Biology 110 Lecture Syllabus - Fall 2005
Lecture Instructor and Course Coordinator: Dr. Hamilton (office: Room
22, Science)
Office phone: (724)334-6717 Email: hw7@psu.edu
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 11-12 Tuesday and Thursday 11 am to
12:30 pm (or by appointment)
Students are encouraged to contact me via e-mail at any time if they have questions or concerns.
Course Homepage:
www.personal.psu.edu/hw7/Biology110 or access through Angel (cms.psu.edu)
Text: "Biology: 7th ed" by Campbell and Reece
Lecture topics and readings for Exam 1:
| Date | Topic | Readings in Campbell (pages) |
| 8/31 | Introduction/Overview | 1-17 |
| 9/2 9/5 LABOR DAY (no classes) |
Nature of Science | 17-27
|
| 9/7 | Life (characteristics) | |
| 9/9 | Hierarchy of Life Chemical Bonds, Energy Laws |
141-144 (also p. 32-45 as background) |
| 9/12 | Water: Osmosis and Diffusion | 47-56, 130-134 |
| 9/14 | Organic molecules - structure and metabolism | 58-66 |
| 9/16 | Organic molecules - cont. | 68-89, 145-157 (read to the detail covered in lecture) |
| 9/19 | Organic molecules - cont. | |
| 9/21 | Organic molecules - cont. | |
| 9/23 | Organic molecules - cont. | |
| 9/26 | Exam 1 | Links to Study Questions are on the 110 homepage. |
Exam 1 will consist of approximately 40 multiple choice questions, and several short answer and essay questions. All lecture and assigned text readings will be covered on the exam. There will be 100 total points on Exam 1.
Lecture Exam 2 will be Oct 24, Lecture Exam 3 will be Nov 21, and Lecture Exam 4 will be during finals. Lecture and reading outlines for each exam will be handed out and posted online at the start of each module.
Note: the last day to drop a course this Fall 2005 semester is Wednesday, November 16.
Use of Online Materials and Email
There will be a series of study questions and potential exam questions made available online. There will also be some extra-credit opportunities via e-mail. All students are expected to be able to send and receive e-mail for this class. All students are expected to be able to access the course homepage for assignments etc for this class. Use of other types of study materials (CD's, Internet sites etc) will be discussed during the semester.
New York Times: semester reading assignment
The 'New York Times" is available to all students at Penn State New Kensington. On the Biol 110, ANGEL course web site there will be a discussion board on which students will be assigned to post summaries of science articles from the "New York Times". Each student will be responsible for writing at least four article summaries during the semester. A sheet assigning students to their weeks will be passed out in lecture. All summaries must be posted by Wednesday evening of the assigned week. All students in the class are encouraged to read and respond on Angel to the summaries. We will discuss the week's articles in class or in FYS seminar on Friday. There will be questions about the articles and about the summaries on each lecture exam. Students will receive points for this assignment based on their summaries (timeliness and quality) and on their responses and discussions (both in-class on on-line). This assignment is worth a total of 100 course points (the equivalent of a lecture exam).
Distribution of Points and Grading Scale
Course points will come from many sources: lecture exams, lab exams, lab assignments, lecture assignments and quizzes etc. All points will added together to generate the total course points. Course grades will be determined via the following percentage distribution of the total course points:
A (93-->100%), A- (90-->92%), B+ (87-->89%), B (83-->86%), B- (80-->82%), C+ (77-->79%), C (70-->76%), D (60-->69%), F (less than 60%). If you have questions about your ongoing grade in this class be sure to ask Dr. Hamilton for an update.
Attendance and Make-up Policy
Attendance is expected at all lecture and lab meetings. Excessive absences will lead to grade reduction. Students are responsible for all material covered in lecture and may make up laboratory material only for excused absences. Make-up lecture exams will be given for excused absences only. Make-up lecture exams will be in an essay format.
Academic Integrity
All students in this course are expected to conduct themselves at a high level of academic integrity and honesty both in lecture and in the laboratory. Outside assignments are to be each student's independent work. Plagiarism in any form (copying from fellow students or from written or electronic sources without appropriate attribution or reference) is not permitted. No forms of written or electronic aids for exams are allowed. Further, copying from other student's exam paper is not permitted. Anyone caught violating any aspects of academic integrity will fail this course and be subject to University procedures and penalties.
First Year Seminar (FYS) Students
A number of students will be taking Biology 110 as their FYS course. Every 4-year degree offered by Penn State University requires a FYS course to be taken in the Freshman year. The work for the FYS component will be discussed and dealt with during the Friday noon--> 1pm FYS session. Be sure that you have or will have this degree requirement covered!
Textbook Library
In Dr. Hamilton's office there are a number of copies of previous editions of the Campbell textbook. These editions are fundamentally similar to the Seventh edition required by this course, especially in the introductory chapters. Students may sign out one of these copies for a 48 hour period (or over a weekend). It is VITAL that everyone have access to a textbook! A significant portion of each exam will come from text material.