Hey guys, I am going to be going to the Life Science Program this fall and I was wondering which Physics course I would need to take and what the difference between the two is. Also, I would prefer to take the easier one since physics isn't my strongest subject but if one of them is a prerequisite course for med school while the other one isn't I guess I'll have to go with the harder one. (some med schools in the US require Physics, with Lab)

Thanks!

I would recommend you take 1B03, especially if you have taken gr 12 physics. 1L03 was not of much use and 1B03 has now become a prerequisite/recommended course for upper year courses (including bio). Whether its your strong suit or not, its actually required for a variety of second year programs as well so you may as well get it over with early. GL!

Ooh, okay, thanks for the quick reply!!!
I think I'll take 1B03 and just try learning some of the stuff over the summer or something

1L03 physics would help you prepare if you haven't taken any high school physics before and it would definitely help to take it before PHYSICS 1b03. 1B03 physics required you to really think about the question and applied the concepts rather than just plug and play, so getting some grasp on the concepts before hand would help!

But if you want to pursue med schools in the states, you should also consider taking 1BA3 or 1BB3 physics at some point, since some US med schools require a full year of physics with a lab component (PHYSICS 1L03 does not have labs).

Another perspective - you could also take physics in 2nd year. Look at which 2nd year programs you are interested in and see if they require physics 1B03. All of the ones that do (other than physics itself lol) give you an option to take in year 2 which might be better for you if you have trouble adjusting to university. I know many people who did well in physics 1B03, and people whose GPA for the year was lowered a lot because of it. If it's not a required course, and you're just taking it for US med school or the MCAT or whatever, and you're not that amazing at physics, then why risk getting a bad grade that would jeopardize entry to any medical school (since none in Ontario require it anyway). So keep in mind you can take it in term 2 or year 2, or not at all, if that suits you better.

Yet another perspective - take it in the summer. I know several of my friends are doing that right now and using the course to study for the MCAT at the same time.

Originally Posted by yoni

Another perspective - you could also take physics in 2nd year. Look at which 2nd year programs you are interested in and see if they require physics 1B03. All of the ones that do (other than physics itself lol) give you an option to take in year 2 which might be better for you if you have trouble adjusting to university. I know many people who did well in physics 1B03, and people whose GPA for the year was lowered a lot because of it. If it's not a required course, and you're just taking it for US med school or the MCAT or whatever, and you're not that amazing at physics, then why risk getting a bad grade that would jeopardize entry to any medical school (since none in Ontario require it anyway). So keep in mind you can take it in term 2 or year 2, or not at all, if that suits you better.

no point in looking into 2nd year programs now. its better to ask kids in the program what their program is actually about. too many people dont know much about 2nd year programs but go into them without much consideration. and many programs require 1b03. better to do it in 1st year since 2nd will be much hard than first in most cases.

Originally Posted by kaitotst

1L03 physics would help you prepare if you haven't taken any high school physics before and it would definitely help to take it before PHYSICS 1b03. 1B03 physics required you to really think about the question and applied the concepts rather than just plug and play, so getting some grasp on the concepts before hand would help!
.

you need high school physics to take 1b03 anyways. so 1l03 is near useless unless u want a bird course which most life/health scis want.

I think I'll take 1B03 then
If I already took grade 12 physics and got around a 75 in it, do you think I should take physics 1L03 as a review course and also for a course to bring my GPA up?

Also, what about math? Would you recommend Math 1A03 or 1LS3 if math wasn't really my strongest subject either?


Thanks!

1lo3 is extremely slow and easy. You talk about v/t for half the term lol.

I'm taking 1L03 over summer, and it moves reasonably well. I think during a full term (autumn/winter) it would be a little slow...but I'm finding it useful and learning quite a few things I didn't in high school.

Originally Posted by RamanS

I think I'll take 1B03 then
If I already took grade 12 physics and got around a 75 in it, do you think I should take physics 1L03 as a review course and also for a course to bring my GPA up?

Also, what about math? Would you recommend Math 1A03 or 1LS3 if math wasn't really my strongest subject either?


Thanks!

if you do 1b03 just do the readings before lecture and do the questions given (capa, an online assignment). i recommend doing capa again before every test. 1b03 is much harder than 1l03 but in the end, most science kids do end up taking it sometime in their undergrad since its required for many med schools. i hear l03 doesnt even prepare you well for 1b03(this is what my friends said), and math 1a03 is harder than l0s3. ls3 is a bird course. most life/health scis get a gpa boost due to ls3 math and l03 physics. a03 is like any math course, do the questions assigned and more if you want and youll do well if you understand em. material is harder but its just integration throughout the whole term which is the reverse of getting derivatives. in the end ls3 is much easier and if you hate math, take ls3 since its more chill.

I wrote a short post on comparing the 1A03/1LS3 math streams.

http://www.macinsiders.com/showpost.... &postcount=22

1B03 will give you moer options down the line, as it is becoming a prerequisite for many upper year courses. Be prepared though, it's a harder course and will require a lot of time and effort towards practice problems and readings. Definitely not a course to slack in.
Not an impossible course though, you'll do well as long as you focus.

All the best!

Physics 1B03 is much harder than 1L03 but it's required for many second year bio programs and biology courses. In the case of mol bio & genetics, your elective space (which is small to begin with) decreases by one course if you have to take physics 1B03 during second year. I wish I had taken physics 1B03 in first year and gotten it over with. Lots of people I know did it in first year, and while it was difficult, they didn't have to waste their time in 1L03 (which doesn't even have labs).