BIOL-12000 FUNDAMENTALS OF BIOLOGY SPRING 2009

Textbook: Starr, C., Taggart, Evers, and Starr. 2009. BIOLOGY, The Unity and Diversity of Life, 12^th ed., Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. NOTE: This is the same book as was used Fall 2010 in Fundamentals of Biology I (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. Alternatively, you may purchase each chapter, as needed, online for $4.49 each (https://www.cengagebrain.com/tl1/en/US/storefront/ichapters?cmd=CLHeaderSearch&fieldValue=978-0-495-55792-0) – we will be covering 19 chapters during the semester ($85.31)..

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.

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.

There will be a mix of lectures, videos, and clicker questions on readings, class material, and case studies.

Before we start each chapter, I will post a study guide on your textbook reading (or articles posted on Blackboard). There will be a quiz on this material on Blackboard that you will be expected to take before we cover the material in class (it is open-book). I will not go over some of this material since it is explained in your textbook. Other parts I will reinforce and expand upon in lecture. Post-class questions will be added to the study guide as we finish that chapter in class. Please keep up with the material!

Case studies will allow you to use higher level thinking skills before getting such questions on the exam. We will use clickers during these case studies and you will receive points (via the clickers) on those days – so don’t forget your clickers and make sure they work! Three 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. We will also use clickers on other days, so even though you will not receive points for those days, bring them anyway!

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 be quiet – this is embarrassing, but I don’t do it to embarrass, only to help the people around those being disrespectful of their neighbors.

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 a 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. 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 already be done, one per lab room; 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; the death or sudden serious illness in the immediate family; if you will be out of town due to a college-sponsored event, a religious holiday; or you are required to appear in court. 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 they were all worth (this will be 472 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).

Student input is highly valued and is important to maintain high quality instruction. Course evaluations are mandatory. You may get an INCOMPLETE I THE COURSE if not completed by the due date of April 23rd. The evaluation will be submitted to the Biology Department Assistant. She will verify that you have submitted the form. Once that has been checked, your identification will be removed and will not be printed with the comments.

Fri. Jan. 28 Case Study: Mom Always Liked You Best Case study reading (one page on Bbd)

Fri. Apr. 1 NCUR (Do Case Study: Cryptosporidium and NYC online instead of class)

1:30-4pm (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:

Intro: Jan. 24-27

Introduction

Purchase Lab manual for $5.00

Lab 1: Jan. 30 - Feb. 3

Science, Models, and Systems

Lab manual

Lab 2: Feb. 7-10

Population Ecology

Lab manual, calculator

Lab 3: Feb. 14-17

Humans as Predators

Lab manual, calculator

Lab 4: Feb. 21-24

Ecosystem Ecology

Lab manual, calculator

Lab 5: Feb. 28 - Mar. 3

Microevolution

Lab manual, calculator

Lab 6: Mar. 7-10

Microevolution, Speciation, and Evolutionary Relationships

Lab manual, calculator

Mar. 14-18

SPRING BREAK - no labs

Lab 7: Mar. 21-24

Viruses and Bacteria

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

Lab 8: Mar. 28-31

Bacteria and the Three Domains

Lab manual, Rust

Lab 9: Apr. 4-7

Plant Anatomy & Evolution

Lab manual, Rust

Lab 10: Apr. 11-14

Animal Diversity I

Lab manual, Rust

Lab 11: Apr. 18-21

Animal Diversity II

Lab manual, Rust

Lab 12: Apr. 25-28

Vertebrate Anatomy, Diversity & Evolution

Lab manual, Rust

Lab 13: May 2-5

Vertebrate Respiration and Circulation

Lab manual, Rust

Lab Instructors:
Dr. Rene Borgella	Office: CNS 213A	E-mail: rborgella@ithaca.edu
Labs:	Thurs 9:25am-12:05pm	CNS 105
	Thurs 1:00-3:50pm	CNS 105
Dr. Marta del Campo	Office: CNS 213A	E-mail: mdelcampo@ithaca.edu
Labs:	Tues 1:00-3:50 pm	CNS 102
	Wed 1:00-3:50 pm	CNS 102
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
Dr. Betsy Romero	Office: CNS 213A	E-mail: bromero@ithaca.edu
Labs:	Tues 9:25am-12:05 pm	CNS 105
	Wed 1:00-3:5 0pm	CNS 105
Dr. Mark Sarvary	Office: CNS 203	E-mail: msarvary@ithaca.edu
Labs:	Thurs 9:25am-12:05pm	CNS 105
	Thurs 1:00-3:50pm	CNS 105

Lecture Exams (3 x 50)	150
Blackboard quizzes (syllabus +15 but drop 3 quizzes	60
Clicker questions or hand-ins (36 days x 1 pt/day but drop 4 days)	32
Laboratory Quizzes (2pts quiz 1 + (12 x 10pts)) + 8pts for last lab)	130
Final lecture exam (50 pts for Exam 4 and 50 pts cumulative)	100
Total Possible Points	472

	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

Instructor: Dr. Nancy Jacobson Office: CNS 256 E-mail: jacobson@ithaca.edu Phone: 607-274-1837	Lecture Schedule
	Laboratory Schedule