BIOL 1108K - Principles of Biology II
Syllabus for Spring 2010
Instructor: Bernard Majdi Office: 152A
Phone: 449-7574
Email: bmajdi@waycross.edu
Web Page: http://www.waycross.edu/faculty/bmajdi
Office hours: 9:20 AM – 12:00 PM Tuesday & Thursday; 9:20-10:45 Monday & Wednesday; 9:00-10:00 AM Friday
NOTE: I may be in 235A (the biology lab) or 230A (the chemistry lab).
Textbook: Biology by Mader (9th edition) , 2006.
Labbook: Laboratory Manual by Mader (9th edition), 2006.
Objective:
The primary objective of this course is to introduce you to the many fields of biology.
Biology 1107 concentrated on biological chemistry, cell biology, and genetics.
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 exam
are provided to the students in my website. 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 in lecture. 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.
50 points out of 900 points will be given for attendance. You will lose 2 points each time you miss a class.
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, lawyer, etc.). Any exam missed without a valid excuse will be counted
as a zero for grading purposes.
Research Report:
You will make a 5 minute PowerPoint presentation about an assigned kingdom, phyla or class, order or organism at the end of semester. More information about this presentation can be found in my website.
Like Principles of Biology I, most of you laboratory grade will be dependent on
laboratory quizzes. There are 4 lab quizzes throughout the semester. The quizzes
will primarily cover taxonomy and anatomy, but may also revolve around function and
life cycles.
You will be asked to turn in your completed lab book last week of the semester (I will grade these and give back to you on the day of final). Each completed lab will receive 5 points. Each completed end of the chapter review will receive 1 point. The other 15 points will be given for your attitude in lab.
Exams:
There will be five exams (including the final). Each exam will cover 3 to 5 chapters. The final will consist of 70% new material and 30% (old material) over the rest of the semester.
Homework: You
will be asked to do the assigned end of the chapter homework and turn them in
to your instructor. List of problems can be found on the website.
Grades:
Points
Exams (5) 500
Research Report 100
Lab Practicals 100
Lab Book 100
Attendance 50
Homework 50
--------------------------------------------
Total 900
Grade distribution:
A > = 90
B 89-80
C 79-70
D 69-60
F 59-0
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 (March, 2 2009).
Class etiquette: No use of cell phones, text-messaging, IPODS etc. in class or when I am lecturing. Please turn off your cell phone when you come to class. Those who disobey this rule will be asked to leave the class.
"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.
Anyone
caught Cheating in this class will be given a grade of F for the
course!!!!
Course Outline (this is TENTATIVE and is subject to
change).
Chap 32- Circulation and Cardiovascular System
Chap 33- Lymph Transport and Immunity
Chap 34- Digestive System and Nutrition
Chap 35- Respiratory System
Chap 37- Neurons and Nervous System
Test 1
Turn in Homework for chapters 32-37
Chap 40- Hormones and the Endocrine System
Notes: Science vs. Religion Controversy
Chap 15- Darwin and Evolution
Chap 16- How Populations Evolve
Chap 17- Speciation and Macroevolution
Chap 18- Origin and History of Life
Test 2
Turn in Homework for chapters 40, 15-18
Chap 19- Systematics and Phylogeny
Chap 20- Viruses, Bacteria and Archaea
Chap 21- Protist Evolution and Diversity
Chap 22- Fungi Evolution and diversity
Test 3
Turn in Homework for chapters 19-22
Chap 23- Plant Evolution and Diversity
Chap 28- Invertebrate Evolution
Chap 29- Vertebrate Evolution
Test 4
Turn in Homework for chapters 23, 28-29
Chap 43- Behavioral Ecology
Chap 44- Population Ecology
Chap 45- Community and Ecosystem Ecology
Chap 46- Major Ecosystems of the Biosphere
Turn in Homework for chapters 43-46
Lab #
26 & 27 Basic Mammalian Anatomy I & II
28 Chemical Aspects of Digestion
30 Nervous System and Senses
Lab test 1
13. Mechanisms in Evolution
14. Bacteria and Protists
15. Fungi
Lab Test 2
16. Nonvascular and Seedless Vascular Plants
17. Seed Plants
21. Reproduction in Plants
Lab Test 3
22. Introduction to invertebrates
23. Invertebrate Coelomates
24. The Vertebrates
Ecology (handout)
Lab Test 4
Research Presentations