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Syllabus

BIO 113

Introduction to General Biology

Instructor: Geralyn M. Caplan

Office Location: S117 (Science Building)

e-mail: geralyn.caplan@kctcs.edu

website: owensboro.kctcs.edu/gcaplan

Assigned Book: Concepts in Biology: Laboratory Manual

Eldon D. Enger & Frederick C. Ross

McGraw Hill, Boston

Course Description:

A laboratory course designed to acquaint the student with the use of analytical techniques in biology, theory, and methods involved in experimentation, in order to facilitate a greater understanding of biological concepts and the way in which information is gathered in science.

Course Objectives:

	To gain in understanding of the science of biology
	To understand the basic relationship between a cell and an organism
	To understand the basic function of DNA.
	To gain an understanding of Mendelian genetics and heredity.
	To explain evolution and the mechanism of natural selection.
	To understand how populations and communities interact.
	For students to have the opportunity to measure, experiment, and observe in a laboratory setting.
	For students to understand the relationships between the their laboratory experiences and the general principles of biology.

Withdrawal:

Students may withdrawal from the class without a grade until August 23^rd. October 13^th is the last day for students, at their discretion, to officially withdrawal from the class and receive a grade of ‘W’. After this date, students may withdraw and receive a grade of ‘W’, ‘WP’, and ‘WF’ only with permission of the instructor and only until 12 pm December 5th.

Do not stop coming to class. I will fail students that stop attending and do not officially withdrawal.

Corequisites: None

Grading Criteria: The final Grade will be based on the percentage earned of total possible points on lab assignments, homework, attendance, mid-term exam, and end of term final.

There will be a lab assignment every week. The lab assignment will be graded based on participation in the lab and the answer to the questions in the homework portion.

Lab	30 points each
Midterm	100 points
Final	200 points
Attendance	20% of the final grade

Attendance is an essential component to this class and as a result it will be worth 20 % of your final grade.

Grading Scale:

A 90-100 %

B 80-89

C 70-79

D 60-69

E Less than 60%

The grades will not be curved.

Assignments:

Assignments are to be read prior to each class. Test cover all material covered or assigned to date of exam. Lab assignments are due the week after the assigned lab.

Make-Up Work:

Lab assignments frequently require special equipment and preparation provided by the instructor. As a result attendance is required to complete lab assignments. Missed lab work cannot be made up. Exams are made up only in emergency situations. You must make an appointment to make up missed exams. I will not track you down to make sure that you have taken the exams. You will be given one week to make up missed exams. Late assignments are acceptable one class period after due date. After one week the assignments are no longer acceptable.

Attendance:

Attendance is 20% of the final grade. Attendance is necessary in order to keep up with the course work. This is a lab class so attendance in the laboratory is essential. Do not schedule appointments during the lab. Missed lab work cannot be made up. An attendance sheet will be passed around at the beginning of each lab. It is the student’s responsibility to sign the attendance sheet.

Cheating And Plagiarism:

Representing someone else's words or thoughts as your own is plagiarism.

Plagiarism is theft and is considered a serious offense. This includes exchanging answers on homework, and copying from another published or Internet source, by either lifting material directly from a source or borrowing a passage and changing only a few words without attributing it to the source. In addition quoting excessively from a source that is attributed is also plagiarism. Your work must be your own.

To avoid plagiarizing do not help one another by handing over your work or copying directly from someone else’s paper. . Working together does not translate into copying one another’s assignments.

To prevent lifting material directly from a source do not write your papers with the source directly in front of you.

Class Behavior

	Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. That includes talking, sleeping, tardiness, and general messing around. Anyone messing around will be asked to leave.
	I will grade as a 0 any papers that are turned in that I suspect have been copied and are not the student’s original work.
	No cell phones. Turn your phone off when entering the class or the lab. If your phone rings during lecture take your books and leave. Have anyone that needs to reach you call the secretary Barbara Bradley at 686-4632.
	All students must follow lab safety rules.

Student Responsibility

Attendance is your responsibility. Do not tell me you were present but forgot to sign the book.

You are expected to arrive at 11:00 at the start of lab. Arriving late disrupts the class.

