Biology 190 – Intro. to Cell and Molecular Biology
Great Basin College
Course Syllabus –Spring 2014
PLEASE READ THIS SYLLABUS CAREFULLY!!
Welcome to the Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology class! I am looking forward to a wonderful, productive, and enriching semester. To make sure the class runs smoothly, please read this syllabus carefully.
Lecture Instructor: Dr. Sameer Bhattarai
Email: (use email to get faster response)
Office: Lundberg Hall 128F
Phone: 775-753-2323 (use email to get faster response)
Office Hours:
Monday, 9:00 am – 12 pm; Tuesday, 8:30 – 9.30 am, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm, or by appointment
Lab Instructors:Ms. Kara Coates. Email:
Dr. Smriti Bhattarai. Email:
Course Description:Structure and function of cells. Major molecules of life; composition andphysiology of cellular organelles; cell metabolism, reproduction, motility, andgene function of both plant and animal cells. Required for biology majors.
Course co-requisite and Pre-requisite:Concurrent enrollment in a corresponding lab section is required for thiscourse. Must have completed MATH 96, MATH 120, or higher, orsufficient SAT/ACT/Accuplacer test score for placement into MATH 120.
General course goals: The goal of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to1) to explore the underlying chemical basis of life as well as the structure and function of the basic unit of life, the cell, 2) examine some of the basic energy transformation processes on which living things depend, and 3) explore the fundamental concepts of genes, heredity, and evolution.The GBC General Education Objectives are addressed at the end of this syllabus.
Required materials:
Lecture text: ScottFreeman, 2014. Biological Science, 5th edition, Benjamin Cummings
Addition material: Mastering Biology – the online system included with the new texts – contains online homework – can be purchased separately online if you have a used text book.
Lab text: Perry, Morton, and Perry, 2013. Laboratory Manual for Non-Majors Biology, 6th edition, Brooks/Cole.
Method of Instruction:Reading assignments from text books each week. Lectures, laboratory, and online enhancements. Important course announcements and documents will be made available to you via WebCampus, available online at contact GBC Helpdesk for WebCampus accessibility issues. You bear the responsibility for getting the technical aspects of the course to function properly so that you can participate fully.
Learning Outcomes and Measurements:
Learning outcomes / MeasurementsRecognize the chemical basis of living organisms / Class discussion, lab experiments,exams and quizzes, online homework
Describe the composition and physiology of cellular components and explain the cell division process with diagram / Class discussion, lab experiments,exams and quizzes, online homework
Explain the basic energy transformation processes on which all living things on earth depend / Class discussion, lab experiments, exams and quizzes, online homework
Explain the fundamental concepts of genes, heredity, and evolution / Class discussion, lab experiments, exams and quizzes, online homework
E-mail and WebCampus: Instructors often find it convenient or necessary to send course related messages to individual students, or the class as a whole. Therefore, it is necessary for the students to frequently check their e-mail account (the email account you have provided to GBC) and/or WebCampus to insure receiving messages in a timely fashion.
GBC ID's: All students are issued a GBC photo ID card. Please carry this with you, especially during exams, as it will be necessary for instructor to verify each student's identification.
Attendance and classroom behavior: Regular attendance in both laboratory and lecture is crucial to successful completion of this course. Studies have shown that students who attend each class perform far better than those whose attendance is irregular. Many important, interesting and subtle points can be made by instructors which may not be presented in the textbook. Instructor may also make announcements regarding changes in scheduling or material to be covered. Therefore, students are expected to attend every lab and every lecture, to arrive on time, and to remain until class is dismissed.Students are responsible for being aware of all information and announcements presented in class, whether or not they are present.
Attendance in laboratory is mandatory.Three or more unexcused absences in lab will result in a grade of zero for the entire laboratory portion of the course. Students must heed all warnings and safety precautions issued by their lab instructor. Students are expected to fully participate in all exercises, including clean-up of supplies and equipment at the end of each exercise. Notify the instructor immediately if there is any condition which prevents you from participating in a given exercise. Because there can be hazards associated with some laboratory procedures, equipment, and chemicals, all students must follow standard safe laboratory practices as well as any particular precautions and instructions given by the instructor.
If something is not clear to you, by all means ask questions! A well-timed question can help everyone in class, even the instructor. Students are also expected to be respectful and considerate of one another as well as their instructors. To that end, please listen when someone else is talking, and turn off all cell phones or other noise-makers while in class or lab. If it is necessary to carry on activities that are not directly related to the material being presented in class, please conduct these activities elsewhere. In order to make the most effective use of both students' and instructor's time and energy, disruptive students may be required to leave the classroom.
Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and may result in a failing grade and/or reporting to GBC Administration. Students are expected to read and adhere to the GBC’s Student Conduct Policy.Ignorance of the Student Conduct Policy is no excuse for infractions thereof.All work done in lecture and lab (exams, assignments, quizzes, etc.) must be the sole work of the student.Any form of academic dishonesty including copying data, falsifying data, cheating on exams and quizzes, failing to credit the work of others will be dealt with most seriously.
