In CHEM 1A03, I got 56 on both my midterms (1 and 2) and I'm getting 90s in my labs and mastering chem quizzes. I want to get into PNB, Molecular biology and genetics, or honours life science/biology in second year. I have a feeling that I failed my final exam though.. So what are the chances of me passing my CHEM 1A03 course, and can I still continue to take CHEM 1AA3 in term 2? Also if I did fail my CHEM 1A03, can I still get into the second year programs with a high CA in the other courses (i.e. PNB program for second year doesn't require CHEM as a prerequisite, but I don't know why the life sciences I would have it as prerequisite..)

Thank you!

Nobody can tell you what your "chances of failing" are...you're completed all the components of the course, you have the mark breakdown. You can calculate what you need on the exam to pass and ask yourself if you think you achieved that on the exam.

If you pass 1A03, you can take 1AA3. If you fail 1A03, you can't.

If you fail, it will count towards your CA as a zero (which really isn't too different from passing with a 1 or 2). You calculate your CA and figure out if it meets the minimum cutoff. Beyond that, it's all competition with your classmates.

IIRC, they changed it so chem 1A03 and 1AA3 are not prereqs for life sci I...though most people still take them because the vast majority of 2nd year programs require it, and you end up really limiting yourself if you don't take them. It's dumb though, they SHOULD be required because you should have a basic knowledge of chemistry, and also some people don't realize that they need chem for 2nd year courses/programs and don't take it and screw themselves over.

if you did mastering chem and got100 on it and the iclickers, this makes your exam 40%? you would only need like 18% on the final to pass.

i thought you could still take course even if you failed its pre-req, as long as you're still registered in the course next semester ?

or is that just for engineer students ?

-im so confused.

engineers dont even take chem 1aa3 in first year and only a few take it later on anyways. im pretty sure you need 1a03 completed (passed) to be allowed to take 1aa3.

Originally Posted by aliesk

i thought you could still take course even if you failed its pre-req, as long as you're still registered in the course next semester ?

or is that just for engineer students ?

-im so confused.

Lol do you know what "pre-requisite" means?

If you hadn't registered in the course then SOLAR won't let you after you fail the prereq, but since you're already registered SOLAR can't do anything about it.
You can take your chances and continue in the course, but be aware that the school can decide not to grant you the credits or to pull you from the course mid-term once they realize that you're taking the course without the pre-req without faculty permission. Students are responsible for taking courses in an order that meets prereq requirements, and failure to do so can result in the university pulling the credit or making the course not count towards your degree - that's what it says in the course calendar.

Originally Posted by starfish

Lol do you know what "pre-requisite" means?

If you hadn't registered in the course then SOLAR won't let you after you fail the prereq, but since you're already registered SOLAR can't do anything about it.
You can take your chances and continue in the course, but be aware that the school can decide not to grant you the credits or to pull you from the course mid-term once they realize that you're taking the course without the pre-req without faculty permission. Students are responsible for taking courses in an order that meets prereq requirements, and failure to do so can result in the university pulling the credit or making the course not count towards your degree - that's what it says in the course calendar.

Its very common in engineering to get a profs (or departments) permission to take the next course anyways. Their attitude is more "go for it, see if I care" so they almost always grant it. You DO need permission though. Also some programs in engineering get automatically Waived for almost all prerequisites in the same department, other departments, or even other faculties. In engineering the "prereq" has become a defacto guideline. The program I am in for example basically has a free pass to all prereqs

The bigger issue is your struggle in a course that is largely high school review. If you are doing poorly in CHEM 1A03, perhaps science or engineering is not the path for you. Figure that out before you blow a bunch of your (or your parents') money. Almost everyone gets 85+ on labs and 90+ in Mastering Chem, so your midterm marks are likely far more indicative of your aptitude.

Originally Posted by starfish

Lol do you know what "pre-requisite" means?

If you hadn't registered in the course then SOLAR won't let you after you fail the prereq, but since you're already registered SOLAR can't do anything about it.
You can take your chances and continue in the course, but be aware that the school can decide not to grant you the credits or to pull you from the course mid-term once they realize that you're taking the course without the pre-req without faculty permission. Students are responsible for taking courses in an order that meets prereq requirements, and failure to do so can result in the university pulling the credit or making the course not count towards your degree - that's what it says in the course calendar.

Actually, before the semester starts, SOLAR automatically kicks you out of courses that you failed the prereqs for.

Hi, Despite what Alomar12 said. Chem 1A03 is a bit of a challenge. Both people I know in life science and engineering found it difficult. I to did not do as well as I had hoped. So don't beat yourself up over it. However it is a pre-req for the Chem 1AA3 and you cant take it without it. If you knew that you weren't doing so well I hope you would have studied really hard and ask for friends help or get a tutor. All the programs you list require or strongly recommend Chem 1A03. PNB does for sure. Chem 1A03 is also a pre-req for a lot of other second year courses so if you do end up failing I suggest taking it again. All the best to you!


P.S. finalexamcalculator.c om is a website that allows you to plug in your marks and the weighting for each. You can play around with your desired course mark and the % on the exam you would need to achieve it. Hope this helps!

I agree with adcockr. No offence Alomar12, but not everyone had a good high school chemistry teacher....

You just have to study really hard for the exam. And if you do pass, put LOTS of effort into Chem 1AA3! Goodluck.

dw, you will not use that chem you learn in first year in anything, even though it is 'strongly recommended'. first year chem doesnt even help much in orgo.

To be quite honest, I had a horrible high school chem teacher, but chem 1A03 was definitely not a hard course. Im gonna play Devil's advocate and say that If you looked over the notes and attended classes and studied for the midterm even the night before, a 70-80 is very easily achieved. The concept is NOT hard at all, unlike upper year chem courses. If you did the past midterms, you would notice that the question style and type are quite similar. In order to even do well in uni, you need to manage your time and study.