From what I understood, in the experiment outlined above, soil composition is assumed to be a control variable. A few weeks ago, I remember reading an article about how light exposure can change soil composition (pH, microorganism diversity, some nutrient levels, etc). So, investigating this aspect may also lead to interesting insights. But again, sometimes we need to make assumptions to make our lives easier!

This is so true! Last quarter in BIS 2C, I remember learning about Lynn Margulis and her Endosymbiotic Theory. I remember specifically learning that her whole theory just began with a few observations. This really showed me how being able to make observations could lead to something great.

This is reminds me of a discussion I had in BIS 2C last quarter with a professor regarding where some animals were placed on the tree of life. We discussed how just in a few years, we re-evaluated the placement of certain organisms; and how in a few more years, how certain things we learned in class may be looked as dated and inaccurate.

In other classes, I experienced success when I set my own deadline by which I would review a set amount of the content. Having post-lecture study guides makes keeping deadlines and a sense of discipline much easier. Also I've never had questions accompanying each lecture, so I'm very excited about that! I think it will much studying for exams much easier.

I really like the idea of having pre-lecture study guides. In my previous classes, I had to come up with my own ways to prepare for the upcoming lecture. As I was predicting what might be covered, sometimes I would spend too much/too little time on certain nuances, reducing efficiency. Given that the instructors themselves will be creating these study guides, I look forward to being more effective with my pre-class studying!

I couldn't more strongly agree with this! I've had amazing experiences in the past connecting basic concepts I learned in class with more complex ideas. An example of this can be seen with a nutrition class I took at community college. A few of our lectures touched on the nutrient-gene interface and disease prevention. This prompted me to look into how these 2 concepts can be fused, leading me to nutrigenomics. When I'm reading papers on this concept, I can usually use the knowledge I learned in that course as these scientific papers build off of what I learned. I'm very excited to see how I can connect the principles I learn in BIS 2A to other ideas.