BIO 108 The Living World

Syllabus and Course Outline

Fall, 2006

Biology Department Southeastern Community College

Instructor: J. Michael Sallee Lecture: 10:45 - 11:40 a.m. M, W, F Rm 507, Bowles Hall Rm. 511, Bowles Hall

(319) 524 - 3221 ext. 1991 Lab: 9:40 - 11:40 a.m. T

jmsallee@scciowa.edu Rm. 505, Bowles Hall

Office Hrs.:

8:35-9:30 MTWThF

9:40-10:35 Th

11:50-12:45 MTWF

Other Office Hours can be arranged by appointment.

Course Description:

A study of the structural and functional relationships of living organisms, their diversity and evolution. Includes an introduction to the Scientific Method. This course is intended for the non-science major. There are no prerequisites.

Course Value: 4 semester credit hours (Lecture 3 Lab 2 Credit 4)

Required Text: Inquiry Into Life, 11th Ed., by Sylvia Mader. 2006. McGraw-Hill.

Forest Trees of Illinois, by Robert H. Mohlenbrock. 2000. Illinois DNR.

Course Objectives:

1. Associate the combined contributions of cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems that help maintain a stable internal environment required for individual cell survival.

2. Demonstrate the connection between structure, organization, and interactions of life with the properties of matter and energy.

3. Identify the adaptive capacities of organisms to adapt to a wide range of challenges imposed by unpredictable, complex environments.

4. Trace the flow of energy and cycling of materials through an ecosystem.

5. Develop an awareness of the present and projected utilization of natural resources and relate these to man's social responsibilities.

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.

Tentative Class Assignment Schedule

There may be adjustments to this schedule, but these will be announced in class.

August M: 8/21 - Introduction to the Living World; Ch. 1 The Study of Life

T: 8/22 - Lab: Variations in Leaf Structure

W: 8/23 - Ch. 2 The Molecules of Cells

F: 8/25 - Ch. 2 Common Organic Compounds

M: 8/28 -. Ch. 3 Cell Structure and Function

T: 8/29 - Electrolytes Lab

W: 8/30 - Ch. 3 Prokaryotic Cells

September F: 9/01 - Ch. 4 Membrane Structure and Function

M: 9/04 - Labor Day, Class will not meet

T: 9/05 - Microscopy Lab

W: 9/06 - Ch. 4 Active Transport

F: 9/08 - Ch. 6 Metabolism: Energy and Enzymes

M: 9/11 - Ch. 7 Cellular Respiration

T: 9/12 - Diffusion and Osmosis Lab

W: 9/13 - Ch. 7 Fermentation

F: 9/15 - Ch. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, & 7 Exam

M: 9/18 - Ch. 8 Photosynthesis

T: 9/19 - Start Plant Growth Lab

W: 9/20 - Ch. 9 Plant Organization

F: 9/22 - Ch. 9 Organization of Stems

M: 9/25 - Ch. 10 Plant Physiology and Responses

T: 9/26 - Spore-forming Plants Lab

W: 9/27 - Ch. 10 Control of Plant Growth and Responses

F: 9/29 - Ch. 29 Plants

October M: 10/02 - Ch. 29 Plants

T: 10/03 - Botany Lab

W: 10/04 - Ch. 28 Microbiology

F: 10/06 – Ch. 28 The Protists

M: 10/09 - Ch. 28 The Fungi

T: 10/10 - Microbiology Lab

W: 10/11 - Ch. 8, 9, 10, 28, & 29 Exam

F: 10/13 - Ch. 11 Human Organization

M: 10/16 – Ch. 30 Animals: Part I

T: 10/17 - Invertebrates Lab

W: 10/18 - Ch. 30 Molluscs

F: 10/20 - No Class, Professional Development Day

M: 10/23 - Ch. 31 Animals: Part II

T: 10/24 - Vertebrates Lab

W: 10/25 - Ch. 31 Amphibians

F: 10/27 - Ch. 32 Animal Behavior

M: 10/30 - Ch. 11, 30, 31, & 32 Exam

T: 10/31 - Lab Exam: Leaf Identification

November W: 11/01 - Ch. 33 Population Growth

F: 11/03 - Ch. 33 Population Growth and Regulation

M: 11/06 - Ch. 34 Ecosystems

T: 11/07 - Ecology Lab

W: 11/08 - Ch. 34 Global Biogeochemical Cycles

F: 11/10 - Ch. 35 Biosphere

M: 11/13 - Ch. 35 Aquatic Communities

T: 11/14 - Food Webs Lab

W: 11/15 - Ch. 36 Environmental Concerns

F: 11/17 - Ch. 36 Value of Biodiversity

M: 11/20 - Ch. 33, 34, 35, & 36 Exam

T: 11/21 - Mitosis Lab

W: 11/22 - Not in Session

Th: 11/23 - Thanksgiving

F: 11/24 - Not in Session

M: 11/27 - Ch. 5 Cell Division

T: 11/28 – Meiosis Lab

W: 11/29 - Ch. 5 Meiosis

December F: 12/01 - Ch. 24 DNA Structure and Replication

M: 12/04 - Ch. 24 DNA Technology

T: 12/05 - DNA Lab

W: 12/06 - Ch. 25 Control of Gene Expression and Cancer

F: 12/08 - Ch. 27 Evolution of Life

M: 12/11 - Ch. 27 Process of Evolution

T: 12/12 – Review for Final Exam

W: 12/13 - Final Exams