Bio 101, supposed to be this hard?

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londongal

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So I'm taking bio 101, and chem 102 right now. That's General chem II, and Biology I.

25% of our bio class has already dropped, and on the 1st test at least 50% of the class scored a D or F. Is this normal?! Our teacher is making the class a lot harder than it should be! Bio was never one of my worries!

Is bio (I) supposed to be a hard class?!! As of now, it seems like chemistry is a joke compared with my bio class.
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londongal said:
So I'm taking bio 101, and chem 102 right now. That's General chem II, and Biology I.

25% of our bio class has already dropped, and on the 1st test at least 50% of the class scored a D or F. Is this normal?! Our teacher is making the class a lot harder than it should be! Bio was never one of my worries!

Is bio (I) supposed to be a hard class?!! As of now, it seems like chemistry is a joke compared with my bio class.
Click to expand...

It's kind of hard at my school. Here are the grades for the first exam (the number after A = is the number of students who got the grade):

93-100+ = A = 24
90-92 = A- = 06
87-89 = B+ = 03
83-86 = B = 03
80-82 = B- = 02
77-79 = C+ = 05
73-76 = C = 06
70-72 = C- = 02
67-69 = D+ = 06
63-66 = D = 07
60-62 = D- = 04
00-59 = F = 24
Mean 2009 = 74 (C)
Mean 2008 = 74 (C)
Mean 2007 = 66 (D)
Mean 2006 = 71 (C-)
Click to expand...
 
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It was pretty much the same way at my undergrad...we had intro bio (for science majors) that was a weed out class...started out with 60+ people and we ended with about 25 (small liberal arts school).

I managed to get an A- and had one of the 3 highest grades in the class...

different schools have different weed out classes...

look on the bright side, if you can make it through this the rest of your bio classes should be easy :D
 
well by those scores, still at least 25% got A's! In our class out of about 90 people, there were only 3 A's, and about 6 A-'s
And it's Community college!! The teacher is ridiculous, he probably has a complex about people thinking bio is easy, cus it is!!! it's 90% just memorization!
 
foster033 you're right! I think this is totally the "weed out" class! It's just a joke, I mean there are some TOP students in my class, who have all A's in calculus and chem, and still got C's! lol...

People were just shocked! I mean some of these people, including me, NEVER get C's in science!

I mean I know I didn't study enough, but you literally had to know 6 chapters word for word, to catch some of those tricky multiple choices.

I'm so pissed off!! why would the college want people to be weeded out!!
I'm sure that this is the weed out class because there's literally no way to redeem yourself once getting a C. According to the calculations, I would need a 94 on everything else to get a 90 overall. It's really ridiculous. the 1st test covered 6 chapters!
 
londongal said:
foster033 you're right! I think this is totally the "weed out" class! It's just a joke, I mean there are some TOP students in my class, who have all A's in calculus and chem, and still got C's! lol...

People were just shocked! I mean some of these people, including me, NEVER get C's in science!

I mean I know I didn't study enough, but you literally had to know 6 chapters word for word, to catch some of those tricky multiple choices.

I'm so pissed off!! why would the college want people to be weeded out!!
I'm sure that this is the weed out class because there's literally no way to redeem yourself once getting a C. According to the calculations, I would need a 94 on everything else to get a 90 overall. It's really ridiculous. the 1st test covered 6 chapters!
Click to expand...

If it doesn't get any better, maybe consider withdrawing and taking it at a university when you transfer?
 
I'm a senior in college and have taken upper level bio classes (toxicology, cell biology, genetics) and I still look back on 101 being one of my harder classes. It definitely wouldn't be hard at all if I took it now, but when I was a freshman, it was definitely a weed out class and I remember I had to work really hard. Don't get discouraged.
 
This isn't high school. Study smarter not harder. Find out the types of questions that are being tested on and study for them. This isn't some lib arts class, questions should mostly be critical thinking or purely objective.

Study right, study smart, and ignore what others get. You're grade is the only grade that matters.
 
Thanks guys! Withdrawing is not an option for me, I'm just going to have NO life! I know I can get a B, but I HATE getting B's in science classes!
I already have a B in chem 101...and I'm already anticipating a B for calculus, so I just can't afford to get B's, and not for BIO!! LOL.
We have the most negative teacher I've ever came across. You can just tell he wants you to do badly.
 
londongal said:
So I'm taking bio 101, and chem 102 right now. That's General chem II, and Biology I.

