STUDENT INFORMATION FOR BIOLOGY
BC2003 BIODIVERSITY LABORATORY
Fall Semester 2004
Dr. Margaret Olney, Course 911 Altschul Hall
Ms. Karolin Rafalski, 854-2153
Introductory Biology Laboratory Office: Altschul 911, 4-2153
Contact me or Karolin Rafalski in the Intro Bio Lab Office if you have questions regarding this course. Note that I do not have email access away from the office, so emails sent in the evening or on weekends won’t be answered until the next school day. My official office hours are Wednesday and Thursday 10:30-11:30am, although I am very often available between 9am-5pm, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (I am teaching labs all day on Tuesdays). If you have questions or concerns, feel free to call the office before stopping by to make sure I am available or to schedule an appointment.
Course Email
All course email will come to your Columbia UNI account (for example, ). This is set by CourseWorks and cannot be changed by your course instructor. If you do not regularly check your Columbia email, you should set it to forward your email to an address that you do check regularly (such as your Barnard College address).
To do this, please go to and login with your UNI and password. Then, click on “Options” and then “Delivery Settings” under the Mail Management Heading. Next, go to “Edit Your Email Delivery Settings” and then to “Forwarding Mail Delivery.” Type in your Forwarding Address and be sure to end by clicking on “Update Forwarding Settings.”
If you have not received email regarding lab sections, please check with Dr. Olney, Ms. Rafalski, and/or the registrar’s office to confirm that you are registered for the course.
Many important emails, assignments, changes, and notices will be sent to your Columbia email address; it is critical that you receive them in a timely manner!
Recitations
Each lab exercise will be discussed during the laboratory recitation that students attend either on Friday at 1:10-2:00 pm or on Monday at 10:00-10:50 am prior to each week’s laboratory period. Students must attend recitation each week, and attendance will be taken on a regular basis. Background information and some direction for the laboratory work will be presented in this lecture, allowing laboratory time to be used for demonstrations, technical procedures, recording of observations, and analysis of results.
Lab section confirmation
Please come to Altschul 911 BEFORE NOON ON FRIDAY, September 10th to confirm your lab section.
If you’ve forgotten which section you signed up for last spring, please check the bulletin board outside the elevators on the 9th floor of Altschul.
**The lab sections are filling quickly, so you are encouraged to contact the Intro Bio Office as soon as possible. If you are already in a lab section, your space is safe until Friday at noon. If you have not confirmed by that time, another student will take your spot. We currently have sizeable wait lists for most lab sections, so if you are no longer taking this course or if you want to change your lab section, please let us know SOON.
You must confirm your lab section before noon on Friday, September 10. The last time to change lab sections is noon on Friday, September 10.
Lab fee
Barnard College students will be billed directly. All other students (CC, GS) must pay $50.00 to the Barnard Business Office (15 Milbank Hall) and obtain a receipt to give to the Intro Biology Lab Office (911 Altschul Hall) by 12 noon on September 10, 2004. Failure to present a receipt will result in cancellation of lab registration.
Attendance and rescheduling policy
Attendance in laboratory is mandatory. If you cannot attend a lab because of an illness or emergency, you are must call or email the Intro Bio Lab Office (854-2153 or ) before your lab section or by no later than 5pm on the same day you are scheduled for lab. Arrangements will then be made for you to make up the lab during another lab section (lab sections are Monday 1-4pm, Tuesday 9am-12pm and 1-4pm, Wednesday 10am-1pm and 2-5pm, Thursday 1-4pm, and Friday 10am-1pm). No make ups will be allowed if the office is not contacted on or before the day you miss lab. This policy is strictly enforced.
If you must miss lab in observance of a major religious holiday (see the official Barnard College policy at please make arrangements to reschedule your lab with the Intro Bio Lab Office as far in advance as possible. You will need to make up your lab in another lab section (usually EARLIER the same week). If you will need to reschedule more than one week of lab over the course of the semester, you are STRONGLY encouraged to sign up for a different lab section at the beginning of the semester (each lab has 16 chairs and materials for 16 students; if there are more than 16 students in a section, the experience may be diminished for all).
If you have a non-excused absence from lab, you will not receive credit for any work that should have been undertaken during that lab period (including quizzes, worksheets, lab reports, observations, etc.). In addition, your final grade will be reduced by 9% (1/11 of the total).
Length of laboratory sections
The lab exercises are designed to be completed in 3 hours +/- 15 minutes. No student will be allowed to stay longer than 30 minutes after the lab is scheduled to be over (so that preparations can be made for the next lab section and so that your instructor can go home). Do not plan to leave before each three-hour lab exercise has been completed.
