BIOL 120Introduction to Plant Structure and Function
- Faculty
- Science
- Last listed
- Spring 2023
No longer offered. It was in Waterloo’s course catalog since at least Winter 2020 (as far back as Open Data goes) to Spring 2023 and last ran in Spring 2023. It isn’t in the 2024–25 or later calendars.
When it ran
- W20
- S20
- W21
- S21
- W22
- S22
- W23
- S23
Ran in 8 terms, Winter 2020 to Spring 2023.
A brief introduction to plant diversity, and the anatomy and physiology of vascular plants. The course will include a description of major cell and tissue types, and their organization in roots, stems, and leaves. Topics such as the processes of water and ion uptake, photosynthesis, long distance transport, and growth regulation will also be covered. [Offered: W,S]
In today’s calendar
- BIOL 220 lists it as an antirequisite
- BIOL 323 lists it in its requisites
- BIOL 351 lists it in its requisites
- BIOL 433 lists it in its requisites
- BIOL 490A lists it in its requisites
- BIOL 490B lists it in its requisites
- BIOL 490C lists it in its requisites
- BIOL 490D lists it in its requisites
- BIOL 498A lists it in its requisites
- BIOL 498B lists it in its requisites
Reviewed on UW Flow
53% liked it64% easy44% useful
From 85 ratings and 23 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
This is a course only for people who like plants. This course will be hard for anyone that is slightly foreign to biology. For me, it was an extremely boring, waste of my time, useless, want to pull my hair out kind of course. The lab component is even worse. Lab manual is full of mistakes and instructions are very VERY unclear and horribly written. Not to mention that my TAs were incompetent in every sense. I would not recommend this course to my worse enemy. Again, only take it if you're interested in plants.
Mar 2016 · didn’t like it · 3 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Easy course, though not always interesting. Try to take it with Dr. Lolle to get the best experience.
Nov 2012 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Easy to get a 90 if you study well!
Nov 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
This course made me rethink my entire life. I know so much information about plants it's insane. On a serious note, I thought this course was surprisingly interesting despite it being about plants. There's plenty of memorization and you will need to put work into remembering the different life cycles, classifications, and hormones but don't let that stop you from taking it. The mandatory lab component was alright. Very chill lab experience, but could be tedious with the weekly lab times.
Apr 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
This course was a great introduction to plant biology. Topics from plant diversity/taxonomy, to plant structure and plant physiology were all covered. There was no exam, but 3 term tests that were non-cumulative. The labs are relatively simple but can take time. Be prepared to draw quite a lot. If you are unsure of what a question is asking, don't be hesitant to ask a TA. They are all very helpful.
Sarah was an excellent instructor and always willing to set up office hours if you had any questions.
A wonderful course to learn more about plants and how they work.Apr 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
64 posts and comments in 52 threads mention BIOL 120, December 2012 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Winter 2024
Biol 120 textbook required? 1 point, 0 comments
u/Unfair-Progress-4497: “I don’t wanna pay $100 for a textbook.👺 can someone from like years ago lmk if I HAVE to buy it for the 10%. Is the $100 textbook really needed bc im a broke student”
Fall 2023
Comp Math 5 points, 6 comments
“I had a quick question about the comp math requirements. The website says this- Three (1.5 units) non-math courses, at least one of which must be at the 200-, 300-, or 400-level, from exactly one of …”
u/mmooner: “All 3 need to be from the same course code.”
u/mmooner: “You need to choose one subject code from the list and take 3 courses with that subject code, one of which needs to be 200 level or higher. so for example, you could take biol 120, 130, and 239. But you couldn't do phys 111, 112, and biol 239.”
Winter 2023
Is BIOl 120 hard 2 points, 3 comments
u/fruitypuch: “I kinda wanna take it just as a extra bio course as the only other actual bio course im taking is 241. For those of you that took it how’s the difficulty is it like 130 with englehardt cause if it is im staying away. …”
Winter 2022
Biol120 1 point, 0 comments
u/snxhj: “3rd year sci student, will be taking biol 120 how dense is this course and whats the lab like? Is it an actual lab with reports and pre lab or is it just a tutorial type thing?”
Fall 2021
BIO110, BIO120, BIO130, CHEM 120 2 points, 2 comments
u/ProfessionalDoubt238: “i took a gap year and i literally don't remember anything from highschool science classes. can i still do well in these courses? are they basically just repeats of highschool courses? will they prepare me for upper year science courses? …”
Spring 2021
biol 354 vs biol 462 0 points, 0 comments
“ive realized im insane to take more than 6 courses so im narrowing it down. biol 354 and biol 462 seem pretty similar so which one is really worth taking?”
u/mari0499: “I've taken both so if you prefer to focus on lecture content without writing lab reports, biol 462 is nice. …”
u/buttercupbeuaty: “… 3) So far my eco/env courses have been Biol 150, 120, 165, 433, 346 I’ll be taking biol 345, 443, 469 in the fall is this good for general biology careers? …”
first year electives psychology waterloo 0 points, 4 comments
“any first year electives you guys recommend I take for psychology?”
u/SmoothSayingSam: “… doing this: Semester 1 - BIOL 130 (with the lab) Semester 2 - CS 115 / (BIOL 165 or BIOL 120)”
Need to bump my science average. Any course recommendation? 2 points, 4 comments
“I need to bump up my science average. Does anyone know of any bird science courses (PHYS, BIO, CHEM, ERTH etc, but not SCI) that I can take over the summer while working?”
u/_Saraha_: “Biol 280 (not sure if this is offered spring), Biol 120, Earth 121, kin 204L (not sure if that still counts)”
Winter 2021
Anybody else having issues with the BIOL 120 online lab? 2 points, 3 comments
u/Salaenor: “Heyo, I'm a 4th year student taking biol 120 and I have found the online lab questions to be unclear and almost impossible to answer given the resources provided by the course, especially with lab 3. …”
Thoughts on BIOL 120? 1 point, 0 comments
BIOL 120 opinions 1 point, 0 comments
Biol 120 and biol 359 4 points, 1 comment
u/sj97635: “Anyone else taking biol 120 confused as I am? How much textbook content do we really need to know for the test because it is way more than the weekly content on learn? Anyways if anyone is looking for a study buddy for either bio 120 or 350 hmu!”
Check it elsewhere
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2022–23Its last calendar entry, on ucalendar
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them