Are labs this much trouble for everyone else?

[MDman87]

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Alright, so maybe it's just me, but labs have become a real pain in the @$$ lately. Don't get me wrong, I love putting the things we learn in class into practice, and I certainly enjoy the hands-on experience, but these things are too time-consuming. Labs would be the highlight of the week if it wasn't for the stupid reports. Yea, yea, of course keeping records of experiments, taking good notes, etc is important, but labs shouldn't consume this much time. I mean, writing a multiple-page report for my physics lab and keeping track of all the procedures, results, and discussions for biochem takes a greater toll each week than all my other classes combined. I think either A) these labs should be worth more than 1 credit hour, or B) the course load should be lightened considerably. Its been my experience, and not just recently, that labs require way too much work for a 1-hour credit. . .

Am I alone here, or is anyone else experiencing the same problem?

 

[jult24er]

Alright, so maybe it's just me, but labs have become a real pain in the @$$ lately. Don't get me wrong, I love putting the things we learn in class into practice, and I certainly enjoy the hands-on experience, but these things are too time-consuming. Labs would be the highlight of the week if it wasn't for the stupid reports. Yea, yea, of course keeping records of experiments, taking good notes, etc is important, but labs shouldn't consume this much time. I mean, writing a multiple-page report for my physics lab and keeping track of all the procedures, results, and discussions for biochem takes a greater toll each week than all my other classes combined. I think either A) these labs should be worth more than 1 credit hour, or B) the course load should be lightened considerably. Its been my experience, and not just recently, that labs require way too much work for a 1-hour credit. . .

Am I alone here, or is anyone else experiencing the same problem?

Im with you.

 

[ar2388]

haha i am in the exact same boat! bc of interviews, i have been getting the experiments done fine but have had zero time to write up the reports!

 

[TehDoc]

Yeah labs piss me off but, what can ya' do about it..

 

[ChubbyChaser]

what sucks is when a lab that is supposed to be finished in a2 hours and 50 minute block, takes 6.5 hours to finish, not including the write up.

 

[saveourpens]

haha you are definetly not alone. I HATE labs. the time wasting protocals, the bulls**** experiments we do in Bio lab, the chem labs which we never have time to finish, the reports which take forever, all the time wasted studying for the lame practicals...

I wouldn't mind it if it wasn't so time consuming for a 1 credit course. Take monday for example...I could've been studying for the bio midterm coming up next week. No, I have straight class from 10am to 1pm then lab till 5pm! Then I have to do finish the stupid report till 8:00pm and get started writing my protocal for bio lab the next day!

labs are one of the reasons I cant wait to finish my premed requirements

 

[neuro1617]

Ohh I'm finding out this semester that analytical labs are the best.... -10 pts if your accuracy is off by a certain amount, another 5 for precision....It's another lab that has gone over 4 hrs more than once now. I'm almost afraid to calculate my %RSD sometimes.

And now I have to beg my professor to let me make up the last lab since I have to miss it because of the ugrad research symposium.👎

 

[MudPhudHopeful]

Ohh I'm finding out this semester that analytical labs are the best.... -10 pts if your accuracy is off by a certain amount, another 5 for precision....It's another lab that has gone over 4 hrs more than once now. I'm almost afraid to calculate my %RSD sometimes.

And now I have to beg my professor to let me make up the last lab since I have to miss it because of the ugrad research symposium.👎

Oh I know. I was a biochemistry major, and when I took analytical chemistry it was graded the same way, except it was also curved. Thus, the person that had the best accuracy and %RSD would get 100% and everybody else was graded relative to that. It sucked.

 

[zdogg]

ya, i am not gonna lie, i straight up hate labs....especially gen chem..oh my gaaahhh.

Whats even more interesting is that we have geology labs here, worth 1 credit like chem labs, but they (geo peeps) dont do jack, they like play with rocks and stuff in labs and i dont think they have much of a report to do either, other than like check yes or no if you had fun.

 

[DrYoda]

I indeed despised labs.

