BIOLOGY 101 COURSE SYLLABUS FOR FALL 2015 Course Description Instructor 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 Dr. Michael Gregory Office: 219T, Phone: 562-4336 Office Hours: M, W 12:00-01:15, T 10:00-12:00, F 2:15-2:45 E-mail: Michael.Gregory@clinton.edu Material and Internet Requirements Textbook Biology by OpenStax College. This is a free, online textbook. Splash-proof goggles Quad-ruled composition notebook Access to the Internet. Textbook: Biology The Biology Web (http://faculty.clinton.edu/faculty/michael.gregory/default.htm) contains the lab manual, lecture notes, and other resources needed for the course. A link to faculty websites can be found on the college home page (http://www.clinton.edu/). Students will be required to use the Angel online course management system for some of the assignments in this course. Students are required to check their Clinton Community College e-mail regularly throughout the semester. Important course announcements will be made via CCC student e- mail accounts. The Biology Web Prerequisite: Placement into MAT100 or higher; Students receiving credit for BIO101 and/or BIO102 cannot receive credit for BIO100 Corequisite: ENG101 English Composition or equivalent; SCI110 Foundational Skills in Science
Topics and Reading Assignments Each reading assignments in the table below should be completed when the topic is discussed in class. Topic Introduction Life Natural Selection Science Reading (textbook chapter) 1 Chemistry 2 Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry 3 Cells 4 Membranes 5 Energy, Enzymes, Metabolism 6 Glycolysis and Cellular Respiration 7 Photosynthesis 8 Mitosis 10 Meiosis 11 Genetics: Genes 12 Genetics: Chromosomes 13 DNA 14 Gene Expression 15 Control of Gene Expression in Prokaryotes 16 Biotechnology 17 Exam Exam 1 Exam 2 Exam 3 Part 1 of Final Exam Laboratory Lab Date Tue lab Thu lab Topic Due Date Submission 8/25 8/27 Introduction, Lab Safety The day of the next lab Online and lab notebook Metric Measurement 9/1 9/3 Statistics and Graphing Group report, due at the beginning of the next In class lab 9/8 9/10 What is Science? Formal lab report: Due the day of the Cells lab (in 4 weeks). Lab notebook and formal lab report 9/15 9/17 Microscopy Lab notebook 9/22 9/24 Biochemistry 9/29 10/1 Biochemistry (Cont.) Lab notebook 10/6 10/8 Cells Lab notebook 10/20 10/15 Enzymes Lab notebook 10/27 10/22 Cellular Respiration Lab notebook 11/3 10/29 Photosynthesis Lab notebook 11/10 11/5 Mitosis and Meiosis Drawings: beginning of next lab Questions: next lab day Drawings: in class Questions: online (Angel) 11/17 11/12 Nondisjunction Next lab day Online (Angel) 11/24 11/19 Pedigree Analysis Next lab day Online (Angel) 12/1 12/3 Bacterial Transformation Lab notebook Finals Week DNA Profiling Lab notebook You should read the laboratory exercises before coming to lab so that you have a familiarity with the procedure for the lab. If the laboratory exercise involves experimentation, you should prepare a hypothesis for each experiment. 2
Grading Grading Scale A 90-100% C 70-73% A- 87-89% C- 67-69% B+ 84-86% D+ 64-66% B 80-83% D 57-63% B- 77-79% F < 57% C+ 74-76% Final Grade Item % of Final Grade Lecture exams (3) 39 (13% each) Final exam (Half of this exam is cumulative.) 26 Class assignments 10 Lab reports due the following week 9 Formal lab report 7 Lab notebook 9 Exam and Quiz Schedule Lecture Exam Dates Exam Date Exam 1* 9/21 Exam 2* 10/19 Exam 3* 11/9 Final Exam Finals week *Dates for the first three exams may change. All changes will be announced in class. Finals Week Classes do not meet at their normally scheduled times during finals week. BIO 101 will meet two times for 2.5 hours each time. The dates and times for each section of BIO 101 are below. BIO 101 01C Final Exam- Friday, Dec. 11, 7:20-9:50 Last Lab- Wednesday, Dec. 9, 10:00-12:30 BIO 101 02C Final Exam- Monday, Dec. 7, 10:00-12:30 Last Lab- Monday, Dec. 7, 12:40-3:10 BIO 101 03C Final Exam- Friday, Dec. 11, 10:00-12:30 Last Lab- Tuesday, Dec. 8, 12:40-3:10 BIO 101 04C Final Exam- Thursday, Dec. 10, 10:00-12:30 Last Lab- Wednesday, Dec. 9, 12:40-3:10 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 may contain mostly essay and short-answer questions. 3
Assignments Attendance Extra Credit Due dates for the reading assignments will not be announced during class time. Each reading assignments should be completed when the topic is covered in class. Students are required to keep backup copies of all submitted assignments until the end of the semester. Cell phone cameras are convenient for photographing handwritten materials for before submitting in class. Photographs, photocopies, scans, or computer files are all good methods for keeping backup copies. All written assignments should be completed using whole sentences. Abbreviated words should not be used. 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). If you use information from another source in an assignment, it must be stated in your own words. While it is legal to copy word-for-word if it is properly cited, this is usually poor writing style and it is not allowed in this course. In addition to rewording, you must also state where the information came from. For purposes of this course, it is not necessary to state the source of information obtained from the course textbook or The Biology Web. All other sources of information should be identified. Assignments submitted in class 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 all assignments except the formal lab report 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. Scores on the formal lab report will be reduced 1% for each day late. All assignments and make-up exams must be completed before finals week begins. The instructor reserves the right to withdraw students that miss more than 8 classes (including labs) or more than 2 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. Absences cannot be made up. This includes absences from the laboratory or from lecture classes. 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 is not available in this course. 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. 4
