BIOLOGY 100: General
Biology
Fall 2004 Syllabus
Instructor: Dr. Lee
McClenaghan
Office: PS-154
Phone: 594-3751
Email: lmcclena@sciences.sdsu.edu
Office
Hrs: 1100-1200
Monday – Thursday
If my scheduled office hours are
not convenient for you, please make an appointment. The best way to reach me is by e-mail, but feel free to talk with
me after class or phone me at my office. You may also leave messages for me in
my mailbox outside the Biology Office (LS 104). Please recognize that I have
other responsibilities besides Biology 100 and that these responsibilities
often take me out of my office. If you
are having problems in class, please see me as soon as possible. I will do
everything I can to help you with your problems, but don’t wait until mid-semester
or immediately before exams to contact me.
COURSE FORMAT
General
Biology (Biology 100) is an introductory biology course for non-majors. The class meets for 75 minutes twice a week
(0930-1045 TTh) in NH-100. Lectures
will be supplemented with readings from the text. Four lecture periods have been set aside for exams. You can also expect unannounced, in-class
quizzes throughout the semester. A tentative
lecture and examination schedule are found below. This schedule may be modified at any time.
COURSE MATERIALS
Blackboard (http://blackboard.sdsu.edu/ ) will be
used for electronic posting of all course announcements, grades, and other
materials. Copies of this syllabus and
schedule can be found there.
Text Book (required)
Campbell, N.A., et al. 2004. Essential
Biology. 2nd
Edition. Benjamin Cummings..
We will use most parts of this book but the whole text will enhance your
understanding of biology. The publisher provides an on-line resource with this
book at http://www.essentialbiology.com/.
Scantrons (required)
These testing forms are available at the Aztec bookstore. NOTE: You
must have the correct forms. You’ll
need one scantron form (#882-ES)
and #2 pencils for each exam (4
scantrons total). Small scantron forms #815 or #815E are required for
in-class quizzes. The #815 forms come in
packs of 15; bring them to each class meeting.
LECTURE OUTLINES
Lecture
outlines normally will be posted on the Blackboard website 24 hours before
class so that you may use topical points and figures as a guide during
lecture. Note that these outlines
are not the total lecture but are an aid in note taking during lecture.
The Power Point presentations during lecture will not be posted on the web
because I believe note-taking skills are not fostered in this manner and
because I encourage your attendance.
EXAMINATIONS, QUIZZES, AND GRADING
Your
grade will be determined by your performance on examinations and in-class
quizzes. Exams will be of the
multiple-choice variety and will consist of questions taken from my lecture
notes. You will not be tested on material from the book unless it has been
discussed in lecture. Four lecture
exams have been scheduled. These four
exams are of equal weight (100 points each).
Exams will be graded on a curve. Exam keys will be posted outside my
office and on the class Blackboard immediately after each exam.
Here
is the examination schedule for the semester:
Exam 1: September 23
Exam 2: October 19
Exam 3: November 16
Exam 4: December 16 (Note: This exam begins at 10:30)
Make-up exams (upon verified excused
absence) will consist of essay and short-answer questions, and will be given
for the first 3 exams only.
If illness or other serious problems beyond your control prevents you
from taking an exam, you are expected to provide some kind of verification of
the reason, such as a note from student health services. You must contact me no later than one day after the regular exam with
a valid excuse to be accorded the privilege of taking a make-up.
In
addition to exams, in-class quizzes will also be given and will make up about
15% of your grade. There will be 8 unannounced quizzes and each
quiz will be worth 10 points. Your lowest quiz score will be dropped. There
are no makeup quizzes regardless of your reason for missing the quiz.
ADDING AND DROPPING THE CLASS
September 20 is the last
day to add or drop this or any other class.
Make you take care of all of your adding and dropping by this
date!!
Crashers
must legibly write their name and
SSN on "crash cards" provided on the first day of class. Crash cards will not be accepted after Thursday, September 2. Crash cards will be drawn at random as space
becomes available through drops.
Winners will be announced after class on Thursday, September 9 and you must be present to receive a Regline
add code.
