Richland Community College Syllabus
Mathematics and Sciences Division
Biology 101 Section Y1
Concepts of Biology 1 (3-2-4)
fall 2009
Course
Information:
Meeting Days and Times: Sec. Y1 lab: TH 7:00-8:50 pm in W219
Final Exam Day & Time: Monday, Dec. 14, 2009 at 5:30
pm in W219
Description: Biology 101 is an introduction to the basic concepts of modern biological science. Emphasis is on the chemistry of living things, the structure and function of the cell, cell reproduction, and Mendelian and molecular genetics. Evolution and ecology are also introduced. The course has a lecture/lab format in which students are encouraged to ask questions at any time and to contribute to class discussion on certain topics.
Prerequisite: Eligibility for English 101
Credit: 4 semester hours
Instructor
Information:
Instructor: Jill E. Feinstein
Division: Mathematics and Sciences Division
Office: S128
Office Hours: MTWTH 4:30-5:20 pm
Online Office Hours: M 2:00-2:50 pm
E-mail: jfeinste@richland.edu
Website: http://people.richland.edu/jfeinste
Office Phone: 217-875-7211 x 498
NOTE: I have the right to change any material on the syllabus, in the class or the grading system to fit the class’s needs.
Text:
Starr, Taggart, Evers, Starr, Biology- The unity and diversity of life-cell biology and genetics, 12th edition
Objectives:
1. To help all students gain some understanding of the basic principles and processes underlying all of the biological sciences.
2. To give students an understanding of the nature of science and the scientific method.
3. To familiarize students with basic laboratory equipment and procedures.
4. To provide a basic foundation for students going on with Biology 102, Anatomy and Physiology 1 & 2, and Microbiology.
Topics
Covered in REcorded ONLINE Lectures:
Chapter 1.1-1.2, 1.5-1.8: Introductory material & scientific method
Chapter 2 & 3: introduction to chemistry
Chapters 6-8: cellular respiration & photosynthesis
Chapter 4: structure and function of cells
Chapter 5: Cell membranes and material movement
Chapter 9: Mitosis
Chapter 10: Meiosis
Chapter 11 & 12: Mendel, chromosomes and genetic diseases
Chapters 13 & 14: DNA, RNA, & protein synthesis
Chapter 1.3& 1.4: introduction to evolution and taxonomy & ecology
Week 1 (08/17/09-08/23/09) Syllabus, introductory material and Chapter 1
Week 2 (08/22/09-08/30/09) Chapter 2
Week 3 (08/31/09-09/06/09) Chapter 3
Week 4 (09/07/09-09/13/09) Chapter 3
Week 5 (09/14/09-09/20/09) Chapters 6-8
Week 6 (09/21/09-09/27/09) Chapter 4
Week 7 (09/28/09-10/04/09) Chapter 5
Week 8 (10/05/09-10/11/09) Chapter 9
Week 9 (10/12/09-10/18/09) Chapter 10
Week 10 (10/17/09-10/25/09) Chapter 11
Week 11 (10/26/09-11/01/09) Chapter 11
Week 12 (11/02/09-11/08/09) Chapter 12
Week 13 (11/09/09-11/15/09) Chapter 13
Week 14 (11/16/09-11/22/09) Chapter 14
Week 15 (11/23/09-11/29/09) Chapter 14
Week 16 (11/30/09-12/06/09) Chapter 1 evolution, taxonomy, & ecology
Week 17 (12/07/09-12/08/09) Review
EXAM Schedule:
Week 5 (8/17/09) Exam 1 covers
chapters 1-3
Week 9 (10/15/09) Exam
2 covers chapters 4-8
Week 11 (10/29/09) LAB PRACTICAL
Week 14 (11/19/09) Exam 3 covers chapter 9-12
Week 18 (12/14/09) Final
Exam: cumulative through chapter 12 and
New material covers chapters 13, 14 & chapter 1 (1.3 & 1.4)
METHOD (S) OF EVALUATION:
Lecture:
There will be a total of 3 exams and one cumulative final exam which will be given in the classroom. There are no make-up exams. If you miss an exam you will receive a zero. The final exam score will be used to replace your lowest exam score. Any subsequent missed exams will receive a zero. There will be online quizzes that will test you on the material covered in the online lectures. The quizzes will show one question at a time and there is no going back to a question after either answering or skipping that question. The quizzes will be timed and there is a possibility of a reduction in points for quizzes and exams submitted after time has expired. There are no make-up quizzes. Your lowest quiz score will be dropped at the end of the semester. There will be assignments and discussion questions over each chapter covered in lecture.
