1406 friday syllabus
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COURSE OUTLINE FOR GENERAL BIOLOGY1406 Fall - 2008 Class Number - 57238 |
Time and location
8: 00 pm - 11: 00 AM Lecture in Room A227 on Friday & Lab in Room – 162 from 11:30 – 2:30 PM at
Instructor
Dr. Ratna .b. Perikala.
Office Hours: Faculty lounge 2:30 PM– 2:45 PM by Appointment.
E-mail: ratna.perikala@hccs.edu / perikala61@sbcglobal.net
web site: http://swc2.hccs.edu/natsci/
Textbook
Biology Text book
Laboratory Manual
1406 General Biology Lab Manual.
Course Catalog Description
Continuation of High school biology. Topics that are going to be covered include, themes in study of life, the chemical context of life, a tour of the cell, water and fitness of the environment, carbon and molecular diversity, membrane structure and function, cellular respiration, macromolecules, photosynthesis, cell cycle, meiosis, Mendel and gene idea, chromosomal basis of inheritance, molecular basis of inheritance, genetics, DNA, from gene to protein, microbial models, DNA replication, human heredity, DNA technology. The laboratory includes appropriate experiments. Core Curriculum course. Prerequisites: High school Biology.
Course Prerequisites
These are stated in the course description in the HCC catalog (quoted just above) and they are stressed again here for emphasis. Lack of satisfactory completion of the course prerequisites are one of the main reasons that cause students to do poorly .With the prerequisites satisfactorily completed, you can be confident that you are well-prepared for this course.
Course Intent
This course is intended for students majoring in life sciences, or for students who are pursuing pre-professional programs in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, or other health programs. The course is also beneficial to students who are preparing themselves for higher level science courses in their respective curricula.
Course Content
See the course schedule below for the topics (listed by chapter title) that will be covered in this class. College level general biology is very similar to a good high school course, but will usually cover the topics in greater detail and will place a greater emphasis.
Attendance Policy
The HCCS attendance policy is stated in the Fall 2008 Schedule of Classes . “Students are expected to attend classes regularly. Students are responsible for materials covered during their absences, and it is the student's responsibility to consult with instructors for make-up assignments. Class attendance is checked daily by instructors. Although it is the responsibility of the student to drop a course for non-attendance, the instructor has full authority to drop a student for excessive absences. A student may be dropped from a course for excessive absences after the student has accumulated absences in excess of 12.5% of the hours of instruction (including lecture and laboratory time).” Note that 12.5% is approximately 1 day. If circumstances significantly prevent you from attending classes, please inform me. I realize that sometimes outside circumstances can interfere with school, and I will try to be as accommodating as possible, but please be aware of the attendance policy.
Last Day for Administrative and Student Withdrawals
For 16 weeks Fall classes, this date is November 6th I urge any student who is contemplating withdrawing from the class to see me first! You may be doing better than you think. Either way, I want to be accessible and supportive. I do not believe in "weed out" classes, and I consider you to be much more than just a name or a number! Note my office hours, above; if you need assistance, I'm here to help.
Disability Support Services (DSS)
“Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office at the respective college at the beginning of each semester. Faculty are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the Disability Support Services Office.”
If you have any special needs or disabilities which may affect your ability to succeed in college classes or participate in any college programs or activities, please contact the DSS office for assistance. (At
Academic Honesty
Students are responsible for conducting themselves with honor and integrity in fulfilling course requirements. Disciplinary proceedings may be initiated by the college system against a student accused of scholastic dishonesty. Penalties can include a grade of "0" or "F" on the particular assignment, failure in the course, academic probation, or even dismissal from the college. Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion.
Laboratory Policy
Lab safety will be reviewed on the first day of lab. Each student will then sign a statement affirming his or her commitment to following safe procedures in the laboratory, and turn the form in to the instructor. Experiments will be performed in groups of up to three students each. Before you leave the lab, be sure to show me your report so I can review and initial it (SD). Each student should arrive at the lab on time, with his or her lab manual, or a Xerox of the report sheet and the procedure if you are in a financial bind. Each report must be done individually, but of course you can work with your lab partners on it. If you are not sure about a particular section, ask me about it! You would not believe how often I see absolutely wrong, even ridiculous, answers copied over and over by other students from just one report! Come to lab prepared. Read through the experiment beforehand, and review the pre-lab questions in the lab manual. You will be much better organized when doing the experiments, and your laboratory experience will be much more rewarding!
