General Biology Laboratory Syllabus Fall 2007
BIO 113-01, Monday 11:00 12:50, 1 Credit Hour, Location: SCI 207
Instructor: Mr. Micah W. Perkins Email: micah.perkins@kctcs.edu
Office Location: 203 Technology Building Office Phone: (270) 686-4610
Office Hours: Mon. 8-8:45, 10-11, 1-2; Tues. 9:15-12; Wed. 8-8:45; Thurs. 9:15-11; Fri. 8-9, 11-12
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Basic laboratory studies of structure, function and interactions of living organisms including cell theory, genetics, energetics, evolution and ecology.
MAJOR COURSE OBJECTIVES: For students to have the opportunity to measure, experiment, observe, and discover. For students to become aware of the relationship between their observations and the general principles under study. Expectations for this course are directly supported by OCTC Expectations (Quality Enhancement Plan), which can be found at the center of the fall schedule or the following website: http://www.octc.kctcs.edu/expectations/ .
REQUIRED TEXT: Laboratory Manual: Concepts in Biology 12th Edition by E.D. Enger and F.C. Ross.
Published by McGraw Hill, 2007. Bring text to class periods.
COURSE OUTLINE: (Subject to Change)
Aug. 13 Lab Safety, Introduction to Science, and Writing a Laboratory Report
Aug. 20 Metric Measurements, the Scientific Method of Inquiry, Experimentation, and Scientific Tools
Aug. 27 The Microscope
Sept. 3 No Class (Labor Day)
Sept. 10 Survey of Cell Types: Structure and Function
Sept. 17 Mitosis: Cell Division
Sept. 24 Microbiology
Oct. 1 Laboratory Midterm Exam, 11:00 am
Oct. 8 No Class (Fall Break)
Oct. 15 DNA, RNA and DNA Extraction
Oct. 22 Genetics; Human Variation
Oct. 29 Taxonomy; Roll Call of the Animals
Nov. 5 Field Biology; Ecology
Nov. 12 Natural Selection
Nov. 19 Biogeography and phylogeny
Nov. 26 To Be Announced
Dec. 3 To Be Announced
Wednesday December 5 Laboratory Final Exam (Noncomprehensive), 11:00 am
EVALUATION PROCEDURES: The course grade will be determined by a variety of materials submitted
throughout the semester:
Lab Assignments Labs assignments are over half of your grade. You may work in partners or work alone. If
there are an odd number of students, I will allow one group of 3. I will drop your lowest lab assignment grade. Lab assignments are 50% of your final grade.
Exams - Exams will assess your understanding of concepts and your ability to apply the knowledge acquired.
The 2 Exams are 40% of your final grade with both exams weighted equally.
Attendance Attendance will be recorded daily, and missed lab work cannot be made up. Tardiness will
negatively affect your attendance grade. Attendance will be 10% of your final grade.
Your final course letter grade will be determined as follows:
A = 90-100% B = 80-89% C = 70-79% D = 60-69% E = Below 60%
If students wish to determine their progress throughout the semester, they must figure their own grades. If you have problems figuring your grade and wish to know your progress, then you must set up an appointment during office hours.
ATTENDANCE: Attendance will be recorded daily, and a record your attendance will be maintained to accommodate federal regulations concerning financial aid. Class participation is strongly encouraged and is necessary to earn credit for in-class activities. If a student has had greater than 3 absences during the semester, the students participation grade will be reduced to 0%. Two late arrivals count for one absence.
WRITTEN WORK POLICY: Written assignments with excessive grammatical, spelling or typographical errors are unacceptable. To receive full credit on lab assignments, you must use complete sentences and include units after numbers. All written lab assignments will be required to be at levels 1 through 3 in accordance with OCTC expectations. Lab reports need to be stapled and are due at the beginning of the next lab unless otherwise noted.
LATE WORK POLICY AND TEST MAKE UP:
If lab assignments are not turned in at the beginning of the next lab but still that lab period or day, I will reduce the lab by 20%. If you turn the lab in one week late, I will reduce it by 30%. Labs will not be accepted after one week late.
