Module reviews for LSM1301, GEK1519, GEM2900, GEK1527, GEK2506

First posted on: 30 December 2015

This blog post contains the science modules I have taken during my time at NUS.

AY 13/14 Yr 1 Sem 2: LSM1301 - General Biology 

Lecture (2h) every week (not webcasted); Lab (2h) once every two weeks

Assessment: Lab assignments (x5) (there may not be lab sessions for AY15/16), open book MCQ finals

Lecturers: Two lecturers, one of them was Professor Wu Jin Lu

This is one of my favourite modules that I have taken. The lecturers who taught the module then (I don't think the same profs teach the module anymore) were very passionate and made the lectures interesting. This was especially so for the lecturer who took the first half of the lessons, he never failed to bring stuff to class so that it would enhance our learning. I still vividly remember that one lecture when he actually brought in leaves of varying shapes and sizes - one leaf was so ginormous I couldn't believe he actually managed to get it to class. Another lecture I remember is the time when he brought many stuffed toys to help illustrate the content taught. The way lectures were conducted were starkly different from the normal arts module I was usually accustomed to - it was entirely new experience that I would never forget.

The second lecturer also brought in things to help facilitate our learning. He also brought in a microscope so that he could show the class how a piece of wood looked like when examined under a microscope and I think he also brought some materials to demonstrate a chemical reaction in class.

Content-wise, a person like me who has not touched biology since lower secondary - found it to be manageable. Granted, there will be instances where more time needs to be devoted to understanding certain concepts, but my interest for biology kept me going and I enjoyed taking this module. Lab sessions were also pretty fun, and usually don't require any crazy experiments. The first lab experiment was just learning how to use a microscope to examine and measure cells from a leaf specimen. Biology labs reminded me of my secondary school lab days where learning was more fun, and less stressful as compared to JC lab days. Unfortunately, the labs I took did not have kimchi-making, but the experiments were fun nonetheless. The last experiment was DNA extraction, which was really cool too. Finals were MCQ and open-book.

AY 14/15 Yr 2 Sem 1: GEK1519 - Science of Music

Two 2h lectures per week (not webcasted); one tutorial (1h) odd/even week

Individual assessments: One concert review, one MIDI composition

Mid-term MCQ test, final term MCQ test (both open book). No finals.

Lecturer: Professor Bernard Tan

Another interesting module was Science of Music. Only basic secondary-school physics knowledge is required, so the content math-wise was manageable. I learned a lot from the module, and found the MIDI part of lecture to be really cool. Lecture also briefly covered the different instruments in an orchestra, which made me reminisce the times when I was in band. The workload for this module is relatively light, 1 hour tutorials and a written music concert commentary (sort of) and a short self-composed MIDI piece. While finding a concert to attend can be frustrating at times, but the experience will be worth it. It was also fun to compose a MIDI piece, considering the last time I was given the opportunity to do so was in lower secondary.

Mid term and final term tests are mcq and open book. However, the bell curve is relatively steep, so it is advised to score close to full marks for both tests to secure anything greater than a B+.

AY 14/15 Yr 2 Sem 1: GEM2900 - Understanding Uncertainty & Statistical Thinking

Two 2h lectures per week (webcasted); no tutorials

Assessment: Individual assignments and online quizzes

Lecturers: David Chew & Nott, David John

I'm not sure whether this module will continue to be offered in future, looking at how it hasn't been offered for AY2015/2016. The content covered is more towards the statistical components that was taught in JC, especially for things like binomial/poisson/normal distribution (minus the GC calculator part). The probability part covers more, there are more rules to learn and is more challenging (at least for me). There were some assignments that had to be completed and submitted on ivle, and I think there were also random quizzes to fill out as well. Finals constituted a significant component (60-70%), which was pretty scary honestly, and I wasn't really able to complete the paper. There is definitely greater competition as Math majors can take this module to clear their GEM and the content would most probably be relatively easy for them to understand. I S/U-ed this module in the end, but I recommend taking it during a semester with a heavy workload.

GEK1527: Genes and Society

Two 2h lectures per week (webcasted); no tutorials

Assessment: 2x individual assignments, brochure

Closed book Finals (MCQ)

Lecturer: Professor Lam Siew Hong

I continued to take another biology-related module due to my interest and also to build on whatever I had learned from LSM1301 earlier. The lecturer was really good, he was very passionate, and did his best to explain the concepts so that everyone could understand. He is also very approachable and always willing to answer questions from students. There were definitely some overlaps between LSM1301 and GEK1527, but GEK1527 took a step further and covered slightly more depth. I found this module more interesting as topics related to society were covered such as genetically modified foods, cloned animals, the question of modifying genetics for future babies, as well as genetic testing. I also pondered about some of these topics before and it did help answer some of my questions.

There was a brochure assignment to hand up and also written assignments to do, which were rather manageable and weren't very time-consuming. I found the assignments to be enriching and interesting, so I also learned a lot from completing them.

Finals was MCQ and closed book. It was challenging, as the MCQ options were all plausible. The options were something like (a) option 1 (b) option 1, 2 (c) option 1,2,3 (d) all of the above, so it made me doubt myself sometimes. I guess I can say that the bell curve for this module is steep, but I felt that the take aways from the module outweighed my results.

GEK2506: Drugs and Society

Two 2h lectures per week (webcasted); no tutorials

Assessment: Self-recorded ppt presentation

Midterms (closed book; short answer questions). Finals (open book; MCQ).

Lecturers: Pastorin, Go Mei Lin

The lectures were split into two components. The first 6 weeks were taught by Pastorin, who covered drug abuse. The rest of the lectures were covered by Go Mei Lin, for topics such as the pharmaceutical industry, drug abuse in sports, history of selected medicines etc. The content for this module is more towards the heavy side, and can be quite dry for those who have little interest for the second part of lectures. I felt that there was too much content covered for the second part and the lecture material could be toned down to cover topics in more depth instead of breadth.

Midterms for the module requires quite a bit of memory work, and I don't think the cohort did well for the midterms. Finals are MCQ (120 questions in 2 hours) but students are allowed to bring in double sided cheatsheet. I think some of the MCQ questions were pretty tricky, but luckily the cheatsheet I prepared was pretty handy for other questions. I think it is possible to score well for the module, you just need to pay lots of attention during lecture and have enough memory space.