BISC208010 INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY
FALL 2011
Index
Class Activities
Course Schedule
Attendance
Grading
Accessing Notes
Laboratory:
Guidelines and Rubrics for lab reports
Short
report Rubric (Results only): Guidelines
Long
report Rubric; Guidelines
Old
Exam #1 Answers
COURSE INFORMATION
Course Instructor | Linda K. Dion |
Course Time, Place |
Lecture: MWF 11:15; Smith Hall 130 Labs: throughout the week |
Office | 241 Wolf Hall |
Office Hours | M 1-2:00, W 3:45-4:45 or by appointment |
ldion@udel.edu | |
Class web page | http://www.udel.edu/biology/dion/208010syllabus_2011.html |
Text | Brooker, Widmaier, Graham, Stiling. Biology, 2nd ed |
Phone | 831-2476 |
Please consult this on-line syllabus for the latest course
information. Changes made throughout the semester will be shown on this
syllaubus.
COURSE CONTENT
The physiology of plants and animals will be the
focus of this course, although evolutionary and ecological concepts
will also be taught.
Lecture is supplemented by labs which teach evolution, ecology,
diversity and
physiology
of plants and animals.
CLASS ACTIVITIES
Preparation: At the beginning of
each major topic, you should always do the assigned reading
before
coming to listen to a lecture. It will be VERY helpful for you to
print
out the Power Point notes, so you can more easily follow a lecture
(more
about that below).
Exams: There will
be three "hourly" exams and a final exam.
The hourlies will consist of 40 to 50 multiple choice questions. See
comments
below about attendance
at exams. All exams are given in the regular
classroom during a regularly scheduled class; they will be
returned in class or in laboratory. Grades are not posted on Sakai, nor
may they
be sent
by email. If you are absent when an exam is returned, you
must come to my office to receive your exam. Anything that
is done in class, or
that's
assigned for reading is fair game for exams. It's usually best to
concentrate
on what we do in class when you study for an exam.
You will be asked to use a
scantron to take exams and for this you will need a #2
pencil. ONLY answers which are gridded in on your scantron will count
toward your grade in an exam. If you had a different answer
for a question circled on your test, or if you failed to grid in an
answer, you will not receive credit for that question. Other extraneous
marks on a scantron will not be considered to constitute an answer.
Please be careful to grid in your answers when taking an exam.
Lectures.
Three
class
meetings
will usually be required to cover a topic. In addition to lectures on a
topic, problems or a practice quiz may also be done .
ACCESSING POWER POINT NOTES:
This course is not on Sakai,
so you will need to follow directions to access notes. To access Power
Point notes before
class, you will
need
to use a computer linked to the campus network. Using one from
off-campus
will not allow access, since these notes are
restricted to the UD community. However, if you live off-campus
you
can connect through a proxy server available only to UD students by
using this direct link:
https://proxy.nss.udel.edu/login?qurl=http://www.udel.edu/biology/dion/208010syllabus_2011.html).
This will connect you to the proxy server, which will then require that
you log in. After logging in, you will get immediately back to the
syllabus (now through the proxy server), so you should now
be able to access any restricted files. To
download the Power Point slides, you will need Power Point on your
computer.
(If you do not have Power Point as a program on your computer, you can
download
a Power Point Viewer [see the Microsoft.com website] - It will
allow you
to read PP files, but not create new ones). Power Point
notes can be accessed through the link under "Class Schedule"
for the respective date on this syllabus. Do NOT search in WebCT
or Sakai for
lecture notes.
I use email frequently to communicate with the class at-large, and with individuals. Often, announcements will be made by email. In addition, comments on exams may be put on the course web page, as well as the links to Power Point notes and lab information. In laboratory, data may be shared and transmitted through email from your TA. Lab TAs will expect all writing assignments to be typed and double-spaced; they will tell you whether graphs can be hand-done or done in Excel. (Note that althought some lab data may be shared by lab partners, reports must be prepared and written by individuals and may NOT be shared.) As you can see, it will be necessary for you to have easy access to a computer and to use a udel.edu mailing address..
