[School] Closing the Semester - Biological Sciences Year 1 Sem 1 Module Reviews

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You know what this title mean? I think it pretty much can be interpreted as "I'm no longer a Year 1 Sem 1 noob HAHA. > .< It has been some time since I've last updated an entry on college syllabus so I decided to conclude this semester with such an entry.

Modules I took this Semester ( 2013 Aug-Nov)

Core:
  1. BS1001 INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY (3AU)
  2. BS1002 BIOPHYSICAL BIOLOGY (3AU)
  3. BS1003 ORGANIC CHEMISTRY (3AU)
Electives:
  1. BU8101 ACCOUNTING: A USER PERSPECTIVE (3AU)
  2. BU8301 FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS LAW (3AU)
  3. HE9091 PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS (3AU)
BS1001
Lecturer: Prof Alex Law
The professor-in-charge was quite an eccentric man, not in a bad way though. He is very interesting and this is brought to another level with unexpected examination questions. Not many can follow his train of thoughts during lectures, assuming girls think like barbed wires. 
The syllabus of this course is merely a recap on JC H2 Biology, very limited new content so it is easy to cope. Peeps who scored an A for H2 Bio are exempted from this course.
Don't be fooled by the MCQ of the mid term and finals! There may be multiple answers to the second section of the MCQs, and you have to make the correct selection for your marks. I heard from my tutor that there are failures for the mid term and the highest mark scored wasn't too impressive either. However, the lab reports were straight forward and relatively easy.
Unlike some of my other courses, my tutor wasn't the lecturer; but a phD student (aka an ex-BS student).

Lessons: 2 hour lecture &1 hour tutorial / week
Assessment: MCQ Mid-term & 2 Lab Reports 30%; Finals (MCQ + Structured) 70%
Lab: 2 X 3 hours
  1. Acid-Base (pH meter, titration & buffer solutions)
  2. SDS Page (Agarose Gel)

BS1002
This was a relatively new course introduced last year. For someone like me who divorced physics since secondary 3, this course was quite a struggle for me. This was further escalated when different professors are in-charge of different teaching topics and labs. For instance the professor/lecturer in-charge of the topic would also be the one conducting the tutorial. 
However, physics was an integral part in molecular biology. Our beginner tension was eased with MCQ and the provision of some formulas in the finals; 50 MCQs for my year (2013) and 40 for 2012.
There was no mid term for this course.There are no exemptions for this course.
Some of the subjects eg. Spectroscopy was overlapping with that in BS1003 plus there was one or two topics on JC inorganic chemistry.
Lab reports are relatively easy for the Spartan and Spectroscopy. In fact, Spartan mainly required us to include the screenshots of the computed results; just copy-and-pasting.

Lessons: 2 hour lecture &1 hour tutorial / week
Assessment: 4 Lab Reports 30%; Finals (MCQ) 70%
Lab: 4 X 3 hours
  1. Micelle Formation
  2. 2 X Spartan (Computer Lab)
  3. Spectroscopy

BS1003
Lecturer: Prof Liu Chuan Fa & Prof Eric Sun
Organic chemistry was covered in JC but to a very shallow level, chimology is redefined! The professor lecturing this course is by far my favourite professor in college, he is also the same professor conducting the tutorials and labs. This is especially helpful for a freshie taking a module heavy on content.
You can be exempted for this course if you score 3 H2 'A's in you A levels. However, I don't suggest so as many new contents are introduced, which are presumably fundamental for the further studies. I didn't score too well for my midterms, I blame it on my punctuality for the test.
The lab reports for this is the most satisfying, one of my proudest works in life LOL; but I also spend the most time on them. There was only 2 practicals for my year while there were 3 in the previous year.

Lessons: 2 hour lecture &1 hour tutorial / week
Assessment: Midterm Quiz 15%; 2 Lab Reports 15%; Finals (MCQ + Structured) 70%
Lab: 2 X 3 hours
  1. Extraction of Caffeine
  2. Preparation of Indigo Dye

My core modules for this semester didn't require me to buy/refer to any textbooks though they do have recommended readings. Lecture recordings and ppt slides are available on edventure (the school portal). Btw, the lab experiments had been the same throughout the years; you can easily ask any seniors for a good reference.

I took BU8101 accounting and BU8301 business law for my business minor while HE9091 Economics for my GERPE AHSS (arts, humanities and social sciences) in my first semester. I'll review on them soon if I have time! HEHE

Bye guys & good luck freshies!

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