25% of our bio class has already dropped, and on the 1st test at least 50% of the class scored a D or F. Is this normal?! Our teacher is making the class a lot harder than it should be! Bio was never one of my worries!

Is bio (I) supposed to be a hard class?!! As of now, it seems like chemistry is a joke compared with my bio class.
Click to expand...

1. Hard to say why others failed; doesn't necessarily mean it was a hard test.
2. You're defining "hard" by how others did; how did you do on the test?

londongal said:
It's really ridiculous. the 1st test covered 6 chapters!
Click to expand...

Sounds fairly standard to me. ~18 chapters in a textbook, three tests a semester...roughly six chapters a test.
 
It is often the case that classes like Bio 101 have very low averages. It is a combination of it being a weeder class and the fact that for many of the people taking it, it is their first semester in college. The average in many introductory classes for the first test is not in the passing range. The fact is that if a quarter of the class flunks the first test and drops out, then they don't count in the final class average.
 
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trep14 said:
I'm a senior in college and have taken upper level bio classes (toxicology, cell biology, genetics) and I still look back on 101 being one of my harder classes. It definitely wouldn't be hard at all if I took it now, but when I was a freshman, it was definitely a weed out class and I remember I had to work really hard. Don't get discouraged.
Click to expand...
It's probably because it was one of your first college classes and you hadn't adjusted to studying in college yet.
 
For the most part, Intro bio and intro chem courses are weed out classes.
 
I feel the exact same way. I'm a freshman, and I haven't seen Biology since sophomore year of high school. I wasn't really worried about it before school started, but there's just so much information to learn :scared:. However, I did get some serious studying in tonight, and I actually feel like a know what's going on now :thumbup:.
 
It's really weird. It seems like it varies so much with the teacher. I remember in my freshman year they said look to the person to your left, look to the person on your right, those people won't be graduating with a biology degree. In other words, only 1/3 of us would finish. Nevertheless, we didn't have to resort to ridiculous curves. I went to UCI which isn't the greatest UC school but I think it's pretty competitive still.

At our school:
17-25% Get A's. Top 50% A's and B's. Below that and you have C's, D's, and F's.
 
bravofleet4 said:
It's really weird. It seems like it varies so much with the teacher. I remember in my freshman year they said look to the person to your left, look to the person on your right, those people won't be graduating with a biology degree. In other words, only 1/3 of us would finish. Nevertheless, we didn't have to resort to ridiculous curves. I went to UCI which isn't the greatest UC school but I think it's pretty competitive still.

At our school:
17-25% Get A's. Top 50% A's and B's. Below that and you have C's, D's, and F's.
Click to expand...

This doesn't necessarily mean they couldn't handle the work; they might have discovered that biology isn't for them. Not a terribly profound statement to make, either, since A LOT of people take introductory biology that aren't planning on being biology majors.
 
I am taking biology right now in college.....

We just had our 1st exam and it covered everything from the lipids to photosynthesis. I had like about 40 pages of notes (front/back) to memorize. Not only do you have to memorize a lot but you also must learn how things work. The teacher gave a 14 point curve on the first exam because the class average was a 61 lol.....so he said with that 14 point curve 80% of the kids were in the 75% range. I got a 78% WITHOUT curve and so a 92 with the curve which I think ain't pretty bad :p.

But ontop of that, we have Bio lab 1 time a week and in each Lab we have a quiz on the material covered from the previous LAB. Last week we did phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms).......teacher gave us a thick packet full of facts and diagrams, then we looked at 12 different slides of different worm parts and worms. So to study for the quizes we had to pretty much memorize the packets she gives us, the pictures, and the slides we examine through a microscope. She asks only 10 questions on each quiz and it can be about ANYTHING in the packets/pictures she gives us. My average so far after taking 5 quizes in biology Lab is upper 90's.


I do think that biology is a weed out course, it takes a lot of studing and time. Its my hardest course and General Chemistry is like a middle school class compared to biology.


But I have some really good advice on how to study for Bio, take notes on everything your prof. says, read each chapter over again and take more notes on the material you don't get. Reread your notes after each class so you can get some key terms in your head. Then atleast 1 week before your exam here is the studing schedule i did WITH A FRIEND:

first 5 days of the week--reread all notes and memorize key ideas. Study with some people so after you guys reread each chapter, test each other on key terms and problems.

Last 2 days, Review everything you read in the last 5 days. Have your friends test you on the material chapter by chapter.

