For those of you that had the course, is there any use in buying the textbook and studying it, or will you do fine on the midterm/exams by just going to class and filling in the lecture skeleton notes?

I have dr. mercer

Thank you

Originally Posted by xiaoliu

For those of you that had the course, is there any use in buying the textbook and studying it, or will you do fine on the midterm/exams by just going to class and filling in the lecture skeleton notes?

I have dr. mercer

Thank you

I had him for 1HB3. You need the textbook to do well.

Some of the questions he asks on the tests were never mentioned in class and are very specific examples from the text.

Would anyone be able to elaborate on the type of questions he gives on midterms? I'm trying to understand how to study for his courses. The course in question is GEO 2RW3 (WORLD GEO)

thanks in advance !

Dr. Mercier is a great prof! His tests and exams are really fair but like others mentioned he does ask some specific questions out of the textbook on his tests and exams. It depends on what kind of mark you want to get to determine whether or not you NEED the textbook.

The midterm/final exams with Dr. Mercier consist of MC questions and Short/long answers. His tests are very fair and it really test you on how much you learn in class. His lecture notes however are only a few parts of it so getting the textbook is essential because it is more detailed.

I had geo 1HA3 with Dr Peace and he really picks up the smallest of facts to question upon. I had the texbook, but never got the chance to use it and still ended up with a pretty good mark.

For those of that had geo 1ha3, do you think studying from the lecture notes (filled in by going to class ofc), would suffice? Or are there a large chunk of the tests that are strictly from the textbook?

thanks

For Peace, you don't need the textbook. With Mercier though, you probably want it to do well

For 1HA3 you'll need the text for sure. But for 1HB3, no.

It'll suffice if you just want to pass the course - as long as you're going to all of your labs because those ARE on the exams. But if you're aiming for a 10 or higher, definitely get the books.

The book is absolutely not necessary for Mercier's class. There were maybe 2-3 multiple choice questions on the midterm/exam that used info from the book, everything else was based off the lectures.
You need to go to lectures and labs, but the textbook is pretty much useless. If you like throwing away money then get it, otherwise focus on taking down good lecture notes.
This is coming from someone who got a 12 without ever opening up the book btw.

Originally Posted by Goran

The book is absolutely not necessary for Mercier's class. There were maybe 2-3 multiple choice questions on the midterm/exam that used info from the book, everything else was based off the lectures.
You need to go to lectures and labs, but the textbook is pretty much useless. If you like throwing away money then get it, otherwise focus on taking down good lecture notes.
This is coming from someone who got a 12 without ever opening up the book btw.

Thanks for the response.