Des Moines Area Community College – Boone Campus
General Biology 1
BIO 112
INSTRUCTOR Dr. Timothy M. Bergin
OFFICE PHONE NO. (515) 433-5065 (leave a message on voice-mail)
OFFICE HOURS 11:30 - 12:00 MWF
EMAIL tmbergin@dmacc.edu
INSTRUCTOR'S HOME PAGE http://www.dmacc.org/instructors/tmbergin/
Lecture Text: Campbell and Reece. 2008. Biology. 8th ed. The Benjamin Cummings Publishing Co., Inc.
Laboratory Text: Vodopich and Moore. 2007. Biology: laboratory manual. 8th ed. McGraw-Hill.
Course Policies:
Class attendance and punctuality is expected of all students, and attendance will be regularly recorded. If you miss a lecture, then it is your responsibility to obtain from classmates the notes on the material missed. Reading assignments should be completed before the presentation of each course topic. Makeup exams will be given only when a student contacts the instructor before the exam (either by phone message or email) or at the discretion of the instructor. All in-class assignments must be turned in to the instructor no later than the last day of class. No additional-credit will be given for any reason. Food and drink, for health and safety reasons, are not allowed in class.
Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism, cheating or any other academic dishonesty can not be tolerated. Please take care that you do not to simply “copy” material from the Internet or any other source. Your work should be your own. For college policies see DMACC Educational Services Procedures ES 262 VII. A. and B.
Cell Phone Policy
DMACC has implemented a policy that cell phone use should be kept to a minimum and conducted only in designated areas on campus. Cell phone use is not allowed in classrooms; please turn your cell phone off or set to “silent ring”. If you must answer your cell phone, please leave the classroom with as little disruption as possible and talk quietly in the hallway. During exams you will not be allowed to leave the classroom to use your cell phone.
Available Support Services:
DMACC-Boone campus has developed a Writing Center in RM 170 that is staffed from 8am to 6pm. They can help you with any kind of writing assignments for any course. I will expect students working on the Lab Report to use the center as needed.
The DMACC-Boone library is a wonderful resource for all kinds of information, and the library staff are knowledgeable people who are there to help students. Books, video, audio and a computer lab are available to all students for both course-related and personal use. Please contact the library staff for assistance.
The staff of the Academic Achievement Center (AAC) is focused on helping. They provide many professional services. Students can be matched with tutors; evaluated using COMPASS, instructed in learning and study skills; take make-up exams, or directed to ESL classes. Please contact the instructor or AAC staff if you need assistance with your courses.
DMACC provides access to computers for all enrolled students. The DMACC computer network runs Microsoft Windows 2003, and many compatible programs are available including Microsoft Word and Excel. Students can also access the DMACC intranet and the Internet from computers in RM 208, 210, 218 and the library. Computers are equipped with hard drives, USB ports and CD burners, and printers are available. The librarian staff or the LAN specialist will provide network user-ids and passwords. Please log-in to the system as soon as possible.
Accommodations:
It is the policy of DMACC to accommodate students with disabilities. Any student with a documented disability who requires reasonable accommodations should contact the special needs coordinator at (515) 964-6850.
Grading:
Your final grade will be determined from 5 lecture exams, 2 lab exams, in-class assignments, and a lab report. Plus and minus grades will be assigned at the discretion of the instructor.
Grading Scale: A - 100 to 90%, B - 89 to 80%, C - 79 to 70%, D - 69 to 60%, F - less than 60%.
Lab Report......................................................................................................... 10%
In-class assignments........................................................................................... 15%
Laboratory exams.............................................................................................. 15%
Lecture exams ................................................................................................... 60%
Lecture Exams (60%):
Lecture exams will cover material presented in lecture, audiovisuals, and the textbook. Exam questions will focus on terms and concepts discussed in class or in reading assignments. Exams will consist of multiple-choice questions, definitions of terms, and short-answer questions. Makeup exams will be given only when a student contacts the instructor before the exam (either by phone message or email) or at the discretion of the instructor.
In-class assignments (15%):
In-class assignments will be given in both lecture and laboratory. Students who are not present when these are handed out will not be allowed to make them up.
Laboratory Exams (15%):
Laboratory exams will be of a practical nature covering concepts and procedures used in lab exercises. Laboratory exams can not be made up for any reason.
Lab Reports (10%):
A lab report will be required for one of the laboratory exercises. The lab report will consist of 3 parts: an outline, first draft, and final draft (each with a separate due date). Each part must be completed in order to get full credit. Specific details will be announced ahead of time.
LECTURE SEQUENCE and READING ASSIGNMENTS
Chapter 1 – Introduction: themes in the study of life
Chapter 22 - Descent with modification: a Darwinian view of life
Chapter 24 – The origin of species (24.1, 24.2)
Chapter 25 – The history of life on Earth (25.2, 25.3, 25.4, 25.5, 25.6)
Chapter 26 – Phylogeny and the tree of life (26.1, 26.2, 26.3, 26.5)
Exam 1
Chapter 2 - The chemical context of life
Chapter 3 - Water and the fitness of the environment
Chapter 4 - Carbon and the molecular diversity of life
Exam 2
Chapter 5 - The structure and function of macromolecules
Chapter 8 - An introduction to metabolism
Chapter 6 - A tour of the cell
Exam 3
Chapter 9 - Cellular Respiration
Chapter 10 - Photosynthesis
Exam 4
Chapter 14 - Mendel and the gene
Chapter 17 - From gene to protein
Chapter 23 - The evolution of populations
Exam 5 (final week)
Laboratory Schedule
1. Introduction; Galapogos video; Human Evolution (Lab Ex. 19) - In class assignments
2. Evidence for Evolution (hand-out) - In class assignment
3. The Microscope: Basic Skills of Light Microscopy (Lab Ex. 3) - In class assignment
4. The Cell: Structure and Function (Lab Ex. 4) - In class assignment
7. Lab Exam 1 (covering objectives from Lab No. 1 to 6)
8. Biologically Important Molecules: Carbohydrates, Proteins, Lipids, and Nucleic Acids (Lab Ex. 6) - In class assignment
9. Enzymes: Factors Affecting the Rate of Activity (Lab Ex. 11) - Lab Report
10. Respiration: Aerobic and Anaerobic Oxidation of Organic Molecules (Lab Ex. 12) - In class assignments
11. Photosynthesis (Lab Ex. 13) - In class assignments
12. Genetics: The Principles of Mendel (Lab Ex. 17) - In class assignments
13. Evolution: Hardy-Weinberg (Lab Ex. 18) - In class assignments
14. Molecular Biology (Lab Ex. 16) - In class assignment
15. Lab Exam 2 (covering objectives from Lab No. 8 to 14)