BIOL-12000 FUNDAMENTALS OF BIOLOGY SPRING 2009

Lab Instructors:
Dr. René Borgella	Office: CNS 213A	E-mail: rborgella@ithaca.edu
Labs:	Tues 9:25am-12:05 pm	CNS 105
	Tues 1:00-3:50 pm	CNS 105
Dr. Asma Hatoum	Office: CNS 167	E-mail: ahatoum@ithaca.edu
Labs:	Mon 1:00-3:50 pm	CNS 105
	Wed 1:00-3:50 pm	CNS 105
Dr. John Hopple	Office: CNS 158	E-mail: jhopple@ithaca.edu
Labs:	Tues 9:25am-12:05 pm	CNS 102
	Thurs 9:25am-12:05 pm	CNS 102
	Thurs 1:00-3:5 0pm	CNS 106
Dr. Nancy Jacobson	Office: CNS 256	E-mail: jacobson@ithaca.edu
Labs:	Mon 1:00-3:50 pm	CNS 102
	Wed 1:00-3:50 pm	CNS 102
	Thurs 1:00-3:50 pm	CNS 102

Textbook: Starr, C., and R. Taggart. 2006. BIOLOGY, The Unity and Diversity of Life, 11^th ed., Wadsworth Publ. Co. NOTE: This is the same book as was used Fall 2008 in Fundamentals of Biology (BIOL 11900). If you were not in that class and do not already own the book, there will be several copies on reserve at the library that you may use instead.

GTCO CalComp (InterWrite PRS) RF Clicker (sold in Campus Bookstore only – it can be sold back at the end of the semester, but if you are a PT major, you will want to keep it for Physics next year : )

The Fundamentals of Biology Laboratory Manual will be available for purchase at-cost for $5.00 in lab the first week of labs (the second week of classes).

Rust, Thomas G. 1983. A Guide to Biology Lab, 3^rd ed. Southwest Educational Enterprises.

We share this planet with well over a million other species. How has all of this diversity come about? How is it interconnected into a functioning whole? Where do we humans fit in? And what are the consequences of our impact on the rest of biological diversity? We will explore these questions during the course of this semester.

Lectures. You will be expected to know and understand material covered in the lectures, targeted material from the textbook, thought questions that are not covered in the powerpoint directly, and big picture questions that require you to synthesize what you have learned. Questions on all of the material you are expected to know will be found in each week’s study guide which will be posted each Saturday. Please keep up with the material! Additionally, on each exam there may be a question that is not found in the study guides, but uses the same reasoning as questions found there.

I will be using “clickers” to help me assess your learning – these will count towards your grade (you will receive two points per day if you answer all of the questions for that day; five days worth during the semester will be dropped – this includes absences even due to sports competitions, malfunctioning clickers, etc.). If I see that you have someone else’s clicker as well as your own, I will confiscate both of them and return them to you at the end of the semester (i.e., you will be unable to earn clicker-question points after that time). If someone has forgotten their clicker, please do not help them out by putting their ID number into your clicker; experience has shown that even though you put your ID number back in, you will not be credited with points for the rest of the semester!

At times, you will be expected to discuss questions with each other in the class, but please do not talk socially during lectures. It prevents other students around you from hearing lectures and class discussions. If talking becomes a problem, I will ask those participating to leave the classroom.

Laboratory attendance is mandatory. If you cannot attend your lab section for a valid reason then you must make it up in some other section during that same week. You must arrange your attendance in an alternative lab with both your lab instructor and the lab instructor of the lab you wish to attend. Valid reasons for attending an alternative lab are: your own illness; death or serious illness in immediate family; you are participating in an athletic, musical, or other college-sponsored event; a religious holiday; or you are required to appear in court. Studying for tests in other courses does not constitute a valid reason for attending an alternate lab section. If you must miss the entire week, you must have documentation of your reason for absence (note from doctor or name and telephone number of doctor at health center if you are ill; note from dean's office if you are absent due to death or serious illness in immediate family). Since the laboratory is an integral part of the course, and simply getting the notes from another student does not substitute for participation, three unexcused absences from the laboratory are grounds for dropping a student from the course.

