Biology 3P03 (Cell Physiology)

Biology 3AA3 (Fundamental concepts of pharmacology).

Biology 2EE3 (Introduction to microbiology and biotechnology).

I know these are serious science courses, but they are not unreasonable, right? I need a high-3.8 gpa.

Thanks for your help!

edit:

I am now also curious about stats 2D03 and 2MB3, thanks in advance.

Biology 3P03 (Cell Physiology)
- This is not a hard course, although it depends on whether you like action potentials, signal transuction pathways. It is all application based and has tradiontally been taught by Dr. Nurse who is a very fair and reasonable prof. He likes to make students think and puts an emphasis on concepts. There are two tests, each 2 hrs long, that comprise of definitons, true/false, calculations, drawing graphs, and short answers (many of the questions are made of many parts). The exam is a bit more trickier. With a little effort a definite 10 is possible.

Biology 2EE3 (Introduction to microbiology and biotechnology).
- This is definitely not a hard course in terms of content, however the tests are hit and miss in that the prof (Dr. Xu), can ask the most random questions (a combination of mc, true/false and SA when I took it a year ago). The problem with this course is the huge amount of content that you had to learn, it amoutned to around 1000 pages worth of textbook material that requires pure memorization,hence the random questions. Although I heard the tests this year were all true/false. For this reason alone, I would find it more challenging to achieve a 12. There are also labs, therefore marks can be a hit and miss with this component.

I do not know anything about Bio 3AA3, but I'm pretty sure it is not hard. In general, achieving a 10+ in a bio course is very doable. Hope this helps. I would also suggest these bio courses: Mol Biol 3HH3 (cytoplasm), Mol Biol 3H03 (nucleus), and Bio 2F03 (Ecology), these are definite 11's/12's.

Thanks so much.

I am also wondering the same about stats 2D03 and 2MB3. Any input would be appreciated.

I love it when people bring up Bio 2EE3 on this forum just cause it gives me another chance to publicly bash it. God, I hated this course, and I love bashing it. As mentioned above, the testing is hit and miss (but more so 'miss' than 'hit'). I studied profusely for both the midterm and final and still had to guess >80% of the questions. Think questions like this:

What is the highest magnification of a field microscope?
a) 0.001 nm
b) 0.01 nm
c) 0.1 nm
d) 1 nm
e) 10 nm

Ridiculous questions that don't test your knowledge of the subject, nor your ability to problem-solve.. but rather, how well can you recall this meaningless fact that appeared once on this obscure page of the textbook that doesn't even correspond to your lecture notes. IMO, anyone who actually sits down and memorizes this stuff is stupid. It's a test of stupidity.


There are two good things I will say about this course
1) The course material itself is amazingly interesting. The mechanism of how HIV invades cells... how beer/cheese/chocolate are made... how DNA is replicated in a prokaryote... awesome.
2) Marks are bell curved insanely. I think I should have failed the course (based on how many questions I had to guess/b.s. on the exam.. I literally wrote "derp" as one of my short answers) but ended up with a grade above 10.

There are definitely pros and cons to this course but if you want to preserve your sanity I would certainly not recommend not taking it unless you have to (i.e. you are in Mol Bio & Genetics and it is a requirement). Otherwise, stay far far away. Or if you're genuinely interested in the subject, just get a microbiology textbook from Chapters and read/learn about it on your own time. You'd probably learn more that way.

Worst structured course I've ever taken at McMaster.

Originally Posted by ramses

Thanks so much.

I am also wondering the same about stats 2D03 and 2MB3. Any input would be appreciated.

Stats 2D03 is very different from 2B03. It's a probability course, and is thus somewhat theoretical (definitely a lot more theoretical than 2B, which is a methods course). It's meant for math and stats majors, so you'll cover quite a bit of material and will be expected to understand mathematical reasoning quite well, relative to 1st year courses in the discipline. There will probably be a proof or two as well.

2B03 is supposedly very easy, I wouldn't say quite the same for 2D03. A high mark is more than possible, but you'll likely have to put a little (or a lot, depending on your familiarity with probabilistic reasoning) more work than 2B03 to get one.

I heard BIO 3P03 is the hardest physio course out there..

Originally Posted by VoyozooT

I heard BIO 3P03 is the hardest physio course out there..

Would you happen to come across any details?

There's a course review of Bio 3AA3 here. Hope that helps!
Oh and Stats 2B03 here.

Originally Posted by VoyozooT

I heard BIO 3P03 is the hardest physio course out there..

Yeah, it defnitely is not "easy", but a 10+ is definitely achievable. I would say Bio 3U03 (animal physiology, homeostasis) is probably one of the more difficult ones, possibly due to the labs.

Originally Posted by H.L.

Yeah, it defnitely is not "easy", but a 10+ is definitely achievable. I would say Bio 3U03 (animal physiology, homeostasis) is probably one of the more difficult ones, possibly due to the labs.

That's what I heard from a few friends as well =/. Speaking of Bio 3U03, how were the labs compared to Bio 2A03, I wasn't exactly fond of the Bio 2A03 labs, not only my TA's marking but also I didn't find that I learned much from them anyway. :S

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

That's what I heard from a few friends as well =/. Speaking of Bio 3U03, how were the labs compared to Bio 2A03, I wasn't exactly fond of the Bio 2A03 labs, not only my TA's marking but also I didn't find that I learned much from them anyway. :S

The labs were more "technical" and hands on, in that you are required to use more equipment:

- To measure variables such as HR, SV, voltages etc., we used a a software that was hooked up to a plethysmograph and it gave us "live" readings on a computer (this is used for the majority of the labs)

- A frog dissection which was arguably the highlight of the lab. To test the effects of the PSNS and SNS on the heart, we used AD, NAD, ACh (to name a few) and we were able to quantify the changes since it was hooked up to a transducer

-Renal lab: to see the effects of different beverages on renal output and composition, students drank alcohol (yes, alcohol), water, caffeine, and other drinks. We then had to measure and calculate certain variables of our own urine output (ph, volume, % solids) over a 2 hour period every 30 minutes.

Labs were every week and alternated with a quiz (made by your T.A.) or a lab write-up. At the end of the term, you are required to write a lab test that is created by all of the T.A.s. You are also responsible for a lab seminar in a group (2-3 people) on a topic that is chosen at the start of term.

The labs are marked with same difficulty as the 2A03, but overall, it really does boil down to your T.A.. The quizzes are not difficult at all (all m.c.) and are out of 10. They simply test your understanding of the lab and the general concepts (i.e. know how to calculate HR from the data).

Hope this helps!

Hi,
I'm going into the third year physiology specialization, and still need to take Bio 2F03 and Bio 3U03. They conflict this fall, but does anyone have an opinion on putting off 3U03 until fourth year? Just wondering about the course load because I will also (hopefully!) have a thesis to deal with in the fall of fourth year.
Thanks for any input!

@ R.L. Thank you so much for your input. It was really helpful

Originally Posted by Radar

Hi,
I'm going into the third year physiology specialization, and still need to take Bio 2F03 and Bio 3U03. They conflict this fall, but does anyone have an opinion on putting off 3U03 until fourth year? Just wondering about the course load because I will also (hopefully!) have a thesis to deal with in the fall of fourth year.
Thanks for any input!

You could take Ecology during the summer. (It's offered next term).
I think you should complete 3U03 during third year because its one of the main required core courses for physiology. Ecology is required too but at least you have the option of taking it in the summer whereas you don't have that option for Bio 3U03.

Originally Posted by Radar

Hi,
I'm going into the third year physiology specialization, and still need to take Bio 2F03 and Bio 3U03. They conflict this fall, but does anyone have an opinion on putting off 3U03 until fourth year? Just wondering about the course load because I will also (hopefully!) have a thesis to deal with in the fall of fourth year.
Thanks for any input!

I don't recommend leaving Bio 3U03 till 4th year, especially since that would mean leaving Bio 3UU3 till then as well. Also, with your thesis, I think it would be helpful to have the background knowledge from these 2 courses beforehand. If anything I would say postpone Bio 2F03 till 4th year or even, take it in the summer! It's usually offered. But anyway, contact the Bio department and see if there is anything that can be done.