Stephanie Sax
Office: Life Sciences South, Rm. 351 (lab)
Email: smsax@vandals.uidaho.edu
Office hours: TBD

Kim Russo
Office: Life Sciences South, Rm. 351 (lab)
Email: krusso@vandals.uidaho.edu
Office hours: TBD

Travis Hagey
Office: Life Sciences South, Rm. 352
Email: thagey@vandals.uidaho.edu
Office hours: TBD

Erin Clancey
Office: Life Sciences South, Rm. 351 (lab)
Email: erinclancey@vandals.uidaho.edu
Office hours: TBD

Students that are unable to meet during regular office hours may schedule an appointment by contacting the instructor or TA's by telephone or email.

Lecture: MWF 8:30-9:20 in LSS 277.
Laboratory: All sections meet in LSS 351, during scheduled times.

This course has two objectives. The first objective is to explain and illustrate various aspects of biochemistry and biology that are common to most organisms, and to provide a fundamental understanding of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell structure and function. Lectures, discussions, and laboratory exercises will explain and illustrate the following aspects of cellular biology:

• Cell structure and function,
• Cellular biochemistry and energy conservation mechanisms,
• Transcription and translation of the genetic code,
• The cell cycle, meiosis and mitosis, and cell division,
• Genetic aspects of development.

A second objective of the course is to help students better grasp the mechanisms and consequences of adaptive evolution. Lectures, discussions, and laboratory exercises will explain and illustrate the following aspects of evolutionary biology:

• Neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory,
• Mechanisms that give rise to genetic diversity in populations,
• How natural selection leads to incremental change within species,
• How interactions among species and between organisms and their environment shape the course of adaptive evolution,
• Approaches used to classify biological diversity.

This course is nontraditional. Students who enroll in this course will be expected to be “self-learners” with the discipline and initiative to read, review, listen, discuss and study subject material that is presented in lectures, laboratory exercises, BIONet, the textbook, and the publisher’s website.  You will assess your understanding of the material by taking online quizzes every week. Other learning tools are available through the textbook publisher’s website and other links provided through BIONet. The instructor will guide your studies through overviews presented in lecture, explanatory material presented in the laboratories, and discussions that occur during class and office hours.  Learning is an active process, and you are responsible for taking action.

LECTURES

With the first lecture on a topic, the instructor will provide an overview. This will include explanations of important principles and learning objectives, and integrating concepts that are presented in the textbook and in BIONet.

The following lecture will be a combination of lecture and questions and answer designed to make sure students are comprehending the lecture material.

Every week or two will be a review of material covered or for upcoming exams. 

A schedule of lectures and examinations is provided on the BIONet website and can be reached by logging into Blackboard(www.blackboard.uidaho.edu) using your Blackboard user ID and password.

PRS INTERACTIVE CLICKERS

Clickers will be used in class for measuring class attendance, polling students, and in-class quizzes. Their purpose is to give the students a chance to interact with the instructor in the classroom. Students should bring their clickers to class at every lecture.

BIONET - ONLINE LECTURES

BIONet provides web-based instruction of the topics covered in BIOL 115. During the first week of classes students will be given instructions on how to access the site and use the resources provided. BIONet offers students the opportunity to take control of their learning through self-paced, albeit scheduled, learning tasks, and to assess their understanding of the material.

LABORATORIES

The laboratory will include one 3-hour session per week. A combination of discussion, laboratory experiments, and homework assignments will be used to illustrate and reinforce the concepts and factual information presented in lecture. 

This syllabus and other course information and content can be found on:

Blackboard: http://www.blackboard.uidaho.edu/.

To log in to blackboard, use your Blackboard username and password.

LECTURE

Biology, Eighth Edition. Campbell and Reece. © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, CA.

Copies are available for purchase in the Campus Bookstore from online vendors. The bookstore copies include a coupon for the PRS clickers. The instructor will also place two copies of this textbook on 2-hour reserve in the University of Idaho Library.

LABORATORY   

Symbiosis, Custom Published Laboratory Manual, © 2008, compiled by Bruce Mobarry and published by Pearson Education, Inc., San Francisco.

Other laboratory exercises will be posted during the semester on Blackboard (http://www.blackboard.uidaho.edu/). The instructors will notify you in advance when we will be using posted lab exercises.

Students are strongly encouraged to attend all lectures. Students should complete the assigned reading before the scheduled lecture or laboratory and be prepared to participate in classroom discussions or answer questions when called upon to do so.

All students are required to attend and participate in the weekly lab exercises in the lab section for which they are registered.

Missed attendances for these activities will result in a loss of points for the course, as described below in the GRADES section.

Students enrolled in Biology 115 MUST have either previously passed or be currently enrolled in Chem 111 or Chem 101 (please talk to your advisor if you are unsure which chemistry course your major requires).

If you drop Chem 111 or 101 while you are enrolled in Biology 115, you will AUTOMATICALLY be dropped from Biology 115, regardless of your current grade in this course. In addition, the biology department will not add you back into Biology 115 until you are again enrolled in the appropriate chemistry course. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE.

Your comprehension of the material presented in the textbook, lectures, labs and supplementary materials will be evaluated based on the following:

Lecture Exams:  Four lecture exams worth 80 points each will be given during the semester. Students primarily will be expected to know material from class lectures and BIONet online lectures.

Final Exam: One comprehensive final exam worth 150 points will be given during Finals Week. This exam will be similar in format to the exams given previously in the semester.

Laboratory exercises: Fourteen laboratory reports worth 15 points each will be assigned during the semester.