Dissections
This lab course requires students to dissect a variety of animals (including earthworms, crayfish, and fetal pigs). All dissections will be carried out by pairs of students, yet full participation is expected of all students. If you are not willing to participate in multiple dissections, you should not enroll in this course.
Lab handouts
Lab handouts will be available on CourseWorks. You are required to read the appropriate lab handout each week BEFORE coming to lab.
Required and recommended texts
Each lab handout will include reading assignments from Campbell et al. (Biology, 6th edition). Please complete this reading before coming to lab each week.
For the fetal pig dissections during the second and third weeks of lab, you will need a copy of Smith and Schenk, A Dissection Guide & Atlas to the Fetal Pig; read the appropriate pages for each lab. 9/6/04—this book is currently in stock at the Columbia University Bookstore. One copy will be on reserve in the Barnard Library.
Photo Atlas for Biology by Perry and Morton is also available. While this atlas is not required, its purchase is strongly recommended. It contains clearly labeled color photographs of much of what you will see in lab and will be very helpful during lab and in studying for the exams. 9/6/04—this book is currently in stock at the Columbia Bookstore. One copy will be on reserve in the Barnard Library.
A Short Guide to Writing About Biology is recommended, but not required, this semester. It will be required for BC2004 Biological Experimentation Laboratory in spring semester. It includes excellent instructions and advice on all sorts of biological writing, including lab reports. 9/6/04—this book is currently in stock at the Columbia Bookstore. One copy will be on reserve in the Barnard Library.
Lab notebook and assignments
You are required to use a three-ring binder for your laboratory handouts and assignments. Lab assignments will vary each week, so be sure that you know your assignment before leaving lab. Worksheets, along with any requested data, drawings, summaries, and answered questions, are to be handed in at the beginning of the following lab period.
Your score on work handed in late will be reduced by 20% per day. If you must hand in an assignment before or after your lab section, please bring it to the Intro Bio Lab Office during the day and hand it to Ms. Rafalski or Dr. Olney in person. If it is impossible to bring your assignment during the day, you may place it in the After-Hours Late Assignment Submission Box that is outside Altschul 911. Keep in mind that the assignment will be marked received when it is removed from the box, not when you put it in. NEVER slide anything under the office door.
At the end of each lab exercise, there is a list of what the lab worksheet or report must contain. Any diagrams must be drawn on unlined paper, in pencil (it is erasable and waterproof), with the required labeling neatly done. The magnification and actual size of any magnified specimens must also be stated.
Please write NEATLY and legibly on your lab worksheets. If your handwriting cannot easily be read, you will not receive credit for your answers. As an alternative, you are welcome to use a computer to complete worksheets.
One purpose of the lab worksheets is to assist you in studying for the exams. Any additional information you think will be helpful for remembering what you observed should be noted in your lab notebook.
In addition to the data sheets, there will be one formal lab report, based on an experiment you carry out during weeks 6 and 7. The completed report is due before NOON on Friday 11/5. Note that there has been a change from last year’s schedule: there will be no labs during the week of fall break. This means you should have more time to complete your lab reports and study for your midterm for the 2002 lecture course (lecture exam is 11/12). Please follow the detailed instructions found in A Short Guide to Writing About Biology when writing your lab report (a copy of this book is on reserve in the Barnard Library).
Preparation for lab
Remember to bring your laboratory notebook to every lab.
You are required to read the lab handout and the assigned pages in Campbell et al. each week BEFORE coming to lab.
Pre-lab quizzes will be given at the beginning of each lab period, beginning in week 2. These quizzes will cover material from the preceding week's lab and information you should know from reading the manual and textbook in preparation for the current lab. To do well on the quizzes, review your results each week and always read the manual and textbook carefully before coming to lab. Latecomers will not be given a quiz and, no make-up quizzes will be available.
Examinations
You will have two exams for this course: A lab practical exam during week 6 (10/18-10/22) and a final written exam that will be administered during the final recitation period. These exams will include information from lab and recitation(there will be separate exams over the material covered in lectures for BIOL BC2002).
Group work
Group work is a core component of science—whether it is in the undergraduate classroom or the research laboratory. The participants of each group are required to contribute equally to the final report. Each group report must be signed by all group members to indicate that each participated and contributed to the report.
Grading
The final grade you earn in BIOL BC2003 Biodiversity Lab is separate from your grade for BC2002 (Professor Hertz’s lecture course). Your 2003 grade depends on the following criteria:
Category /Percentage
/ What does this category grade reflect?Weekly Quizzes / 8 % / Thorough preparation for each week’s lab. Also, attendance and promptness. (There are no make-up quizzes.)