CHEATING
It is
hoped that cheating will not be a problem in this course. Nevertheless, to avoid any possibility of
you not recognizing what the consequences are, this is my policy:
If you are caught cheating on an exam or quiz, you will receive a zero
on the exam or quiz. In addition, the
event will be reported to campus judicial authorities and may lead additional
actions by from the University.
HOW TO SUCCEED IN BIOLOGY 100
1. Make
coming to class a habit.
Scientific studies show that students who come to class get better
grades than those who do not. NOTE: Simply obtaining the lecture outlines from the class’s Blackboard
site is NOT a substitute for
coming to class!
2. Make
use of my office hours to get help if you need it. If you are not free during my office hours,
make an appointment with me for some time that is convenient for both of us.
3. Be on
time to class. Class runs from 0930
to 1045. Be ready to begin promptly at 0930 and don't plan
on leaving before 1045. On exam days, no one will be admitted to
the room after 0940.
4. Be
attentive in class. Please sit
quietly, pay attention and take notes.
Distractions and disruptions during lecture will not be tolerated; I
will ask you to leave if, in my judgment, you are being disruptive.
5. Ask
questions. If something in lecture
isn’t clear, don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Undoubtedly, someone else has the same question!
6. Be
organized. Us a binder or folder to
keep your notes, handouts, scantrons and any other course materials together
all in one place. Bring your binder to
class.
7. Be
prepared. Read the assigned
readings from the text BEFORE
class.
BIOLOGY 100 LECTURE SCHEDULE
|
Date |
Topic |
Text Chapter (pgs.) |
|
Aug.
31 |
Lecture 1: Introduction to Bio 100; Biology Today |
1 |
|
Sept. 2 |
Lecture 2: Chemistry for Biology |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
7 |
Lecture 3: Molecules of Life |
3 |
|
9 |
Lecture 4: Cell Structure and Function |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
14 |
Lecture 5: The Working Cell |
5 |
|
16 |
Lecture 6: Cellular Respiration |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
21 |
Lecture 7: Photosynthesis |
7 |
|
23 |
EXAM 1 |
-- |
|
|
|
|
|
28 |
Lecture 8: Cell Reproduction – Mitosis and Meiosis |
8 |
|
30 |
Lecture 9: Patterns of Inheritance – Part 1 |
9
(141-151) |
|
|
|
|
|
Oct.
5 |
Lecture 10: Patterns of Inheritance – Part 2 |
9
(154-166) |
|
7 |
Lecture 11: DNA Replication; Protein Synthesis |
10
(170-186) |
|
|
|
|
|
12 |
Lecture 12: Biology of Viruses |
10
(188-190) |
|
14 |
Lecture 13: DNA Technology |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
19 |
EXAM 2 |
-- |
|
21 |
Lecture 14: How Populations Evolve – Part 1 |
13
(242-253) |
|
|
|
|
|
26 |
Lecture 15: How Populations Evolve – Part 2 |
13
(254-266) |
|
28 |
Lecture 16: How Biological Diversity Evolves |
14 |
|
|
|
|
|
Nov.
2 |
Lecture 17: The Evolution of Microbial Life |
15 |
|
4 |
Lecture 18: Plants, Fungi, and the Move onto Land |
16 |
|
|
|
|
|
9 |
Lecture 19: The Evolution of Animals – Part 1 |
17
(343-359) |
|
11 |
Lecture 20: The Evolution of Animals – Part 2 |
17
(360-376) |
|
|
|
|
|
16 |
EXAM 3 |
-- |
|
18 |
Lecture 21: The Ecology of Organisms and Populations |
18 |
|
|
|
|
|
23 |
Lecture 22: Communities |
19
(406-417) |
|
25 |
HOLIDAY – THANKSGIVING RECESS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
30 |
Lecture 23: Ecosystem Structure and Function |
19
(417-425) |
|
Dec.
2 |
Lecture 24: Biomes of the World |
19
(428-438) |
|
|
|
|
|
7 |
Lecture 25: Human Impacts on Communities and Ecosystems |
20
(442-449) |
|
9 |
Lecture 26: The Biodiversity Crisis and Conservation
Biology |
20
(452-462) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dec
16 |
EXAM 4 (1030
- 1230) |
-- |