Students must read all pertinent material. I will not tell you to read pages x to z. You are expected to read the entire chapter. Not just the material that is presented in class.

Students need to keep track of their own progress. Talk to me before it is too late to correct your grades. Frequently students do not appreciate all of the factors that affect their grades. I cannot help you is you wait until the final to talk to me.

Student must turn their homework in and turn it in on time.

Students must follow all of the assignments instructions.

Students are expected to turn in professional work.

Homework

Any paper not written in blue or black ink or pencil will not be graded. I do not accept papers written in rainbow colors.

Any number represented without a unit will be marked wrong. (ie. There is a difference between a measurement that is 10 grams or 10 pounds. So don’t tell me the answer was 10.)

Answers that are given in incomplete sentences will be worth only ½ credit. This does not include questions that ask for a single word or a list of characteristics. If you are not sure, err on the side of caution and write a complete sentence.

Science terms that are spelled wrong will be given only ½ credit.

Only ½ credit will be given to papers that do not follow the assignments instructions.

Staple all of papers before handing them in!!!!!! I will grade only the top page of labs that are not stapled.

Make sure that you hand your paper to me at a time that I can put it in a folder. I am not responsible for papers that are left in my mailbox or tossed on top of my lecture overheads.

I will grade as a 0 any papers that are turned in that I suspect have been copied and are not the student’s original work. If it sounds like I am repeating myself it is because this is a serious issue.

Turn your homework in and turn it in on time.

If I cannot read it; I cannot grade, and I will not devote my time to decipher it.

All labs need to have the students first and last name clearly written on the front cover.

Lab Rules

Do not eat of drink in the lab.

Do not put your hands in your eyes or mouth

Do not play around in the lab. Equipment is fragile and expensive.

Do not wear nice clothing in the lab. It may get stained.

Do not mouth pipette or use glassware for food or drink containers.

Sharp material and broken glassware should be placed in the broken glassware container.

Biological waste (ie. used petri dishes, etc) should be put in the biological hazard container.

Always put away all of your supplies.

Always wash your table area when you are done.

Always wash your hands with soap and water after lab.

Know where the safety equipment is located.

Report all non-water spills.

Do not use cell phones in class. Turn them off before class. If your phone rings pick up your books and leave.

Course Specific Compentancies:

Science: To demonstrate an awareness of one=s interaction with the biological and physical environment.

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to...

1. Identify the effect of physical factors (temperature, pressure, light, chemicals) in the environment which help humans stay in homeostasis and which tend to affect homeostasis if altered. Assessment methods may include written assignments, on homeostasis, lab reports and exam questions.

2. Recognize the biological factors in the environment and know their interactions/affect on the human body and response to them anatomically and physiologically. Assessment methods may include written assignments and questions on exams and quizzes human interaction with biological environment in terms of anatomy and physiology.

3. Recognize humans as biological beings and their interaction with the environment factors. Assessment methods may include written assignments and questions on exams and quizzes on human interaction with internal/external environment.

Writing: To communicate effectively using standard written English.

Upon completion of the course, he student should be able to...

1. Write complete, clear and concise sentences in standard English and spell technical terms correctly. Assessment methods may include assignments, lab reports, and essay and short answers to questions on the exams.

2. Write explanations of the given formulae and equations in metabolism/chemistry and also write equations/formulae from the given explanations. Assessment methods may include in-class exercises and questions in the quizzes and exams.

3. Expand and develop an essay from a given outline. Assessment methods may include current events and pathology paper.

5. Write summaries of the chapters in the textbooks. Assessment methods include written assignments and discussions.

Reading: To analyze, summarize, and interpret a variety of reading materials.

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:

1. Understand and summarize the main ideas and concepts in the textbook, and other sources. Assessment methods may include the reading of primary and secondary sources and writing analytical summaries of the materials read. Also questions of quizzes and exams may include questions based on the reading assignments.

2. Perform the "concept check@ in the reading materials. Assessment materials may include concept check type of questions on exams.

Integrated Learning: To think critically and make connections in learning across the disciplines.

