Biology 101 Course Syllabus for Fall 2008

Course Description

Biology 101 is the first of a two-semester introductory course sequence designed primarily for science majors. It covers some central concepts in biology. Topics include molecules, cells, enzymes, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, cellular reproduction, genetics, and biotechnology. The laboratory includes basic laboratory skills such as safety, microscope use, and measurement, and it reinforces topics discussed in lecture.

This course meets the SUNY General Education course requirements for natural sciences.

Credit Hours: 4; Contact Hours: 5

Instructor

Dr. Michael Gregory

Office: 219T, Phone: 562-4336

E-mail (click here)

Office Hours: MWF 9:00-10:00, Tue 12:00-1:00

Materials Required

Biology – Campbell and Reece, 7th or 8th edition

Splash-Proof Goggles

Access to the Internet. 

The Biology Web - Go to the college web page (http://www.clinton.edu/). Select Faculty Web Sites, then click Michael Gregory's website. It may be convenient to add this site to your bookmark (favorites) list. You should print the chapters in The Biology Web before reading them.

Lecture Topics and Reading Assignments

Textbook reading assignments are given below. In addition, students are expected to read or review the corresponding chapter in The Biology Web.

Topic	Reading (Textbook)	Reading (Biology Web)	Exams
Introduction Characteristics of Living Organisms Natural Selection Scientific Method	1	1-3	Exam 1
Chemistry	2-3	4
Organic and Biochemistry	4-5	5
Cells	6	6
Cell Membranes	7	7	Exam 2
Energy and Enzymes	8	8
Glycolysis and Cellular Respiration	9	9
Photosynthesis	10	10
Cell Communication	11	11
Cell Division: Mitosis	12	12	Exam 3
Cancer	12	13
Cell Division: Meiosis	13	14
Genetics: Genes	14	15
Genetics: Chromosomes	15	16
Genetics: Human Genetics		17	Exam 4
DNA	16	18
Protein Synthesis	17	19
Viral and Bacterial Genetics	18	20
Eukaryotic Genomes	19	20
Biotechnology	20	21

Laboratory Topics

Date	Topic	Report
8/26/08	Metric Measurement
9/2	Descriptive Statistics, Graphing, Statistical Analysis
9/9	What is Science? Class Discussion- Creating Hypotheses, Experimental Design	Formal
9/16	Microscopy
9/23 9/30	Biochemistry (2 lab periods)
10/7	Cells
10/21	Enzymes
10/28	Photosynthesis
11/4	Cellular Respiration
11/11	Mitosis and Meiosis
11/18	Pedigree Analysis
11/25	Nondisjunction
12/2	Bacterial Transformation
Finals Week	DNA Fingerprinting

Grading

Grading Scale

All assignments will be graded using the scale below.

A	93 - 100%	C	73 - 76%
A-	90 - 92%	C-	70 - 72%
B+	87 - 89%	D+	67 - 69%
B	83 - 86%	D	60 - 66%
B-	80 - 82%	F	< 60%
C+	77 - 79%

Final Grade

Item	% of Final Grade
Lecture Exams (4 total)	56 (14 each)
Final Exam (cumulative)	14
Laboratory quizzes (approx. 14), reports, and participation	20
Formal Lab Reports*	10

*It is necessary to receive a passing score on one of the formal lab reports in order to receive a passing score in BIO 101.  

Exam and Quiz Schedule

Exam Dates

Exam	Date
Exam 1*	9/19
Exam 2*	10/10
Exam 3*	11/7
Exam 4 and   Final Exam	Finals Week

*Dates for the first three exams may change. All changes will be announced in class.

Final Exam Week Schedule

Lecture Exam - Wednesday, December 10, 12:40-3:10 in room 223T

Last Laboratory Class- Thursday, December 11, 12:40-3:10 in room 223T

Laboratory Quizzes

There will be approximately 14 weekly laboratory quizzes. Laboratory quizzes will be taken at the beginning of each lab period. The quiz will cover material from the previous lab period.

Make-Up Exams

If an exam cannot be taken during the regularly scheduled time, a make-up exam can be taken later. Make-up exams contain mostly essay and short-answer questions.

Laboratory quizzes cannot be made up. Students that miss a laboratory should study the missed material and be prepared for the next quiz the following week.

Assignments

Students are required to keep backup copies of all assignments until the end of the semester.

All assignments should be completed using whole sentences. Abbreviated words are not acceptable.  

All submitted work must be in your own words. If you work with a partner, you must submit your own document using your own words. You may obtain or discuss answers to the exercises from any source that is applicable, but you must use your own words to answer the questions or write the reports. Documents that appear to have been copied from others will not receive a grade (grade = 0).

Late Assignments

All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date. Assignments that are turned in after class has started on the due date will be considered 1 day late. Assignments submitted online must be submitted before midnight on the due date.

