I found this course interesting and easy, Dr.Dudley knows her stuff but has some of the worst writing i have ever seen, that is pretty much the only bad side of this course the material you learn is very interesting and can be applied to everyday aspects of life. 60% of the course is lab, and 40%...

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I am not really sure how I feel about this course and you should probably take this review with a grain salt. When I took plants, I wasn't really into it half way through because I wasn't gonna study biology anymore. However, it was still somewhat interesting and I did get a very good mark in it even though it was a time-waster course.

I feel that the course was too focussed on genetics and cell biology. I know it is important to know about those in plants, however, it took away from learning about plant biodiversity which was implied in the course title. (I took this course out of my interest for biodiversity and ecology). I also think that genetics and cell biology have appropriate places in their respective courses and it was kind of redundant for me to learn about it again in this course. That being said, I am glad that the cell bio/genetics aspects of the course were not overly detailed, however, I still wish that bio 2d03 was more like a "traditional botany class". The instructor, Dr. Robin Cameron, was pretty good overall and the labs were great because they were really laid-back.

Worst class ive ever taken, worst make ive ever received at mcmaster.

Poorly ran, had a Lab TA who could never answer questions.

Avoid it at all costs.

hey does ayone have an update on this course it seems as though its changed a bit over the years and i was just wondering how its was last year. also would it be too much to take this course if i was also taking bio 2f03,2l03 chem 20a3 and astron 2b03 in the same term as it.

Originally Posted by Chevalier

hey does ayone have an update on this course it seems as though its changed a bit over the years and i was just wondering how its was last year. also would it be too much to take this course if i was also taking bio 2f03,2l03 chem 20a3 and astron 2b03 in the same term as it.

I wouldn't worry too much about the load, big questions is supposed to be relaxed as well. I'm taking Bio 2b03, 2d03, 2ee3, 2lo3 and chem as well so far, although im thinking of dropping a bio.

So...any info on 2d03 would be great!

Originally Posted by Chevalier

hey does ayone have an update on this course it seems as though its changed a bit over the years and i was just wondering how its was last year. also would it be too much to take this course if i was also taking bio 2f03,2l03 chem 20a3 and astron 2b03 in the same term as it.

I took a similar schedule and I thought it was perfectly doable. I had Bio 2B03, 2D03, 2F03, Chem 2OA3 and Hth Age 1BB3. It wasn't exactly easy, but it was definitely manageable with effort .

I took this class when Dudley was teaching it. Overall, it's a very manageable class.
When I took it, we were assigned journal readings every few weeks, and we attended a lab every week where we learned the majority of the information. There were also 2 lectures a week, I believe.

Dudley did a great job teaching it, probably because this is the area of biology that she is interested in! Her writing is a bit on the messy side, but her lectures are usually interesting. During one class, she brought plants and leaves to lecture.

The labs are very important, so don't skip those. They are not 'labs' in the sense of the labs you do in first year, but they are more like little stations and activities. At the end of lab, they verbally test your knowledge.

I believe you gain your marks through 2(?) tests, a timed lab test, and a final exam. Would definitely recommend this class if you're interested in plants.

Is the textbook for this class required?

Originally Posted by neeti10

Is the textbook for this class required?

I didn't use it.

Originally Posted by neeti10

Is the textbook for this class required?

It's not required, but for the labs, there are pages that you can refer to. I thought it was really helpful with the lab exam. A lot of the diagrams in the textbook were things we've seen in lab. So using the textbook and my own pictures was really useful for labs in general but also the lab exam. Not to forget that I was able to look up any concept I didn't understand in there.

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

It's not required, but for the labs, there are pages that you can refer to. I thought it was really helpful with the lab exam. A lot of the diagrams in the textbook were things we've seen in lab. So using the textbook and my own pictures was really useful for labs in general but also the lab exam. Not to forget that I was able to look up any concept I didn't understand in there.

Is the textbook referenced a lot in class/tests? I feel like I should get it, but I want to know whether it's really necessary (other than for extra info about labs).

Originally Posted by rkb12

Is the textbook referenced a lot in class/tests? I feel like I should get it, but I want to know whether it's really necessary (other than for extra info about labs).

She gives us the corresponding pages for you to refer to. But it's really all up to you. I thought the textbook was useful while some of my friends didn't open it at all. I recommend waiting until the first class, see what Dr. Cameron says and even ask her what she thinks. Also, there's a copy on reserve at the library if you choose to look at it before you buy it.

I took this course with dr Cameron in 2010 and it was by far the best course i have ever taken. I didn't take biology 1A03 or high school bio (wasn't a prereq at the time) but still managed to get a 9. You learn a lot about how plants evolved and how they cope with biotic/abiotic stress. The labs were fun. They give you plenty of time to draw diagrams and the TAs are cool ( just draw most diagrams with labels and you will get perfect on the labs)

I took this couirse with Cameron last year as well, and to my surprise I really enjoyed it. It was well structured and you learn a lot about plants not just basics like xylem and phloem. Plant defense against disease and adaptations to things like droughts or floods were some aspects of the course and I found them really interesting. Exam was fair and so were the quizzes and labs, overall a great curse to take

I came in not expecting much from the course, but ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would. The beginning was boring imo - it focused on physiology and anatomy of plants, but then we got into the mol bio/genetics side and talked about adaptation mechanisms to stress, disease etc. and GM crops, which was interesting. We didn't do much biodiversity/ecology in class, that was more enforced in the labs, which were doable.

Cameron is a pretty good prof; I found her slides to be pretty clear. She's a bit slow/boring in class but she makes sure everyone understands the concepts. I decided not to buy the textbook, which was a little annoying considering all the diagrams on the slides were blocked due to copyright issues this year. But I made notes/sketches of them in class, and on the slides, she would position the block so that you could still see the important part of the figure.

The first avenue quiz was difficult (you didn't have much time, and you couldn't go back to look at your answers), she had to bump everyone up; but the in-lab quiz was fair in my opinion (if you studied you did well). The lab exam was one of the more difficult assessments, you have to really be aware in lab and either take pictures of the micrographs, or draw them/remember them well. The exam was easy in my opinion, if you studied for the first few quizzes and went to class you were fine. Also there's a written answer question about the ethics of GM crops that you prepare for before the exam (she gives you the question). A few important things to do: Go to the few last classes! She told us to memorize a diagram for a SA that was on the final. Also, read/do the practise exam on Avenue, the questions were incredibly similar to the final (some were even the same I think) and make sure you understand the reasoning behind the answer, because she may tweak it slightly.