Lecture exam I

Biology 165: The Diversity of Life

University of Indianapolis Spring 2004

Instructor: Dr. Sandra Davis Phone: 788-3289

Office Hrs: MW 10:00-11:00am, TR 2:00-3:00pm or by appt.; Feel free to drop by my office, if the door is open, I will be most likely willing to talk to you

Textbook: Biology, 6^th Edition, by Neil Campbell and Jane Reece. 2002, Benjamin Cummings Publishing; ISBN: 0-8053-6624-5. Study Guide is included and will be used

Locations and Times: Lecture: Monday & Wednesday 9:00-9:50am

Lecture/Discussion: Tuesday 8:00-9:50am

Lab: Thursday 8:00-9:50am or Friday 10:00-11:50am.

Web page: In order to make study materials and myself more accessible, I have put together a web page for the course. You can find the page at: pages.uindy.edu/~sdavis.

Here you will find important announcements, lecture outlines, study materials, etc.

Course Objectives: This is the second semester of an introductory sequence of courses for students majoring in biology. In this course you will be introduced to the basic structure of living things. We will examine what makes up a living organism at the molecular, cellular, metabolic, and genetic level. After completion of 165, you should be able to describe the various functions of the different components of a cell and understand how they relate to one another. Furthermore, this course will help you to develop reasoning and argumentation skills in biology, to engage in the process of science as a way of knowing, to gain an understanding of biology, and to apply this knowledge to make informed decisions that affect your life.

Student Outcomes: It is the hope of the instructors that students will gain more from this course than just a collection of memorized facts. In terms of your current knowledge, skills, and confidence, think about goals you wish to accomplish this semester. Throughout the course you will have opportunity to evaluate how you are progressing towards accomplishing these outcomes and what you can do to achieve these goals more effectively. From experiences in Biology 165, students will:

• become active and reflective learners;

• demonstrate the ability to use the process of science as a way of knowing;

• develop the ability to argue science persuasively;

• learn to reason logically and to evaluate information critically;

• communicate an understanding of biology;

• communicate an understanding of the relationships among biological principles;

• appreciate links between biological concepts and personal, public, and ethical issues.

Course components:

A. Lecture: Class periods will consist of lecture, discussion, and group work. The second hour of the 2-hour Tuesday class period will be devoted to discussion of outside readings, assignments, lab results, etc. Attendance for all meetings will be taken according to University policy. However, attendance will not formally contribute to your grade. Nonetheless, you are responsible for all material covered in lecture, whether or not it is covered in the textbook. Therefore, it is very important and expected that you attend all class periods.

B. Assignments: An important component of learning biology is problem solving. We know from research that students learn more effectively in cooperative groups. Therefore, we will use cooperative learning throughout this course to improve your understanding and learning. Each of you will have different perspectives based on your experience and background. By sharing ideas with your peers you can improve your understanding. Teamwork will be critical to your success in almost any profession. Assignments will comprise 100 pts. of your total for the course and will include such work as take-home and in-class worksheets, pop quizzes, group activities, or in-class essays. No late assignments will be accepted. If you are absent when an assignment is due or when an in-class assignment is given, you receive a zero on that assignment.

C. Exams: There will be one short “mini-exam” worth 50 pts given early in the semester. In addition, there will be 3 regular exams worth 100pts each and one final exam worth 200pts. All exams will be a mixture of essay (including problem-solving), short answer, matching or multiple choice. The format of the final will be 100 pts. of new material (regular exam #4), and 100 pts. comprehensive material. I curve only in one case: if the exams have been, in my opinion, too difficult. I will NOT use a curve if I feel that people just didn't try. I have no problem with giving everyone in the class an A if they all score above 90%, but I've yet to see it happen. Since you are not being graded on a curve, it will be of benefit to you to study with your peers. Being able to logically explain a concept to another student equates with at least partial understanding of the topic. The lowest score of the 4 regular exams will be dropped. You may not drop the final. There will be no make-up exams. If you have a legitimate and verifiable excuse for missing an exam, you must 1) contact me within 24hrs of the missed exam; 2) provide me with documentation of your excuse. If your excuse is valid (and I will call to confirm!), the missed exam will be the score that you drop. If you miss more than one exam, you will receive a zero for those exams. The following excuses for missing an exam WILL NOT be accepted: oversleeping, work schedule conflicts, plane/train/automobile trip conflicts (no matter how far in advance you've bought the tickets), doctor's appointments (excluding emergencies and certain specialists).