Midterm practical / 15 % / Ability to link factual and visual information. Understanding the purpose of hands-on activities, and the ability to remember them.
Lab worksheets and reports / 50 % / Presentation and interpretation of data; collaboration with peers. (See elsewhere in this introduction for more about group work.)
Recitation final / 20 % / From recitation lectures, comprehension of intellectual or theoretical frameworks and recall of important examples.
Participation / 7 % / Laboratory instructor’s evaluation of your preparedness, thoroughness, technical development, attention to detail, and completeness of record kept in lab notebook.
At the end of the semester, all students’ total points will be used to devise a curve for the entire class (not for individual sections), and final letter grades will be assigned based on that curve.
In a class this large, a difference of a point or two can distinguish, say, a B+ from an A-. So . . .
(1)Do not miss a quiz or prepare poorly. This could harm your final grade. Be prepared.
(2)Often, there is limited variation around the class mean for lab worksheets and lab reports. Most Barnard students work hard and are very conscientious about such work. Avoid being among those who do not match this description. All take-home assignments must be of high quality. Develop high standards early in the semester and stick with them.
(3)There is often substantial variation around the mean for exams, and so an exam grade can raise or lower a final grade. It is very important to review early and often for these two exams. Follow advice about preparation from the instructors and the professors in the course, and review your lab handouts thoroughly. Develop good habits early in the semester and stick with them.
(4)Do not think that the curve will ‘save’ your grade. If your goal in the course is a grade of A or A-, you need to keep your total points above . . . 90.0 % of the total. If you are earning fewer than 80.0 % of the total points, you risk earning a C+ or lower.
We follow the Barnard College policy with respect to final grades. Once final grades are posted to the registrar, they cannot be changed for any reason other than a clerical error.
The Honor Code
“Approved by the student body in 1912, the Barnard College Honor Code states:
We, the students of Barnard College, resolve to uphold the honor of the college by refraining from every form of dishonesty in our academic life. We consider it dishonest to ask for, give, or receive help in examinations or quizzes, to use any papers or books not authorized by the instructor in examinations, or to present oral work or written work which is not entirely our own, unless otherwise approved by the instructor. We consider it dishonest to remove without authorization, alter, or deface library and other academic materials. We pledge to do all that is in our power to create a spirit of honesty and honor for its own sake.
Please refer to the Honor Code booklet, distributed to all new students. If you do not have a copy, please pick one up in the Dean of Studies Office.”(from
**The Honor Code applies to all work in this course.
Receiving or giving unauthorized assistance on exams, quizzes, and/or assignments is an extraordinarily serious offense. Also prohibited is using uncited information from any source (book, journal, lab manual, internet) for any written work submitted for this course (please consult A Short Guide to Writing About Biology for guidelines on proper citation standards.
Penalties for violating the Honor Code may include receiving a failing grade, disciplinary warning, disciplinary probation, suspension from Barnard with possibility of readmission, or expulsion without possibility of readmission.
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LABORATORY SAFETY PROCEDURES
Medical emergency: 93-911, or 88 for Security
Non-emergency illness: Health services: LL Brooks 4-2091
Campus security: 88 for emergencies, 4-3362 for non-emergencies
First Aid Kit: Intro Biology Lab Office, 911 Altschul
Inform your instructor, TA, or laboratory directors (911 Altschul) immediately of any emergency arising while in the lab. Report any accident, no matter how trivial, so we can take steps to prevent such incidents in the future.
No eating or drinking is allowed in the laboratory. Do not bring any food or drink into the lab.
Clothing: You do not need a lab coat, but neither should you wear your best clothing to lab.
You might not want to wear contact lenses when performing dissections. This is a precaution in the unlikely event that some preservative gets in your eye. Eye wash stations are located at the front of the lab room in the sink.
OPEN FLAMES: If Bunsen burners are used, roll up your sleeves and tie back your hair. Turn off the burner when it is no longer needed. NEVER leave a Bunsen burner unattended. Keep alcohol away from flames.
FIRST AID: Band-Aids are available in room 911. For any injury that requires more than a Band-Aid, visit to Health Services.
FIRE EXTINGUISHERS: There is a CO2-type fire extinguisher in each lab room.
FIRE ALARM BOXES: There is an alarm box on the wall at each end of the main hallway on the 9th floor of Altschul (outside the lab room).
EMERGENCY SHOWERS: There are hand-held eyewash fountains, which can serve as emergency showers in rooms 907, 912, and 913. There is an emergency shower outside room 907.
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