Scores on late assignments will be reduced by 10% of their total possible point value if they are one day late and 20% if they are two days late. They will not be accepted after two days. All assignments must be completed by the end of the last day of classes.

Attendance

The instructor reserves the right to withdraw students that miss more than 8 classes (including labs).

The laboratory class is designed to provide hands-on learning experiences. Students will learn basic laboratory skills while reinforcing concepts learned in lecture. To a large extent, grades in the laboratory will reflect participation and laboratory skills acquired, so it is important that students do not miss laboratory exercises. Students that miss more than 2 laboratory classes will be withdrawn from the course.

Students are required to attend lecture and laboratory classes for the entire period. Students that arrive late or leave early will be marked as absent. Similarly, students that sleep during class or do not participate in class activities will be marked as absent.

Extra Credit

Extra credit is not available in this course. Extra credit assignments often distract students because they take time away from that which should be spent on the regular assignments. They promote increased understanding of related topics at the expense of the most important topics. The topics and assignments listed in the syllabus have been selected as the best way to meet the course objectives.

E-mail Communication

Students are encouraged to maintain frequent communication with their instructor. E-mail is a convenient way to ask questions about any of the material covered in the course. Please ask questions on any material that is not clearly understood.

E-mail from students should contain a minimum level of professional courtesy. For example, it should not contain abbreviations such as "u" instead of "you" and it should not contain incorrect capitalization such as "i" instead of "I." Sentences should begin with a capital letter and end with a period. The instructor will not read or reply to e-mail messages that contain these grammatical errors.

Academic Integrity

Academic honesty is expected of all Clinton Community College students. It is dishonest to misrepresent another person’s work as one’s own, to take credit for someone else’s work or ideas, to accept help on a test, to obtain advanced information on confidential test materials, or to intentionally harm another student’s chances for academic success.

Students with Disabilities

If you have, or suspect that you may have any type of disability or learning problem that may require extra assistance or special accommodations, please speak with me privately after class or during my office hours as soon as possible so that I can help you obtain any assistance you may need to successfully complete this course. You should also contact Laurie Bethka, EXT 252 (room 420M) for further assistance.

Changes

The details of this syllabus, including topics covered, calendar, grading, grading scale, and attendance policy are subject to change. Changes in the grading scale will be limited to those that result in improved (curved) grades. You will be informed in class of any changes. All changes to the syllabus will also be posted on the Internet in The Biology Web.

Course Objectives

As the result of instructional activities, students will be able to: 

1.   Compare and contrast the structure and function of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. 

§         Compare and contrast prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells 

§         Compare and contrast plant and animal cell structures and their functions 

2.   Demonstrate the proper use of compound and dissecting microscopes. 

§         Demonstrate the proper use of compound and dissecting microscopes 

3.   Explain the structure and function of the four major classes of macromolecules. 

§         Describe cell membrane structure and function in active, passive, and membrane assisted transport 

§         Explain the chemical composition of living systems including carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids 

§         Identify environmental conditions that affect enzyme activity 

4.   Explain the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration and their relationship to each other. 

§         Describe how plants modify their environment (photosynthesis) 

§         Describe the process of cellular respiration 

§         Explain the relationship between photosynthesis and respiration 

§         Describe the process of chemiosmotic phosphorylation 

5.   Explain how genetic information is stored in DNA and translated into protein. 

§         Compare and contrast the molecular structures of DNA and RNA 

§         Describe DNA synthesis

§         Describe transcription and translation 

§         Describe the structure of chromosomes 

6.   Describe the mechanics of mitosis and meiosis and the relationship of these processes to reproduction and function. 

§         Describe the beginning and ending products of mitosis, including the relationship of this process to growth, repair, and chromosome number 

§         Identify and describe the stages for the cell cycle 

§         Describe the beginning and ending products of meiosis, including the relationship of this process to reproduction, heredity, variation, and reduction of chromosome number 

7.   Apply genetic principles to simple Mendelian and non-Mendelian inheritance problems and concepts 

§         Apply genetic principles to simple inheritance problems/concepts including monohybrid and dihybrid crosses 

§         Describe non-Mendelian inheritance including incomplete dominance, codominance, multiple alleles, pleiotrophy, epistasis, gemomic imprinting, polygenetic inheritance 

§         Compare and contrast the relationship between mutations and genetic disorders 

§         Use pedigrees/karyotypes to examine the inheritance of genetic disorders 

8.   Explain advantages and disadvantages of using genetic engineering techniques today in plants, humans and other animals and the ethical issues related to biotechnology. 

§         Explain advantages and disadvantages of using genetic engineering techniques today in plants, humans and other animals 

§         Discuss the bioethical issues related to biotechnology

SUNY General Education Knowledge Area Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

1.          understand the methods scientists use to explore natural phenomena, including:

§         observation

§         hypothesis development

§         measurement and data collection

§         experimentation

§         evaluation of evidence

§         employment of mathematical analysis

2.          apply scientific data, concepts and models in one of the natural sciences