Class | Date | Lecture Topic | Chapter | Lab Topic of
Week (Ex. refers to lab in manual) |
1 | W 8/31 |
Class canceled |
23*, 24 |
No Lab |
2 | F 9/2 |
Microevolution
Key
Concepts |
24 | - |
M 9/5 |
HOLIDAY - NO CLASS |
- |
No Lab this week |
|
3 | W 9/7 |
Evolution; HW
problems Answers |
25* to p. 520 (omit section 3 & 4) |
- |
4 | F 9/9 |
Speciation;
Key
concepts |
25 |
- |
5 | M 9/12 |
Speciation |
- |
Lab 1: Ex. 1 Introduction to lab; Evolution |
PLANT BIOLOGY |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
6 | W 9/14 |
Introduction to Systematics Introduction to Plant Diversity Key concepts |
29* (omit section 2), 30 to p. 626 |
- |
7 | F 9/16 |
Diversity Plant Structure Key Concepts |
35 |
- |
8 | M 9/19 |
Plant
Structure |
35 |
Lab 2: Ex. 3 Plants I: Anatomy & Transport |
9 | W 9/21 |
Plant Structure; Nutrition | 37* |
|
10 | F 9/23 |
Nutrition
and Transport Key concepts |
38, 37 |
- |
11 | M 9/26 |
Transport |
38 |
Lab 3: Ex. 4 Plants II: Transpiration Project |
12 | W 9/28 |
Review |
- |
- |
13 |
F 9/30 |
Exam 1 on Evolution and Plants |
- |
- |
- |
- |
ANIMAL BIOLOGY | - |
- |
14 | M 10/3 |
Animal Diversity Key Concepts | 32 & 34* |
-Lab 4: Ex. 7 Animals I: Touch & Temperature Senses |
15 | W 10/5 |
Nervous
Control Key Concepts |
41 |
|
16 | F 10/7 |
Nervous system |
41 |
- |
17 | M 10/10 |
Nervous system; Muscle
function Key Concepts Practice Quiz - Nervous System |
44* | Lab 5: Ex. 5 Animals II: Invertebrates: Dissections & pulsation rate in blackworm |
18 | W 10/12 |
Muscles Practice
quiz on muscles |
44 |
- |
19 |
F 10/14 |
Finish muscles; Circulation | 47 |
- |
20 |
M 10/17 |
Circulation; Key Concepts |
47 |
Lab 6: Ex 6 Animals III: Invertebrates: Blackworm project - affect of drugs on pulsation rate |
21 |
W 10/19 |
Circulation Circulation
Practice |
47 |
|
22 | F 10/21 |
Gas Exchange | 48 |
- |
23 | M 10/24 |
Thermoregulation
(15-20 min) Key Concepts Gas Exchange |
46.3 and 4* | Lab 7: Ex. 8 Animals IV: Respiration |
24 | W 10/26 |
Gas Exchange Key
Concepts |
48 |
- |
25 | F 10/28 |
Review |
- |
- |
26 | M 10/31 |
Exam 2 on Animals
through Gas Exchange |
- |
No Formal Labs this week but
meet with lab TA during regular lab period (report due) |
27 | W 11/2 |
Osmoregulation Key Concepts |
49* |
- |
28 | F 11/4 |
Digestion | 45 |
- |
29 |
M 11/7 |
Digestion Key
Concepts |
45 |
Lab 8: Ex. 9 Animals V: Chordate Anatomy |
ECOLOGY |
||||
30 |
W 11/9 |
Finish Digestion |
56 |
- |
31 | F 11/11 |
Population
Ecology Key
Concepts |
56 |
- |
32 | M 11/14 |
Population
ecology |
56 |
Lab 9: Ex. 10 Ecology |
33 | W 11/16 |
Community
Ecology |
57, 58* | - |
34 | F 11/18 |
Communities Key
Concepts |
58* |
|
35 | M 11/21 |
Communities, or start Ecosystems |
58 |
No Labs this week but report is due |
- |
W 11/23 |
NO CLASS |
- |
- |
- |
F 11/25 |
HOLIDAY - NO CLASS |
- |
- |
36 | M 11/28 |
Ecosystems | 59* |
Lab 10: Final Laboratory Exam |
37 | W 11/30 |
Ecosystems, Biomes
Key
Concepts |
- |
- |
38 |
F 12/2 |
Biomes & Review |
54* |
- |
39 |
M 12/5 |
Exam 3 on all material since Exam 2 | - | - |
40 |
W 12/7 |
Return exams in class; prep for
final exam |
- |
- |
Date TBA |
Final
Exam |
Attendance in lecture is EXPECTED.
Announcements will be made, and lecture or exam started, at the
beginning of class so promptness is important. If you
miss a lecture, notes must be obtained from another student, or Power
Point
notes can be consulted. However, I supplement the Power point notes in
my lectures, so you will learn best by coming to lecture. If you
miss an exam, credit will not be received.