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to :

1. Understand and make connections between Biology and other disciplines such as chemistry, psychology, social sciences, etc. Assessment methods may include discussion on humans as biological vs. sociopsychological being, historical discoveries, and the relevance of chemistry in Biology.

2. Apply the knowledge and concepts learned in biology to understand the chemistry of Life.@ Assessment methods may include discussions and questions on tests about these aspects.

3. Identify and solve problems be performing laboratory investigation through the logical sequence of steps and analyze the results. Assessment methods may include discussions and questions on tests about these aspects

4. Critically correlate the complementary of structure and function of the various parts of the cells, tissues, organs, and organism. Assessment methods may include discussion and question on exams and quizzes.

5. Make connections between the parts and the whole be studying levels of organizations from cell to organism and be re-assembling the dissectible models. Assessment methods may include questions on levels of organization.

Creative Thinking: To elaborate upon knowledge to create new thoughts, processes and products.

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:

1. Design and develop experiment using scientific methods for problem solving. Assessment methods may include the evaluation of the laboratory reports

2. Elaborate on application of Biology. Assessment methods may include discussion and interpretation of case studies and current events.

3. Elaborate on application of biochemistry to Physiological processes and products. Assessment methods may include written assignments and questions on these aspects in the quizzes and exams.

Ethics and Values: To demonstrate an awareness of ethical considerations in making value choices.

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:

1. Evaluate various bioethical issues. Assessment methods may include discussion, assignments, and/or examination questions on bioethical issues.

2. Demonstrate ethical considerations relating to cheating/plagiarism, code of conduct in laboratory group, group work without prejudice, etiquettes, responsibility, etc. Assessment methods may include discussion and evaluation on these aspects in class work/exams where group work is emphasized.

	Attendance is your responsibility. Do not tell me you were present but forgot to sign the book.
	You are expected to arrive at 11:00 at the start of lab. Arriving late disrupts the class.
	Students must read all pertinent material. I will not tell you to read pages x to z. You are expected to read the entire chapter. Not just the material that is presented in class.
	Students need to keep track of their own progress. Talk to me before it is too late to correct your grades. Frequently students do not appreciate all of the factors that affect their grades. I cannot help you is you wait until the final to talk to me.
	Student must turn their homework in and turn it in on time.
	Students must follow all of the assignments instructions.
	Students are expected to turn in professional work.

	Any paper not written in blue or black ink or pencil will not be graded. I do not accept papers written in rainbow colors.
	Any number represented without a unit will be marked wrong. (ie. There is a difference between a measurement that is 10 grams or 10 pounds. So don’t tell me the answer was 10.)
	Answers that are given in incomplete sentences will be worth only ½ credit. This does not include questions that ask for a single word or a list of characteristics. If you are not sure, err on the side of caution and write a complete sentence.
	Science terms that are spelled wrong will be given only ½ credit.
	Only ½ credit will be given to papers that do not follow the assignments instructions.
	Staple all of papers before handing them in!!!!!! I will grade only the top page of labs that are not stapled.
	Make sure that you hand your paper to me at a time that I can put it in a folder. I am not responsible for papers that are left in my mailbox or tossed on top of my lecture overheads.
	I will grade as a 0 any papers that are turned in that I suspect have been copied and are not the student’s original work. If it sounds like I am repeating myself it is because this is a serious issue.
	Turn your homework in and turn it in on time.
	If I cannot read it; I cannot grade, and I will not devote my time to decipher it.
	All labs need to have the students first and last name clearly written on the front cover.

	Do not eat of drink in the lab.
	Do not put your hands in your eyes or mouth
	Do not play around in the lab. Equipment is fragile and expensive.
	Do not wear nice clothing in the lab. It may get stained.
	Do not mouth pipette or use glassware for food or drink containers.
	Sharp material and broken glassware should be placed in the broken glassware container.
	Biological waste (ie. used petri dishes, etc) should be put in the biological hazard container.
	Always put away all of your supplies.
	Always wash your table area when you are done.
	Always wash your hands with soap and water after lab.
	Know where the safety equipment is located.
	Report all non-water spills.
	Do not use cell phones in class. Turn them off before class. If your phone rings pick up your books and leave.