which book to use for biology?

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tamkhan

tamkhan

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kaplan isnt any good. what other books do you guys suggest?
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tamkhan said:
kaplan isnt any good. what other books do you guys suggest?
Click to expand...

try old notes from classes, DAT destroyer is a good book after going through Kaplan book. KNow everything religiously that is in kaplan, you should know that as back of your hand. Also try ExamKrackers Bio.
 
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Any good AP bio book....these books tend to do a better job of evening out the review...providing more detail in the ecology, phylogeny, plants, etc. sections.

Also, after taking the DAT I found the depth of the material to be most similar and there are so many different resources for practice exams/questions that can be utilized. these books also tend to be cheaper and you can also find a lot of free material online...from the AP website, or even AP high school course websites....you'd be surprised how much you'll come across.

In addition, check out Cal Berkeley's online open courses...they offer both Bio 1 and 2...complete w/ all video lectures, handouts, quizzes and exams. they have diff. sections/teachers depending on the year....just try and find a one that provides the most material on the course website.
 
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styler5555 said:
Any good AP bio book....these books tend to do a better job of evening out the review...providing more detail in the ecology, phylogeny, plants, etc. sections.

Also, after taking the DAT I found the depth of the material to be most similar and there are so many different resources for practice exams/questions that can be utilized. these books also tend to be cheaper and you can also find a lot of free material online...from the AP website, or even AP high school course websites....you'd be surprised how much you'll come across.

In addition, check out Cal Berkeley's online open courses...they offer both Bio 1 and 2...complete w/ all video lectures, handouts, quizzes and exams. they have diff. sections/teachers depending on the year....just try and find a one that provides the most material on the course website.
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links please!
 
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http://webcast.berkeley.edu/courses.php


If you click on the box in the upper right you can change the semester....not all the courses are the same. You kind of have to fish around until you find one w/ videos and course material you like....i think i ended up mixing a few different sections.


I don't mean to sound pretentious, but I scored a 22 in Bio on my DAT and if you have any questions I'd be glad to help. I took the exam Fall 2005, though, and am not sure how it will be this year w/ all the talk about a harder bio section.....but i honestly think the rumors are mostly BS.

if i could give one piece of advice....it would be to take it easy on the bio section. you're guaranteed to miss a couple questions no matter what- even if it were open book. considering this section is 40 questions plus the scope of the material it's easy to get stuck in the trap of spending too much time on bio. Im preparing to take the test for the second time this summer, and am going to focus first primarily on math and then Gchem.....

the reason being is that math is black and white....w/ a enough practice any student can score near perfect in this section. also, if u look at the grade distributions on the ADEA site, it's easier to score in the high upper 20's in the chem and math sections than bio.....and if u are focused on getting a solid AA you should focus your studying on the sections that will pay off the most on your overall AA score.


As an example, my roommate and I both took the exam within the same month. Outside of math, in the Bio, GC, OC, PAT, TS and RC sections I scored higher in 3, tied in 2, and he scored higher on 1. The overall point differential was only about 1-2 in my favor. but in math he scored a 26 compared to my 17.....that put his AA at a 22 and 99.9%, while i scored AA 20 w/ 90%......
 
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styler5555 ~

Dude, I downloaded all the MP3s from Bio1A, those lectures are sweeeeeeeeeeeeet,
I suppose this is all General Biology I right ?

There is probebly another set of 40 lectures for Bio II correct ?
 
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When i was studying for the DAT i used Campbell and Schaum's to get a good amount of background information on the biology area. After i felt that i had a firm grasp on the material I went on to doing Destroyer questions. Hope that helps it got me a 20 on the section.
 
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styler5555 said:
http://webcast.berkeley.edu/courses.php


If you click on the box in the upper right you can change the semester....not all the courses are the same. You kind of have to fish around until you find one w/ videos and course material you like....i think i ended up mixing a few different sections.


I don't mean to sound pretentious, but I scored a 22 in Bio on my DAT and if you have any questions I'd be glad to help. I took the exam Fall 2005, though, and am not sure how it will be this year w/ all the talk about a harder bio section.....but i honestly think the rumors are mostly BS.

if i could give one piece of advice....it would be to take it easy on the bio section. you're guaranteed to miss a couple questions no matter what- even if it were open book. considering this section is 40 questions plus the scope of the material it's easy to get stuck in the trap of spending too much time on bio. Im preparing to take the test for the second time this summer, and am going to focus first primarily on math and then Gchem.....

the reason being is that math is black and white....w/ a enough practice any student can score near perfect in this section. also, if u look at the grade distributions on the ADEA site, it's easier to score in the high upper 20's in the chem and math sections than bio.....and if u are focused on getting a solid AA you should focus your studying on the sections that will pay off the most on your overall AA score.


As an example, my roommate and I both took the exam within the same month. Outside of math, in the Bio, GC, OC, PAT, TS and RC sections I scored higher in 3, tied in 2, and he scored higher on 1. The overall point differential was only about 1-2 in my favor. but in math he scored a 26 compared to my 17.....that put his AA at a 22 and 99.9%, while i scored AA 20 w/ 90%......
Click to expand...
very well said and thank you much for the link, it'll definiately help.
 
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Im reviewing my general bio text book to fill inthe gaps in my memory that developed after i finished the course. (campbell is a good book if youre looking for one, im using purves, Sadava...its ok)

As for questions im doing anything i can(kaplan..etc, anything for practice), but to really bulk up im using destroyer. The questions are thorough, they cover all the relevant topics and are quite solid.

good luck!
 
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I ditto dentaldentist's comment
Schaums Outline is extremely thorough and covers all topics the DAT can possibly ask, although I heard some questions have appeared to be out of the ball park. (This is only hearsay)
Best :thumbup:
 
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Like many people have said before, it is a good idea to have some background before you start the destroyer. I would strongly advise getting the DAT Destroyer not only for the bio section but for its usefulness in all the sciences and the QR section.
 
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I think the Cambells book is the best ask a tool for learning... I agree with the cub...i would crack open the destroyer. the solutions give you a lot of back round material..

Hope this helps! good luck!
 
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When you guys say use campbell's as a tool,,do you mean use that as a reference to clarify what I don't understand in the Kaplan book?

Isn't campbell's going in more depth than is necessary to do well on the DAT?
 
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Well from what ive experienced and from what i am hearing, the DAT bio throws very wierd bio questions that you might not have ever witnessed in your life. Not to say that they are extremely hard they are just wierd. So my reccomendation to everyone whose taking the bio now is to do your best on getting to know as much as possible about bio in general. With that knowledge you should be able to conquer any bio question they throw your way.
 
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