Principles of Biology I – Bio 101 Fall 2011

Instructor:   Dr. Brad Wetherbee

Phone: 874-2335

Email: wetherbee@uri.edu

Office: Woodward 024

Office Hours: MWF 11-12 or by appointment

Lecture: MWF 9-9:50 Kirk Auditorium

Laboratory: CBLS 340 or 330

 

Text: Scott Freeman, Biological Science, 4th ed. Benjamin Cummings.

 

Course website: http://www.uri.edu/cels/bio/wetherbee/bio101.htm

 

Students are responsible for reading this syllabus and for the information contained

Course Description:

This course offers an introduction to major principles of biology at the cell and organismal level, and is the first half of a year-long biology course (Bio101-102). This course will follow a hierarchical scheme from molecules to cells, tissues, organs and systems in whole organisms. Lectures will focus on materials necessary for life and the processes that occur within normal functioning living things.

Instruction:

Lecture: The primary means of communicating information for this course is lectures.  Partial lecture notes will be posted on the course website.  If you miss a lecture you should obtain the missed notes from a student that attended class on the day that you missed.  I will not provide notes for students that have missed a class.  One of the most effective ways to study for exams and to do well in this course is to regularly review lecture notes (i.e. each day we have lecture).  All exam questions will consist of material covered in lecture.  It is important to attend lectures and take notes yourself.  Very few students that miss class and get the lecture notes from other students succeed in this course. 

Textbook:  Given that lecture time is limited, students are expected to supplement their understanding of the concepts covered in lecture by reading the associated chapters.  The textbook provides much more detailed information about topics covered, and students should keep up with assigned reading.

Mastering Biology – Online Assignments: Each student must register for Mastering Biology at  masteringbiology.com.  If you bought a new textbook from the URI bookstore your textbook comes with a registration code for Mastering Biology.  If you did not buy a new book from the URI bookstore you will have to buy an access code from the bookstore.  Weekly assignments that accompany lecture topics will be available on masteringbiology.com and start the first week of class (THE FIRST MASTERING BIOLOGY ASSIGNMENT IS DUE SEPT 11th).  Online assignments will not mesh 100% with lecture material, but they include exercises on most of the major principles covered in introductory biology courses and overlap a great deal.  All assignments must be completed by Sunday night of the week assigned to receive full credit.  Grading of assignments and recording of scores are automated and a penalty will be assessed automatically for each day the assignment is late.  The site will include a total of 12 assignments, each worth 10 points.  The two lowest scores will be dropped and these online assignments account for 50 points total (worth the same amount of points as one exam).  Instructions for registering for Mastering Biology are available on the Bio101 course website and instructions and hints for completing the online assignments are available on the Masteringbiology.com website.  You must register for OUR Mastering Biology course (WETHERBEE101FALL2011) at masteringbiology.com.  If you do not register for Mastering Biology and complete the first assignment by September 11, you will start to lose points.  The first Mastering Biology assignment is an introduction to Mastering Biology to help in using the program, but not worth any points, and there are other assignments worth 10 points the first week.  Each weekly group of assignments is worth 10 points.  Make sure that you complete all of the assignments for each week for full credit and check your scores.       

Supplemental Instruction (SI):  Because Bio101 is a difficult class for some students and there are a high proportion of final grades of D and F in Bio101, the Academic Enhancement Center has established a Supplemental Instruction program to accompany this course.  Sessions are held twice a week in the Biological Sciences Study Center in the Browning Residence Hall, where lecture topics are reviewed and students have an opportunity to ask questions about lecture material.  Students regularly attending the SI sessions can expect to improve their performance in the course by as much as one letter grade.  The SI leader for this semester is John Adley (401 345-2604) (john_adley@my.uri.edu).  More information on the SI sessions can be found on the course website and days and times for the SI sessions will be also announced in class. 

Academic Enhancement Center (AEC): Tutors, study groups and review sessions may be arranged through the Academic Enhancement Program located in Roosevelt Hall (4th floor) for individual students and groups.

Although much effort is put into presenting subject matter in a variety of ways (lecture, textbook, Mastering Biology, videos, laboratory) and to highlight and reinforce the most important topics (study guides, practice exams, Mastering Biology), and although there are several very effective resources to help students that are struggling or to improve success of any student wishing to do better (SI sessions, AEC tutoring), your success in this class still depends on how much work you put into the course and for many students Bio101 is a challenging course that requires more time than their other courses this semester.  If you are having trouble understanding course material, do not hesitate to ask for help from your instructor, laboratory TA or fellow students.  There is not much that can be done about a grade at the end of the semester so don’t wait to ask to for help.