Exams and Make-up Policy
Examinations will consist of three non-cumulative regular exams plus a comprehensive departmental final & a class comprehensive final. Make-up exams will not normally be given, so make every effort to take the exams on their scheduled dates. Remember that the final exam will be comprehensive (meaning that it will cover all of the material from the whole semester, not just the last part). Please note: 1) All students are required to take the final and score a minimum of 60% to pass this class.(no student can be exempted), and 2) A student who completes the course by taking the final exam cannot receive a "W" in the course. In exceptional cases a W can still be given after the withdrawal date, but if you take the final, then you must receive a regular grade (A-F) in the course.
Assignments
Outside of laboratory reports, special assignments are normally not required. Practice problems, and especially the end of chapter problems, are highly beneficial, indeed essential, to learning biology.
Grading
The overall score is based on the following:
Three regular exams 45%
2 Laboratory exams & the lab book assignments 25%
Class Final 15%
Departmental Final 15%
This overall score is calculated as follows:
Overall Score = 0.45(Average of three regular exams) + 0.25(Laboratory grade) + 0.30(Final Exams)
The course grade is then obtained from the overall score:
90 - 100 A
80 - 89 B
70 - 79 C
60 - 69 D
< 60 F
Other Information
Free biology tutoring may be available. A tutoring schedule will be posted in the classroom and lab and will also be placed on the departmental web site (http://swc2.hccs.edu/).
General Suggestions
Biology is a vast field, ranging from the study of enormously complex molecules such as enzymes and nucleic acids in living organisms. In this course, we will be covering chemical context of life, pH and buffer solutions, thermodynamic ,A professional biologist may devote his or her entire career to only one of these general disciplines; we have a semester to touch on all of them! Here are some general suggestions: Keep your cell phone in silence mode, using cell phone in the class is not allowed. Using laptop during the class s discouraged. Try to give 100% of your attention to the lecture and lab, then you will know what is more important for the test.
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Learning biology takes time. A reasonable guide is to allow yourself two hours of study for each hour of lecture. Heavy work and/or class loads are not compatible with learning biology! |
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Attend class regularly (!) and take generous notes during class. Ask questions. |
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When beginning a new chapter, I recommend that you read through it quickly the first time, just to give yourself a good feel for what it is about. If you are really on the job you will have done this before the class lecture on the chapter! You will understand what's going on in class much better if you do this. |
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Next, start tackling the end of chapter problems! Often, working problems facilitates understanding much better than just reading and rereading the chapter itself. Biology is a "hands on" course - working problems is essential. |
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Study groups can be very helpful. Keep the group small though, no more than three or four people. |
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Finally, keep a positive attitude! biology can be hard, but with the right attitude and approach, you will succeed in mastering it! |
I hope you find biology to be an interesting and rewarding subject which will not only be useful in your academic major, but will give you a better insight into the many scientific challenges we are facing today. I look forward to working with you this semester!
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Ratna.B.Perikala August, 2008 |
Tentative course schedule
WEEKS
1 Themes in the Study of Life.
Introduction, lab safety, rules and regulations
Lab - Microscope. Cell Morphology
The Chemical Context of Life.
Lab - Chemicals: The Basis of Life.
2 Water and Fitness of the Environment.
Carbon and Molecular Diversity.
Lab - Biological Fluids.
3 A Tour of the Cell
Lab – Cell morphology
4 Membrane Structure and Function.
Lab - diffusion, osmosis, osmotic relationship of cells.
5 Lecture exam -1. on 9 / 26
Cellular Respiration : Harvesting chemical -
- Energy. Lab - fermentation.
6 The Structure and function of the Macromolecules
Lab - Biomolecules (Carbohydrates -
Lipids, Proteins ,Nucleic acids)
7 Photosynthesis . An Introduction to Metabolism .
Lab - Enzymes : Biological Catalysts.
8 Lecture Exam -2 . on 10 / 17
The Cell Cycle.
Lab - Mitosis.
Cell Communication.
9 Lab Exam-1 . on 10 / 24
Meiosis and Sexual life cycles.
Mendel and the Gene Idea.
Lab :Meiosis : Gamete Production.
10 The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance.
The molecular Basis of Inheritance.
Genetics: Mendelian Inheritance.
11 Human Heredity.
Statistical Analysis of Data.
last day for administrative / 11 / 06
student withdrawals.
12 Lecture Exam- 3. on 11 / 14
Molecular structure of DNA.
DNA Extraction and Spooling .
Electrophoresis.
13 Mendelian inheritance.
Human Hereditary
From Gene to Protein.
Microbial Models: The Genetics of Viruses and
-Bacteria. Protein Synthesis.
14 DNA Replication. Genetic Engineering:
Gene Splicing Technique.
The Genetic Basis of Development
The Organization and Control of
15 Eukaryotic Genomes.
DNA Technology.
Genetics: Gene Frequency.
12 / 05 Lab Exam - 2 .
12 / 12 Final Exam.
