LSM1301 CP3880 Module Review – 2015/16 Sem1

LSM1301 General Biology

I took this as a breath module along with my full-time internship.

Workload:

This module only has one lecture per week for 4 hours and nothing else. There are a few assignments, in the form of take-away quizzes and a visit to the natural history museum. On average, I only spent about 1 hour on this module apart from attending the lecture. But I did spend a lot of time revising for this module before the exam (about 3 full days I think).

Content:

I have taken O Level Biology and LSM1302 Genes and Society, and there are significant overlaps between them.

For the first part of the module, the content is on molecular biology within the cell, such as DNA and genes, much of the topics are also covered in LSM1302, although the focus is slightly different.

The second part of the module is focused on topics beyond the cell, including evolution, biodiversity, plants, animals and ecology. Some of the content were covered in O Level biology, such as homeostasis and human organ systems. However, there were also a lot of content that were new to me. For me the hardest part is species classification and their lineages because there are a lot of new terms as well as foreign words.

Grading and exam:

Most of the in-class quizzes are e-quizzes conducted through a software called SofTest, it is fairly old and not intuitively design so need to bear with it. The final exam is also using the same software so you need to get used to it. Assignments, quizzes and final exam all contribute significantly towards the final exam.

Some assignments require written responses, mentioning all the necessary points to get full marks. Exam formats are multiple response questions, but they require some working or application of the knowledge, not many straight-forward questions.

Tips:

• Personally I don’t find the videos administered during the exams useful. Attempting the questions without watching them first is a good strategy to save time.
• There are plenty of resources on the Internet if you do not quite understand the topic or want to learn deeper.
• Take LSM1302 before or after this module if you want to have an easier time.

Note: I took this module in 2015/16 Sem 1, if the information becomes outdated in the future, please leave a comment below.