Lab reports are to be turned in during the student’s lab period following the week they are assigned, unless otherwise indicated. Late reports will automatically be reduced in value by 20% per day late. Reports that are not typed will be reduced in value by 50%.  Students missing a lab or arriving more than 10 minutes late for lab periods without a valid excuse will not receive full credit for lab exercises/reports.

BIONet Quizzes: Students are responsible for taking the assigned BIONet quiz every week outside of classtime. These quizzes are accessed through Blackboard (www.blackboard.uidaho.edu). Students are allowed three attempts for each quiz. Only the highest score from your attempts will be recorded as your grade for each weekly quiz. As students are allowed an entire week to take each quiz, make-ups are allowed only under exceptional circumstances. PLAN AHEAD TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T MISS A QUIZ!!

Policies on Make-up Exams and Quizzes: Only students presenting medical or official university excuses to the instructor will be allowed to take a make-up exam or quiz, or make up other missed assignments. Whenever possible, arrangements should be made with the instructor prior to the regularly scheduled exam or assignment due date. Making these arrangements is entirely the responsibility of the student. Make up exams and quizzes may differ from those given at the regularly scheduled time, and whether an absence is deemed to be excusable is at the discretion of the instructor.

Policies on Make-up Labs: Only students presenting medical or official university excuses to the instructor will be allowed to make up a missed lab. Whenever possible, arrangements should be made with the instructor prior to the regularly scheduled lab. Making these arrangements is entirely the responsibility of the student. In addition, students missing a lab (with a valid excuse) must make up the lab by the end of the week following the missed lab. After this time has elapsed, a makeup for the lab is no longer allowed and the student will receive a score of "0" for the lab report.

IT IS THE STUDENT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE A VALID, EXCUSED ABSENCE FOR ANY MISSED EXAMS OR ASSIGNMENTS.

Grammar, Syntax, Spelling, Clarity and Logic: Scores on exams, laboratory reports and other written assignments will be reduced if there are errors in grammar, syntax, spelling, or if ideas are not presented in a clear and logical way. Your score will be markedly reduced if the handwriting is illegible. In science it is crucial to convey information and to express concepts, ideas, and opinions in a manner that is clear, unambiguous and easily understood. Consequently your level of skill in doing so will be one element that determines your grade in the class.

TOTAL POINTS: 830

             Lecture Points: 620 TOTAL POINTS

                                15 quizzes @ 10 points each = 150 points

                                4 Lecture exams @ 80 points each = 320 points

                                Comprehensive final exam = 150 points         

             Laboratory Points: 210 TOTAL POINTS

                                14 laboratory exercises @ 15 points each  = 180 points

Academic honesty is governed by Article II of the University if Idaho’s Student Code of Conduct http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/fsh/2300.html. Cheating on classroom or outside assignments, including examinations is a violation of this code. Forms of academic dishonesty include:

• Copying answers from neighbors during exams or quizzes.
• Offering answers to neighbors during exams or quizzes.
• Using crib-notes during exams or quizzes.
• Reproducing without crediting the exact words of another writer, including a scientist or classmate (plagiarism), on any class assignment.
• Turning in work (your own or another’s) from previous semesters in place of new assignments.

Incidents of academic dishonesty will be kept on file by the instructor and may be reported to the dean of students. Such instances of academic dishonesty may warrant expulsion from the course and a failing grade. All students should be aware that even one incident of academic dishonesty may also merit expulsion from the University.

Each student is individually responsible for learning the subject material covered in the course. If you follow the PASS advice (see below) you should be successful, and if you ignore this advice then you should not blame others or be surprised if your grade is less than you had hoped for. What you get out of the course will be proportional to what you invest in it.

Any behavior that is disruptive to the class, or deemed by the instructor or teaching assistants to be disrespectful to fellow students or the instructor will not be tolerated. This includes conversations with fellow students that are not part of the lecture, sleeping in class, checking email, reading newspapers or magazines or using cell phones during class time. Students that violate this rule may be summarily dismissed from class. Repeated violation may result in expulsion from the course and a failing grade for the student.

Study and review early and often. By doing so, the lectures that follow will be easier to understand (because they are often based on material that has been previously presented) and learning will be much easier. In addition, it is recommended that students spend time with course material before it is presented in class, by working through BIONet  lectures. “Cramming” for an exam is not a terribly effective study strategy.

A “Chapter Summary” can be found at the end of each chapter in the text. These are very good outlines of the important concepts and information covered in the chapters. You are strongly encouraged to review them and use them to guide your studies. In addition, the publishers CD and web site (www.campbellbiology.com) has quizzes, vocabulary exercises, and other learning tools that are very useful. If you understand the topics and information contained in BIONet and the textbook’s chapter summaries, and are familiar with the terminology used, then you should fare quite well on examinations.

To be successful in this (and most other courses at the UI) you need to: Prepare by reading the assigned chapters, exercises, and other material before class. Attend class. While there, pay attention to what is being said, ask questions, and think about the material being presented. Use good note taking skills – notes should be notes, not dictation! Study regularly. Most individuals will require 1-2 hours of study time for each hour spent in class. Use the resources made available to you by the instructor, in the textbook, and on the textbook publisher’s web site when doing so. Some students will find it useful or necessary to use other resources available in the library or on the Internet. Seek help. Meet with the instructor during regularly scheduled office hours or, if necessary, make an appointment. It can also be useful to form study groups that have 2-5 students, so you can discuss the course material, ask questions, and help each other.

Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify your instructor(s) during the first week of class regarding accommodation(s) needed for the course. All accommodations must be approved through Disability Support Services located in the Idaho Commons Building, Room 306.

• 208-885-6307
• email: dss@uidaho.edu
• Web site: www.access.uidaho.edu or www.webs.uidaho.edu/aap