BIO11102GeneralBiologySyllabusSpring2015

Instructor:GraceGoschke

Office:33278

Phone:7562454

Email:ggoschke@calpoly.edu
OfficeHours:M2:003:00PM;W8:009:00AM;F1:002:00PM(ormakeanappointment)
PolyLearn:Bio11102
Text: WhatisLife?AGuidetoBiology2ndedition.JayPhelanW.H.Freeman&Co.
Thereareseveralwaystoaccessthetext:

ebookthroughpublisher:http://ebooks.bfwpub.com/phelan2e.php

ebookthroughbookstore:ISBN9781464106736

Looseleaf:ISBN9781464105876

Usedtexts:ISBN#1429253274(oldereditionisfine)

CourseDescription:
Thisisanintroductorycoursedesignedtoprovideanoverviewoffundamentalconceptsinbiology.
Lecture topics fall into 3 general areas: Cellular Life & Energy, Genetic Principals & Mechanisms,
Evolution&Ecology.Biologyisthescientificstudyoflife,anongoingattempttounderstandourown
bodies,theorganismsaroundus,andthenaturalworldingeneral. Itisanessentialpartofgeneral
education;whilethematerialinthiscoursemaynotbedirectlyrelevanttoyourmajor,itshouldbe
relevanttoyourlife.Bio111shouldprovideyouwithbasicbiologicalknowledge;anunderstandingof
principlesofscientificinquiry,andtheabilitytoanalyzebiologicalissuesinyourownlifeorreportedin
themedia.
PLEASENOTE:

Grading:
Exam1

100points

Exam2

100points

FinalExam

150points

WrittenAssignments

60points

PolyLearnQuizzes

80points

ClickerQuizzes

48points

538points

Lateoremailedassignmentswillnotbeaccepted
WrittenAssignmentsaredueatthebeginningofclass
Finalexaminationswillnotberescheduled
Withtheexceptionofclickers,whileansweringclicker
questionsortakingnotes,electronicdevicesmaynotbe
usedinclass(computers,iPods,cellphones,etc.).

Lectureis75%ofthefinalBio111grade;laboratoryis25%ofthefinalBio111grade.
Refertothelabsyllabus(providedinlab)forinformationaboutlabgrading.

FinalLetterGradeswillbeassignedasfollows:
A

93100%

8386.9%

7376.9%

6366.9%

9092.9%

8082.9%

7072.9%

6062.9%

B+

8789.9%

C+

7779.9%

D+

6769.9%

<59%

WrittenAssignments:Fourshortassignmentsinwhichyouwillinvestigatespecifictopicsinbiology.The
assignmentswillbepostedonPolyLearn(15ptseach).
PolyLearnQuizzes: Startinginthesecondweek, two quizzes (5pts each) will be due Mondayand
Wednesday before lecture. These are to be completed using the course PolyLearn site. You are
responsibleformakingsurethatyouhavereceivedquizcreditbycheckingyourgradesonthe
coursePolyLearnsite.Pleasecontactmebeforethequizduedate/timeifyouhaveanyproblemswith
theelectronicgradebookinPolyLearn.
InClassAssignments: Youwillbegivenassignmentstocompleteduringclass.Youmaybeaskedto
grade another students assignment or provide feedback. These questions are examples of the short
answerquestionsthatmayappearontheexam.Imayassignpointcredittotheseassignmentsbasedon
theircomplexityandgradethem.Theseassignmentswillbecompletedon4x6indexcards.Youwill
notreceivecreditforworkdoneoncardsofothersize,binderpaperetc.
i>clicker:i>clickerisaresponsesystemthatallowsyoutorespondtoquestionsposedduringclass.You
will be graded on that feedback and/or participation (2 pts/lecture plus possible extra credit). These
questionsareexamplesofthemultiplechoicequestionsthatmayappearontheexam.Inordertoreceive
creditforyourresponses, youneedtoregisteryouriclickerremoteonlinebeforeclasson

4/6/2015 at
www.iclicker.com/registration.Completethefieldswithyourfirstname,lastname,

username(howyou
logontotheMyCalPolyportalex:jdoe)andremoteID.TheremoteIDistheseriesofnumbersand
sometimeslettersfoundatthebottomofthebackofyouriclickerremote.
Youwillnotreceivecreditfor forgotten,broken,orunregisteredclickers.Iwillcollectanyclickers
fromstudentsusingmultipleclickersandpointsyouhaveearnedforthequarterwillbeforfeited.Please
seemeASAPifyouhaveanyproblems.Youareresponsibleformakingsurethatyouhavereceived
clickercreditbycheckingyourgradesonthecoursePolyLearnsite.

