BIO-109 Concepts of Life
Syllabus and Course Outline
Spring, 2009
Instructor: J. Michael Sallee Lecture: Rm. 511, Bowles Hall
507 Bowles Hall 10:45 a.m. - 12:10 p.m. T, Th
319-524-3221 Ext. 1991 Lab: Rm. 505, Bowles Hall
jmsallee@scciowa.edu 10:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. F
Office Hrs.: As listed below or other office hours can be arranged by appointment.
8:35 - 9:30 M,T,W,Th
8:35 - 10:35 F
12:55 - 2:55 T, Th
Course Description:
“Concepts of Life” is designed for non-science majors. It is a basic molecular and cellular study with emphasis on chemical interactions, principles of inheritance, and population dynamics. There are no prerequisites. 4 semester credit hours. 3 hours lecture and l hour lab credit.
Required Texts:
Concepts in Biology, 12th Ed., by Enger, Ross, & Bailey. McGraw-Hill.
Birds of North America, by Kaufman. Houghton/Mifflon.
Class Attendance:
It is expected that each student will be responsible in attending class lecture
sessions. Due to the great amount of subject matter normally covered in a given
class session, the student who does not attend class faithfully will be at a
great disadvantage.
A laboratory session will usually involve the use of normal skills along with visual perception of results obtained from experimentation, microscopic viewing and dissection. It is therefore expected that the student’s participation be 100%.
Evaluation:
Each student will be assigned a letter grade consistent with their combined
success on major exams, lecture and laboratory quizzes, and class hand-ins.
There will often be points awarded for various activities for which the student
must be present. Students who miss class, or are tardy, or leave early will miss
those points. The final course grade assigned to each student will be based on
the total number of points accumulated during the semester according to the
following scale:
A 90 - 100%
B 80 - 89.9%
C 70 - 79.9%
D 55 - 69.9%
F 0 - 54.9%
Each student will be allowed to drop one test score and one hand-in score or quiz score prior to the Final Exam. Class assignments that are late will receive a zero grade. A Final Exam that includes comprehensive questions will be required of all students. The instructor reserves the right to modify evaluation procedures for students who experience extensive medical problems but advance notice is required unless the student is comatose. Students hoping for consideration of make-up work must speak with the instructor in advance or leave their name and excuse on the telephone answering machine in advance at the number listed previously.
SCC Board Policy #523: Code of Academic Conduct.
Academic honesty is a fundamental attribute of higher learning. Evaluation of each student’s level of knowledge and understanding is a vital part of the teaching process, and it requires a variety of methods of assessment. Any act that interferes with the process of evaluation by misrepresenting the relationship between the work being evaluated and the student’s actual state of knowledge is an act of academic dishonesty. These acts of dishonesty include, but are not limited to:
Fraud: Acts of dishonesty, which include falsification of documents, fabrication of data and altering solutions to be resubmitted for a grade.
Cheating: Any deceptive act that involves the submission of academic work purported to be one’s own when in fact the work was obtained from someone else. These acts may include copying or attempting to copy from another person’s test or assignment, allowing someone else to copy from a test and/or assignment, attempting to use unauthorized aids to complete an assignment, and multiple submission of the same work to be graded as different assignments.
Plagiarism: Misrepresenting someone else’s words, ideas, or data as one’s own original work. Students may avoid plagiarism by fully and consistently crediting the person or person’s responsible for the original work, including paraphrasing.
Forgery: Any attempt to misrepresent another person’s signature, initials, computer login, or other identifying mark.
Facilitating Dishonesty: Actions that assist another person in committing a dishonest act.
SCC Administrative Guideline #101 will be used to deal with violations in the Code of Academic conduct.
BIO:109 Concepts of Life
Course Outline and Tentative Class Assignment Schedule
There may be adjustments to this schedule, but these will be announced in class.
Th: 1/15 - Ch. 1 What is Biology?
F: 1/16 - Ch. 2 The Basics of Life: Chemistry
T: 1/20 - Ch. 2 Chemical Reactions
Th: 1/22 - Ch. 3 Organic Molecules
F: 1/23 - Alchemy Lab
T: 1/27 - Finish Ch. 3; Ch. 4 Cell Structure and Function
Th: 1/29 - Ch. 1, 2, & 3 Exam; Finish Ch. 4
F: 1/30 - Calorimetry Lab
T: 2/03 - Ch. 5 Enzymes
Th: 2/05 - Ch. 6 Biochemical Pathways
F: 2/06 - Enzymes Lab
T: 2/10 - Ch. 7 Photosynthesis
Th: 2/12 - Ch. 4, 5, 6 & 7 Exam
F: 2/13 - Microscopy Lab
T: 2/17 - Ch.8 DNA & RNA
Th: 2/19 - Ch. 9 Cell Division
F: 2/20 - Mitosis Lab
T: 2/24 - Finish Ch. 9; Ch. 10 Mendelian Genetics
Th: 2/26 - Ch. 10 Single Factor Crosses
F: 2/27 - Probability Lab
T: 3/03 - Ch. 10 Double Factor Crosses
Th: 3/05 - Ch. 11 Applications of Biotechnology
F: 3/06 - Mendelian Genetics Lab
T: 3/10 - Ch. 27 Human Reproduction, Sex and Sexuality
Th: 3/12 - Ch. 27 Spermatogenesis
F: 3/13 - Ch. 8, 9, 10, 11, & 27 Exam
Spring Break: 3/16 through 3/20
T: 3/24 - Ch. 12 Diversity Within Species
Th: 3/26 - Ch. 13 Evolution and Natural Selection
F: 3/27 - Karyotype Lab
T: 3/31 - Ch. 13 Gene-Frequency Studies
Th: 4/02 - Ch. 14 The Formation of Species and Evolutionary Change
F: 4/03 - Lab on Hardy-Weinberg Concept
T: 4/07 - Ch. 19 The Origin of Life and the Evolution of Cells
Th: 4/09 - Ch. 20 Classification of Organisms
F: 4/10 - Teachers’ Inservice. Class will not meet.
T: 4/14 - Ch. 12, 13, 14, 19, & 20 Exam
Th: 4/16 - Ch. 15 Ecosystem Organization and Energy Flow
F: 4/17 - Ornithology Lab
T: 4/21 - Ch. 15 The Cycling of Materials
Th: 4/23 - Ch. 16 Community Interactions
F: 4/24 - Ornithology Lab
T: 4/28 - Ch. 16 Ecological Succession
Th: 4/30 - Ch. 17 Population Ecology
F: 5/01 - Populations Lab
T: 5/05 - Ch. 18 Evolution and Ecological Aspects of Behavior
Th: 5/07 - Ch. 18 Instinct and Learning
F: 5/08 - Ecosystems Lab
T: 5/12 - Final Exams
Th: 5/14 - Final Exams
F: 5/15 - Teachers’ Inservice