Material from the book that is not covered in lecture may
show up on the tests.
Lab:
There will be online pre-lab quizzes every week we have a lab. These quizzes will be available Wednesday morning and will be due by Thursday night at 6:30 pm. There are no make up pre-lab quizzes. There will be a total of 1 lab practical that will cover the material and experiments examined in lecture & lab. There will be online lab assignment(s) that correspond with the material being covered in lab due each week by the following Wednesday at 11:55 pm. If you miss lab you forfeit any points for that lab and lab assignment.
All Graded work will be returned to students one week
after the assignment/test/practical/quiz has been turned in.
Grading Scale:
90%-100% A
80%-89% B
70%-79% C
60%-69% D
BELOW 60% F
Lab Dates:
subject to change:
Week 1 8-20-09 Metric
Week 2 8-27-09 Microscope
Week 3 9-3-09 Molecules
Week 4 9-10-09 Food Nutrient Lab
Week 5 9-17-09 No Lab-1st exam
Week 6 9-24-09 Yeast
Week 7 10-1-09 Chromatography & Cellular Respiration
Week 8 10-8-09 Diffusion & Osmosis
Week 9 10-15-09 Mitosis
Week 10 10-22-09 Meiosis & Practice Lab Practical
Week 11 10-29-09 Lab Practical
Week 12 11-5-09 Probability & Rebops
Week 13 11-12-09 Blood Typing
Week 14 11-22-09 Chi Square
Week 15 11-26-09 No Lab-Thanksgiving
Week 16 12-3-09 DNA Extraction & Electrophoresis
Week 17 12-14-09 Final Exam
Attendance policy:
Attendance is expected in lab and will be taken at the time lab starts. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure they have appropriate computer and internet access. There are computers that are available on campus 7 days a week for your use. It is best to have a back up plan for completing your work on time if there was a computer/internet issue. Prior to accessing the chapter material the syllabus must be read and then the syllabus quiz must be passed with an 80% or better. There is a first class assignment that should also be completed prior to accessing the chapter material. Every student is required to participate in the discussions online as well as complete all quizzes, exams, and assignments online. There are no make-up quizzes, lab quizzes, or exams. If you miss an exam you will receive a zero. The final exam score will be used to replace your lowest exam score. The lowest quiz score will be dropped at the end of the semester. Lab Attendance is essential; missed labs cannot be made up. If the laboratory practical is missed, a zero will be recorded. A student may be dropped from class for the following reasons:
1.
Failure to attend the first lab session
and to login by the end of the first week of class
2.
Missing more than 3 labs
3.
Failure to complete the tasks online for a week
without notifying the instructor
4. Missing the lab practical.
After midterm it is the student’s responsibility to drop the course
following the appropriate guidelines. If
a student does not drop prior to the drop date, they will receive a letter
grade.
The assignments and lab assignments are to be submitted online as an attachment in the assignment drop box in a format that is readable in Microsoft word such as files with extensions such as .rtf, .doc or .docx. It is suggested that you save your files as rich text format which has the extension of .rtf. This format will open in all types of word processing programs. I will return your graded material as an attachment to the grade if I make corrections on the assignment itself. Assignments and lab assignments that are copied and pasted in the message window will not be graded. To check if you have completed an assignment click on the assignment drop box and scroll to the bottom of the page, if there is a blue hyperlink file listed there then you have submitted your assignment. You may submit more than one file to any assignment and can make corrections to your assignment and add the corrected file as long as it is prior to the due date. All assignments will be due on Sunday by 11:55 pm of the week the chapter is assigned. All lab assignments will be due the Wednesday after that lab by 11:55 pm.
For discussion questions, you are required to post a response to the question that I have posted and then reply to one classmate’s posted response. You must post a response to the original question before your classmate’s responses will appear. The posting to discussion questions are due on Sundays by 11:55 pm and will be reflective of the chapter(s) being covered that week. Your response to one classmate will be due the Wednesday following the due date of that discussion question by 11:55 pm. For example if we are covering chapters 1 and 2 in week 1 then the chapters 1 & 2 discussion questions will be due by the Sunday of week 1 and the response to a classmate will be due Wednesday of week 2.
There will be a reduction in points for any late assignments or late discussion questions.
