Biology 102 Course Syllabus for Spring 2010

Course Description

Biology 102 is the second of a two-semester introductory course sequence designed primarily for science majors. Topics include evolution, biological diversity, plant structure and function, animal systems, development and reproduction. The laboratory reinforces concepts discussed in lecture emphasizing the anatomy and physiology of selected prokaryotes, protists, fungi, plants, and animals. There are three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week.

Credit Hours: 4; Contact Hours: 5

Instructor

Dr. Michael Gregory

Office: 219T, Phone: 562-4336  

Office Hours: Mon 12:00-1:00, Tue 9:00-10:00 and 2:00-3:00, Wed 12:00-1:00, Thur 9:00-10:00

E-mail (click here) Do not use my contact page to send e-mail. Instead, use e-mail to send me e-mail. I often cannot reply to e-mail that is sent using my contact page.

Materials Required

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

Splash-Proof Goggles

Access to the Internet. 

The Biology Web contains much of the required reading material. To get to this web site, go to the college web page (http://www.clinton.edu/) and select Faculty Websites. 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

The topic names in the table below are not the same as the chapter names in the text book. We will cover the chapters in the order indicated below.

Laboratory Topics

Grading

Grading Scale

A	78 - 100%	C	58 - 61%
A-	75 - 77%	C-	55 - 57%
B+	72 - 74%	D+	52 - 54%
B	68 - 71%	D	45 - 51%
B-	65 - 67%	F	< 45%
C+	62 - 64%

Final Grade

Item	% of Final Grade
Lecture exams (4 total)	52
Final exam (cumulative)	13
Laboratory quizzes (approximately 13 quizzes)	20
Group and online lab reports (2)	1
Lab reports due at end of semester	3
Formal lab report	5
Laboratory final exam	6

Exam and Quiz Schedule

Exam Dates

Exam	Date
Exam 1*	2/15
Exam 2*	3/12
Exam 3*	4/16
Exam 4 and   Final Exam	Finals week, see below

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

Finals Week Schedule

Section	Exam day and time
01C	Lecture- F 10:00-12:30 Lab- M 12:40-3:10
02C	Lecture- F 12:40-3:10 Lab- TH 10:00-12:30

Laboratory Quizzes

There will be approximately 14 weekly laboratory quizzes. The quizzes will be taken at the end of the lab period and will cover the lab that day and also the lab from the previous week. Each lab will therefore be covered twice on quizzes- the day of the lab and also the next week.

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 on an assignment that requires individual submission, 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 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.

Course Continuity Plan

In the case that the college officially closes because of an emergency which causes a short term disruption of this course, we will utilize e-mail to continue this course in the short term (1-3 weeks). All students need to utilize their campus e-mail to receive course related information.

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

The instructional activities in this course will enable students to: 

Evolution, Population Genetics, History of Life

• Explain the Hardy-Weinberg law and describe the assumptions of the law.

• Describe how natural selection acts to change gene frequencies.

• Explain the role of variation and sexual reproduction in evolutionary change.

• Describe the allopatric speciation model.

• Explain how organisms are categorized based on evolutionary changes.

• Name the four geologic eras and list the major groups of organisms that arose during each era.

Viruses

• Describe the structure of a virus.

• Describe reproduction in bacteriophages, animal viruses containing DNA, and retroviruses.

Prokaryotes

• Describe the structure of a prokaryotic cell.

• Describe reproduction in prokaryotes.

• Describe mechanisms of genetic recombination in prokaryotes.

• Describe the role of autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria in ecosystems.

• Find and identify representative bacterial types using a microscope.

Eukaryotes

• Explain the endosymbiotic theory of the origin of the chloroplast and mitochondrion and list evidence to support the theory.

• Draw three types of life cycles that are typical of eukaryotes.

Protists, Fungi, Plants, Animals

• Describe the structure of representative genera from each of the major phyla (divisions).

• Describe and draw the life cycle of representative genera from each of the major phyla (divisions) and state the name and function of reproductive structures.

• Describe how representative genera obtain their energy and nutrients, where they are found in the environment, their important relationships with other organisms, and any important adaptations.

Animals

• List characteristics of animals.

• Explain the life cycle of animals.

• Describe the development of embryonic germ layers, symmetry, body cavity, and gut in the major phyla of animals.

• Name at least nine major phyla animals and describe representative genera from each.