Laboratory Dissections. There will be dissections of an earthworm, clam, crayfish, starfish, fish, frog, pigeon, and fetal pig (some will be already be done, one per lab; while others you will do yourself). If you have ethical objections to doing dissections, you must come to see me at the beginning of the semester so we can discuss alternatives.

Make-up exams will only be given when the student missed the exam because of illness (need note from doctor), due to death or sudden serious illness in the immediate family (need note from the dean's office), or if you will be out of town due to a college-sponsored event. If at all possible, inform me that you intend to miss the exam before or immediately after the exam. If you cannot reach me by phone or e-mail, leave a message with the departmental secretary (607-274-3161). Make-up exams are not multiple choice, they are short-answer, short-essay exams. Missed exams without a valid excuse will receive a score of zero.

Final grades will be determined accordingly (then number of points for clicker questions is an estimate):

To determine your letter grade at any time of the course, add up the number of points you have received on each exam, quiz, etc. Divide this number by the total number of points possible (this will be 455 at the end of the course) and multiply the result by 100 to arrive at a percentage. Grades are usually assigned according to the following percentages:

If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and the Office of Academic Support Services for Students with Disabilities, 607-274-1005/607-274-7319(TDD).

Mon. Jan. 19 Martin Luther King Day – Please participate in campus activities!

Fri. Mar. 20 Animal diversity, Animal musculoskeletal systems Chapter 25, Chapter 37.1-37.3

1:30 pm - 4 pm (50 pts Exam 4 + 50 pts Comprehensive) Exam 4: Study Guides 11-14

Note: There will be a quiz every week, both on the current lab and on the previous week’s lab!

Lab: Dates

Topic

Bring to lab:

Introduction: Jan. 20-22

Purchase Lab manual for $5.00; Note: Monday’s labs purchase Fundamental’s lab manual from Nancy Pierce (CNS 261)

Lab 1: Jan. 26-29

Scientific Method, Hardy-Weinberg, Genetic Drift

Lab manual, calculator

Lab 2: Feb. 2-5

Natural Selection

Lab manual, calculator

Lab 3: Feb. 9-12

Species (Gene flow), Speciation, Evolutionary Relationships

Lab manual, calculator

Lab 4: Feb. 16-19

Viruses, Eubacteria

Lab manual, Rust (=A Guide to Biology Lab)

Lab 5: Feb. 23-26

Plant Evolution

Lab manual, Rust

Lab 6: Mar. 2-5

Fungi, Animal Development & Evolution

Lab manual, Rust

Mar. 9-12

SPRING BREAK - no labs

Lab 7: Mar. 16-19

Animal Diversity

Lab manual, Rust

Lab 8: Mar. 23-26

Animal Digestion & Musculoskeletal Systems

Lab manual, Rust

Lab 9: Mar. 30-Apr. 2

Vertebrate Diversity & Evolution

Lab manual, Rust

Lab 10: Apr. 6-9

Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy

Lab manual, Rust

Lab 11: Apr. 13-16

Population Ecology

Lab manual, calculator

Lab 12: Apr. 20-23

Human Behavioral Ecology

Lab manual

Lab 13: Apr. 27-30

Diversity in a Forest Ecosystem

Lab manual

Instructor: Dr. Nancy Jacobson Office: CNS 256 E-mail: jacobson@ithaca.edu Phone: 607-274-1837	Lecture Schedule	Course Materials	Learning Objectives	Grading
	Laboratory Schedule	Course Description	Policies	Students with Disabilities

Lecture Exams (3 x 50)	150
Blackboard quiz on syllabus	5
Clicker questions in class	60
Laboratory Quizzes [3 + (12 x 10) +7]& 2-pt assign (5x2)	140
Final lecture exam	100
Total Possible Points	455

	B+ 87-89	C+ 77-79	D+ 67-69	F below 60
A 94-100	B 84-86	C 74-76	D 64-66
A- 90-93	B- 80-83	C- 70-73	D- 60-63