CHAT:
Under the communicate tab, I do have a chat room marked ask Professor Feinstein that we can meet in to discuss things. Keep in mind that if other people are in the chat room they will be able to see your questions and responses. I am available anytime I am online, just send use the instant messenger tool or send me an email asking me to set up a time we can meet in the chat room to discuss things.
Exam and
Quizzes Policy:
The exams and quizzes are closed book and notes. You are not allowed to copy and paste correct answers from previous quizzes or the internet to answer exam or quiz questions. If it is noticed that you are copying and pasting answers from quizzes or typing answers verbatim out of the textbook or lecture you will receive a zero on that quiz or exam. If it is noticed a second time you will be dropped from the course and receive a F in the course.
Final Exam
Policy:
There are NO make-up final exams. You must take the final exam during the
indicated time or you will receive a zero on the final exam. I do not post grades and will not e-mail or
call you with grades due to privacy issues.
You will be able to check your grades in Angel.
FACULTY
ABSENCE:
Students are advised that if no official posted class
cancellation notice of class cancellation with the RCC logo in the background
of the notice, they should not leave the classroom for at least 15 minutes
after the scheduled class starting time.
If at this time the instructor does not show, call extension 344 from
the phone in the classroom to see if the instructor has reported the absence or
go to S119 (division office) for this information.
Divisional
Electronic Devices Policy
The Mathematics and Sciences Division prohibits the usage of cell phones, pagers, and other non learning electronic equipment within the classroom. All equipment must be turned off to avoid disturbances to the learning environment. If a student uses these devices during an examination, quiz, or any grades activity, the instructor reserves the right to issue no credit for these assignments. The instructor needs to approve any exceptions to this policy.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY POLICY:
Response to student cheating on exams, quizzes, and papers
shall be per school policy. “Each student is expected to be honest in his/her
work or in the submission of information to the College. The College regards
dishonesty in classroom and laboratories, on assignments, and examinations, and
the submission of false and misleading information to the College as a serious
offense” “A student who cheats, plagiarized, or false, misleading information
to the College is subject to disciplinary action up to and including failure of
a class or suspension/expulsion from the College” Cheating in any form will not
be tolerated. You will be given one warning THIS ONE. Cheating will result in a
0 for that test, removal from the course, and an F grade. Copying and pasting
information from websites including wikipedia into your assignments, etc is
considered plagiarism. In an online
course cheating also includes the using of notes and/or the book during quizzes
or exams as well as copying and pasting information from the internet into your
assignments, discussion questions, quizzes or exams. The Dean’s office will be notified
immediately of any cheating incidents. The Webster dictionary’s definition of
plagiarism is to present the ideas or words of another as one’s own.
HUMAN RELATIONS POLICY:
This course incorporates concepts regarding all races, creeds, sexes, and ethnic groupings, and the belief that they must learn to live together.
NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY:
Richland Community College policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, marital or parental status, national origin or ancestry, age, mental or physical disability (except where it is a bonafide occupational qualification), sexual orientation, military status, status as a disabled or Vietnam-era veteran.
LEARNING ACCOMMODATIONS:
Richland Community College offers
support and accommodations to students with documented disabilities by
providing advertisement, counseling, adaptive equipment and materials,
instructional aids, tutors, note takers, interpreters, and testing accommodations,
as well as many individualized services. For more information, students should
contact the Learning Accommodations Services Office, Room C137.
student learning center:
The Student Learning Center (SLC), Room S117, offers free tutoring to students who may need help with classes or programs. Both peer and faculty tutors are available on an appointment or drop-in basis for many areas including math, biology, chemistry, reading comprehension, study skills, vocabulary building, research, and specific written assignments. Biology and Chemistry tutoring is also available with hours of faculty tutors varying each semester, but with model availability whenever the SLC is open. In cooperation with other academic programs, the SLC may offer study groups each semester. Schedules with location and time are posted in the Center. Computers with tutorial software and word processing programs are available for student use any time the SLC is open.
Class cancellations:
Class cancellation due to instructor absences will be posted on the lab door.
college withdrawal policy:
It is the responsibility of the student to officially withdraw from class according to the procedures described in the college catalog. Any student who does not officially withdraw by the withdrawal deadline will receive a letter grade.
CORE VALUES MISSION:
Commitment- we support and carry out the College missions.
Respect- we demonstrate courtesy, caring, dignity, and compassion.
Excellence- we promote feelings of worth and accomplishment.
Accountability- we demonstrate responsibility for our actions.
Diversity/Inclusiveness- we appreciate similarities and differences in people and give a voice to everyone.