<p>So I am majoring in Biology, hoping to go to medical school. I am a first-generation college student, so I really have no idea what the "lab" component of biology, chemistry, physics is all about. It it similar to high school labs where the teacher gives you a set of instructions? Or do the students create their own lab and design? How long do most of these labs take (one class period, two, three, etc)?</p>
<p>Labs usually take up one class period or two or 1 hour or 2.</p>
<p>My freshman Bio lab was a separate 1-hour course that met once a week for a 3-hour time period. I had a lab manual, and the professor instructed us before, during, and after the lab.</p>
<p>Labs can be graded with the course or are counted sepeately. My lab for chem met once a week 3hrs, weekly lab reports. Lab lecture was once a week with the professor. Chem lab was with a TA.</p>
<p>It depends on the course. Most intro courses I’m aware of use a lab manual, which gives relatively specific instructions on how to set up an experiment. Some use both a lab manual and require students to design their own experiments. My geology class, and a second semester chem class at my school used this method.</p>
<p>Others, especially in the ecology section of your intro biology course, may require some field work and then a write up about your observations.</p>
<p>Most labs have a scheduled time, but if you went to a school on the block plan, like Colorado College, the labs might be whenever the professor finishes lecturing. </p>
<p>Typically labs are once or twice a week and might last for as little as one hour or as long as four hours. It depends on what you need to do during that particular period. Some professors, especially right before an exam, use lab to review concepts that will be covered. If you’re going to a major university, your labs will typically be run by graduate students.</p>
<p>Be aware that courses with labs can be more time consuming than other courses.</p>
<p>For example, a non-lab course may have 3 to 6 hours of class time per week, plus out-of-class time for reading, assignments, studying for tests, etc. A lab course may have similar work for the non-lab part of the course, but then you have to spend 3 to 4 hours per week in lab, plus out-of-class time preparing for the lab and writing up lab reports.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your responses. So in general terms, how long is a lab write-up? I know this is a very subjective question, but are they around 5, 10, 20 pages? Also, are these labs done in groups? If so, how large are these groups, and are they self-made?</p>
<p>Depends on the course and the university and what your professor and TA expect.</p>