<p>I know that it's customary to take chem1A for IB majors like myself for first semester of freshman year, but I was wondering about the difficulty level between the two. I would like to have taken bio first, considering I did much better in the subject in high school (in comparison to chemistry), so please help me :)
Has it been done before? If not, why?
Is it recommended at all?</p>
<p>I remember asking myself this at first too. Here’s what Columbia has to say on the matter:
"Q3: Why do I have to take chemistry before biology?</p>
<p>A3: There is a big difference between most college science courses and most high school science courses. In high school, you are usually expected to memorize the basic facts and principles. In college, you are expected to learn the facts in much more detail and you are also expected to understand the principles in much greater depth (this is usually the hard part). This means (in practical terms) that on exams you are asked to apply the principles that you have learned to solve problems and to explain totally new situations. This is just as true of biology as it is of physics and chemistry – college biology is an experimental science, not a descriptive science. If you jump straight into Biology C2005/F2401 without a year of college chemistry to help you “rev up” you are likely to find the biology overwhelming.
It also pays to take chemistry first for another reason. Most students who take biology need to take chemistry (eventually). If you are going to take chemistry anyway, you might as well take it first so that the molecular parts of bio will make more sense. Biologists use chemistry as language, the way physicists use math. You can explain physics without math, but it takes a lot longer and the explanations are not as satisfying, or you have to teach the math as you go along. So it is simpler to just do the math first and the physics after. Similarly, it makes more sense to do the chemistry first and the biology second."</p>
<p>At Berkeley, it is Biology 1A, not 1B, that specifies Chemistry 1A and 1AL (with Chemistry 3A or 112A recommended) as a prerequisite. Biology 1B does not list prerequisites.</p>
<p>Biology 1A: “General introduction to cell structure and function, molecular and organismal genetics, animal development, form and function.”</p>
<p>Biology 1B: “General introduction to plant development, form, and function; population genetics, ecology, and evolution.”</p>
<p>I would do Bio 1B first, along with Math 1A or 10A. Bio 1B is really smooth, it’s just about evolution, plants, ecology, it’s not complicated to understand and just requires learning concepts. Chem 1A is a world of it’s own, it requires HOURS of work and sweat and blood to even come close to getting an A.</p>
<p>I would go with Chem 1A over Bio 1B. Majda and Arnold are teaching it in the fall and they are much, much easier than the professors teaching in the spring. Get it out of the way with the “easy” professors before you miss your chance.</p>