Master Syllabus BIOL 1406 Cellular and Molecular Biology

Name: Phone #: Email: Web site: Section #: Synonym: Course hours: Office location: Office hours: Appointments:

Course Description BIOL 1406 Cellular and Molecular Biology (4-3-3) is a general biology course designed for science majors and students with a strong science background who desire an in-depth approach to biological topics. An introduction to the physical and chemical organization of living organisms; cell structure, function, and metabolism; classical and molecular genetics; gene regulation; genetic engineering; molecular aspects of development; and reproduction. BIOL 1406 and 1408 may not both be counted towards graduation. Prerequisites: One year of high school chemistry or one semester of college chemistry; two years of high school algebra or MATD 0390. Required Texts/Materials Textbook from the approved departmental list. Lab manual from the approved departmental list. Safety goggles or glasses with an ANSI Z87.1 safety rating. A calculator that does simple statistics. Instructional Methodology BIOL 1406 is taught as a lecture/lab combination. Course Rationale Biology 1406 is a majors level course for those who wish to pursue careers in biology, biotechnology, the health sciences and other related fields. There are four units that will be explored during the semester: 1) The chemistry of living organisms including the structure of atoms and molecules, pH, the macromolecules of living organisms, and energetics, enzymes and enzymatic pathways. 2) The structure and function of cells including the differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes, the eukaryotic organelles and biological membranes and intercellular communication.

3) Nucleic Acids including mitosis and meiosis, DNA structure and replication, RNA transcription and translation and gene regulation 4) DNA technology, viruses, Mendelian genetics, molecular genetics, and Darwinian evolution. Common Course Objectives The common course objectives for BIOL 1406 are found at http://www2.austincc.edu/biology/ccobjectives. This course will transfer to most universities for majors in biology and related subjects. For specific transfer information go to http://www.austincc.edu/transfer/student.htm Course Evaluation/Grading System [Faculty: Insert your own as desired] Grading: The lecture portion of the course is worth 75% and the lab is 25%. To obtain this, the lecture points a student has received is divided by the total possible lecture points. Seventy-five percent of this will be added to the calculated 25% from the lab portion to give the final grade. There are no + or grades given at ACC, so the final calculated grades will be recorded as <60 = F; 60 - 69.4 = D; 69.5 79.4 = C; 79.5 89.4 = B; 89.5 100 = A. The grading rubric for the lecture portion of the course is as follows: Lecture Unit tests @ 150 pts ea Computer project Homework articles 4 @ 15 pts ea Up to 5 class activities @ 10 pts ea Total possible points Points 600 70 60 50 780

Tests: There are 150-point four in-class tests as indicated on the attached schedule. Each test is divided into the following sections with the approximate point values listed in parenthesis: Multiple Choice (70 pts), Definitions (15 pts), Short answer questions with sketches and problems (72 pts), Article to read and answer questions (9 pts) Opinion question (4 pts). All tests and the final are given in class and are designed to take about one hour to complete. There is no curve. Students who receive less than 104/150 on a test may hand in test corrections within 1 week to receive up to 8 additional points. One make-up test is allowed with prior permission of the instructor. Contact me in advance. Tests are given on material discussed in class so regular attendance is strongly encouraged. On average, a single missed class results in a drop of 1 letter grade on the test. Homework articles: Each student will receive a packet of homework articles drawn mostly from recent Science News articles. There are questions

