How to study for Intro to Biology

[agapicMess]

Hi All,

This coming semester I am embarking on my very first Biology class (not even one in High School). I am taking the class recommended for pre-med students. Can you guys give me info on how to study and get an A in this class? Is it even possible with my lack of a Biology background? Any info would be helpful.

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[Begaster]

Read the book, memorize the facts.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

haha..its intro to biology...you arent supposed to have a background.

Just read the book, take good notes, and listen in class....this guarantees success for most classes.

 

[WinterLights]

Make flash cards, take practice exams, and review lecture notes multiple times.

 

[EpiPEN]

Hide reference books from the library, erase notes on the blackboard after class asap, etc...


i mean... make flash cards.. 😀

 

[Pedsbro]

Intro to Bio? I think all you need to know by the end is:

DNA --> RNA --> Protein

Class over😀

 

[Lokhtar]

Haha, the intro to bio class at my school was literally the hardest class ever. It was designed as a weed-out course. It definitely was not easy.

But, I'd say to just read the chapter before the lecture, and then take good notes in lecture, and read it again after the lecture. Then make an outline of the major points and any bolded/italicized words in the chapter and lecture, and use that to study, focusing on the things that were covered in lecture (those tends to be the things that are tested more than the book-only information, though you should read over everything a couple times).

Of course, my class did not have a curve and you needed to earn that A (which is hard when the average is a 55 for the first exam). Many of the subsequent classes are much easier, in terms of the time required. It just depends on your school.

 

[Rikkye]

God, I hate Bio Intro. Lots of superficial informations, no clear connections, and not enough time to memorize them.

best thing you can do for yourself is to check out old exams if provided and try to see what are the important concepts

memorize

 

[boostedct9a]

Haha, the intro to bio class at my school was literally the hardest class ever. It was designed as a weed-out course. It definitely was not easy.

Same here, the first Intro to Biology test I took I spent 20 hours studying and used over 750 flash cards! (I still have them!) and I got a C on that test but squeezed out a B in the class. Now i don't even study more than an hour or two in Biology and get A's and B's on most of my test. It really is a weed out course.

 

[135892]

Hi All,

This coming semester I am embarking on my very first Biology class (not even one in High School). I am taking the class recommended for pre-med students. Can you guys give me info on how to study and get an A in this class? Is it even possible with my lack of a Biology background? Any info would be helpful.

It's definitely possible, and the key is finding out what works for you. For me, I just went to class, re-read the notes the professor put online, and if I needed to, read the book to clarify anything that I didn't fully understand. The material is pretty easy, but the class itself may be hard depending on your school, professor, etc...

 

[TarHeelEMT]

It's intro biology. Chill out, or you'll have a stroke by your second year.

 

[Bacchus]

Agree with the two other posters that said its a weedout. From first to second semester we lost 40 people to repeating the course. Don't turn your back on this one OP. Keep up on your notes!

 

[Flamen04]

How useful is it to make an outline of the chapter?

 

[PediatricMedic]

The best lesson I learned from college is know how to find and use your resources. Just because the professor assigned you one textbook doesn't mean you can't look elsewhere for info.

I was a bio major.

Take good notes, READ THE BOOK. If you're still confused, go to office hours and talk to the TA and the professor (sets you up for potential future LOR/career advice). If you're still confused, look at the study guide section in book stores. Also use Google, search the internet for the problem or topic you're stuck on -- you'd be surprised at how high-quality wiki can sometimes be.

Another good resource that all of us should be taking advantage of is OpenCourseware at MIT:
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Biology/index.htm
Go to the intro bio courses, I think one of them even has video lectures. Included are also lecture notes, practice problems, tests and solutions. If MIT biology won't get you an A, we're all screwed.

Good luck!!

 

[Katatonic]

This is what's helping me tremendously in Molecular Bio right now, and it would've made Intro Bio a bit easier for me.

Read the textbook material that will be covered in class BEFORE it is covered. I just do that the night before if it's not too much. Highlight anything that seems important.

Go. To. Class.

Review the lecture notes within an hour after lecture to help memorize it.

If you get confused on a subject, and still don't get it after using your notes/textbook, go see the professor during office hours before the class moves too far ahead of that subject.

Hope that helps, good luck!

 

[Rikkye]

This is what's helping me tremendously in Molecular Bio right now, and it would've made Intro Bio a bit easier for me.

Read the textbook material that will be covered in class BEFORE it is covered. I just do that the night before if it's not too much. Highlight anything that seems important.

Go. To. Class.

Review the lecture notes within an hour after lecture to help memorize it.

If you get confused on a subject, and still don't get it after using your notes/textbook, go see the professor during office hours before the class moves too far ahead of that subject.

Hope that helps, good luck!

I always find myself falling asleep in class if I do this. I guess one tends to stay more alert and attentive if he doesn't know what's going to happen next.

 

[Katatonic]

I always find myself falling asleep in class if I do this. I guess one tends to stay more alert and attentive if he doesn't know what's going to happen next.

I like it because then I can use lecture as another review time basically, but also get clarification on subjects that I didn't understand on my own.

Beware though! Studying this way sometimes results in studying TOO much of the information, as your prof may tell you to skip certain parts of the subject. However, in upper level bio it's not really a problem since you know they're going to tell you to know everything anyway.

 

[agapicMess]

I'm getting mixed reviews on flashcards. Some people say they are a waste of time in Biology, and others love them. What are the pros and cons of flashcards in Biology? I use them often with my language course.

 

[cornpops21]

This is what's helping me tremendously in Molecular Bio right now, and it would've made Intro Bio a bit easier for me.

Read the textbook material that will be covered in class BEFORE it is covered. I just do that the night before if it's not too much. Highlight anything that seems important.

Go. To. Class.

Review the lecture notes within an hour after lecture to help memorize it.

If you get confused on a subject, and still don't get it after using your notes/textbook, go see the professor during office hours before the class moves too far ahead of that subject.

Hope that helps, good luck!

I completely agree with this.

Another piece of advice. DO NOT WAIT until the few days before the exam to start reviewing your notes/textbook. This is setting yourself up for failure. Also, there's a good chance that lab concepts might be tested, so make sure to go over lab material as well.

 

[cornpops21]

I'm getting mixed reviews on flashcards. Some people say they are a waste of time in Biology, and others love them. What are the pros and cons of flashcards in Biology? I use them often with my language course.

It all depends on your learning style. If you're a slow, repetitive learner like me, then flashcards can be very helpful. Strangely, I've only used flash cards for a Medical Terminology class. I'm too lazy to make them 🙂

 

[cornpops21]

Oh, on the tests, pay very close attention to wording and exactly what they're asking. I'll give you an example that probably won't make sense to you at this point. One of my test questions was:

What kind of bonds are being broken when DNA is denatured?

Naturally, you see DNA so you think "oh, it must be a phosphodiester bond" but the answer is actually "hydrogen bonds". The correct answer would've phosphodiester bond if they had asked about hydrolysis instead of denaturation.

Come back to this thread in the middle of your course and see if you can answer that question correctly without looking at the answer 😉

 

[calnation]

Just read the book and pay attention during lectures. General Biology isn't a class with very difficult concepts. It's very straightforward and you'll learn plenty.

 

[TupacalipseT96]

Touch yourself in educational places.

It's intro biology. Having lived is enough background.