Exceptions are the following:
1. documented
illness
2. documented
personal tragedy
3. documented
official University business (documentation must be provided ahead of
time,
before the missed class)
If you miss an exam for one of the above documented reasons, your hourly exam
score will be determined from the corresponding part of the final exam.
This will only be done for a documented
excused absence, and it can
only be done once during the semester. If you miss more than one
exam for a documented excusable reason, you must take a make-up.
Attendance in laboratory is MANDATORY. We
place
high importance on the laboratory experience. Therefore unexcused
laboratory
absences will result in a loss of credit for that lab and possible
failure for the whole B208 course.
One
or two unexcused absences will result in no credit for work done that week
(quiz, assignment, report)
and
three unexcused absences will result
in a failure of BISC208. Excused
absences
fall into the categories listed above; they do NOT include such things
as campus activities, sleeping in, car trouble, choice of a different
lab for your own convenience. An excused absence must be
made
up
by attending a lab at another time during the same week. Responsibility
for arranging this lies with the student. However, you MUST first check with
me
to explain your excused absence. Make up during a later week cannot
be accomodated. As in BISC 207, students who have 3
excused absences and are unable to make up those missed
labs during the course, receive an automatice incomplete in the course.
Missed labs and the lab final exam must be made up during the next
semester. Additional laboratory policies will be explained in lab
by your laboratory instructor, and they should also be read in your lab
manual. Your lab instructor will also impose grade deductions for
tardiness of lab reports (10% for first 24-hr day and 20% for each day
thereafter) or attendance in lab. For example, if a quiz
is being given and you arrive late, you will not be able to take the
quiz.
The final grade is a reflection of effort
both
in the classroom and in the laboratory. Lecture will constitute 75% of
the final grade, lab 25%. Your laboratory grade will be explained
during
the first meeting of lab & is shown here.
It consists of the items shown below.
Laboratory - Graded Items | Percent of Lab Grade (divide by 4 to get % of course grade) |
Lab Final Exam |
|
2 Long Reports (10% each) |
|
4 Short Reports (5% each) |
20 |
5 Quizzes (4 @ 2%, 1 @ 1%)) |
|
2 Workplans (1% each) |
2 |
5 Assignments |
9 |
Total |
|
Lecture Grade: Your grade
in lecture will be based on three Hourly Exams which are equal in
weight; each is worth 25% of your course grade
Component | % of Course Grade |
3 Hourly Lecture Exams 20% each |
60% |
Final Exam |
15% |
Laboratory Grade |
25% |
The final grade will be determined from the following approximate
range which is shown below. HOWEVER, this range is NOT set in
stone. Assignment of the final
course grade can be influenced by such things as the entire class
average.
Additionally, assignment of final course grade to each student will be
considered on an individual basis and COULD be influenced by my
consideration of circumstances which include (but are not limited to)
the following: student's performance on one exam
was affected by serious illness or family emergency; student's
performance in lecture is significantly different from student's
performance in lab; laboratory grading by TA is significantly different
(more or less rigorous) than that of other TA's (in which case,
laboratory grades may be "normalized" among sections)
A plus or minus MAY be assigned for upper and lowermost grades in
each range. For example, a grade of 78 & 79 could be a C+, while a
70 -72 could be a C-
A (includes minus) |
90 - 100 |
B (includes + or -) |
80-89 |
C (incl. + or -) |
70-79 |
D (incl + or -) |
60-69 |
F | below 60 |
NOTE ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
For lab and lecture, be familiar with the
university
policy on Academic Dishonesty. All work submitted for grading in lab
and
lecture, must be the original work of each individual. Although you
will
work as a group in lab, lab reports are to be written individually.
This
means that graphs or tables should also be done individually.
Exceptions will be explained in lab.
The most common problems of
academic dishonesty among students are plagiarism and cheating (both
usually done
unintentionally because of misunderstanding of what constitutes these
infractions). Therefore, based on the Student Guide to University
Policies here are
definitions of each. These definitions are not necessarily
all-inclusive.
Plagiarism is the inclusion of someone else’s words, ideas, or data as one’s own. When a student submits academic work that includes another’s words, ideas, or data, whether published or unpublished, the source of that information must be acknowledged with complete and accurate references and, if verbatim statements are included, with quotation marks as well. By submitting work as his or her own, a student certifies the originality of all material not otherwise acknowledged. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to: