Hello! Just wondering how intense the different labs are for the following courses?:

BIO 1A03 / 1M03
CHEM 1A03 / 1AA3
PHYSICS 1B03
KIN 1Y03 / 1YY3

What preparations do you usually for them, what you actually do in the actual lab, how hard they are, how they work?

I also wanted to ask whether you think I should pair Physics 1B03 labs with Kin 1YY3 labs or Chem 1AA3 labs, because I don't know how hard the physics labs are.

Thanks a lot for the help!!

physics labs are easier than chem ones. that's not to say either are hard, though. for physics, most of the marks are just for completion, but for chem they read and mark every lab report and the labs are longer (though every other week) and more involved than just a cart on a track etc.

BIOLOGY 1A03 LABS
- easy labs
- 3 hours per lab
- make sure you do the lab reading before going to lab to save time
- 3 informal labs (really easy lab write up...not hard at all)
- 1 formal lab (again not hard but make sure you do a good job of doing the lab write-up)
- there is also a pre-lab quiz on-line (avenue to learn) ; u have a week to do it ; u r given three attempts (the best attempt is used in mark calculation) ; each quiz is worth 1% of your overall mark (DONT UNDERESTIMATE THIS 1% [CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE]) ; in each attempt, u have a 30 min limit (so you must complete the quiz in 30 min ; quiz material is based on the corresponding lab ; quiz material is not hard if u do the lab reading before attempting to do the quiz
- not the most exciting labs in the world, but u will see some cool things

CHEMISTRY 1A03/1AA3 LABS
- 10 labs (5 in Chem 1A03 and 5 in Chem 1AA3)
- each lab is worth 3% of your mark
- you can't classify the labs as super difficult or super easy ; they are a mixture
- the KEY to being successful on the labs is: make sure you do the lab readings before doing the lab and understand everything ; make sure u understand the concepts b/c if u understand the concepts, the labs are really easy and write-up also tends to be easy ;
- each lab is worth 10 marks. you are told the marking scheme for the lab: for ex; the prelabs are always worth 1 mark, the discussion can be sometimes worth 4 marks and sometimes be 0.5 mark..
- save time on the labs by making charts, preliminary calculations before going to lab

epikness pretty much said it!

bio 1A03 labs are super easy and relaxed and most of the time you will be working in pairs/group

if you thought bio labs were super easy, wait till you experience kin labs
they are so chillax, almost like a tutorial, all you do there is sit and be taught by the TA as they do demonstrations and ask for volunteers to help them out....Kin labs are the best labs ever not just in terms of easiness but that you actually learn in a pressure-free environment

chem labs on the other hand are a little more daunting because you are working individually and you have to complete the report before the end of the lab

physics labs were somewhere in the middle
they were easy because you get to work with 2 other people
but you have to know your way around the physics computer program/software
you just answer a series of questions and get it periodically get it checked by a TA who tells you if you are on the right track

all labs have pre-lab prep in the form of pre-lab questions or a quiz
just make sure you make friends with people in your lab so can help each other out and collaborate as needed

PHYSICS LABS
- 9 labs in total
- labs are worth 12.5% of your over all mark
- there is a pre-lab before each lab which serves as an entry ticket for you to enter the lab (not for marks)
- labs are easy in a sense that you are not doing hardcore physics...but if u r clueless, then labs are a nightmare
- dont go to labs late. u might end up working with people who are clueless (if u also happen to be clueless)
- labs are okay to do well in if u are making an effort to understand the concepts discussed in class
- u write all the answers in the lab workbook, which is due at the end of the period.
- dont ask the lab coordinator any questions related to questions u might have in the lab manual. ask the TAs. only ask the lab coordinator technical questions (for ex: missed labs. make sure u have a legitimate excuse too)...the lab coordinator is a nice guy, but makes u feel stupid sometimes, hard to understand, and wont tell u the answer (sometimes will if u are super desperate)

KINESIOLOGY 1Y03/1YY3 LABS
- the best labs EVER!!!
- there is no write up for the labs
- ur lab mark is based on a pre-lab quiz mark which u get 5 days to work on
- each quiz has 10 questions (either multiple choice or fill in the blank - SUPER EASY)
- each quiz is worth 2% of your mark
- if u attend the lab and do the prelab quiz, u get a mark of 0
- if u do the prelab quiz but dont attend the lab, u get a mark of 0
- you must attend the lab + do the prelab quiz to get a lab mark
- while in the lab, u will be required to write the answers for some questions listed in the lab manual. the TAs will take up every single question (in fact they sometimes just read out the answer).
- labs are super interesting:
you get to do dissection such as pig's heart, pig's foot, sheep's brain, cow's eye, and observe/touch cadavers, human specimens such as brains and kidney (they might show u a kidney of a super obese person [ the kidney is covered by 4 inches of fat from all sides ]).. u also get to see diseased specimens such as smoker's lung, kidney stones, kinky intestines, hernia, gal stones etc...in short, the LABS ARE SUPER FUN!!!

Originally Posted by justlily

I also wanted to ask whether you think I should pair Physics 1B03 labs with Kin 1YY3 labs or Chem 1AA3 labs, because I don't know how hard the physics labs are.

pair physics 1b03 labs with kin labs

take chem and bio labs on separate days

And don't miss your first bio lab. I did, because I was sick. Result: I was partner-less for all the labs, and when we HAD to do a group lab, I had to ask people to let me work with them when it was obvious they were comfortable enough with their current partner. Not really fun, no.

Also, I had Bio 1A03, Chem 1AA3 and Physics 1B03 labs in one term. It was quite manageable.