<p>I was looking at my class schedule and was wondering if you really spend 4hrs in the labs. If so, why are they only 1-2cr?</p>
<p>Lab times vary. I rarely spent the entire 3 to 4 hours in lab, but last semester I had a photoelasticity lab that always ran for the entire 3 hours because we had to have all by-hand calculations and FEA models done before leaving the lab. </p>
<p>I don't know why the labs are given so little credit. I had design lab this semester that required more work than the lecture portion of the course yet it was only one credit.</p>
<p>My take on it is that most lab work is self-contained (i.e. very little work is needed outside of lab), whereas in lectures you need to spend many hours outside of class doing homework, studying, etc.</p>
<p>Typically schools only give 1/2 hour credit for each hour of lab time in a course (and no additional credit for any extra time that you find you have to spend in a lab to get all the work done)</p>
<p>In normal gen chem it is 3 hours and fairly simple. In acc it is a whole new world. The labs can take hours of time and plus some. Plus the labs are so complicated and/or dangerous that lectures are needed to talk about safety precautions and calculations. During gen chem they will usually let you stay after or give a time for you to come in.</p>
<p>Here's a hint. Know what the hell you're doing before you go in. Go in early to clean glassware and do set-up. There is nothing more to getting a chem lab done on time than that. They were meant to be done in 3-4 hours. It is (usually) possible to get every lab done on time.</p>
<p>Good advice Illini. I would say that the biggest thing is to be prepared going into lab. I see many students that have no clue what's going on when they walk into lab (I taught an engineering lab for 5 years). Those students typically did poorly. Make sure you understand how the lab connects to the course, many students didn't get that either.</p>
<p>I was just giving advice for completing the labs within the alotted time. For the report, early research, the connection, and not starting the night before are all good concepts to grasp.</p>
<p>No, you don't really spend 4 hours. Often you run out of time and have to go back, or the TA lets you stay overtime.</p>