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Very knowledgeable guy. Intersting to listen too. Really cares about students

He was a good professor. I enjoyed his lectures. He explained things well and took time to work with students. There were a few off the wall questions on his tests. But overall it was a good class. I enjoyed having him as a teacher. Don't be swayed by the previous comments. HE was not that bad!

Class isn't very fun but he is a way nice guy. He helps students and really wants them to excell.

Cates is pretty funny- yah the lectures are boring, but you have to admit hes way better than St. Clair Just do well on essays and go to reviews and you should be fine. I only studied a few hours for each test and with the essay and few extra points given, I got B's on them- it's really not that bad

Not a particularly difficult class; nice teachers but boring lectures. The poster assignment is painful and unconnected to the rest of the class.

it wasn't that bad. just study the packet the lectures are taught out of and you'll do fine. sheesh! just do the assignments for lab and you'll be fine. easy A.

Dr. Cates is the best teacher ever!!! I loved his stupid jokes and he was always willing to help the students. I went to his office every week with 3 other people and he was always happy to help. He is a great teacher and I wish more of my teachers were like him!

Dr. Cates is a good teacher. Go into this office if you need help and he is always willing to meet with you. I was always gone because I am involved in sports at BYU and Dr. Cates always helped me. He is a good guy.

Prof. Cates is a good teacher, but the class sucks. Bio 100 is riduculusly hard. They expect you to know way more than you should have to know from a 100-level class. I never met one-on-one with Prof. Cates, but I'm sure it would help.

I thought Cates was a lot more interesting to listen to in lecture than St. Clair ever was. The class wasn't too bad...just lots of work. The tests are fair, I usually got in the 80-85 range. No curve, but the lab grade will bump it up some. This is one class I'm glad to have behind me.

The class takes some work. You have to actually apply the material to questions and learn how to think instead of memorizing everything. It ain't high school. When I needed help I would talk to Dr. Cates. Email him he is great with doing reviews and helping students out.

Funny & nice, but not hands-on professor at all. Busy work in labs.

I don't know what these people are talking about. Dr. Cates is very clear. He covers material on the tests to a T. His syllibus is straight forward. He is funny. He is willing to do whatever to help. Take Him!!

If you're thinking about taking this class and reading what everyone's written, don't have second thoughts. They all have no idea what they're talking about. If you study a tiny bit, you can get B's or A's on the tests, and the lab work is all an easy A. I'm an English major who hates science and I easily got an A in this class. It's not that bad.

I took a team-taught section from Cates and St. Clair. Cates only taught one or two lectures. From those times, I think he's an okay lecturer and very good at answering questions, but I would take from a different professor if possible.

Easy class. Cates was the only lecturer in my class, and he was obviously passionate about the subject. He tries to make things relate to life and make sense. He seems scatterbrained sometimes, but he tries hard and will go over things if you need help. My TA was horrible, but I still aced all the tests. The syllabus is detailed and so are lectures

Get help from the T.A.s if you don't understand anything and it will be the easiest A ever.

Dr. Cate is an awesome teacher! I went into his office all of the time to get help. He is so nice and willing to help you understand. There were probably 8 of us in there once or twice a week and he spent an hour or so helping us. If you don't get a good grade it is because you are lazy and don't listen. They tell you everything you need to know.

Some students would say that he goes off on tangents, but it's because he's trying to apply biology to our every day lives. (Sometimes what he said went over my head.) Class discussions really are more like discussions, allows for a lot of participation even in a large lecture class. Treats class as if everybody loves biology as much as he does.

Although you usually don't learn that much, it's an easy class, which is nice if you're only taking it for a GE credit. The final is a paper, and after each quiz you can basically forget everything you just learned. the quizzes are only worth around 30 points too, and they're super easy. if you're looking for an easy class, here it is.

Great teacher. Extremely helpful. I went to his office with a bunch of students for more help and he was always super helpful. Took extra time to explain things. Great guy!

Dr. Cates is a really great professor. He cares for his students and wants everyone to learn. If you ever need help just talk with the TA's or him personally and they will really help you out!

Nice and easy class for a GE. Dr. Cates outlines everything in class so it's not hard to understand. The tests are pretty easy, but you HAVE to go to the Friday labs to do well. The only annoying thing was postings on Blackboard like announcements or reviews. They did things last minute sometimes. Not a bad class though.

Easiest class ever. He makes the topic interesting for those who aren't planning on majoring in bio. The iClicker quizzes are a joke and very easy. Great class to fulfill GE--take it!

