A number of questions keep cropping up that are answered on this page. If you don't find your answer here, simply ask me directly.
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Q: Many times, we don't cover everything in the text (ex. Lod Scores, Perkins formula, Poisson distribution, VNTRs etc. just in chapter 4).
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Q: i just had a question on how i should be studying the book. should i be reading the whole chapter word-for-word or should i just concentrate on what is said in lecture and read based on that.
A: Yes, do read the entire chapter. The book covers more material (and in greater depth) than I could ever do in my lectures. This is partly due to the time constraints of the lectures, but it is also a consequence of the different media. A lecture necessarily will have reduced information density when compared to a written text. My lectures therefore concentrate on the most important aspects of the chapters that are indispensable for an understanding of the material at hand. This does not mean that the extra information in the book is not necessary. On the contrary, the additional information often leads to a deeper understanding of what I had talked about in lecture (e.g. Haldane's mapping function in Chapter 4 explains the problem of double crossovers much better). In the end, reading the entire chapter will (hopefully) give you a better grasp of the concepts, which is really what genetics is all about. You probably won't remember every detail, but that's not what we're trying to accomplish in this class anyhow.
Q: I was wondering what would be the best way to start preparing for our test. I know you advised us to do problems in the back of each chapter but there are around 45 questions at the back of each chapter with multiple parts.
A: The problems at the end of the chapters are basically just an opportunity to practice what you have learned. I certainly don't expect you to do all of them, but make sure you do a few of them every time. The solved problems as well as the "unpacking" problems are particularly helpful since they explain how geneticists approach a problem. There are also solutions to some of the problems at the end of the book which gives you an opportunity to check whether you got it right. This "active learning," meaning the application of novel material to new questions, is probably the most crucial aspect of studying. It helps to reinforce concepts and at the same time tells you whether you really understood it.
Q: Will you be giving us a study guide or study questions?
A: I will prepare a practice exam before the midterm which will reflect the type and difficulty of questions I will be asking in the real midterm. There will also be a review session, where students can ask questions about the lecture, the book, the lab, the practice exam, etc.
Q: I just wanted to know if our midterms were going to be during regular class periods or were they going to be in the evening and at a different location.
A: Midterms are during regular class periods in the usual room. And since we're already on the subject, the review session will also be during regular class period.
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page last updated 09.08.18.