Rose
Scavotto, a Biology major, will be the teaching assistant
for this semester.
Weekly review sessions will be held
to go over any material covered in lecture.
Review session times and locations
TBA in lecture
Texts:
Biology
(9th Ed), Campbell and Reece (Any
recent edition is fine, but
check with us for relevant page numbers)
A Biology
Laboratory
Manual, purchased in lab during the first week (approximately $5)
Clicker:
Personal Response System (PRS),
purchase at bookstore (approx $50). Buyback
available.
Course
Description:
This course is designed to
provide a
basic understanding of the fundamental principles of biology and to
develop
your analytical, critical and integrative thinking skills. During
lecture, we
will present background information for each topic, then introduce
examples,
demonstrations, or key experiments and ask you to predict what would
happen or
to interpret the results. During lecture time, you should be actively
thinking
and questioning in addition to taking notes. Correspondingly, the exams
will
test your understanding of the fundamental principles and your
ability
to apply that understanding analytically.
At
the
conclusion of the course, you should be able to demonstrate an
understanding of the following fundamental concepts and principles:
1) The molecular and
cellular makeup of
living things (organisms)
2) How cells harness and
utilize energy
3) Cell division and the
related
transmission of hereditary (genetic) information from one generation to
the next
4) How hereditary
information is used to
build cellular and organismal structure
5) A basic understanding of
structure and
function at the organismal level, using vertebrates as a
primary
example
Performance Evaluation:
Grade
scale %
Lecture
Points
A
93-100
3 lecture exams (100 points each)
300
A-
90-92
Final Exam (covering entire semester)
150
B+
87-89
Problem Sets (25 pts each, 4 total)
100
B
83-86
B-
80-82
Lab
C+
77-79
Lab Assignments (20 pts each, 5 total)
100
C
73-76
Lab Notebooks
25
C-
70-72
Lab
Practical (at the
end of the semester)
25
D+
67-69
D
63-66
Total Points Available
700
D-
60-62
F>
< 60
There is no extra credit.
Attendance:
Lectures:Attendance
is
expected. There is no automatic point deduction for missing occasional
classes, but it is very difficult to keep up with the material if you
miss a
class. You are expected to makeup missed material on your own. In cases
where a
student is repeatedly absent without excuse, there may be a penalty for
the
final grade.
Exams:Exams
must
be taken on scheduled exam dates. If you have a substantial time
conflict
with an exam, you must contact us at least a week before the
exam is
scheduled. If you are sick on the day of the exam, you or a friend must
contact
us before the start of the exam. If you are too ill to do this, then
contact us
as soon as possible afterwards. In either case, leaving a voice mail or
e-mail
message is sufficient. Afterwards, you will have to provide written
documentation with your excuse. There will be no penalty assessed for
excused
absences. If you fail to notify us adequately, however, you will have
to apply
in writing for a make-up exam. In addition, we will assess a penalty of
up to a
full letter grade for the failure to notify.
Laboratory:Laboratory
attendance is mandatory. If you miss your lab, you should
arrange to attend
another lab section during the week. You must notify both your regular
lab
instructor and the instructor of the make-up lab section. For each
missed lab,
you will get a zero for any of the associated lab assignments.
Lab
Notebook:
You
will maintain a
lab notebook. You will need a notebook and/or 3-ring binder plus
additional
paper, to take notes and record your results. Notebooks will be
periodically
evaluated by the instructor. These evaluations will not be announced in
advance.
Assignments
You
are encouraged
to work on problem sets in groups to learn from and teach each other.
But it is
essential that you hand in your own work. All assignments are due on
the date
indicated in the syllabus to your lab instructor. Points will be
deducted for
late assignments, unless prior arrangements with the instructor are
made. All
problem sets must be typed unless your lab instructor states otherwise.
Online Course Evaluation
Student
input is highly valued and is
important to maintain high quality instruction. Course evaluations are mandatory
and must be completed online the last week of classes.
Academic Honesty:
All the work in this class must be your
own, unless
stated otherwise. Confirmed instances of academic misconduct will
result in a
zero for that test and referral to the school judiciary system. Please
refer to
the Student Handbook for a detailed description of the policies
regarding
student academic conduct.
Counseling
Ithaca
College provides a Counseling
Center to support the academic success of students. The Counseling
Center
provides cost-free services to help you manage, if you suffer from
significant
stress, mood changes, excessive worry, or problems with eating and/or
sleeping.
These types of problems can interfere with your academic performance.
If you or
one of your friends needs additional support, do not hesitate to get
help.
Accommodation:
In compliance
with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans
with
Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodation will be provided to students
with
documented disabilities on a case by case basis. Students must register
with
the Office of Academic Support Services (607-274-1005, TDD 607274-7319,
acssd@ithaca.edu) and
schedule an appointment with their instructors as soon as possible to
discuss
their needs.
Schedule of Lectures and Laboratories
Week of
Lecture
Topic
Readings in
text
Lab Topic
8/29
Introduction
-Syllabus, Cancer Intro What is Biology? Why study Biology
Graphing data –
Monday lab (meet on Wednesday)
9/5
Small Biology
(Chemistry) Basic Bio-Chemistry
Ch. 1, 2 Ch.
3,4
T-F labs
--Graphing data M -Labor day
9/12
Macromolecules
-The Players Energy – The Currency
Ch. 5 Ch. 8 PS#1
(due Th)
Enzymes I
-assays
9/19
Enzymes – The
Workers Exam #1 Thursday Sept. 22
Ch. 8 Ch. 6
Enzymes II –
experimental design
9/26
Cells Membranes
– The gateway to the cell
Ch. 6 Ch. 7
Enymes III
-reproducibility
10/3
Osmosis/diffusion
– How molecules move Photosynthesis – Harvesting energy