Exploring Biology
BCOR 012, Spring 2009
Instructors:
Catherine Paris, Ph.D. 225C Marsh Life Sciences Bldg Phone: 6-0431 Donald Stratton, Ph.D. 328 Marsh Life Science Bldg Phone: 6-9731
Bryan Ballif, Ph.D.
311 Marsh Life Sciences Bldg
Phone: 6-1389
John Mitchell, Ph.D.
111 Marsh Life Science Bldg
Phone: 6-0454
E-mail: John.Mitchell@uvm.edu
Becky Miller, MPB
Phone: 6-9513
E-mail: bmiller@physiology.med.uvm.edu
Laboratory Coordinator:
Janet Mitchell, Ph.D.
007 Marsh Life Science Bldg
Phone: 6-9976
Course Description
BCOR 12 will cover topics in genetics, physiology, development, behavior, organismal diversity, evolution and ecology. All readings referred to here are chapters within the assigned text which is Campbell’s Biology, ed. 8. Other readings may be assigned and will be posted on the Web. We strongly recommend that you read the assigned material before coming to lecture.
Required Texts
Campbell, N.A., and Reece, J.B. 2009. Biology, ed. 8. Benjamin Cummings, California.
Pechenik, J. A. 2007. A Short Guide to Writing About Biology, ed. 6. Addison-Wesley, New York.
Grading
There will be three midterm exams and a cumulative final exam in this course. You may drop your lowest midterm exam grade. Your final grade will consist of an average of your two highest midterm grades, your final exam, lab grade, and homework assignment grades. The point breakdown is as follows:
Hourly exams (2 grades, 100 pts each) 200
Laboratory 200
Cumulative Final 200
4 Homework Assignments 100
Total 700
The final exam will be cumulative. Midterm exams are scheduled for the evenings of TBA. There will be a common final exam for all sections of the course, the time and date of which will be announced. Check your exam schedule for other courses and see your professors immediately if you need to reschedule a midterm or the final exam.
There will be no make-up exams and midterm exams will not be rescheduled to accommodate travel plans during the semester. A missed exam will be counted as the one dropped midterm grade. The only legitimate excuse for rescheduling an exam is if you have three exams scheduled on one day or you are required to be off-campus for a university sponsored event or religious holiday. In such cases you may schedule to take the exam early, but not late. Discuss this with your instructor as soon as possible. If you should miss an exam and then have some emergency that causes you to miss a second, you must provide written documentation of your emergency in order not to have a 0 counted in your grade.
Strategies for Getting an "A" in This Course
COME TO CLASS. We often hear students say they don't bother to come to class because "it's all in the book." You have no way of knowing what material we emphasized or how without coming to class. Most students cannot skip class regularly and still do well in this course.
KEEP UP. There is a lot of material covered in this course, do not expect to learn it the night before the exam! And it is VERY helpful to have read the material before you come to class.
TAKE ALL OF THE EXAMS. Do not use your privilege of dropping your lowest exam
grade as an excuse to "blow off" one of the exams. What if you are ill for the next one? Since we give you an exam to drop, illness does not merit a "make-up" exam. If you are ill and cannot take an exam, that will be the exam you drop. The final is cumulative. Learning the material for each mid-term exam will make studying for the final that much easier.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HELP. If you are having difficulty, or simply need clarification of some of the material, see either your laboratory Teaching Fellow or one of the instructors. We all hold office hours and intend for that time to be used helping students. But if you don't seek us out, there's no way for us to know that you're struggling. And remember... Academic honesty is expected of all students. If you are caught cheating on an exam, you will receive a zero for that exam. That score cannot be the one you drop. All laboratory reports M UST be written individually.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Academic honesty is expected of all students. The University of Vermont has a very strict policy concerning academic honesty and plagiarism. Please see the statement on academic honesty http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmppg/ppg/student/acadintegrity.pdf .
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism constitutes a violation of Academic Honesty and warrants failure on an assignment and/or failure in the course. Plagiarism of ANY sort - e.g., copying part or all of a fellow student's report, copying from original references, texts, or websites - will NOT be tolerated. The consequences of plagiarism or cheating range from a score of zero on the assignment or exam, to filing a complaint with the University’s Coordinator for Academic Honesty which can result in expulsion from UVM.
EMAIL ETIQUETTE: Communicating by electronic mail has become commonplace. Your Instructors and Teaching Fellows will make every effort to answer your emails promptly. Please return the courtesy by responding. Also, please address your queries respectfully. “Hey” does not fall in this category, and any such messages will be ignored (perhaps the best litmus test is to ask the following: “if you were looking for a job, would you greet your prospective new employer in that manner?”). Also it is important to properly identify yourself and the particular course you are inquiring about. Instructors often have multiple “Biology” courses and multiple “Tom”s.
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS: Students should submit in writing to their instructors by the end of the second full week of classes their documented religious holiday schedule for the semester. Students who miss work for the purpose of religious observance will be allowed to make up this work.
Topic Outline for BCOR 012
Genetics: Mendel and The Gene Idea (Chapter 14)
Mendel's Laws of Inheritance – law of segregation, law of independent assortment, relationship between genotype and phenotype, pedigree analysis and human genetic diseases, tools for detection of genetic disorders.
The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance (Chapter 15)
Genes and chromosomes: linked genes, sex linked genes, gene mutations that result in human diseases, the Human Genome Project.
Descent with Modification (Chapter 22)
Historical context for evolutionary thought, Darwin's theory, The Darwinian Revolution
The Evolution of Populations (Chapter 23)
Linking Darwinian evolution and Mendelian inheritance, microevolution – patterns and causes, genetic variation – the substrate for natural selection
The Origin of Species (Chapter 24)
Species concepts, modes of speciation, reproductive isolation mechanisms, variation in speciation rates, from speciation to macroevolution
The History of Life on Earth (Chapter 25)
The fossil record, key events, dominant groups, development and evolution
Phylogeny and The Tree of Life (Chapter 26)
Taxonomy, classification and systematics
Animal Behavior (Chapters 51)
Balancing costs and benefits of behavior, cost and benefits of social behavior, evolution of animal societies, sociobiology.
Population Ecology (Chapter 53)
Characteristics of populations, population dynamics, patterns of population growth, population regulation, life histories
Community Ecology (Chapter 54)
Types of ecological interactions, co-evolution of interacting species, temporal changes in com m unities.
Conservation Biology (Chapter 56)
The biodiversity crisis, conservation of populations and of species, human population growth.
Multicellularity and Tissue Development (Chapt. 18.4, 21.6, 25.5, 32.1-3 and Chapter 47)
Studies in the Genetics and Evolution of Tissue Development using Model Organisms
Defense Mechanisms (Chapters 39.5 and 43)
The protection of self, and the Protection against Non-self in Plants and Animals
Sedentary Life and Locomotive Adaptations (Chapter 50 –Motor Section)
Studies of Tissues Adapted for Sedentary life or Locomotion
Reproduction (Chapters 38 and 46)
Studies of Reproductive Tissues in Plants and Animals
Transport (Chapters 35, 36, 41, 42)
Resource acquisition and distribution in Plants, Nutrition and Circulation in Animals
Control Systems (Chapters 48 and 49)
Structure and Function of Neurons and the Nervous System in Animals
Sensory Adaptations (Chapters 39.4 and 50.1-4)
Sensory Tissues and Adaptations in Plants and Animals