This class is awesome, they have completely redone how they teach bio 100 and i loved it. Take it for sure, it is a pretty easy class but it is really interesting and actually applies biology instead of just memorizing stuff. there is no textbook, but attendance is mandatory.

This class is pretty easy, but I also learned a lot. Professor Cates is enthusiastic about his subject and tries to get the students involved in their learning. Two lectures are with him, then you have a Friday discussion lab with a TA.

Dr. Cates is an excellent professor! He and his TA's changed this class around to make it more interesting to the students. Everything actually teaches you how biology works. Best GE class I've taken at BYU.

great class! You have iclicker quizes every lecture, so go to get points. Lectures are usually interesting. Tests are easy because you know exactly what is on it. Every week, a paper is due, its not hard though :) 3 tests total, no final. easy class. take it from cates!

The TA's really revamped the class. They made it so biology is applicable to everyday things so you actually LEARN. Dr. Cates himself, is pretty entertaining too (he really likes plants, so don't diss them). Have your IClicker ready for attendance points and go to your labs. Tests aren't too bad, you know what's on them. Take this class!!

Dr. Cates teaches a great class! It was really a great experience learning biology from him. He is such a personable professor and his TAs are so nice and helpful. The course material was easy to learn and very comprehensive. Not having a textbook and just studying from powerpoints was amazing!

The class is one of the best I have taken at BYU

If you have very little interest in biology, this class is for you. I hate sciences, but somehow the TAs and Cates made everything seem so straight forward. In fact, during the semester I enjoyed this class more than the classes I was taking for my major. ha!

He gets a bit rambly and is hard to follow sometimes. But the set up of the class was interesting and he tried to make the principles applicable to our daily lives. I liked this class a lot and I hate science classes.

Dr. Cates was one of the most amazing professor I could have asked for! He trys to make class interesting and makes it apply to everyday life TAKE HIM!!!

Don't really know what the last few were talking about. Cates has taught biology at BYU for a long time I think so he obviously knows it lol! TA reviews were way helpful. I talked to Dr. Cates once about a personal thing and he was way more understanding than any of my other professors (english major). Take Cates!

Best Professor ever...this dude knows his stuff and trys to make it interesting! Take it from Cates!! Anyone who hates him obviously didn't try even a little

Study and you will do well.

Good teacher. He cares about his students and is willing to work with you outside of class if you are having problems.

Great class. If you put in the time it will show on your tests. The TA reviews are very helpful and Dr. Cates is willing to work with you if you are having troubles.

Dr. Cates is interesting. He refers to the TAs a lot, so he might not actually know what he is talking about. Class attendance is mandatory because of the iclicker questions that count as participation points. Dr. Cates is really helpful and provides help for struggling students. The tests are all about application. No text book!!

This class wasn't that bad. There is a weekly assignment and iclicker quizzes every class day. No txtbook. The tests weren't too difficult if you put the time into studying for them. Your TA grades everything and so if you get a good TA then you will be able to get an A.

BIO100 is a pretty easy class. There's no textbook, so that's saying something. Just go over the powerpoint slides and know the keywords for the tests and you'll do just fine. His lectures are pretty scatterbrained sometimes and he'll refer to the TA's a lot to confirm something that he probably doesn't know... but overall he's not bad.

Tests are all off of powerpoint slides, which are somewhat unclear at times. Each test is has 25 multiple choice questions and two short essay questions. Your grade on the essay questions will really depend on your TA. Some are way easier graders than others. My best advice is to go to the TA review sessions. Overall, not too hard.

Cates isn't hard. Just attend class and study the slides/voc words for the test and you'll do fine. I would recommend visiting your TA, since they grade written part of the test. There are weekly assignments too but they don't take long and if you do them, they'll boost your grade. Easy IClickers for class participation as well.

He's not as easy as people think but he's also not like super hard. Everything from the tests comes from the powerpoints. Just memorize the powerpoints then you will do good. He's retired after this semester btw.

I absolutely LOVED his class. He teaches his class so it is more applicable to real life. His lecture questions basically provided a study guide for the test. As long as you go to class and lab, do the assignments, and study his lectures before the test, you will do fine! I learned so much and even considered a biology minor after taking it!

Prof Cates was pretty good. He was a little confusing when he was trying to explain certain topics. But it was cool how he applied everything to real world situations. Lots of TA reviews, and he tells you what essay questions are going to be on the tests. i'd recommend him.