If you are unable to take a test at the scheduled time, you must contact the instructor the day of the scheduled test. Phone, leave a voice mail, email, etc. If I am not contacted on the scheduled test day, no make up test will be available, and a zero will be awarded for that test. I will not track down students about missed tests. Any student that sits through a review of test results before making up the test will receive a 0 even if plans were made to make up the test. This is the students responsibility. Not knowing about an exam or missing the week before are not valid excuses. Students must make up the test within one week of when the original test was scheduled. No make up tests will be given greater than one week after the original scheduled test.
Lab Rules
1. Do not eat or drink in the lab.
2. Do not put your hands in your eyes or mouth
3. Do not play around in the lab. Equipment is fragile and expensive.
4. Do not wear nice clothing in the lab. It may get stained.
5. Do not mouth pipette or use glassware for food or drink containers.
6. Sharp material and broken glassware should be placed in the broken glassware container.
7. Biological waste (ie. used petri dishes, etc) should be put in the biological hazard container.
8. Always put away all of your supplies.
9. Always wash your table area when you are done.
10. Always wash your hands with soap and water after lab.
11. Know where the safety equipment is located.
12. Report all non-water spills.
13. Do not use cell phones in class. Turn them off before class.
14. We may occasionally go outside, so always wear appropriate footwear.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
Friday, August 17, is the last day for a student to drop this course without a grade.
Monday, October 15 (midterm) is the last day you may withdraw and receive an automatic "W". A grade of
W from midterm through Monday, Dec. 3 (the last class day of the semester) requires the signature of the instructor. After the midterm, I will sign for a W for any student that has been attending class and putting forth noticeable effort. I will not sign a form for students that have not been attending regularly.
Financial Aid Repayment: Students receiving some forms of federal financial aid, who do not officially
withdraw by the scheduled deadline, may also face financial penalties. Students may be required to repay a portion of their financial aid or may not be able to receive future financial aid.
Academic Honesty Policy: The OCTC faculty and students are bound by principles of truth and honesty
that are recognized as fundamental for a community of teachers and scholars. The college expects students and faculty to honor, and faculty to enforce, these academic principles. Cheating, plagiarism and copying of assignments will not be tolerated. Such activities will result in a grade of zero for that particular exam or assignment and may result in failure of the course in accordance with the Code of Student Conduct. Expectations of OCTC Standards of Professional Conduct are available at the following website: http://www.octc.kctcs.edu/expectations/spc.htm .
For information about OCTCs expectations and Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), refer to center of the
Spring schedule or the following website: http://www.octc.kctcs.edu/expectations/ .
Course Specific Competency:
Science: To demonstrate a working knowledge of human effects on the biological and physical environment. Students will be required to understand basic concepts of chemistry, ecology, soil science and nutrient cycling. Students should be able to understand that changes in physical factors (light, temperature, salinity, chemicals, etc.) in the environment may affect biological species. Students will learn about social and ethical issues in science. All exams and class participation will directly address the course specific competency.
General Education across the Curriculum Competencies:
I. Communicate Effectively
1. Read and listen with comprehension.
2. Speak and write clearly using standard English.
3. Interact cooperatively with others using both verbal and non-verbal means.
4. Demonstrate information processing through basic computer skills.
II. Think Critically
1. Make connections in learning across the disciplines and draw logical conclusions.
2. Demonstrate problem solving through interpreting, analyzing, summarizing, and/or integrating
a variety of materials.
3. Use mathematics to organize, analyze, and synthesize data to solve a problem.
III. Learn Independently
1. Use appropriate search strategies and resources to find, evaluate, and use information.
2. Make choices based upon awareness of ethics and differing perspectives/ideas.
3. Apply learning in academic, personal, and public situations.
4. Think creatively to develop new ideas or processes.
IV. Examine Relationships in Diverse and Complex Environments
1. Demonstrate an awareness of the relationship of the individual to the biological and physical
environment.
2. Develop an awareness of self as an individual member of a multicultural global community.