 

[Insulinshock]

I can only think of one time where the experiment in lab actually helped me understand a topic where I was confused before, and that was back in gen chem 2 with pKa calculations.

 

[amakhosidlo]

Am I alone here, or is anyone else experiencing the same problem?

On the upside though, they do help you prepare quite a bit for the MCAT (especially O-chem), at least as far as the passage-based questions go.

Oh, biggest lab-peeve: Class-linked lab+tutorials.

"What's that Johnny? You got a 90% avg on your tests? That's great, you've clearly mastered the concepts. Too bad you forgot to include units on your last lab writeup. Here's your half credit and your flat B. Any other dreams we can crush? Enthusiasm to extinguish?"

 

[Lukkie]

hate to recommend 'cheating' but try and get someone's lab book from previous semesters... saves you a lot of time. lab classes are pretty bs but hey

 

[pianola]

"What's that Johnny? You got a 90% avg on your tests? That's great, you've clearly mastered the concepts. Too bad you forgot to include units on your last lab writeup. Here's your half credit and your flat B. Any other dreams we can crush? Enthusiasm to extinguish?"

 

[Bacchus]

On the upside though, they do help you prepare quite a bit for the MCAT (especially O-chem), at least as far as the passage-based questions go.

Oh, biggest lab-peeve: Class-linked lab+tutorials.

"What's that Johnny? You got a 90% avg on your tests? That's great, you've clearly mastered the concepts. Too bad you forgot to include units on your last lab writeup. Here's your half credit and your flat B. Any other dreams we can crush? Enthusiasm to extinguish?"

Units are to science as apple pie is to America... you don't forget units just like you don't hate apple pie.

 

[JokerMD]

NO ONE likes labs....they are a COMPLETE waste of time (IMHO)

 

[Bacchus]

And to just go on the units tangent... they're so important that there is approximately 20 gas constants:

8.314472J·K-1·mol-1
0.0820574587L·atm·K-1·mol-1
83.14472cm3·bar·mol-1·K-1
8.20574587 × 10-5m3·atm·K-1·mol-1
8.314472cm3·MPa·K-1·mol-1
8.314472L·kPa·K-1·mol-1
8.314472m3·Pa·K-1·mol-1
62.36367L·mmHg·K-1·mol-1
62.36367L·Torr·K-1·mol-1
83.14472L·mbar·K-1·mol-1
0.08314472L·bar·K-1·mol-1
1.987cal·K-1·mol-1
6.132440lbf·ft·K-1·g-mol-1
10.73159ft3·psi· °R-1·lb-mol-1
0.7302413ft3·atm·°R-1·lb-mol-1
998.9701ft3·mmHg·K-1·lb-mol-1
8.314472 × 107erg·K-1·mol-1
1716 (Air only)ft·lb·°R-1·slug-1
286.9 (Air only)N·m·kg-1·K-1
286.9 (Air only)J·kg-1·K-1

But... units aren't important 😉.

 

[Suenya]

what sucks is when a lab that is supposed to be finished in a2 hours and 50 minute block, takes 6.5 hours to finish, not including the write up.

Yes. Ugh, I had quite a few of those.

 

[deleted74029]

Another thing I hate, I didn't take the labs for some classes the same semester as the lecture because they wouldn't fit in my schedule. And my lecture class exam will have questions about the freaking lab on the lecture exam. It will be stuff that there is no way you would know unless you were in there. Such as, "which trash can can hazardous waste be disposed of in?" A. The blue one B. The Black one by the door.

 

[saveourpens]

hate to recommend 'cheating' but try and get someone's lab book from previous semesters... saves you a lot of time. lab classes are pretty bs but hey

haha when my partner and I are lucky enough to get someone elses already done report we just copy it throughout the lab and whenever the lab instructor walks by we just start mixing water or something.

