hey guys, can someone tell me the difference between:

-PHYSICS 1B03 and 1L03 ??

-MATH 1A03 and 1LS3 ??

Any input on the level of difficulties on all of these courses?
Thanks!

Physics 1L03 is the physcis of living systems, and can be taken without having completed grade 12 U physics. (AKA baby physics)

Physics 1B03 is mechanics and waves, and you must have taken 12 U physics, or have completed Physicsd 1L03

Math 1LS3 is calc for Life Sciences. Math 1A03 is calc for...I suppose all sciences? You can't take 1LS3 if you get over a 10 (A-) in 1A03.

Unfortunately those starting at Mac this year in science have a newly designed program and will have different courses than prevous years. So in terms of difficulty we can't really tell you all that much, because we have no idea.

Yep, what lorend said is correct. They've revamped the first year science program at the school, so Physics 1L03 (previously 1P03 aka baby physics) is for students who did not take grade 12 physics, or got a mark below 60% in it. In 1P03, we only went over mechanics (vectors, free body diagrams, Newton's three laws, etc), but it seems like people taking the new 1L03 class will be doing a less intense (I assume) more life-science based version of the 1B03 class, which includes both Mechanics (mathematical and theoretical) and waves. Also, it seems like 1L03 serves as a sufficient prerequisite for most second year programs. In the past, students who take baby physics had to take 1B03 as a prereq for most programs like biochem, honours biology/chemistry, etc.

In terms of the different math classes, I'm assuming it has to do with the Ontario High School math curriculum change. I *think* 1LS3 is aimed for students who just took Advance Functions and not necessarily Calculus and Vectors (if you took both classes in High School, you'll probably find that 1A03 is more suited for you). Universities generally like to advertise these courses by adding "life science(s)" somewhere in the course name/description to make it seem more biological than mathematical. Again, if you get an A- (10 on the McMaster grading system - available here) in 1LS3, you won't need to take 1A03 as a prereq for most second year programs.

Also, it seems like they got rid of Biology 1AA3, which is really good for incoming science students because it's quite possibly the worst class you'll ever have to take in first year. =)

if you don't want to get into physics but you have completed gr 12 physics with above 80 %, can you still do the easier physics instead of the hard one?

Hey woodlawngirl, join the McMaster Kinesiology group on facebook (if you haven't already!)

Aww, Bio 1AA3 wasn't THAT bad...where else are you going to learn that plants are out to kill you? Anyway, Bio 1M03 seems to be about the same thing, only with a seminar instead of a lab.

Does anybody know where I can get an idea of who the profs are that are going to be teaching the life science courses in fall 2008/2009 and some possible advice for each one? As well, with a program size in the thousand range, how difficult is it to get an extremely high GPA? (ranging from 11-12 points)

The Master course timetable (ie who is teaching what and when) should be out soon...very soon.

And...it's hard to get marks in the 11/12 (ie 84-89/90+) range.

thanks lorend
is there by any chance, statistics that there is a link to, that offers information on the percentage of students' grades from last year (after year one of Science I in this case)?

Originally Posted by sinthusized

if you don't want to get into physics but you have completed gr 12 physics with above 80 %, can you still do the easier physics instead of the hard one?

Nope, sorry =P

Originally Posted by Sarah13

Aww, Bio 1AA3 wasn't THAT bad...where else are you going to learn that plants are out to kill you? Anyway, Bio 1M03 seems to be about the same thing, only with a seminar instead of a lab.

Oh man, you got me started with the #1 reason why I despised Biology 1AA3 - the 'labs'. Actually, we didn't even have labs in 1AA3 - we had three hour walk-abouts where we took pages full of irrelevant notes on scientific articles and sketched random animal/plant phyla. Labs are suppose to give you hands on experience to techniques and applications pertinent to the course content. Instead, they made us count beans from a jar and tried to fill a lab slot with the PBL presentation (and don't even get me started on the PBL - I have a whole other rant on that =P). To make it worse, they were annoyingly ambiguous on what would or wouldn't be on the 'lab' test, so we were just forced to copy down everything to be safe. I would rather have a three hour tutorial in 1M03 than those pseudo-labs they offered in 1AA3.

Originally Posted by dchan28

Does anybody know where I can get an idea of who the profs are that are going to be teaching the life science courses in fall 2008/2009 and some possible advice for each one? As well, with a program size in the thousand range, how difficult is it to get an extremely high GPA? (ranging from 11-12 points)

What lorend said - check the registrar page (https://adweb.cis.mcmaster.ca /mtt/) for when it comes out. In terms of marks, define 'difficult'. I know that's an annoyingly cliché answer to your question, but if you put in the adequate work and dedication, you should be able to get the high marks you want. It's not impossible to get straight 11s and 12s in science courses.

Originally Posted by dchan28

is there by any chance, statistics that there is a link to, that offers information on the percentage of students' grades from last year (after year one of Science I in this case)?

I'm not 100% sure if the entire Faculty of Science releases grade statistics, but you can email each department individually and ask for the averages of admitted students. In Biochem for instance, the average for the core (honours) program was around 7.5, while specializations were 8.0-8.5 (I got those ranges from emailing the department).

my first post. yay!

anyways, i'll be entering life science program this september and i'm really contemplating about my electives. do a lot of science (life sci) students take kinesiology as their electives? or even economics?

This will be the first year that the Science Faculty has the system where first years actually enter into 'life sciences,' 'physical sciences,' etc. Before, everyone did Science I and then would specialize in second year. But! I know of a good amount of my friends are doing a major in Life Sci and then minoring in business (my housemate for one).
As for an elective.. I really would recommend taking extra physics courses and then also 1st year Astronomy... It was fun for me to still study many diverse science fields and helped me when I decided to enter the Origins Research Specialization in second year, which requires you to take bio, chem and phys. With this new system science is doing, I don't believe I would have had to take bio but I'm glad I did!

PS AMAZING choice in science =P best faculty ever tee hee! See you in welcome week!

Thanks for your reply Chad and Lorend to my question I've already spoken to some of the profs and students from the program and I actually feel excited! haha
Definitely way confident than before.
Can't wait!

they specify some electives have to be from outside the course lists!!!! I say this is a great idea. try a new elective that might interest you. Or say it right...try an elective that is good for you so you can boost the GPA!!!high n high!!!

Originally Posted by Chala

Thanks for your reply Chad and Lorend to my question I've already spoken to some of the profs and students from the program and I actually feel excited! haha
Definitely way confident than before.
Can't wait!

Your welcome Chala! I know you're going to have an amazing time. Hope to see you during welcome week!