BIOL UN2005

Biology, and how to think about biological systems

Awful. Horrible. It seems like he teaches for 20 or maybe 40 years now and he's so tired of the material that he doesn't wanna teach it. Going to his lecture is totally useless and also his PPT slides don't say much. I don't know how to advise people to deal with it because he was one of the worst lecturers I ever had. He doesn't take question and gets very annoyed if someone has something to say in class.

Workload isn't bad, just a weekly open notes quiz (you can work on it with other people, HIGHLY recommend doing this) and Simbio. The bulk of this class is just studying for exams.

OMG How to cry in libraries and stay up late everynight to study.

He's kinda an asshole. He isn't gentle to students who ask questions he deems "stupid," he's a goddamn SHARK as a proctor (if he randomly chooses to pounce on you, don't even dare to work for 2 seconds after time is called... even if EVERYONE around you is still working). He gives absolutely NO impression of warmth and caring in the classroom (unlike Mowsh, who seems like a genuinely nice person). I found his section to be the drier part, but probably because I am not a chem fan at all. Elementary biochem/orgo and some stuff like glycolysis. His exam (he only teaches 1/3) is the most straightforward and possibly the easiest because it isn't full of those Mowshowitz tricks you will soon come to know (and hate). His powerpoints are relatively useful, which is good,since the material is dry as fuck and you aren't going to want to go to class.

Avoid if you can. As someone who had a relatively strong background in biology, including a 5 on AP Bio, this barely helped me in the class. You cover the same kind of concepts - photosynthesis, macromolecules, and the like - but he expects you to know the most minuscule details and his test questions are worded in a really convoluted way to the point where you could just argue about semantics on a bunch of the questions. He also throws out at least 5 questions on each exam (out of ~45) which should tell you something about how fair his exams are. I pretty much only got through this course by gritting my teeth and memorizing everything (KHAN ACADEMY will be your friend! Also ask AI to make practice questions for you), but it heavily took away from my enjoyment of bio. His lecture style is also a huge red flag; he uploads blank slides onto Courseworks, which makes people come to class even when they're sick so they can get the notes. His handwriting is really bad (He will probably make a joke about this during the first class. It will no longer be a joke to you after the 10th lecture when you have to decipher what he is writing down at 10:10 in the morning). I would only suggest taking this if you are pre-med or this is required for your major. Otherwise pls don't do this to yourself.

Moderate for a SCIENCE class. Don't skip the lectures: it helps when you read the lecture notes later on.

So Chasin just finished the 10 lectures he gives in Intro Bio. Man, what's wrong with all these negative people?!?!?! He's a very good lecturer. I'd say great, except for a few abstruse topics where he could have been a little better. The class is run very well; the "problem-based" approach keeps you honest. The web-site is great. The recitations are helpful. The only thing: --and now I understand why there are so many negative reviewers-- it's hard to get an A in this class... you need to really be on top of things, and you face stiff competition, so there won't be much of a curve. It's not because the instruction is bad, not because the two textbooks are bad (they're very good), not because the exam questions are unfair, not because the grading is arbitrary, etc. etc. IT'S BECAUSE THIS IS AN IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL, AND THIS IS A SCIENCE CLASS. If you want an A just for showing up, switch to something else.

3 midterms (drop one), final, problem sets recommended. You should be working quite a few hours a week on this one...

I learned much of the same information from processes that one would be familiar with should they remember the AP Biology curriculum. Information on the mechanics of cellular respiration, including glycolysis, the ETC, and Kreb's cycle, information on the composition of the cell and structure of the four basic macromolecules, the central dogma of biology, mechanics of DNA replication and protein synthesis, and techniques for genetic sequencing and gene editing.