Exams:        

There will be four exams during the semester and a final exam.  Material for exams will come almost entirely from information presented in lectures.  Answers to all exam questions can be found in the lecture notes, but questions will be specific and may require synthesis of various topics and you should expect to know material in the lecture notes well to score high on exams. 

o   Exams will be multiple choice, 50 questions for midterms and 75 points for the final exam.

o   Exam answer sheets are OMR answer sheets and you will need a #2 pencil.

o   The final exam will be approximately 2/3 comprehensive and 1/3 from material covered during the final quarter of the semester. 

o   Note exam dates ahead of time and make semester travel plans accordingly, especially for the final exam Wednesday Dec 14th 8-11 am.  Please be prepared to take the final exam on the day that it is scheduled. 

o   Practice exams are provided on the course website.  These are exams from previous semesters to illustrate the format of exams and the type of questions to expect.  Practice exams are intended for students to test themselves after they have studied in preparation for an upcoming exam.  The actual exam will have different questions than the practice exam, but will be similar.  Students will benefit to a much greater extent by finding the answers to practice exam questions rather than just being given the answer.  This is particularly true for questions for which a student is unsure of the answer. In the case that the answers are not included with the practice exam questions; students should find the answers to all questions in lecture notes or in the book.

o   Study guides consist of a list of questions and concepts covered in class in a summary style as an aid for synthesizing and understanding material covered in the course.  Study guides will be posted on the course website prior to exams.

o   Due to the large number of students in this course there are NO MAKE UP EXAMS.  Your lowest exam score will be dropped.  If an exam is taken on a date different from the scheduled exam date, the exam will be ESSAY format consisting of 4-5 questions.

Section 8.51.11-12 of the University Manual states:

8.51.11 Students who plan to be absent from classes or examinations for religious holy days that traditionally preclude secular activity (see 6.20.11 for how such information is made available) shall discuss this with the appropriate instructor(s) in advance of the holy day. The instructor(s) shall then make one of the following options available:  a. the same quiz, test, or examination to be administered either before or after the normally scheduled time; b. a comparable alternative quiz, test, or examination to be administered either before or after the scheduled time; c. an alternative weighting of the remaining evaluative components of the course which is mutually acceptable to the student and instructor(s).

8.51.12 Students who expect to be absent from classes or examinations for University sanctioned events shall discuss this with the appropriate instructor(s) at least one week in advance of the sanctioned event(s). The instructor(s) concerned shall then offer the student an alternative listed in section 8.51.11. For these purposes University sanctioned events shall be those events approved for class excuses by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, a Vice President, a Dean, or the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. No event shall be regarded as University sanctioned until the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs has been notified. Disagreements over the validity of an event being categorized as University sanctioned shall be mediated by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. If agreement cannot be reached, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs shall decide the matter and that decision shall be final.

Laboratory:

Laboratory manuals may be purchased from the bookstore or individual labs can be printed out from the course website (under “Laboratory Manual”).  You must bring the lab print out to lab each meeting, whether that be individual lab or the entire lab manual and points will be deducted if you show up for lab without a copy of that week’s laboratory exercises.  Laboratory attendance is mandatory and the lab score accounts for 21% of the course point total. Labs offer hands-on learning and interaction with your fellow students. The schedule of labs, information on grading and makeup labs will be provided at your first lab meeting. Laboratories begin the second week of classes NOT THIS WEEK.  You are expected to learn the name of your TA and know how to contact them.  For questions about the laboratory contact Linda Forrester - lindaforrester@mail.uri.edu.

Grading:   

Grades will be based on the 4 mid-semester exams, the final exam, Mastering Biology and the laboratory. The lowest of the 4 mid-term exams will be dropped.  If you miss an exam it will count as the score dropped. There may also be occasional in-class assignments worth extra points that can only be completed if you are in class that particular day.  Cumulative point totals for the lecture portion of the course will be posted on the website following each exam and will enable you to be aware of how you are doing in the course.  You are expected to be aware of your scores throughout the semester and contact me if you feel there is an error in your scores.  At the end of the semester, grades will be based on scores as a percentage of total points possible. 

Letter grades for the course will be determined based on the point totals that follow and letter grades do not necessarily correspond to any percentage that may be used in other courses.  For example 284 points is 81.3% of the possible points, but is a C+ in this course, not a B as it might be in some other courses.  Based on this point system the grade distribution for students in this class is will be approximately 10% will receive an A, 20% will receive a B, 40% a C, 20% a D and 10% an F.

