biology -> molecular bio? (1 Viewer)

[westwing]

hey usyd peeps!
so sem 2 is coming up and ive changed a few units but im really worrying over my last unit.

i took biol1001 this semester (and i struggled a bit!) to find it pretty interesting, so i was thinking of taking molecular biology in semester 2.
but i saw the assumed knowledge was biology and chemistry. i didnt take biology OR chemistry in year 12 and although the bio parts probably okay since i took concepts, im contemplating over whether or not i should take MBLG (and maybe just try and study my ass off for the chem part...although that never works out).

does chemistry play a big role in MBLG?
(just for extra information, i struggled with biology because i didnt know some of the basic stuff that you learn in yr7-10...cause...i never paid attention......and neither did my teacher /regrets. - so basically, i know nothing about chemistry and im a bit freaked out by it. just watching some of my friends stress out over it is *shudders*)

 

[OzKo]

I've gathered from word of the mouth that MBLG1001 is a quite a bit harder than the introductory BIOL units.

 

[westwing]

I've gathered from word of the mouth that MBLG1001 is a quite a bit harder than the introductory BIOL units.

yeah, so have i =( which is why im so frustrated. i thought the 3 hour practicals were hardcore, but apparently theres 4hours for this one. extreme.

but if i DONT end up taking mblg1001,i honestly dont have an idea of what other unit ill do (i took up bio as a kind of 'filler' for my remaining unit)
sometimes i feel like im just wasting my time...damn.

 

[MetalTheory]

I've gathered from pretty much everyone I talk to that MBLG1001 is significantly harder than introductory biology units. With a 70% fail rate per year, it's fairly intimidating. You might not want to do it if you haven't done chemistry.

If you want something that won't be as hard, then think about the other biology unit available in second semester, which is about ecology if you're into that. Not sure if anyone can help you on that, but go for that you find interesting if you want to appeal to the cliché.

 

[westwing]

I've gathered from pretty much everyone I talk to that MBLG1001 is significantly harder than introductory biology units. With a 70% fail rate per year, it's fairly intimidating. You might not want to do it if you haven't done chemistry.

If you want something that won't be as hard, then think about the other biology unit available in second semester, which is about ecology if you're into that. Not sure if anyone can help you on that, but go for that you find interesting if you want to appeal to the cliché.

thanks heaps for the input. lol the use of stats actually kind of changed my view.
yeah ive been thinking of taking the living systems one, but i dont know, the whole ecology thing doesnt appeal to me as much.
i may actually end up taking it though.

but i found that i prefer the ones that are related to human bodies and stuff over ecosystems. like i sat in a few of the human bio lectures with friends and i think i wouldve really liked it as a unit if i had a better foundation. sighhhhh. if only i had known earlier...sometimes i think i might end up staying at uni for 10years or somethng cause i cant make up my mind.

 

[Riproot]

What degree are you doing?

What units are you doing in sem 2?

 

[OzKo]

Having done BIOL1002, it doesn't really any content on ecology per se.

It's essentially a unit based on how animals and plants work. For example, practicals generally involve dissections.

 

[westwing]

What degree are you doing?

What units are you doing in sem 2?

science/arts. im taking math1004 math1005 psyc1002 anth1002 - but i may switch to sociology for next sem.

Having done BIOL1002, it doesn't really any content on ecology per se.

It's essentially a unit based on how animals and plants work. For example, practicals generally involve dissections.

i see, but thats the thing - animals i dont mind so much, but studying plants just slightly bores me. haha wow im really picky arent i?

 

[jet]

I've gathered from pretty much everyone I talk to that MBLG1001 is significantly harder than introductory biology units. With a 70% fail rate per year, it's fairly intimidating. You might not want to do it if you haven't done chemistry.

If you want something that won't be as hard, then think about the other biology unit available in second semester, which is about ecology if you're into that. Not sure if anyone can help you on that, but go for that you find interesting if you want to appeal to the cliché.

I'm not sure where you got the 70% from but that sounds highly overblown.


@the OP: I did the advanced version of this course and I absolutely loved it. Whereas in biology you gloss over the detail when talking about cellular processes, MBLG gives you a detailed insight into the molecular aspects of processes like transcription, translation and DNA replication. You also get a good intro into gene regulation (how your cells say which genes are transcribed and which aren't) and to protein structure. I really enjoyed getting to know all of the little bits of detail.

There's a big emphasis on problem solving and thinking outside the box which I really appreciated. All the biochemistry/molecular biology courses that I've done have a big focus on not only giving you knowledge, but making you a good scientist in terms of being able to develop practical skills and troubleshoot when experiments go wrong. Dale (the coordinator) really cares about her students too!

 

[westwing]

I'm not sure where you got the 70% from but that sounds highly overblown.


@the OP: I did the advanced version of this course and I absolutely loved it. Whereas in biology you gloss over the detail when talking about cellular processes, MBLG gives you a detailed insight into the molecular aspects of processes like transcription, translation and DNA replication. You also get a good intro into gene regulation (how your cells say which genes are transcribed and which aren't) and to protein structure. I really enjoyed getting to know all of the little bits of detail.

There's a big emphasis on problem solving and thinking outside the box which I really appreciated. All the biochemistry/molecular biology courses that I've done have a big focus on not only giving you knowledge, but making you a good scientist in terms of being able to develop practical skills and troubleshoot when experiments go wrong. Dale (the coordinator) really cares about her students too!

awesome! thanks for the input. one of the reasons why id like to do it is because i really liked the genetics part of concepts in biology.
but it all just sounds very intimidating. ive seen the assessments section just to check it out and my god it looks crazy! and also with the prac assessments and stuff. and oh my god! its four hour pracs! and so many people are complaining about it and telling me that its suicide going in there.

buuuuut i since youve had first hand experience, whats the chemistry part like there?
one of the reasons why id rather not put myself through it is because i dont know any chem. shoulda done fundies or something this sem.

 

[jet]

You can't enrol in it without having done Junior Chemistry...

I'm sorry I lie, it's just assumed knowledge.

There wasn't particularly much chemistry in there. It would be good to have a knowledge of thermodynamics, pH and equilibrium.

Most of those assessments you see are part of the prac assessment and you can also work on them during the lab, so it's not as bad as you think.

 

[TheBloop]

science/arts. im taking math1004 math1005 psyc1002 anth1002 - but i may switch to sociology for next sem.

just take biol1002 or fundamental Chem.

 

[TheBloop]

shoulda done fundies or something this sem.

Yep.