to do it, so it doesn't really matter if it's the hardest thing in the world, just put in some effort and get it done

You should really wear a lab coat in chem...but I think the reason it's required in bio is because of the biohazard stuff. First-year chem deals (mostly) with dilute compounds that aren't very dangerous. A lab coat is strongly recommended though, because you can stain your clothes--in one of the labs (the one with iron thiocyanate), my lab partner spilled some of it on my jeans right at the bottom where my lab coat didn't cover, and now I have a very discoloured patch there. Since you have to buy one anyways, I'd definitely recommend wearing it during chem labs.

Originally Posted by nerual

I think the OP means the prelab quizzes? You can look up all of the answers, and (I think?) we had multiple tries, so they were pretty easy.

The main reason the skills labs take so long is because of the amount of people and the lineups involved. 45mins for all three is actually quite short. 3hrs is like one normal lab session, so it's not as long as it seems. They weren't hard at all. iirc, there was one on aseptic techniques, one on microscopy and one on micropipetting...for me, the micropipetting one was most useful.

You have to do it, so it doesn't really matter if it's the hardest thing in the world, just put in some effort and get it done

You should really wear a lab coat in chem...but I think the reason it's required in bio is because of the biohazard stuff. First-year chem deals (mostly) with dilute compounds that aren't very dangerous. A lab coat is strongly recommended though, because you can stain your clothes--in one of the labs (the one with iron thiocyanate), my lab partner spilled some of it on my jeans right at the bottom where my lab coat didn't cover, and now I have a very discoloured patch there. Since you have to buy one anyways, I'd definitely recommend wearing it during chem labs.

Thanks for your help. I will just buy the lab-coat, then. Not so sure about the goggles, though. They seem way overpriced at Titles. As a first year, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed already, with all of these tiny lab quizzes, then the lab exam, then mid-terms, then...*explodes*.

Originally Posted by Angoose

Thanks for your help. I will just buy the lab-coat, then. Not so sure about the goggles, though. They seem way overpriced at Titles. As a first year, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed already, with all of these tiny lab quizzes, then the lab exam, then mid-terms, then...*explodes*.

Goggles are required for chem labs. It's a huuuuuge safety thing. Speaking as a TA for that course, you will NOT be allowed to do the labs without goggles. You can rent them for $2 from the chem dept, but that is meant more for people who forget their goggles (as in, you would have to pay $2 every time you don't have goggles). I'm not sure if you need them for bio labs or if they have rentals available for people who forget. The goggles are what, $16.95? If you need them for bio or if you'll ever take another course (such as orgo) that requires goggles, it's cheaper to just buy them--not to mention more convenient. I'm not sure if they'd frown upon you renting every week or not :S

I was just going to buy a pair from Canadian Tire or something. It's 1/5 the price :S.

Originally Posted by Angoose

I was just going to buy a pair from Canadian Tire or something. It's 1/5 the price :S.

If you do, then make sure they're goggles, NOT glasses.

im pretty worried about the skills labs, do you have to write the procedures from the pdf's into your lab notebook prior to the lab? do you print out the instructions, or write everything? (cuhs i can't remember everything from materials to procedures). did you write them out in your own words (like past tense, ''test tube was placed ___'' and so on?)

thanks! ><

Yeahhh, the prof explicitly said no glasses...even though I brought a pair already >: O. I hope those goggles fit snuggly over my glasses. As for the lab notebook, I'm not exactly sure if we have to write anything down for the skills labs, other than printing out the last page.

I don't remember what you had to write for the skills lab.

Yeah, the goggles fit pretty well over glasses, but it can give you a headache if you wear them for too long. Just adjust the straps and you should be okay--it's better to have a bit of a headache than to get acid in your eyes!

Originally Posted by nerual

I don't remember what you had to write for the skills lab.

Yeah, the goggles fit pretty well over glasses, but it can give you a headache if you wear them for too long. Just adjust the straps and you should be okay--it's better to have a bit of a headache than to get acid in your eyes!

...words of wisdom. Headache > Acid. You deserve a thanks for that. . Man...Mugsi is so packed tonight. I've been trying to log in on-off for five hours now.

welll i had a different expericene , pipette n aseptic techique was so easy but microscope as sooo dam hard like argh sso frustrating tok me like an hour to get it exact. n then i had the brutal elm deal with so our pre skills lab quizzes werent working properly n they were quite challenging. HOWEVER, skills labs are the easiest 3% ever. btw wear ur labcoat n ur googles ppl brea glass n it culd fling into ur eyes+ chemicals everywhere. oh and u just post the sheets thy tell u to post in ur book theres no procedure for skills labs

Originally Posted by MCHEDDENITE

welll i had a different expericene , pipette n aseptic techique was so easy but microscope as sooo dam hard like argh sso frustrating tok me like an hour to get it exact. n then i had the brutal elm deal with so our pre skills lab quizzes werent working properly n they were quite challenging. HOWEVER, skills labs are the easiest 3% ever. btw wear ur labcoat n ur googles ppl brea glass n it culd fling into ur eyes+ chemicals everywhere. oh and u just post the sheets thy tell u to post in ur book theres no procedure for skills labs

Yeah Microscope was the harder skill lab to do. It's really annoying and I remember my eyes hurting after I was done. But with patience and tons of mini-breaks (don't stare into the microscope the entire time), you should be able to do it no problem.

so there are 3 labs and 3 quizzes we have to do
is it better to do the labs first and quizzes later?
do we have to do any pre thing for these skill labs?