ClasslectureslideswillbepostedforyourconvenienceonthecoursePolyLearnsite.Theseareavailable
todownloadandtakenotesduringclass.Notallslidesandtextareincluded.

Attendance&MakeupExams:
AttendanceisSTRONGLYencouraged.Studentswhomisslecture(orlab)regularlytypicallyearnDsor
Fsinthecourse.Makeupexamscanbearrangedforgenuineproblemsifyoucontactmeinadvance.
Cheating&Plagiarism:
Cheatingisdefinedasobtainingorattemptingtoobtain,oraidinganothertoobtaincreditforwork,or
anyimprovementofevaluationofperformance,byanydishonestordeceptivemeansThepenaltyfor
cheatingrequiresan"F"coursegradeandfurtherattendanceinthecourseisprohibitedPlagiarismis
definedastheactofusingtheideasorworkofanotherpersonorpersonsasiftheywereonesown,
without giving proper credit to the source Plagiarism may be considered a form of cheating and
thereforesubjecttothesamepolicywhichrequiresnotificationoftheCoordinatorofCampusStudent
RelationsandJudicialAffairsandincludespossibledisciplinaryaction.
CampusAdministrativeManual(CAM)(Section684)onAcademicDishonesty
Youwillbeaskedtosignacontractforethicalconductduringclass.
ClassroomBehavior:
Theuseofcellphones,iPodsandotherelectronicdevicesareprohibited.Multipleiclickersarenot
allowedandwillbeconfiscated.DisrespectfulbehaviortowardtheinstructororotherstudentsWILL
NOTBETOLERATED.Thisincludesloudconversationsorotherdistractingbehaviors.Youwillbe
askedtoleavetheclassroom.

SuggestionsforSuccessinBio111
1.Cometoclass!!!TheremaybeclassesinwhichyoucanearnaCorbetterwithoutcomingtolecture,
butformostpeople,biologyisnotoneofthem.
2. Make sureyou understandthematerial covered in each lecture BEFORE the next lecture. The
materialinthisclassreallybuilds!Forexample,itisveryhardtounderstandphotosynthesisifyoudo
notunderstandenergytransformations,membranefunction,andbasicmolecularstructures.Therefore,if
youmissedclassordidntunderstandit,itwillbemuchhardertounderstandthenexttopic.
3.Gotolab!Inadditiontomakingitmuchmorelikelythatyouwilldowellonlabexamsandtherefore
boostyourgradeinthecourse,labactivitieswillreinforceinformationfromlecture.