This really helped me and my friends get above that 90 range. I hope it helps you out too :)
Good luck to all you bio peoples :)
 
My intro bio course first midterm about 50% got Fs, by percentage at least. The final grades were curved so much though that maybe only 20% or so failed in the end.
 
My intro bio was also a weed-out course, because of the number of people taking it. But the material itself, isn't that hard.
 
Depends, at my school there were only eight people who scored an A or a B on the first exam. 2 A's and 6 B's. Was about a week ago and I was two points shy of an A!! :boom:
 
What Community College is this and where at?
 
Okay I don't know if it's because I was a freshman and I didn't know how to study effictively or what, but I believe that Biology 1 was hard (even Bio2). I've made A's in Gen Chem, Organic Chem, etc. I believe my Biology 1 grade (the number) was about the same as my Biochem grade which was a B (there was only 1 A in my biochem class).

At my university they make chem 1/2 and bio1/2 extremely hard to 'weed out' people
 
You should be taking General Biology and chemistry rather than intro. I.e. Bio 110+
Those classes are easy if you can memorize well.
 
A=2
B=2
C=6
D-F=20

i think most people just didnt prepare very well though
but it isnt hard...
just have to study the material
 
I'm taking Precal/trig, biology101 and intro to chem.. with some not pleasing teachers.. is this a bit too much? either way im gonna try my 110%
 
TriXStar said:
I'm taking Precal/trig, biology101 and intro to chem.. with some not pleasing teachers.. is this a bit too much? either way im gonna try my 110%
Click to expand...
You're asking if three classes in one semester is too much???? I would kill to have only three classes.
 
My undergrad had a policy of ~15% people get an A- or better in introductory courses and for my bio classes it was closer to 10%. Better get used to memorization guys because thats pretty much all you'll be doing in your first two years of med school.
 
I Am A Freshman At A California State School, And I Too Am In Bio (Biology 200) Honestly, The Best Advice I Can Give You, Is To Read The Chapters Ahead Of The Lecture, So When Your Professor Goes Over The Material You Can Already Have An Idea On What You Understand And What You Need Help On. My Teacher Always Gives A Lot Of Examples As Well, So It Helps Me Get A Better Understanding Of The Concepts. If I Don’t Get Something, I Focus On Class Notes, Book Chapters, And The So Helpful Wikipedia Website. Sorry If This Post Seemed Long, But I Just Thought My Advice Would Help. Get Help (Tutors/Other Classmates), Study EVERYDAY (Even If Only For 45 Minutes), And Most Of All Stay Positive. If Becoming a Physician Is Really What You Want Then Always Remember "Nothing In Life That’s Worth Having Comes Easy".

Hope This Helped :)
 
AlexisN09 said:
I Am A Freshman At A California State School, And I Too Am In Bio (Biology 200) Honestly, The Best Advice I Can Give You, Is To Read The Chapters Ahead Of The Lecture, So When Your Professor Goes Over The Material You Can Already Have An Idea On What You Understand And What You Need Help On. My Teacher Always Gives A Lot Of Examples As Well, So It Helps Me Get A Better Understanding Of The Concepts. If I Don’t Get Something, I Focus On Class Notes, Book Chapters, And The So Helpful Wikipedia Website. Sorry If This Post Seemed Long, But I Just Thought My Advice Would Help. Get Help (Tutors/Other Classmates), Study EVERYDAY (Even If Only For 45 Minutes), And Most Of All Stay Positive. If Becoming a Physician Is Really What You Want Then Always Remember "Nothing In Life That’s Worth Having Comes Easy".

Hope This Helped :)
Click to expand...

Thank You For the Very Interesting Advice.
 
Sorry, i'm used to capitalizing everything.
 
londongal said:
So I'm taking bio 101, and chem 102 right now. That's General chem II, and Biology I.

25% of our bio class has already dropped, and on the 1st test at least 50% of the class scored a D or F. Is this normal?! Our teacher is making the class a lot harder than it should be! Bio was never one of my worries!

Is bio (I) supposed to be a hard class?!! As of now, it seems like chemistry is a joke compared with my bio class.
Click to expand...

People over estimate their skills a lot. Why do you think American Idol has so many applicants? Weed out classes aren't really "Hard" per se. Its really just designed to eliminate the people who clearly aren't capable. That way, they find other career options, instead of leading them on.

Here is an interesting read:
http://www.apa.org/journals/features/psp7761121.pdf
 
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