Canceled classes: If an examination is scheduled for a day on which classes are canceled due to weather or any other reason, the examination will be given during the next scheduled class.
Grading:
You are in complete control of your grade in this class. I firmly believe that you all possess the ability to do well in this class. Think positively, believe in yourself, set high expectations, work hard, and you will do well in this class. Remember, you are the one who decides what grade you will receive in this class.
Lecture exams and online homework: Fourlecture exams will be given, each worth 100 points.Fifteen weekly online homework (see more on online homework below) is required for this course, each worth 10 points. For the lecture exams, students will be required to bring with them one or two sharpened pencils with good erasers. The use by students of electronic devices of any type is prohibited during exams.
Student Oral Presentation:Each student will be required to complete an in-class oral presentation worth30points. The presentation will be done in subject matter relevant to the course, and will be held toward the end of the semester. Each oral presentation will be evaluated by all students individually, along with the instructor. Instructor and combined student evaluations on oral presentation will each count as 50% of the oral presentation (in other words, the average of all the student evaluations will count as 50% of the oral presentation grade, and my evaluation will count as the other 50% of the oral presentation grade). We will use five (5) categories for evaluating the presentation – 1 (poor), 2 (fair), 3 (satisfactory), 4 (very good), and 5 (Excellent). You will be required to present the class with a PowerPoint presentation.
Lab exams, quizzes, and assignment: The laboratory is worth a total of 250 points, bringing the course total to 830 points.The grade for the lab portion of the class will be based on two practical exams worth 50 points each, a written photosynthesis lab report worth 50 points, ten weekly written lab reportsworth 5 points each, and ten weekly online quizzes worth 5 points each.
At the end of the semester, your lab grade will be incorporated into your final grade for the course.
The point breakdown is as follows
GRADED MATERIAL / PointsLecture Exams (4@ 100 pts each) / 400
Lecture Online Homework (15@10 pts each) / 150
Student Oral Presentation / 30
Lab Quizzes (10 @ 5 pts each) / 50
Lab Reports (10 @ 5 pts each) / 50
Photosynthesis Lab Report / 50
Lab Mid-Term / 50
Lab Final / 50
Total / 830
Yourcourse grade will be based on the following scale:
A ≥ 90%
B 80-89.99%
C 70-79.99
D 60-69.99%
F less than 60%
Drop deadline:A student will receive a “W” grade only if withdrawal occurs before 60% of the course has elapsed (March 24). Anyone who does not formally withdraw by March 24and does not complete the course will receive an ‘F’ grade.
Final course grades are usually available via MyGBC Self-Service Center within 48 hours of the final exam. If you wish to have additional information regarding your grade, please see me in person after the grading period. Exam or final course grades will not be emailed!!
Extra credit: There is no extra credit given in this course.
Lecture exam makeup policy:In order to be fair to students taking the exams on the assigned days, no make-up exams will be given to any student under any circumstances, except if you present a written approved excuse for an unavoidable emergency before the next time the class meets. You must take the makeup exam before the exam is passed back to the rest of the class, which is usually the next class meeting.
Lab exam makeup policy: Since the labs are very difficult to set up, absolutely no lab make-up exams will be given to any student under any circumstances.
Online homework: Completion of online homework is required for this course. In order to access the online homework system for this class, follow the directions in “more on online homework” below. Assignments will be based on the topics covered in lecture and some additional topics we did not cover in lecture. You will be required to look up the information for this additional subject matter in order to complete the assignments. The first assignment is due the first week of class. You are responsible for having access to a functioning computer and for completing and turning in of the assignments on time. Late work is not accepted.
The online homework system is provided and maintained by the textbook publisher (Benjamin and Cummings). I am only able to set up the assignments – this means that I cannot help with technical issues. You must get help from the publisher if you think that there is something wrong.
More on online homework: Online homework assignments will be assigned each week. They will be made available on Monday morning and they are due following Sunday (1 week) at 11:00 PM. The homework assignments will focus on what we have covered in lecture for the week. Some of the problems will be based on material that we have not covered in lecture. This will require you to read the textbook yourself in order to figure out those problems.
Instructions for access (for those with a brand new book): If you purchased a new book that is shrink-wrapped with an access kit (a small cardboard fold-out), follow the directions in the access kit. When prompted to do so you should enter our course section’s code: BHATTARAIBIOL190SPRING14. If you do everything correctly you should see a welcome message identifying the course as BHATTARAIBIOL190SPRING14with my name Sameer Bhattarai.
Instructions for access (for those with a used book or book without an access kit): go to the website and click on Register StudentsNo, I need to purchase access online now. Select our textbook. Say no to the virtual labs and eText (unless you want to pay extra) Accept the Privacy statement and EULA Create a login and pay $66.00 (Credit/Debit Card) for access. When prompted to do so you should enter our course section’s code: BHATTARAIBIOL190SPRING14. If you do everything correctly you should see a welcome message identifying the course as BHATTARAIBIOL190SPRING14 with my name Sameer Bhattarai.