4. Usethetextbooktohelpyouunderstandthematerialfromlecture.Thetextbookisquitegoodand
clearlywritten,andforthemostpartthelectureswillfollowthesameorderasthetext.Skimmingthe
chapterbeforelecture(lookingatmaintopicsandfigures)makeslectureseemmuchslower.
5. Donotleaveallyourstudyingforthedaybefore(or2daysbefore)theexam . Thereisalotof
informationcoveredinthisclass.Ifyoudonotstudyasyougo,itwillbeoverwhelming.Trytostart
studyingeachlecturetopicthesamedayasthelecture;ifyoureinforcetheinformationwhileitisstill
freshinyourmind,itwillbemucheasiertoretainthatinformation.
6. Studyactively,notpassively. Simplyreadingthetextbookandyourlecturenotesispassiveand
thereforeaveryineffectivewaytolearn.Trytospendmostofyourstudyingtimedoingsomethingactive
(takingnotes,drawingdiagrams,answeringquestions,etc).Trysomeofthefollowingsuggestions:
a) DotheCheckYourKnowledgequestionsattheendofthechapters,andusethemtofocus
yourattentiononwhatyoudon'tunderstand.TheTakeHomeMessageboxesarealsoagood
waytomakesurethatyouunderstandthematerial.
b) Makeanoutlineofeachtopic(withkeywordsandphrases,notwholesentences).
c) Drawyourownsummarydiagramsorflowchartsofeachtopic(thisisespeciallygoodfor
processeslikephotosynthesis&respiration).
d) Make summary tables and/or comparison tables, eg. Different kinds of chemical bonds,
respirationvs.photosynthesis(includinginputsandoutputsofeachstep,wheretheenergyis
ateachstep,overallinputsandoutputs,whereeachprocesstakesplace,etc),andorganelles
foundinallcellsvs.thoseonlyinanimals,etc.
e) Comeupwithdifferentwaystoorganizethesameinformation.Themoreyouworkwiththe
informationandturnitintodifferentformsormakeconnectionstoit,themoreyouwill
understandandrememberit.
f) Trytostudywithoneortwootherstudentsintheclass.Talkingabouttheinformationand
answeringeachothersquestionsisagoodwaytoreinforcethematerialandmakesureyou
reallyunderstandit.
*Itisnotenoughtoreadoversomethingandhaveitmakesensetoyou;thatsimplymeansit
makessensetoyou,notthatyouhavelearnedit. * Youneedtobeabletoanswerquestionsandto
explainaconceptaccuratelyandcompletelytosomeoneelse.
7.Whiletakingtests,remembertoreadeachquestioncarefullyandreadALLtheanswersbeforeyou
chooseone.Alsoremembertothink!Obviouslythereissomeinformationyouneedtohavememorized,
butformanyquestionsyoucanfigureouttheanswer.Thequestionmayrequireyoutoapplyinformation
toaslightlynewsituationortothinkaboutaprocessinaslightlydifferentway.Trytothinkthequestion
through,basedonwhatyouknow.
8.Cometoofficehoursandaskquestions.

3/19/2015

Bio11102Spring2015Schedule
Date

Topic

3/30
4/1
4/3

I.CellularLife&Energy
Introduction/ScientificThinking
ChemicalBasisofLife
MoleculesofLife

4/6
4/8
4/10

CellFunction
CellStructure
Energy

Readings
Chapter.Section

2.12.3
2.42.21

PolyLearnquizdue
3.13.10
PolyLearnquizdue
3.123.21

4.14.4

4/13
4/15
4/17

AcquiringEnergy:PhotosynthesisIPolyLearnquizdue
4.54.9
AcquiringEnergy:PhotosynthesisIIPolyLearnquizdue
4.104.11
ReleasingEnergy:Respiration
4/124.15
1stassignmentdue

4/20

4.164.17

AlternativeEnergyRelease
PolyLearnquizdue
II.GeneticPrinciples&Mechanisms
4/22DNAStructure/Function PolyLearnquizdue
4/24
Exam1(lectures3/304/20)
4/27
4/29
5/1

5.15.4

GeneExpression
PolyLearnquizdue
5.55.7
RegulationofGeneExpression PolyLearnquizdue
5.85.10
Biotechnology
5.115.16
2ndassignmentdue

5/4CellDivision,MitosisandCancerPolyLearnquizdue6.16.9
5/6
Meiosis&SexChromosomes
PolyLearnquizdue6.106.17
5/8
ChromosomalInheritance

7.17.4
5/11
5/13

PatternsofInheritance
PolyLearnquizdue
7.57.8
AlternativePatternsofInheritancePolyLearnquizdue
7.97.16
III.Evolution&Ecology
5/15
MechanismsofEvolution

8.28.11
5/18
Exam2(lectures4/225/13)
5/20EvidenceforEvolution
3rdassignmentdue
5/22
EvolutionandBehavior

PolyLearnquizdue 8.128.22

9.19.15

5/25 MemorialDayHoliday
5/27
SpeciationandMacroevolution PolyLearnquizdue10.3,10.6,10.1010.13
5/29
PopulationEcologyandAging

14.214.10
4thassignmentdue
6/1
6/3
6/5
6/12

Population/CommunityEcologyPolyLearnquizdue
14/1114.15

CommunityEcology
PolyLearnquizdue15.915.16;16.3,16.8
EcosystemEcology

15.1,15.315.5;15.615.8
FinalExam:10AM1PM(lectures5/156/5&cumulative)

3/19/2015