Introduction to Laboratory and Scientific Methodology

Lecture, one hour; laboratory, three hours. Requisite: course 2 or 7B. Recommended to be taken concurrently with course 7C. Introductory life sciences laboratory designed for undergraduate students. Opportunity to conduct wet-laboratory and cutting-edge bioinformatics laboratory experiments. Students work in groups of three conducting experiments in areas of physiology, metabolism, cell biology, molecular biology, genotyping, and bioinformatics. Letter grading.

Review Summary

Clarity
10.0 / 10
Organization
10.0 / 10
Time
0-5 hrs/week
Overall
10.0 / 10

Reviews

    Quarter Taken: Fall 2022 Online
    Grade: A+

    The lecture is online and recorded. Read the lengthy lab manuals, and remember what you're doing in the lab and what the lessons were from the lab for the final. Don't procrastinate on the paper (I mean you could, but what good does that do for you) and you don't necessarily have to do thorough peer reviews, you just have to make sure it matches up with the rubric - that's the most important part. I got an A+!

    Quarter Taken: Fall 2022 Online
    Grade: A

    Pretty easy class mostly just time consuming; spend time on your papers

    Quarter Taken: Spring 2023 Online
    Grade: A

    the class is super organized and the professor makes sure all students know exactly where they are in terms of grade throughout the quarter, sending personalized email updates about their progress. the final is definitely doable and you get a lot of pretty easy points just through participation in labs and assignments, as well as the scientific writing, throughout the quarter.

    Quarter Taken: Spring 2023 Online
    Grade: A+

    Overall, LS 23L is a pretty chill class; attendance is required in all the classes, but the content isn't bad at all. I took this without taking LS 7C, and it went fine overall. The labs aren't too bad, and while there are a lot of pre and post-lab assignments, they are pretty doable and don't take too long. The hardest parts are probably the peer reviews, and while you don't get a perfect score the first time around, there is always a chance to make up those points.

    Quarter Taken: Spring 2023 Online
    Grade: A+

    This is a great and easy class to take. I say it is easy because the concepts are not difficult to understand. The only downside to the class is that there is a lot of busy work (pre-lab quizzes, post-lab quizzes, in-lab quizzes, scientific papers, extra assignments every week), but that is not really a problem if you are good at managing your time because these assignments don't necessarily require too much thinking. The worksheets that you complete during lab section can get very tedious so it is extremely helpful if you have a good lab group that works efficiently. Professor Pfleugl is probably the nicest professor I've had and he genuinely seems to care about his students. Overall I 100% recommend taking this class with him.

    Quarter Taken: Spring 2023 Online
    Grade: A

    The class was super simple if you do the pre-class stuff. It does consist of some busy work with three essays involved. I found the class itself pretty interesting, too, given it was my first time in a bio lab. Since you are in a lab, you will be working with two other people in a group during lab section. You also cannot leave the lab unless EVERYONE is done with the lab in your section, so you will be taking the whole three hours of lab, most of the time.

    Quarter Taken: Spring 2023 Online
    Grade: A-

    There is an in-class presentation but it is only a single question that you have to answer. The labs are very easy and you work with a group. The final is not bad just review the concepts and study the quizzes from class. The lab reports can be tedious, especially the peer review portion so do not leave it until the last minute

    Quarter Taken: Spring 2023 Online
    Grade: A+

    The class itself is a breath if you have prior lab experience. A lot of the laboratory techniques are introductory techniques. The lab worksheets are very long and tedious and the essays + peer reviews take a long time to fill out but the grading is very accommodating. On a side note you will be working with the same group for the entire quarter so pick who you want to work with as the labs are really long.

    Quarter Taken: Summer 2023 Online
    Grade: A+

    Straightforward structure with three main papers required throughout the course. Reflection allows for lost points to be made up. Lab experiments are straightforward if down carefully as are prelab quizzes.

    Quarter Taken: Winter 2024 Online
    Grade: A

    Very easy A. However, zoom lectures are a total waste of time and he asks clicker questions before explaining anything and makes us feel bad for getting the question wrong. Llike duh everyone got it wrong, you didn't explain that topic at all?? However, labs were fun and I had a good TA. I got 100% in basically everything since they curve every category (i.e. homework, quizes, etc.). Got an A in the class. Final is very easy.

Course

Instructor
Gaston Pfluegl
Previously taught
24S 24W 23F 23Su 23S 23W 22F 22Su 22S 22W 21F 21Su 21W 20Su

Grading Information

  • Has a group project

  • Attendance required

  • No midterms

  • Finals week final

  • 31% recommend the textbook

Previous Grades

Grade distributions not available.