Photosynthesis lab report:Photosynthesis will be written up as a report. The report must be typed, double spaced. It is due the next lab class period (1 week). The report should follow the following outline:
Introduction Give the background to the topic. Why is it important? Briefly tell what you are going to do in the experiment.
Procedures Explain what organisms, materials and methods were used in the experiments. How did you do it?
Results Present the results. Point out key or unexpected results.
Conclusion What was the significance of your results? Explain the importance of the experiment, and whether or not your outcome was consistent or inconsistent with what was expected.
Tables, graphs, etc. may be helpful. Do not remove pages from your manual. Grading criteria for the report are identical to those used by the English department:
- Focuses and develops ideas effectively, showing creativity and insight.
- Organizes ideas in a purposeful and logical manner, moving the reader (listener) smoothly through the text (subject).
- Uses sentence structure and word choice effectively with a sense of control.
- Commits few, if any, errors in grammar/usage and mechanics.
Lecture and Lab Schedule – Spring 2014*
Week of / Lecture Topic / Chapters inText / Lab Exercise
1/20 / Introduction, Syllabus, Introduction to Biology
Chemical Basis of Life / 1, 2 / No lab
1/27 / Chemical Basis of Life / 2 / Check-in; Safety; Macromolecules and functional groups (hand out will be given to you)
2/3 / Proteins, Enzymes / 3,8 / Continuing Macromolecules lab
2/10 / Nucleic Acids / 4 / Enzymes(hand out will be given to you)
2/17 / Exam 1 (Feb 18, Tuesday)
Carbohydrates / 5 / # 14 DNA
Watson and Crick’s original papers as an illustration of scientific method (Download these articles from WebCampus and read them before you come to class)
2/24 / Lipids, membrane, diffusion, osmosis, transport / 6 / # 7 Diffusion and Osmosis
3/3 / Cells, Cell interactions / 7,11 / # 3 Microscopy and # 6 Cells
3/10 / Exam 2 (March 11, Tuesday)
Cellular respiration / 9 / Lab mid-term
3/17 / Photosynthesis / 10 / # 10 Respiration
3/24 / SPRING BREAK / No lab
3/31 / Mitosis and Cell Cycle
Meiosis / 12,13 / Photosynthesis
(Download this lab from WebCampus and read it before coming to class. Lab report will be done on this lab. Due at the beginning of your next lab)
4/7 / Mendel and the Gene / 14 / # 11 Mitosis, # 12 Meiosis
4/14 / Exam 3 (April 15, Tuesday)
How genes work / 16 / # 13 Heredity
4/21 / Transcription and translation
Evolution / 17
25, 27 / Evolution movie and discussion
4/28 / Evolution / 27, 28 / # 16 Evolutionary Agents
5/5 / Student presentations / Lab Final
5/12 / Lecture Final (May 13, Tuesday)
* This schedule is tentative for the semester. It will be followed as closely as possible. However, unforeseen circumstances such as inclement weather or school closings may necessitate changing the schedule. Students are responsible for being aware of all date changes.
Lab Safety rules!!
No food or drink may be brought into the lab, or consumed there, unless part of the laboratory exercise. High heels, bare feet, sandals, open-toed shoes, bare midriffs, shorts, sleeveless shirts or excessive bare skin are not allowedin the lab. Report to your instructor any unsafe conditions you notice. Follow all safety precautions given by your instructor.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Statement: Great Basin College is committed to providing equal educational opportunities to qualified students with disabilities in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A qualified student must furnish current verification of disability. The Director of Services for Students with Disabilities (Julie G. Byrnes) will assist qualified students with disabilities in securing the appropriate and reasonable accommodations, auxiliary aids and services. For more information or further assistance, please call 775.753.2271.
Where to get help:
If you encounter any difficulties in this course, first see your instructor, immediately! Do not wait until the end of the semester to ask for help in understanding the material in order to improve your grade - by then, it may be too late! Know your instructor's names, office hours, and e-mail addresses; then use them! Do not "be afraid" to ask your instructor for help - that is our job! Make use of the many rich academic and personal opportunities available at GBC!
General Education Objectives:
Objective 1: Communication Skills
Communication skills are very important in this course, which studies structure and function of living organisms.
Learning outcomes / MeasurementsUnderstanding the molecular and cellular basis of life / Class discussion, exam scores, written lab reports, oral presentation of relevant subject matter
Describing the fundamental concepts of genes, heredity, and evolution / Class discussion, exam scores, written lab reports, oral presentation of relevant subject matter
Objective 2: Critical Thinking
There will be a strong emphasis on reasoning, independent thought, scientific methods
Learner outcomes / MeasurementsUse mathematical and quantitative methods to solve problems / Answer lecture and lab exam questions, complete lab experiments and assignments, online homework,
Use reasoning and independent thought to identify current issues in biology / Assigned readings, class discussion, complete laboratory experiments, answer exam questions, independent research and oral presentation of current issues
Comprehend workings of molecular-biological and cellular systems and the process by which the scientific knowledge is discovered / Assigned readings, class discussion, exam scores, complete lab experiments and assignments, independent research and oral presentation of relevant subject matter
Objective 3: Personal and cultural awareness