EE BIOL 121
Molecular Evolution
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: Life Sciences 3, 4, 23L. Molecular biology, with emphasis on evolutionary aspects. DNA replication, RNA transcription, protein synthesis, gene expression, and molecular evolution. Letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
i took halpin for eeb142 and trust me it is not as easy as it sounds. What gets you is that they are too picky on the answers; you have to actually put everything they have as the answers to get full points which is ridiculous since the questions are vague, so basically you have to write down everything she says word for word, come on that's ridiculous. BEWARE of discussion class, the TA is so anal on participation that she actually tallys up how many times you talk. all i got to say is come on seriously? who gives a crap about discussion man some classes dont even care if you go or participate in discussion. totally unfair and onesided. Jesus christ im so pissed off right now my final grade in the class was a 86% but if i had full participation points i would have gotten 90%. MAN i totally got screwed in this class.
i took halpin for eeb142 and trust me it is not as easy as it sounds. What gets you is that they are too picky on the answers; you have to actually put everything they have as the answers to get full points which is ridiculous since the questions are vague, so basically you have to write down everything she says word for word, come on that's ridiculous. BEWARE of discussion class, the TA is so anal on participation that she actually tallys up how many times you talk. all i got to say is come on seriously? who gives a crap about discussion man some classes dont even care if you go or participate in discussion. totally unfair and onesided. Jesus christ im so pissed off right now my final grade in the class was a 86% but if i had full participation points i would have gotten 90%. MAN i totally got screwed in this class.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - Such an amazing and engaging professor! The lectures were extremely interesting as Professor Knowles uses analogies and drawings rather than simply reading off slides to get his points across. This year, the class was updated, and there were quizzes on lecture material at the end of class, meaning participation mattered. The quizzes were easy, open book and consisting of 5 questions. You were able to drop 4 of the lowest quiz scores. Midterm was take-home short answer essay, and 'final' was a more than manageable in-class test with short-answer questions and quiz-like multiple choice questions. Group work consisted of making 6 TikTok videos about the content you learned in class during discussion, which was easy and fun! The class was very engaging and low-stress, which gave me the chance to enjoy and absorb molecular evolution and its nuances! Really loved the class and would 100% take another class with Professor Knowles again.
Fall 2025 - Such an amazing and engaging professor! The lectures were extremely interesting as Professor Knowles uses analogies and drawings rather than simply reading off slides to get his points across. This year, the class was updated, and there were quizzes on lecture material at the end of class, meaning participation mattered. The quizzes were easy, open book and consisting of 5 questions. You were able to drop 4 of the lowest quiz scores. Midterm was take-home short answer essay, and 'final' was a more than manageable in-class test with short-answer questions and quiz-like multiple choice questions. Group work consisted of making 6 TikTok videos about the content you learned in class during discussion, which was easy and fun! The class was very engaging and low-stress, which gave me the chance to enjoy and absorb molecular evolution and its nuances! Really loved the class and would 100% take another class with Professor Knowles again.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - Give this man his own stand up comedy show IMMEDIATELY. He purposefully makes the class/TAs so chill and accommodating for his students. Don't like a due date / format of an assignment? he WILL change it for you/make a compromise. Such a sweet and genuinely COOL guy. (and not like in a cringey way. he has made me laugh out loud in hot box Franz if that were even possible). FYI There is a group project where you make tik Tok videos for half the final grade. Discussions are not mandatory. Highly recommend for an easy A upper div. Lots of quizzes at the end of EACH lecture, but open note/free talking and drops 4. (for a total of 16). Only real exam was the final and it was only 50 minutes, very easy. Only downside major disagreement were our Fridays use of time, his personality is very chaotic, and he personally promoted the use of AI. Other than that, TAKE HIM you'll thank me :) GL!
Fall 2025 - Give this man his own stand up comedy show IMMEDIATELY. He purposefully makes the class/TAs so chill and accommodating for his students. Don't like a due date / format of an assignment? he WILL change it for you/make a compromise. Such a sweet and genuinely COOL guy. (and not like in a cringey way. he has made me laugh out loud in hot box Franz if that were even possible). FYI There is a group project where you make tik Tok videos for half the final grade. Discussions are not mandatory. Highly recommend for an easy A upper div. Lots of quizzes at the end of EACH lecture, but open note/free talking and drops 4. (for a total of 16). Only real exam was the final and it was only 50 minutes, very easy. Only downside major disagreement were our Fridays use of time, his personality is very chaotic, and he personally promoted the use of AI. Other than that, TAKE HIM you'll thank me :) GL!
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