FALL SEMESTER 2008
Syllabus subject to change during semester.
Changes will be posted posted on this webpage,
announced in class, or both.
Most recent update for syllabus:
10 August 2008
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Justin Hamilton |
Justin Hamilton |
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Kristen Polacik |
Elita Baldridge |
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Kristen Polacik |
Trey Towers |
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Ryan Schmitz |
Ryan Schmitz |
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meberle@fhsu.edu |
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COURSE DESCRIPTION: A laboratory and field course centered on fundamental experiences in the biological sciences.REQUISITES: pre-requisite or co-requisite: BIOL 100, BIOL 200, or BIOL 300.
OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE: This course will equip students to 1) think analytically and synthetically about biology; 2) understand the nature of investigatory biology; 3) relate to the diversity of life on this planet; and 4) understand the organization of living organisms and systems.
COURSE CONTENT: Subjects discussed in Laboratory Experiences in Biology include the scientific method, use of microscope, basic botany, human anatomy and physiology, cellular transport systems, enzyme function, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, mitosis and meiosis, heredity, gene expression, evolution, classification and identification, the diversity of life, and ecology.
FORMAT: Student participation in lab activities.
GENERAL ACADEMIC POLICIES: This course will comply with general academic policies regarding adding or dropping courses, grade appeals, academic honesty, class attendance, and intellectual property rights as outlined in the University Catalog.
Graduate teaching assistants are responsible for keeping records of grades and attendance. If you have a GTA, you must contact them, NOT the Lab Coordinator, about class. To contact the graduate assistant for your lab section, you may either send an e-mail or call 628-5887. Your call either will be answered by someone in the graduate student office or transferred to voicemail. When leaving a message, first state the name of the lab instructor you are calling, then identify yourself, identify your lab section, and leave your message. The voicemail system will automatically record the time and date of the call.
This course is a general education elective that fulfills the natural science lab requirement. You must be enrolled in Human Biology (BIOL 100), Humans & the Environment (BIOL 200), or Human Heredity (BIOL 300), or you must have taken one of these courses during an earlier semester. Because students in each lab section have different circumstances in their lecture course, the sequence of laboratory topics is independent of any lecture course; however, there will be some overlap of general topics covered in the lectures and the lab. Grades for the lab and any biology lecture course you are enrolled in will be assigned separately.
LABORATORY MANUAL: To help reduce the impact of rising textbook costs, the laboratory manual is produced by the Department of Biological Sciences and University Printing Services. It is periodically modified and updated, so only new copies are available each semester. All other lab materials are provided.
EXAMINATIONS: Quizzes will be given at the beginning of the first lab period following completion of the lab exercise. They will include definitions, questions that require brief elaboration about a given concept, and identification of materials observed during the lab exercises. Quizzes will be worth 10 points each. If you miss a quiz due to an excused absence, you have one week from the date missed to contact your instructor and arrange a make-up quiz. After that, a grade of "0" is entered for the quiz (unless you can provide a legitimate excuse for your extended absence). It is your responsibility to contact your instructor about any missed work; it is not your instructor's responsibility to contact you. A written report about ecology near the end of the semester will be worth 20 points. Reports that are turned in late may have 5 points deducted.
ATTENDANCE: Mandatory. Our labs are a "participation course", sometimes involving group activities; thus, some of these lab activities cannot be made-up. If you cannot avoid missing a lab (e.g., school fieldtrip or athletic event), you must contact your lab instructor, preferably in advance, to make arrangements to attend another lab section (listed in the table above). Leave messages for your graduate assistant at 628-5887, e-mail them, visit their office during their office hours, or talk with them in class the week before the lab you will miss. You do not receive points for attending class (but see the note under Grading Scale below).
GRADING SCALE: 90-100% = A; 80-89% = B; 70-79% = C; 60-69% = D; <60% = U. A total of 180 points is possible. Attendance and participation will be considered when assigning borderline grades (up to 2% may be added to your grade for good attendance AND active participation in lab activities).
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| August 26-28 | Scientific Method, Microscopes, and Cellular Structures (1) |
| September 2-4 | Quiz 1 (10 pts) + Diffusion, Osmosis, and Enzyme Activity (2) |
| September 9-11 | Quiz 2 (10 pts) + Division of the Cell Nucleus and Heredity (3) |
| September 16-18 | Quiz 3 (10 pts) + Gene Expression: Transcription and Translation (4) |
| September 23-25 | Quiz 4 (10 pts) + Evolution and Population Genetics (5) |
| Sept 30 - Oct 2 | Quiz 5 (10 pts) + Photosynthesis and Respiration (6) |
| October 7-9 | Quiz 6 (10 pts) + Classification and Identification of Organisms (7) |
| October 14-16 | Quiz 7 (10 pts) + Diversity of Life (8) |
| October 21-23 | Quiz 8 (10 pts) + Plant Anatomy (9) |
| October 28-30 | Quiz 9 (10 pts) + Human Anatomy and Physiology (10) |
| November 4-6 | Quiz 10 (10 pts) + Ecology Introduction (11) |
| November 11-13 | Quiz 11 (10 pts) + Ecology Paper (11 continued) |
| November 18-20 | Ecology Paper Due (20 pts) + Review for Final + TEVALs |
| November 25-27 | NO LAB - Thanksgiving Break |
| December 2-4 | Comprehensive Semester Exam (50 pts) |
| December 9-11 | NO LAB |
| December 16-18 | Finals Week - NO LAB |