D. Lab: As labs provide hands-on experience with the topics covered in lecture and discussion, it is vital that students attend all lab sessions. As such, if a student misses more than one lab session, that students lab grade will be reduced by 5% for each additional lab missed, and that student will receive a zero on all associated assignments for that lab. If you have a legitimate and verifiable excuse for missing a lab, as with exams, you must notify me within 24hrs. of the missed lab, and we will attempt to allow you to make up the missed lab in another instructor’s lab session. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange his or her schedule to accommodate the lab schedule, not the instructor’s.

Grades for the lab will include:

1. Lab Exams: There will be a midterm and final lab exam, each worth 50 points. The second exam will not be comprehensive.

2. Weekly lab exercises or write-ups: This component will include worksheets over the week’s activities, quizzes, or some type of analysis of results. These will typically be due the Monday following Thursday’s lab. There will be a total of 8 write-ups worth 10 points apiece.

3. Lab reports: You will write a lab report over two of the experiments performed in class. The paper must be in the form of a scientific paper. The lab write-up is expected to have an abstract, a clear introduction to the exercise, a presentation of the methods and results, and a complete discussion that shows that you understand the lab exercise and its implications. It must be typewritten and double-spaced, and include citations, which are cited in the text and listed in the literature cited. The lab reports will also be graded on grammar, clarity, and freedom from typographical errors. Each lab report will be worth 50 pts.

In addition to the above, each week you will be expected to come to lab prepared for the days activities. To help you with this, there will be short assignments give to you the week before each lab. These will include problems, questions or vocabulary lists. You are expected to complete these assignments BEFORE coming to lab. If it becomes apparent that students are not coming to class prepared, these assignments may be collected for points unannounced, or quizzes over the homework may be given.

Additional Student Responsibilities

We need to work together to maximize efficiency in this class. Therefore, you are responsible for some additional duties:

• Come to class prepared. You are a university student, mature enough to take responsibility for your own learning. Know when assignments are due. Read handouts given to you.

• Contribute to the role of diversity in our class. Discussions in this course will become more valuable if enriched by the various cultural backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge of your peers.

• Be respectful of your peers by arriving promptly and remaining for the entire class (except in the case of illness). Cell phones and any other electronic device that beeps, chirps, or otherwise sings should be muted during class and lab.

• Attend all class periods and be an active contributor and participant in the learning process. This includes coming prepared by having read any assignment.

• Regular attendance at all classes for which you are registered is your responsibility. Students - not instructors - are responsible for all work missed because of absence or tardiness.

• Please do not hesitate to ask questions or raise issues during class or seek out assistance during office hours.

Grading:

Your grade for the course will be based on the points you earn on the following:		Letter grades will be assigned according to the percentage of points accumulated out of the total possible using the following scale:
Assignment	Points Possible	Percentage	# of points	Letter Grade
Short Review Test	50	98-100%	813-830	A+
Exams (3 of 4, 100 pts each)	300	93-97.9	771-812	A
Final exam	100	90-92.9	747-770	A-
Lecture Assignments	100	87-89.9	722- 746	B+
Lab Exams (50pts. Each)	100	83-86.9	688- 721	B
Lab exercises	80	80-82.9	664- 687	B-
Lab reports (50 pts. Each)	100	77-79.9	639- 663	C+
Total	830	73-76.9	605- 638	C
		70-72.9	581- 604	C-
		67-69.9	556- 580	D+
		63-66.9	522-555	D
		60-62.9	498- 521	D-
		Below 60	0- 497	F

Finally, CHEATING: If I suspect cheating, I WILL pursue it according to University policy. I have a ZERO TOLERANCE policy on this subject. Nuff said.

