If the title of this course wasn't obvious enough for you, you are about to read a review on Geo 1HS3/Geog 1HA3. As with many of the geography courses for the 2008/2009 year, several are being merged into 1 class, removed completely, undergoing a name change or are just being...

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Can anyone tell me which course is harder: GEO 1HA3 or GEO 1HB3 and why, please?

Originally Posted by lankan_4lif

Can anyone tell me which course is harder: GEO 1HA3 or GEO 1HB3 and why, please?

Hey I took Geo 1HA3 last year and I found the material very easy. I know a friend who took both and said that there were more calculations involved in 1HB3 as opposed to 1HA3 but nothing too complicated as it was just plugging numbers into equations. I guess it just depends on which topics you find more interesting since 1HA3 deals with the human aspect of geography such as immigration, patterns of human distribution etc... whereas 1HB3 analyzes the relationship between geography and economics as the name of the course suggests.

Thanks a lot Usman.

Originally Posted by lankan_4lif

Thanks a lot Usman.

No problem at all.

I took GEO 1HB3 last year and i found it difficult mainly because of our prof Mercier. Even our TA's agree he is very detailed and heavy in exams and midterms. I got out of there with a B+.

In the Labs we had a few group assignments that require going a certain location and observing and writing reports.
There are good profs in this field and the class was interesting.

I'm selling the txtbook for that class: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY LANDSCAPE OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES for a very low price if anyone is interested.

How is Dr. Peace as a prof for GEOG 1HA3? As well, are the assignments for this course marked hard or does it depend on your TA?

Originally Posted by lankan_4lif

How is Dr. Peace as a prof for GEOG 1HA3? As well, are the assignments for this course marked hard or does it depend on your TA?

Not sure about Dr. Peace since I didn't have him (I had Mercier). In terms of assignments it definitely depends on who your TA is but there shouldn't be much of a difference since they all probably follow a guideline set by the professor.

Ive heard that the assignments involve going all over around hamilton to make maps and different things is this true? Also, Ive heard that the geo exams are usually really late in the exam period is this true? Ive signe dup for both first year geo courses but Ive never taken geo before except in garde 10 and dont know much about it. Would this be really hard?

Originally Posted by Samantha

Ive heard that the assignments involve going all over around hamilton to make maps and different things is this true? Also, Ive heard that the geo exams are usually really late in the exam period is this true? Ive signe dup for both first year geo courses but Ive never taken geo before except in garde 10 and dont know much about it. Would this be really hard?

First of all you'll be fine if you just took Geo in gr. 10 because most concepts in these courses are new. In terms of the assignment, I took 1HA3 and yes we did have an assignment like that which was such a pain. It wasn't really hard but the there was a lot of work that needed to be done. We had to plan a "tour" of a Neighborhood in Hamilton and make a tour guide booklet. Overall the course is really easy but it does require some work as do all courses in university.

Thanks so much for your help! Were these assignments done individually or in groups?

Originally Posted by Samantha

Thanks so much for your help! Were these assignments done individually or in groups?

The tour guide assignment was in groups of 4 and some of the other assignments were either individual, groups of 2 and groups of 3.

Yes i had a group of 4 for each. the first one we got to choose our partners but the second one our TA assigned us a group. The group made it easier to finish the reports and such because you can divide up the work well. The only stressing part is putting it together and making it work before the deadline. I remember staying up till 4 in the morning waiting for my groups members to send me their work. But in the end we did well.

How difficult are the midterms and exams for this course?

As well, how is Dr. Mercier as a professor?

The exams and midterms I found were extremely easy. During lectures the prof usually tells you what the format will be and they give you a list of terms that will be guaranteed to be on the midterm/exam. Just make sure you take detailed notes and take note of any hints the prof might throw your way. I had Dr. Mercier last year and I found he was a very good lecturer. I really don't have any complaints.