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

Alright, so maybe it's just me, but labs have become a real pain in the @$$ lately. Don't get me wrong, I love putting the things we learn in class into practice, and I certainly enjoy the hands-on experience, but these things are too time-consuming. Labs would be the highlight of the week if it wasn't for the stupid reports. Yea, yea, of course keeping records of experiments, taking good notes, etc is important, but labs shouldn't consume this much time. I mean, writing a multiple-page report for my physics lab and keeping track of all the procedures, results, and discussions for biochem takes a greater toll each week than all my other classes combined. I think either A) these labs should be worth more than 1 credit hour, or B) the course load should be lightened considerably. Its been my experience, and not just recently, that labs require way too much work for a 1-hour credit. . .

Am I alone here, or is anyone else experiencing the same problem?

Hell yeah I have this problem.

Labs are pointless. I agree with what you said, it would be quite enjoyable to go through the lab simply trying to learn and apply what we have learned in class. But instead we spend the entire time making sure we are collecting data to write some huge time consuming reports. I dont really care what is happening during the lab, i simply want to get all of my results so I can put together the lab report.

I remember a TA in Organic lab asking me and my lab partner about why we were mixing something. I had the same answer I always do, "because the lab manual said too. I dont have time to think about this crap, I have to get through the lab and get all of my results for my lab report."

Almost every lab I have taken is more time consuming than the 3 credit hour class that it is attached too. It's stupid. Either change the amount of work necessary, or give us more credit for the lab.

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

NO ONE likes labs....they are a COMPLETE waste of time (IMHO)

YES!!!!

Im so glad that there are so many people out there that hate labs. People at my school seem to be indifferent or act like they actually like them.

 

[shaggybill]

I hate to say it for fear of sounding like a premed idiot, but I really don't mind labs at all. Probably the main reason is because our lab reports aren't due until two days after lab. This is my method of attack for labs. First, I do a quick read of the experiment before lab and try to get an idea of the purpose of the thing so I know what the heck is going on while I'm doing it. Two, I do all of the experiments and write down the data in my notebook. Three, I write down the lab questions the TA's writes on the chalkboard. Four, I leave, go home, and watch TV. Then, the next day, I type up detailed report in Word, print it out, and take it to the TA the following day during Thursday's lab. Yeah, it takes a long time, and I agree it's really all kind of pointless, but doing it this way kind of breaks up a long and drawn-out process that bores you out of your skull.

Also, we don't have any tests or a final in our labs (chemistry, that is). 👍👍👍

 

[crazymedgirl]

wow, so glad to hear others w/ the same feelings on this...
labs are the single hardest part of my academic life write now. im taking three of them this semester--physics, ochem, and physiology--and between pre labs, post labs, and actually being in the lab, i'd say they take up approximately 20 hours a week all together, which like others, i find insane for a total of 1 credit per class.
but what can u do?

 

[ANF1986]

Well...in my limited lab experience...My professor was the lab report nazi. This guy graduated with is PhD in 1962, I dont know why he wasn't in a nursing home. He was wierd as hell, and never let anyone get close to him to ask him questions because he was afraid they were going to give him the flu.

ANYWAY...this dude, took 10 points off my lab reports because I spelled my lab partners last name wrong. Forget one sigfig, 10 points...Any dreams of an A in that class quickly vanished.

 

[NurWollen]

I hate labs. I'm bad at them. A classmate- who is in both my bio lab and chem lab -and I seem to be the last ones to finish, every week, like clockwork. I can't figure out what slows me down, either. Anybody have any advice for getting them done faster?

 

[Bacchus]

My experiment in PChem lab today was horrid. We were "proving" the oxygen binding relationship with Hb. Well, our slope came out to be about 2 meaning O2 was only half binding to Hb. Wouldn't want that defect in my body.

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

I hate labs. I'm bad at them. A classmate- who is in both my bio lab and chem lab -and I seem to be the last ones to finish, every week, like clockwork. I can't figure out what slows me down, either. Anybody have any advice for getting them done faster?

Teamwork. Just start giving your lab partner orders, but in a friendly way. "Hey can you go grab that, or measure that?". I just try and fly through it dude. You aren't in lab to learn, you're there to win a race against your classmates to see who can get out the door first.

Man I hate lab.

