CRIMSON CONFIDENTIAL GUIDE

The eleventh annual Crimson Confidential Guide to Courses is concluded with today's issue. Upperclassmen must file study cards before 5 o'clock today in University C.

Physics B

All men who intend to concentrate in any of the sciences and have not had any courses in physics, as well as men who wish to pass their science requirement with any benefit, will find Physics D an excellent course.

Physics B is an introductory course for beginners. Since those who pass the course with honor grades may go on to the more advanced courses without taking Physics C, considerably more ground is covered than in the usual preparatory physics course. In addition to the regular lectures three days a week, a two hour laboratory period is held weekly. Last year both the lecture-room and the elementary laboratories were rebuilt and largely re-equipped so that now both the lecture and the laboratory experiments are done more effectively.

The nature of the work in this course is both theoretical and practical. The theoretical end will undoubtedly prove more interesting than the problem work, although students with mathematical inclinations will find the latter well worth while. Although neither deep nor intensive, Physics B is an excellent stepping stone to further studies in the physical sciences.

Physics C

Physics C is intended primarily for those students who have had a high school course in Physics and intend to go on in the subject or who are concentrating in one of the related sciences such as Chemistry or Astronomy. It cannot be taken without a previous knowledge of the subject. It is practically necessary for those going on in the subject, the only alternative being Physics D, in which an A or a B is required for concentration in Physics. Physics D gives a more comprehensive and general view of the subject, and is intended for those who do not expect to take further courses in the subject. Those who are taking Physics as a pre-Medical School requirement or for any similar reason should by all means choose the latter rather than the former course because it covers practically the same ground, but omits much of the dull detail, and is therefore considerably easier.

Physics D

This course, though listed as open to Freshmen, is really well worth the study of men in the two higher courses who realize the importance of a slight touch of the scientific knowledge, where time does not permit concentration in some science. In Physics D the lectures and demonstrations are of a high order, and while the underlying thought of the course is that men taking it are not primarily going on to advanced scientific work, the course is an entirely satisfying course, with Professor Crawford's stimulating lectures a pleasant guide to the sometimes involved paths of the subject. Laboratory work has been revised, with comprehensive and improved apparatus available to the men in the course.

Physics 1

This course is highly recommended not only to the concentrator in physics, but to anyone who can meet its modest requirements. It provides a satisfying half year in which the student can cash in on his hard-earned elementary knowledge, and receive a vivid though simplified impression of the most interesting "Modern Developments in Physics."

The material is neatly organized and consists of a logical, though not chronological, account of physics, beginning with the kinetic theory of gases and ending with spectroscopy and a discussion of the periodic table of the elements. Three weeks are spent in introducing the basic idea of the quantum theory, as it is evidenced in the photo-electric effect and the spectrum of hydrogen. Each experiment is described and demonstrated prior to the discussion of the theory which explains it. Agreement between theoretical and experimental results is carefully tabulated throughout. The mathematics is limited to algebra; integral signs are banned in order that the nonmathematical student may feel at home. There is a reading period.

Physics 2a

He who is not discouraged by the somewhat dull study of lenses, undertaken in the first three weeks of Physics 2a, will find the rest of the course instructive. Some time is spent in a practical discussion of color effects and photography before more theoretical though elementary considerations of the phenomena of physical optics are taken up. There are five three hour laboratory periods. The scientific student will continue with 2b, and remember 2a as a pleasant introduction to the study of light. The student whose interests are not primarily scientific will do better to take Physics 1.

Zoology 1

Zoology 1 is a course which is all too often passed up in favor of Biology A because of an impression that Biology A is a snap course and that there is a great deal of time-consuming laboratory work in Zoology 1 which can be avoided. This is an impression which has, perhaps, survived from the last generation, for Biology A is no longer the comparative snap that it is reputed to have been in other times, and the laboratory work in Zoology 1 is not really so staggering as is generally thought by the uninformed. The laboratory work rarely takes more than the four hours a week prescribed in the catalogue, and this can usually be worked in the morning.

The most potent reason for taking the course however, is the brilliant lecturing of Professor Parker. The lectures are interesting from seven minutes after nine until ten; at no time does one wish he were still slumbering peacefully in his bed, nor is he tempted to slumber in his seat. Many non-concentrators have called him the best lecturer in College; certainly one must go far to find anyone so genuinely amusing and at the same time informative.

The course as a whole is welf worth while taking. It must be included in the program of concentrators in Biology, and others will do well to swell its already large enrolment, for the subject is one which should form a part of any liberal education and Zoology 1 is an excellent introduction to the subject, from any point of view.

Zoology 3

Zoology 3 has, unquestionably, the worst reputation among the courses in the field of Biology; in general, this reputation is deserved. The lectures are the best point of the course, and they are by no means as good as might be expected. They are, however, moderately interesting to one who likes the subject, their worst fault being the disproportionately large amount of time spent on classification of animals.

The laboratory work, unlike the lectures, has no good features to recommend it. It is announced as requiring at least six hours per week. Actually, it consumes anywhere from eight to twelve, depending on the student and the particular assignment; the yellow oilcloth frequently seen hanging from the windows in the Houses contains, not bottles, but a defunct dogfish belonging to some individual who is studying Comparative Anatomy. The laboratory facilities are insufficient to handle the number taking the course, and the room is always crowded. Also, because of the numbers in the course, dissections and drawings must be completed at a regular time every week and presented at a stated twenty-minute interval, a system which has its disadvantages. Finally, Zoology 3 is literally the only course in the entire field in which the laboratory instructors are of very little assistance. They are, apparently, too anxious to return to their research to waste much time with students; some of them have an attitude which causes the demonstrations to resemble a grammar school quiz, and which occasionally bids fair to turn the laboratory into a battle field.

The course is badly in need of a general reorganization. If it were made a year course, as it is in most other colleges, it could cover the work far more adequately.

The following statement was made last night in connection with Zoology 3 by H. W. Rand '00 associate professor of Zoology, to clarify any misunderstanding which may have arisen from an article printed in the CRIMSON on March 29:

"In my opinion Zoology 3 is taken to best advantage if preceded by at least an entire year (two half courses) of biology. It is not advisable that Freshmen should take Zoology 3 in their second half-year, following Zoology 1. The courses Zoology 3, 4, and 5, must be taken in their numerical sequence. Therefore to change Zoology 3 from the first to the second half-year would make it necessary, or at least desirable, to make related changes in the other courses."