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 that causes a short-term disruption of this course, we will use e-mail to continue this course in the short term (1-3 weeks). All students must use their campus e-mail to receive course related information. Tutoring Center Changes The Tutoring Center provides tutoring services for all students enrolled at Clinton Community College. The Tutoring Center staff works with students to develop study skills and strategies for academic success. Tutors are available to assist students in math, science, writing, reading, computers and some specialized technology courses. The Center, located on the 4th floor of the main building room 412M, offers individual and small group tutoring services. Online tutoring is also available. For more information about the tutoring schedule go to http://www.clinton.edu/tutoringcenter/tutorschedule.cxml. 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. Technology Statement A CCC student should expect that any class may require some course activity that uses a computer and the internet. Activities could include but are not limited to accessing the course syllabus, schedule, or other handouts on a website, completing homework online, taking quizzes or submitting written work, participating in a discussion or sending/receiving email. 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 prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Compare plant and animal cell structures and their functions. 5
2. Demonstrate the proper use of compound and dissecting microscopes. 3. Explain the structure and function of the four major classes of biological molecules. 4. Describe cell membrane structure and function in active, passive, and facilitated transport. 5. Describe how the physical and chemical environment affects enzyme activity. 6. 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 cellular respiration Describe the process of chemiosmotic phosphorylation 7. Explain how genetic information is stored in DNA and translated into protein. Compare the molecular structures of DNA and RNA. Describe DNA synthesis. Describe transcription and translation. Describe the structure of chromosomes. 8. 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. 9. Describe the mechanism of operation of the following kinds of receptors: G-protein linked, tyrosine kinase, ion channel. 10. Explain the role of camp, phosphodiesterase, protein kinases, and protein phosphates in signal transduction. 11. 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, genomic imprinting, polygenetic inheritance Compare and contrast the relationship between mutations and genetic disorders Use pedigrees/karyotypes to examine the inheritance of genetic disorders. Lab Objectives 12. Explain advantages and disadvantages of using genetic engineering techniques today in plants, humans and other animals and the ethical issues related to biotechnology. The laboratory experience will reinforce biological concepts and laboratory skills. Students will: Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Investigate plant pigments and photosynthetic processes in plants. Compare cellular respiration and photosynthetic processes using a variety of organisms. Investigate environmental effects on enzyme catalysis. 6
Investigate mitotic and meiotic cellular processes. Explore DNA biotechnology, its real world applications, and the use of electrophoresis and recombinant DNA technology to investigate these applications. Analyze data from genetic crosses to investigate independent assortment of two genes. Investigate genes to determine autosomal or sex-linked inheritance. Demonstrate understanding of operating and using a variety of instrumentation normally expected to be used in a biology laboratory setting including: o Horizontal Gel Electrophoresis o Compound Microscopes o Micropipettes o Vernier software or comparable data collection software o Spectrophotometers Use lab documentation to record all data and scientific information in a bound notebook. Solve problems using the process of scientific inquiry during laboratory experimentation including: o Developing hypotheses based on the observation of natural phenomena. o Designing an experiment based on a testable hypothesis. o Conducting an experiment using an appropriate experimental design. o Recording and organizing data resulting from quantitative measurement using tables and graphs. o Performing appropriate statistical analyses on the data. o Summarizing the data using graphs, tables, and descriptive statistics. o Communicating through writing the results of a scientific investigation using scientific arguments and explanations. 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 7