• Describe how representative genera obtain their energy and nutrients, where they are found in the environment, their important relationships with other organisms, how they protect themselves, and any important adaptations.

Animal Tissues

• Name three embryonic tissues and list the tissues that they give rise to.

• Name the types of epithelial tissue, connective tissue, and muscle tissue.

• For each types of tissue named above, state important characteristics of the tissue, tell where is found and state it’s function.

The Circulatory System

• Describe the function of the circulatory system in representatives of the major phyla of animals.

• Explain the difference between open and closed circulatory systems and give examples of animals with each type.

• Describe the structure and function of each type of blood vessel in vertebrate animals.

• Describe the structure of a mammalian heart and state the function of each structure.

• Describe the cardiac cycle by stating the events that occur during a complete cycle.

• Explain how blood pressure is measured.

• Describe the components of mammalian blood and state the function of each component.

• Explain how a blood clot forms.

Lymphatic and Immune Systems

• Describe antibody-mediated immunity.

• Describe clonal selection of B lymphocytes.

• List functions of the compliment system.

• Describe the mechanism of activation of T lymphocytes.

• State the function of each type of T lymphocyte.

Endocrine System

• State the name and function of hormones secreted or released by the posterior and anterior pituitary.

• State the name, mechanism of stimulation, and function of hormones secreted by the thyroid, adrenal cortex, gonads, parathyroids, adrenal medulla, pancreas, thymus, and pineal glands.

• Describe the mechanism of stimulation of the anterior pituitary, thyroid, adrenal cortex, gonads, parathyroids, adrenal medulla, islets of Langerhans, thymus, and pineal glands.

• Describe negative feedback inhibition of the anterior pituitary, thyroid, adrenal cortex, gonads, parathyroids, and islets of Langerhans.

Digestive System

• Describe the digestive activities that occur in each of the major organs of the digestive system.

• Name major digestive enzymes and discuss where they are secreted.

• Describe how hormones regulate the secretion and release of digestive secretions from the stomach, pancreas, liver, and gall bladder.

Respiratory System

• Name the major structures of the mammalian respiratory system and describe their function.

• Explain how oxygen and carbon dioxide are transported to and from tissues in mammals.

• Describe how breathing rate is controlled in mammals.

Excretory System

• Name three types of nitrogenous wastes produced by terrestrial animals and explain advantages or disadvantages to each type.

• Describe the function of each part of the nephron and explain how it functions to concentrate urine.

• Describe the role of each of the following hormones in regulating water loss: ADH, aldosterone, atrial natriuretic hormone

• Explain how pH of the blood is regulated.

Motor Systems (Skeletal and Muscle)

• Describe the structure of bone and explain how it is formed embryonically.

• Name the major bones of the body.

• Describe major kinds of joints and explain how they function.

• Describe the structure and function of skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscle.

• Explain the role of actin, myosin, calcium, tropomyosin, and troponin in muscle contraction.

Reproductive System

• Name the major structures of the mammalian male and female reproductive systems and describe their function.

• Describe spermatogenesis and oogenesis by naming the structures and cells involved and stating the number of chromosomes present in each of the meiotic cells.

• Describe the menstrual cycle by stating the role of each hormone and the effect of each hormone on their target structures.

• Explain how pregnancy stops the menstrual cycle.

The Nervous System

• Describe the evolution of the nervous system in the major phyla of animals.

• Describe the function of the somatic, sympathetic, and parasympathetic nervous systems.

• Describe reflex arcs.

• Identify the following regions on a photograph of the human brain:
  medulla oblongata, cerebellum, pons, midbrain, thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebrum, corpus callosum, motor cortex, sensory cortex

• State the function of each brain region listed above.

• Name the four major lobes of the cerebral cortex and describe their function.

• Explain how action potentials are propagated along a neuron.

• Describe the function of schwann cells.

• Describe physiological mechanisms that lead to the release of neurotransmitter and explain how neurotransmitter is removed from the synaptic cleft.

Sensory Systems

• Explain how neurons from a sensory organ can detect a wide range of intensity of stimuli.

• Describe the function of chemoreceptors and photoreceptors and tell where they are found in the bodies of representatives of the major phyla of animals.

• List the major structures of a vertebrate eye and state the function of each structure.

• Name the types of cells that detect light in a vertebrate eye, tell where these cells are located, and state the type of light that they detect.