corrected 01/05/09

GENERAL BIOLOGY—II (Biol 112) – Winter 2009

INSTRUCTOR: L.R. McCloskey, PhD (lmcclosk@lasierra.edu)
Price Science Complex (PSC) office 204; phone 951-785-2108
Biology Department, La Sierra University, Riverside, CA

TEXT: Biology, 8th edition, by Campbell & Reece [ISBN-13: 978-0-8053-6844-4]. The e-text may be
accessed at www.masteringbio.com by joining the BIOL 112 course there.

D2L: Desire2Learn (D2L) may be found at https://elearning.lasierra.edu/, where you can log in with
your LSU username and password. All important announcements for this class will be made on
D2L. You are responsible for every such announcement whether it's mentioned in class or not, so
check D2L every day. Additionally, the PowerPoint lecture notes will be available on D2L as
PDF files (which can be accessed by Adobe Acrobat Reader—a free download program).

ATTENDANCE: If you attend every day, you will hear the material; go over the material the second
time when you do the online e-homework, and then review for the third time when you study for
Friday quizzes. By exam time, begin going over the material the fourth time. That will greatly
help you to master the material.

HELP: Every Friday afternoon, I will be available for study help sessions for you in PSC 230, starting at
1:00 pm. Your success is very important to me, and I enjoy helping students!

HOMEWORK: The e-homework assignments will be announced on D2L. You should do the e-
homework by the due date in order to obtain full credit.

QUIZZES: A quiz will be given at the beginning of each Friday class. No make-up quizzes will be
given, but the lowest quiz score will be dropped.

EXAMS: Four exams are scheduled. Exams are not comprehensive, covering primarily the material
assigned since the previous exam.

GRADING: >93% = A; >89% = A–; >85% = B+; >80% = B; >75% = B–; >70% = C+; >60% = C;
>50% = D; <50% = F. The gradebook is maintained on D2L, so you should frequently check on
your progress in the course by looking at your grade to date.

HONESTY: The La Sierra University Academic Integrity Policy, described in the Bulletin and in the
Student Handbook, will be rigorously enforced. It is my responsibility to protect the honest
students who study hard and do not cheat, so students who do cheat will be dealt with to the
fullest extent of the university’s policy.

DISABILITIES: If you have documented disabilities you should obtain the appropriate forms from the
director of the Learning Support Center in La Sierra Hall, suite 100. When I receive this
documentation, I will cooperate with the Learning Support Center to provide the necessary
accommodation.

PREREQUISITES: You must have completed Biol 111 with a C- or better grade to be allowed in Biol
112. Additionally, a course in chemistry is a prerequisite.

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POTENTIALLY CONTROVERSIAL MATERIAL: Biol 112 deals with three primary topics: 1)
how species change and adapt through natural selection—“evolution,” 2) the diversity of
invertebrates and vertebrates, and 3) animal form and function. All of these are broad topics, and
we will only highlight aspects of each—hopefully enough to give you a good feeling about and
arouse your curiosity for these three areas of modern biology. It is vitally important for you to
realize that this course—as a science course—is describing evidence from mainstream science,
and is not dealing with beliefs. Some will decide they cannot “believe” the scientific evidence,
and your right to decide that is encouraged and supported. If you expect to be competitive in any
modern science-based profession, and hope to perform well on standardized or preprofessional
qualifying exams, you simply must know what the scientific evidence is, whether or not you
“believe” it.

Winter Quarter 2009 Schedule of Lectures and Exams (Tentative):

Date Topic Text chapters

Jan 5 (M) The evolution of “Darwinism”; what were they thinking? 22

Jan 6 (T) The nature of the evidence for evolution-I 22
Jan 8 (R) The nature of the evidence for evolution-II 22
Jan 9 (F) Natural Selection and how it works-I 23
Jan 12 (M) Natural Selection and how it works-II 23
Jan 13 (T) Population genetics and the Hardy-Weinberg theorem 23
Jan 15 (R) What is a “species” and how is it formed-I 24
Jan 16 (F) What is a “species” and how is it formed-II 24
Jan 19 (M) MLK Holiday
Jan 20 (T) What can we learn from the record in the rocks-I? 25
Jan 22 (R) What can we learn from the record in the rocks-II? 25
Jan 23 (F) Exam 1—over material covered through Jan 22: chs. 22-25
Jan 26 (M) Animal diversity—basic plans & principles—I 32
Jan 27 (T) Animal diversity—basic plans & principles—II 32
Jan 29 (R) Invertebrates—I 33
Jan 30 (F) Invertebrates—II 33
Feb 2 (M) Vertebrates—I 34
Feb 3 (T) Vertebrates—II 34
Feb 5 (R) Animal Form & Function—I 40
Feb 6 (F) Exam 2—over material since Exam 1: chs. 32-34
Feb 9 (M) Animal Form & Function—II 40
Feb 10 (T) Animal Nutrition—I 41
Feb 12 (R) Animal Nutrition—II 41
Feb 13 (F) Circulation & Gas Exchange—I 42
Feb 16 (M) Presidents Day holiday
Feb 17 (T) Circulation & Gas Exchange—II 42
Feb 19 (R) Immune System 43
Feb 20 (F) Osmoregulation & Excretion—I 44
Feb 23 (M) Osmoregulation & Excretion—II 44
Feb 24 (T) Hormones & Endocrine System—I 45
Feb 26 (R) Exam 3—over material since Exam 2: chs. 40-44

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Feb 27 (F) Hormones & Endocrine System—II 45
Mar 2 (M) Animal Reproduction—I 46
Mar 3 (T) Animal Reproduction—II 46
Mar 5 (R) Animal Development—I 47
Mar 6 (F) Animal Development—II 47
Mar 9 (M) Nervous Systems—I 48
Mar 10 (T) Nervous Systems—II 49
Mar 12 (R) Sensory & Motor Mechanisms—I 50
Mar 13 (F) Sensory & Motor Mechanisms—II 50
Mar 16 (M) Final Exam @ 8:00 a.m.—over material since Exam 3: chs. 45-50