LIFESCI 7A
Cell and Molecular Biology
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, 75 minutes. Introduction to basic principles of cell structure and cell biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
3 of 4
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - I thought coming into LS7A that it would be a breeze since I took AP Bio but it wasn't quite a breeze, though I definitely had an advantage. All of the professors, TAs, and LAs definitely want you to succeed and that is evident through the accessible help on Campuswire (which I highly recommend having open throughout the quarter). Also, the class is structured to set students up for success. There is work to be done before the class (reading guides + review questions), during the class (iClicker), after the class (pod assignments), and it really helps ensure that you never fall behind. Of course there are also weekly quizzes (PALs), reflection assignments, and more, all of which contributed to a very easy time studying. Which brings me to my final compliment about the tests themselves: every exam (AoL) has a group phase and individual phase, and we were the first year where they had us take the group phase on the Monday before the individual phase (Thursday). We received our grades back for the group phase before taking the individual phase, and they were essentially identical so if you knew how to solve the group phase and understood any mistakes you made, you were basically guaranteed 100% on the individual phase. My main criticism regarding the class and Dr. Pham is simply that sometimes lectures moved too quickly in hopes of playing catch up so that our reading guides would still be aligned with the in-class content, but this made it hard sometimes to take notes. I don't agree that Dr. Pham's accent is a problem but I do think when he speaks fast it can sometimes be difficult to decipher what is going on. Still, I really enjoyed this class and Dr. Pham is definitely one of the best professors to take the class with. He really cares about us and is a funny guy. P.S. Side note for people who got a 5 on AP bio in high school...apparently you can petition for it to count towards ls7a and thus skip this course. I wish I knew this before taking the class but still I met really awesome people so do with that as you will!
Fall 2025 - I thought coming into LS7A that it would be a breeze since I took AP Bio but it wasn't quite a breeze, though I definitely had an advantage. All of the professors, TAs, and LAs definitely want you to succeed and that is evident through the accessible help on Campuswire (which I highly recommend having open throughout the quarter). Also, the class is structured to set students up for success. There is work to be done before the class (reading guides + review questions), during the class (iClicker), after the class (pod assignments), and it really helps ensure that you never fall behind. Of course there are also weekly quizzes (PALs), reflection assignments, and more, all of which contributed to a very easy time studying. Which brings me to my final compliment about the tests themselves: every exam (AoL) has a group phase and individual phase, and we were the first year where they had us take the group phase on the Monday before the individual phase (Thursday). We received our grades back for the group phase before taking the individual phase, and they were essentially identical so if you knew how to solve the group phase and understood any mistakes you made, you were basically guaranteed 100% on the individual phase. My main criticism regarding the class and Dr. Pham is simply that sometimes lectures moved too quickly in hopes of playing catch up so that our reading guides would still be aligned with the in-class content, but this made it hard sometimes to take notes. I don't agree that Dr. Pham's accent is a problem but I do think when he speaks fast it can sometimes be difficult to decipher what is going on. Still, I really enjoyed this class and Dr. Pham is definitely one of the best professors to take the class with. He really cares about us and is a funny guy. P.S. Side note for people who got a 5 on AP bio in high school...apparently you can petition for it to count towards ls7a and thus skip this course. I wish I knew this before taking the class but still I met really awesome people so do with that as you will!
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2019 - People complaining about this man's accent are really trying to cover up the fact they didn't do as well as they wanted to purely due to their own incompetence. Pham's lectures are fast-paced, but he goes over the clicker questions very well, which are all that really matter. I never attended his office hours but every time I asked him something after class, he was nothing but kind and extremely helpful. The LS Core Curriculum have a specific way of explaining problems and he does a great job of explaining what type of knowledge is expected of us. I would go to his lectures to figure out what type of material will be tested and go to your TA's office hours instead because they offer much more personal help.
Winter 2019 - People complaining about this man's accent are really trying to cover up the fact they didn't do as well as they wanted to purely due to their own incompetence. Pham's lectures are fast-paced, but he goes over the clicker questions very well, which are all that really matter. I never attended his office hours but every time I asked him something after class, he was nothing but kind and extremely helpful. The LS Core Curriculum have a specific way of explaining problems and he does a great job of explaining what type of knowledge is expected of us. I would go to his lectures to figure out what type of material will be tested and go to your TA's office hours instead because they offer much more personal help.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - Took this class because it's required for my major and though the work wasn't too hard, the topic wasn't my favorite but it was still interesting at times. The professor is great and always willing to help. My problem with the class is not the workload or subject, but the exams. They were pointlessly difficult. Even compared to the following class in the series (7B), the exams were hard. They were poorly worded so that one question would seem to have many possible answers because I couldn't tell what it was specifically asking for. The questions also introduced new things to me that we never went over in class, which was annoying to have to learn about something new during a 2 hour exam with 60 confusing questions. As much as I could say that students should try to not take the class, I am sure this class is a requirement for many, so I think it's best for students to stay on top of everything and study a lot because you need it. I made mistakes in this class as it was my first quarter here, so I hope people can learn from my mistakes.
Fall 2022 - Took this class because it's required for my major and though the work wasn't too hard, the topic wasn't my favorite but it was still interesting at times. The professor is great and always willing to help. My problem with the class is not the workload or subject, but the exams. They were pointlessly difficult. Even compared to the following class in the series (7B), the exams were hard. They were poorly worded so that one question would seem to have many possible answers because I couldn't tell what it was specifically asking for. The questions also introduced new things to me that we never went over in class, which was annoying to have to learn about something new during a 2 hour exam with 60 confusing questions. As much as I could say that students should try to not take the class, I am sure this class is a requirement for many, so I think it's best for students to stay on top of everything and study a lot because you need it. I made mistakes in this class as it was my first quarter here, so I hope people can learn from my mistakes.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2017 - This review is for LIFESCI 7A. Roth-Johnson doesn't require much commitment for this course. Tests and midterms are easy as long as you have read the textbook (which you will have to do anyways because that's part of the homework). She gives extra credit, but it does not affect your overall grade much. Have a friend alert you when a clicker question goes up if you have a tendency to zone out, because they count toward your grade (correctness is not counted, only participation). Overall an easy course. Edit (6/7/2018): LS 7A is now a course taught by Professor Roth-Johnson. I have edited this review to be on the correct course (was formerly on LS 2).
Fall 2017 - This review is for LIFESCI 7A. Roth-Johnson doesn't require much commitment for this course. Tests and midterms are easy as long as you have read the textbook (which you will have to do anyways because that's part of the homework). She gives extra credit, but it does not affect your overall grade much. Have a friend alert you when a clicker question goes up if you have a tendency to zone out, because they count toward your grade (correctness is not counted, only participation). Overall an easy course. Edit (6/7/2018): LS 7A is now a course taught by Professor Roth-Johnson. I have edited this review to be on the correct course (was formerly on LS 2).
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3 of 4
