Advice on solving exercises in KB207 - Anvendt Bioinformatikk

Introduction

KB207 is a course where the exercises count for more than half of the course. There are 7 exercises that should be solved and handed in, and you need to have completed the exercises to be allowed to attend the exam.

In this course the exercises play a different role from other courses. Most of what we want you to learn from the course will be in the exercises. They are meant to make you think, and to help you work out strategies on how you can obtain information that will be useful in your own work. Bioinformatics is a tool that can help you a lot, but only if you know how to use it. Remember, the computer is stupid and it doesn't understand biology, although it might seem so. You have to always evaluate the answers that the computer gives you. The computer just gives you the correct answer based on how it has been programmed, not the right answer .

Things to remember

Answer all the questions in the exercise. If you do not, please say that you have not answered it, so that we don't have to chase it down. Also try to answer them in the correct order.
Hand your answer in in time. If you cannot, contact the one who will be correcting the exercise. Otherwise you will be written down as having dropped out of the course. Also hand the exercise in at the correct place, that is the 1^st floor teaching lab in the bio building. If you hand it in anywhere else it might get misplaced. Also remember to write on the exercise all the names of those who have solved it.
When you answer a question, ask yourself why we are asking it. This should give you a clue of whether you are answering the question correctly. The questions are there to show you important things in the exercises and to make you think.
Show why you think your answer is correct. This will help us to see the difference between a wrong answer and an answer which would have been correct if you only had had your calculator with you.
If necessary, add printouts from the screen where you have highlighted and explained the sections that have bearing on your answer. This will help us see whether you have solved the exercise correctly. Just remember that there is such a thing as too much paper too.

Good luck!