 

[DrYoda]

I hate labs. I'm bad at them. A classmate- who is in both my bio lab and chem lab -and I seem to be the last ones to finish, every week, like clockwork. I can't figure out what slows me down, either. Anybody have any advice for getting them done faster?

At my school analytical chem lab was the only pre-req lab where you were graded on results. For all the other labs I showed up and flew through the work. Getting shoddy results, but since results weren't graded all that mattered was I was out in time for lunch.

So high speed work, and as NomoreAMCAS said working in a group for added speed.

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

At my school analytical chem lab was the only pre-req lab where you were graded on results. For all the other labs I showed up and flew through the work. Getting shoddy results, but since results weren't graded all that mattered was I was out in time for lunch.

So high speed work, and as NomoreAMCAS said working in a group for added speed.

Man my organic labs were like that too. They graded on results but gave us shoddy lab equipment to work with. Naturally, there was a lot of lying in that class.

 

[Dr Crys]

I like the labs, it helps me understand what all the equations are all about. Seriously when you read the chapter do you know what effects the specific heat of an object?

I would really like to blow something up though. When do we do that?🙂

 

[bruceleehiiiyaa]

genchem lab 1 was possibly the most stressful class i had in college. and i've taken some pretty intense stuff

 

[Bacchus]

I like the labs, it helps me understand what all the equations are all about. Seriously when you read the chapter do you know what effects the specific heat of an object?

I would really like to blow something up though. When do we do that?🙂

Bomb calorimetry is anything but climactic. That was my first experiment in PChem lab.

 

[ar2388]

haha ive been enjoying my pchem labs. yesterday i did a lab about the oxidation states of vanadium and also a lab about boiling points changing with decreases in pressure or cyclohexane. i enjoy the actualt ime in the lab, but those reports kill me. because ofinerviews i had to ask for an extensionon my lab reports... and i have 3 piling up so far.. 🙁

 

[MDman87]

My Biochem lab is actually practical and (dare I say) interesting, but the dang reports ruin the whole thing. SOOO much time for so little credit makes it miserable for everybody. At least now I know I'm not alone, though

Lab-haters unite!

 

[Hyperstudyosis]

I'm completely with you on the lab thing. Now, my ochem lab is okay. The lab report takes an hour and it is pretty painless. Physics lab on the other hand, is another story. It takes me 10 hours to write the lab reports and the TA (who is an extremely immature undergrad) is so hard on the grading that it's ridiculous. He automatically takes a point off everyone's lab report (which are worth 25 points) because he refuses to give perfect scores. Then he doesn't even explain how he wants the labs done. He wants us to do things differently from what the lab manual says, but then he doesn't explain clearly what he wants us to do, so I usually end up with missing data. I have to go to my physics professor to get her to explain the labs to me because the TA is so terrible. Plus the equipment sucks so the lab takes forever to do. The equipment will stop functioning and so I'll have to turn it off and turn it back on between every trial. I can't even tell you how badly I hate physics lab. It takes up all my time so that I barely have time to study for my exams in the class.

 

[Lukkie]

another way to 'cheat' is an experiment where you need reproducibility. for example, one of our labs in biochem was to dilute a sample and run it through a spectrophotometer to get a reading. then dilute another sample the same way and get another reading, and they should be within 10% of eachother or whatever. basically just run the first sample twice and they'll be pretty damn close. maybe add a drop of water in it or something,

 

[TexanGirl]

At the risk of sounding like a total loser, I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoy labs. I didn't think I'd be in the minority here. 😕

I have a hard time visualizing things so experiments always help solidify lecture concepts. And yeah, I'm not gonna lie, I find lab reports to be fun as well.

 

[TexanGirl]

another way to 'cheat' is an experiment where you need reproducibility. for example, one of our labs in biochem was to dilute a sample and run it through a spectrophotometer to get a reading. then dilute another sample the same way and get another reading, and they should be within 10% of eachother or whatever. basically just run the first sample twice and they'll be pretty damn close. maybe add a drop of water in it or something,

Wait!

You mean we weren't supposed to do that? 😱