Biology 1107 - Principles of Biology I
Syllabus for Summer
2009
Instructor: Bernard Majdi Office: 170A
Phone: 449-7574
Email: bmajdi@waycross.edu
Website: http://www.waycross.edu/faculty/bmajdi/
Office Hours: 12:00-1:40 PM M, T, W, TH
NOTE: I may also be located within the biology lab (235 A)
Textbook: Biology by Silvia Mader, 10th edition. (McGraw Hill, 2009)
Lab book: Laboratory Manual by Mader, 10th edition (2009)
Grades:
Exams (5) 500 Points
Research Report 100
4 Lab Quizzes 100
Lab Exercises 100
Attendance 50
Homework 50
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Total 900 Points
A >= 90
B 89-80
C 79-70
D 69-60
F <= 59
Objective:
The primary objective of this course is to introduce you to the many fields of biology. Biology 1107 concentrates on biological chemistry, cell biology, genetics and reproduction.
Biology 1108 will focus on anatomy, evolution, botany, zoology, and ecology. You will gain knowledge that should help you better understand biological or ecologically related
problems or issues. In addition, this class will develop some of your general college skills.
Your communication skills will be developed through essay questions on exams and
in-class discussions. Your information processing skills will be taxed; during this course
we will be covering a large quantity of information. It is EXTREMELY important that
you keep up with the material; lagging behind will seriously jeopardize your grade. You
can take comfort in the fact that the ability to digest and incorporate large amounts of
information quickly is a valuable skill in most careers.
Learning Objectives:
Learning objectives for each chapter will be provided to the students (posted on my web page for Biology I). After each learning objective, you are STRONGLY encouraged to read the textbook in addition to attending lectures. You should be able to answer each learning objective without assistance from the book or lecture notes before the exam. The exams are based SOLELY on the learning objectives, NOT on lecture material alone. On the exam, you should EXPECT at least 1 question based on each objective. Most of the learning objectives will be covered in lecture and can be found in the textbook. Occasionally, the learning objectives will NOT be covered during lecture. You are still responsible for that material.
Attendance:
Attendance is strongly encouraged. I will be taking attendance and if you miss >20% of regularly scheduled class (4 classes), I reserve the right to drop you from the class with a grade of WF if you are failing. If you are missing a large number of classes, I encourage you to schedule an appointment with me to determine your chances of passing the class. It has been my observation that if you have missed > 20% of lectures, you will fail the class. If such excessive absences are the result of extenuating personal hardship, the withdrawal grade will be either a W or WF, depending on the student's status at the time the drop occurred. Each time you miss a class, you will lose 3 points of the 50 points given for attendance and attitude in class and lab.
HOWEVER, attendance is REQUIRED for lab. If you miss > 15% of the labs (3 or
more), you WILL BE dropped from the class and given a grade of WF. If the absences
are the result of extenuating personal hardship, the withdrawal grade will be either a W
or WF, depending on the student's status at the time the drop occurred.
IN ADDITION, no make-up exams will be given without a valid excuse (written notice
from a doctor, judge, etc.). Please notify the instructor before an exam that you will miss that exam by email. Any exam missed without a valid excuse will be counted as
a zero for grading purposes.
Lecture Notes
Lecture notes will be posted on WebCT. Please print these before coming to class. They will stay on WebCT for one week and then removed.
Classroom Etiquette:
Please do not use cell phones in class. Please turn off your cell phones when come to class. Please do not text-message while instructor is talking. No playing of cell-phone games. Please do not talk when the instructor is lecturing. No sleeping in class while lecturing or watching movies.
Research Report:
You will be assigned a human genetic disease. You will be asked to make PowerPoint presentations about that disease and write a summary report at the end of the semester. More information can be found on my web page.
Homework
You will be assigned problems from the end of the chapters in your book. You will be asked to answer these problems and turn them in to the instructor. The list of the problems is posted on the web page.
We will do 14 labs this semester. If you come to class and complete the labs and obtain my stamp, you will receive 50% credit for the lab portion of the course. Each lab completed will receive 5 points. Each review completed will receive 1 points. The other 15 points will be given for attitude in lab.
The other 50% of the grade will come from lab quizzes. We will have four lab quizzes. Each quiz will cover 3 to 5 labs.
Dropping a Course Without a Penalty:
In order to officially drop a course without a penalty, a student must obtain and fill out a
drop/add form from the Registrar's Office, acquire appropriate signatures, and return the
form to the Registrar's Office before the designated date published in the academic
calendar in the Waycross College Catalog (July, 1 2009).
"In
compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act,
The ASC was created to offer supplemental assistance to students enrolled in all courses
at the College. The ASC offers a variety of services at all levels, ranging from personal
tutoring in math, reading, and composition skills to providing handouts and supplementary
materials on writing research papers and critiques, taking essay and objective tests, and
developing effective study techniques. Through audiovisual, computerized, self-paced,
and one-on-one tutorial work, the ASC assists students in developing strengths and
eliminating deficiencies. Students may be referred by instructors or may independently
seek additional help.
Many of the lab assignments given in this class require creating computer generated
graphs or figures. The staff in the ASC will be very helpful in assisting you in creating
these computer generated materials. I highly encourage you to visit the ASC to obtain
help on these assignments.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism, intentional or unintentional, is prohibited. Plagiarism is defined by Webster as
"the stealing and passing off of the ideas or words of another as one's own". Further, the
MLA Handbook states, "Plagiarism may take the form of repeating another's sentences
as your own, adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own, or even presenting someone
else's line of thinking in the development of a thesis as though it were your own." In other
words: do your own work. Alleged violations involving plagiarism and other academic
misconduct will be
handled according to the procedure outlined in the
Student Handbook.
Any student discovered plagiarizing (cheating) in this
course will receive a grade of F for the course.
PLEASE NOTE!! I cannot know if you are having a problem with the class or assignments unless you stop by and visit with me. I will be available during my office hours (see first page of syllabus), unless otherwise detained. You may also contact me via email or by phone. DO NOT HESITATE to talk with me if you have a problem.
Course Outline (this is TENTATIVE and is subject to change).
Lectures:
Chap 1. A View of Life
Chap 2. Basic Chemistry
Chap 3. The Chemistry of Organic Molecules
Chap 4. Cell Structure and Function
Test 1
Chap 5. Membrane Structure and Function
Chap 6. Metabolism: Energy and Enzymes
Chap 7. Photosynthesis
Chap 8. Cellular Respiration
Test 2
Chap 9. Cellular Reproduction and the Cell Cycle
Chap 10. Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction
Chap 41. Reproduction
Test 3
Chap 11. Mendelian Patterns of Inheritance
Chap 12. Molecular Biology of the Gene
Test 4
Chap 14. Biotechnology and Genomics
Chap 31. Animal Organization and Homeostasis
Final
Exam (Thursday, August 4th at 2:45 PM)
Labs:
Lab # Topic
The Scientific Method (handout)
2 Metric Measurements and Microscopy
Inorganic Chemistry (handout)
Organic Chemistry (handout lab)
Lab Test 1
4 Cell Structure and Function
5 Enzymes
6 Photosynthesis
7 Cellular Respiration
Cellular Respiration II (handout)
Lab Test 2
8 Mitosis & Meiosis
Reproduction (handout)
9 & 10 Mendelian and Human Genetics
Lab Test 3
11 DNA and Biotechnology
25 Animal Organization
Lab Test 4
Last Lab Genetic Disease Presentations