Lecture Schedule

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Text Readings
1	01/12- Introduction, biological hierarchy	01/13- Chemical foundations for cells	01/14- Water	Chp. 2, 3, 4
2	01/19- Acids, Bases, and Buffers MLK Day-special schedule	01/20- Carbon Compounds in cells	01/21- Mini-exam	Chp. 5
3	01/26- Origin and early evolution of life	01/27- Cell structure and Function	01/28- Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells	Chp. 7
4	02/02- Cell membranes	02/03- Transport across cell membranes	02/04- Catch up	Chp. 8
5	02/09- Exam I	02/10- Energetics	02/11- Metabolism	Chp. 6
6	02/16- Metabolism	02/17- Cell Respiration- Aerobic	02/18- Cell Respiration- Aerobic	Chp. 9
7	02/23- Cell Respiration- Aerobic	02/24- Cell Respiration- Anaerobic	02/25- Cell Respiration- Anaerobic	Chp. 9
8	03/01- Cell Respiration- Anaerobic	03/02- Catch up	03/03 – Exam II	Chp. 9
9	03/08- SPRING BREAK NO CLASSES!!	03/09 – SPRING BREAK NO CLASSES!!	03/10 – SPRING BREAK NO CLASSES!!
10	03/15 – Photosynthesis	03/16- Photosynthesis	13/17- Photosynthesis	Chp. 10
11	03/22- Cell to Cell communication	03/23- Cell to cell communication	03/24- Cell cycle	Chp. 11
12	03/29- Mitosis	03/30- Meiosis	03/31- Sexual reproduction	Chp. 12, 13
13	04/05- Catch up	04/06- Exam III	04/07- DNA structure	Chp. 16
14	04/12- DNA replication	04/13- DNA replication cont…	04/14- Gene expression	Chp. 16, 17
15	04/19- Transcription/ translation	04/20- Transcription/ translation	04/21- Catch up	Chp. 17
16	Exam IV and Final Exam: TBA

This schedule is tentative, and lecture subjects may change. Dates of Exams however are fixed, and will only change with regards to the subject matter covered. Additional outside readings are not listed, but will be assigned in class.

Lab & Discussion Schedule

Week	Tuesday Discussion	Thursday Lab	Text Readings	Important Assignments
1	01/13- Measurements and the metric system	01/15- Solutions and Dilutions	Chp. 2, 3, 4
2	01/20- Computer: physiology tutor	01/22- pH	Chp. 5
3	01/27- Computer: Plasma membranes	01/29- Cell structure and Membranes	Chp. 7
4	02/03- Computer: osmosis	02/05- Enzyme I	Chp. 8
5	02/10- Computer: Enzymes	02/12- “independent” enzyme lab	Chp. 6	Begin formal lab report
6	02/17- Computer: Cell Respiration	02/19- Cell respiration	Chp. 9
7	02/24-Discuss rough drafts of lab report	02/26- Fermentation	Chp. 9
8	03/02- Catch up	03/04- Lab exam I	Chp. 9	Turn in formal lab reports
9	03/09 – SPRING BREAK NO CLASSES!!	03/11 – SPRING BREAK NO CLASSES!!
10	03/16- Computer: Photosynthesis	03/18- Photosynthesis I	Chp. 10
11	03/23	03/25- Photosynthesis II	Chp. 11	Begin formal lab report II
12	03/30- Computer: Physiology tutor	04/01- Cell signaling	Chp. 12, 13
13	04/06- Discuss rough drafts of lab report	04/08- mitosis/ meiosis	Chp. 16
14	04/13- Computer: DNA	04/15- TBA	Chp. 16, 17	Turn in formal lab reports
15	04/20- Catch up	04/22- Lab exam II	Chp. 17

Lecture Schedule

03/01- Cell Respiration- Anaerobic

03/02- Catch up

NO CLASSES!!

03/29- Mitosis

04/13- DNA replication cont…

04/14- Gene expression

Exam IV and Final Exam: TBA

Lab & Discussion Schedule

03/02- Catch up

03/04- Lab exam I

NO CLASSES!!

NO CLASSES!!

04/13- Computer: DNA

04/15- TBA