Three lecture exams…….150 points

 

A

320-350

Final exam……………….75 points  

 

A-

316-319

Laboratory……………….75 points

 

B+

312-315

Mastering Biology……….50 points

 

B

290-311

 

 

B-

286-289

 

 

C+

282-285

 

 

C

233-281

 

 

C-

229-232

 

 

D+

225-228

 

 

D

210-224

Total Points…………………350 (100%)

 

F

<210

 

Getting or giving help during an exam, plagiarism and copying from your fellow students are not allowed in this course. Cheating will be dealt with according to the university regulations and consequences for cheating will be an F in the course and possible expulsion from URI.  Don’t cheat.

 

Cell Phones:  There are times when use of cell phones (including for texting) is not appropriate.  During lecture is one of these times.  If a student wishes to use their phone during lecture, they should be prepared to come to the front of the class and decide between: a) letting me use their phone for 1 week; b) losing 5 points towards their total points in the course; and c) singing the national anthem in front of the class.  Use of phones during an exam will be considered cheating and you will receive a zero on that exam.  Do not have your phones out during exams. 

 
Date

Day

Lecture Topic

Freeman Reading

Laboratory

 

Sep 7

W

Introduction

1

NO LABS

 

Sep 9

F

Biological chemistry - water

2

 

 

Sep 12

M

Biological chemistry - macromolecules

3-6

Lab 1- Microscopy

 

Sep 14

W

Cells – introduction

7

 

 

Sep 16

F

Cells – organization

7

 

 

Sep 19

M

Cells – membranes

6

Lab 2 - Calorimetry

 

Sep 21

W

Energetics & enzymes

3.5

 

 

Sep 23

F

Exam I (chapters 1-7)

 

 

 

Sep 26

M

Cellular respiration – glycolysis

9

Lab 3 - Respiration

 

Sep 28

W

Cellular respiration – Krebs cycle

9

 

 

Sep 30

F

Cellular respiration – electron transport

9

 

 

Oct 3

M

Photosynthesis

10

Lab 4 - Cell Division

 

Oct 5

W

Cell division - mitosis

11

 

 

Oct 7

F

Cell division – gametes and meiosis

12

 

 

Oct 10

M

No Class – Columbus Day

 

No labs all week

 

Oct 12

W

Genetics – Mendel & inheritance

13

 

 

Oct 14

F

Exam II (chapters 9-12)

 

 

Oct 17

M

Heredity

13

Lab 5 - Genetics

Oct 19

W

DNA – structure & replication

4.2,14

 

 

Oct 21

F

RNA – structure & protein synthesis

4.3,15

 

 

Oct 24

M

Protein synthesis

16

Lab 6 - DNA

 

Oct 26

W

Mutations & genetic disorders

11.4, 15

 

 

Oct 28

F

Genetic engineering

19

Class Meets Chafee 271

 

Oct 31

M

Classification of living things

pp. 5-8

Lab 7 – DNA II

 

Nov 2

W

Exam III (chapters 4, 11, 13-16, 19)

 

 

 

Nov 4

F

Bacteria

28

 

 

Nov 7

M

Protista

29

Lab 8 – Field Sampling

 

Nov 9

W

Animals – characteristics & body plans

32

 

 

Nov 11

F

No Class – Veteran’s Day

 

No Fri Labs— see TA

 

Nov 14

M

Animals – protostomes

33

Lab 9 - Classification

 

Nov 16

W

Animals – protostomes

33

 

 

Nov 18

F

Animals – molting animals

33

 

 

Nov 21

M

Animals - deuterostomes

34

No labs all week

 

Nov 23

W

Chordates

34

 

 

Nov 25

F

No Class - Thanksgiving

 

 

 

Nov 28

M

Vertebrates

34

Lab 10 – Physiology I

 

Nov 30

W

Exam IV (chapters 28, 29, 32-34)

 

 

 

Dec 2

F

Animals – organization & structure

41

 

 

Dec 5

M

Excretory systems

42

Lab 11 – Physiology II

 

Dec 7

W

Circulatory systems

44

 

 

Dec 9

F

Respiratory systems

44

 

 

Dec 12

M

Reproductive systems

48

Fri Lab 8 makeup

 

Dec 14

W

Final Exam           8:00-11:00am    

 

Kirk Auditorium