associated with each article. These may be answered in the packet or on a separate sheet of paper. The articles for a given unit are due before the start of that units test. Late articles will be accepted but will be discounted 10% for each class day they are late and 5% if completed after the unit test. Computer project: Informational literacy is important in todays world. Therefore each student will be required to complete a computer project as indicated on the schedule. There will be complete details nearer the project deadline, but in brief, each student searches the web to obtain 3 related biology articles of interest to the student. The student evaluates each web article for accuracy, currency, reliability and other criteria. This project is worth 70 points on the final grade. Class activities: Activities are given out throughout the semester to reinforce ideas discussed in lecture. These are usually small group activities and are graded at 10 points each. One make-up is allowed if a student is absent. It is the students responsibility to complete these class activity sheets and hand them in for grading at the next class. Late activities will be discounted 10% per class. CLASSROOM ETTIQUETTE Cell Phones and Pagers: These should be turned off before entering the classroom. Do NOT set on vibrate; do NOT leave the room to answer your phone; do NOT make phone calls during class or lab. Repeat offenders will be docked 10 points on their next test. Occasionally, you must be available. If that is the case, inform me before the class so we can make accommodation. Questions and Discussions: Each person is encouraged to ask questions on the content or related subjects. There are no stupid questions. The same is true for discussions. Every student deserves to express his or her own opinions without interference from the instructor or other students. You need not agree, but we are all required to listen respectfully. Active Learning: The foundation in science that you develop in this course will be valuable in your further studies. Therefore you will need to be actively involved in your learning. The following are ways to be active learners in biology or any other field: Attend. Come to every class and be punctual. Stay awake in class; save sleeping for your bed. Properly attending helps me, your fellow students and especially yourself. Communicate. Let me know if you dont understand an idea. Speak up in class, talk to me afterwards, come to office hours, or email me. Participate. One of the best bumper stickers I saw was Science is NOT a spectator sport. Biology requires your participation both because you learn better when you participate but also because we will be learning about things that directly impact your life and how you think about our world.

Know your learning style. Are you a visual learner, or do you prefer to learn by doing? We all learn in different ways. Here is a site that will give you a free 5-minute quiz, and tell you how you learn and strategies to help you learn better. Log onto http://ldpride.net/lerningstyles.MI.htm

Responsibilities: My responsibility as the instructor is to assist you in learning the concepts, the processes and the techniques of modern biology as described above. I promise to fulfill my responsibilities to the best of my abilities. Your responsibility to come to class prepared and ready to learn, to complete all your work in a timely manner and to study for the tests. In short, you are responsible to take charge of your own learning. Course Policies: A. Attendance. Regular attendance is strongly recommended. However, we all have lives outside ACC so sometimes things come up. If you know you will not be in class, please let me know. You will be responsible for completing any activities done that day and for getting class notes from a classmate. History has shown that for every class that is missed, the test grade goes down by about 10%. B. Withdrawal. Sometimes it becomes necessary to withdraw from the course. Withdrawal is your decision and your responsibility. If you drop the course and do not withdraw by the withdrawal date, your name will appear on the final grade sheet and I must give you a grade. This is usually a D or F, depending on how the calculations work out. C. Incomplete. Occasionally an incomplete grade may be given if the student has a compelling reason and has already completed at least 50% of the coursework with a C average or better. In order to obtain an incomplete, the student must work with the instructor to fill out the Incomplete Grade form. This is essentially a contract between the student and the instructor in which the student promises to complete and hand in the work before a given date, usually 1 month after the start of the next semester. See me if you wish to be considered for an incomplete in this course. D. Scholastic Dishonesty. Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited or cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work. Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research or self-expression. Academia is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper, projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and homework. F. Student Discipline. Any student caught cheating as described above will receive a 0 for that section and further disciplinary actions will be considered.

G. Office of Students with Disabilities. Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities. Students with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the Office for Students with Disabilities on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students are encouraged to do these three weeks before the start of the semester. Students who are requesting accommodation must provide the instructor with a letter of accommodation from the Office of Students with Disabilities (OSD) at the beginning of the semester. Accommodations can only be made after the instructor receives the letter of accommodation from OSD. H. Academic Freedom. Each student is strongly encouraged to participate in class. In any classroom situation that includes discussion and critical thinking, there are bound to be many differing viewpoints. These differences enhance the learning experience and create an atmosphere where students and instructors alike will be encouraged to think and learn. On sensitive and volatile topics, students may sometimes disagree not only with each other but also with the instructor. It is expected that faculty and students will respect the views of others when expressed in classroom discussions. Testing Center Policy ACC Testing Center policies can be fund at http://www.austincc.edu/testctr/ Student Services The web address for student services is http://www.austincc.edu/services.pdp The student handbook can be found at http://www3.austincc.edu/evpcss/handbk/toc.htm Instructional Services The web address is http://www.austincc.edu/evpcss/memos/reference.htm, then click on Campus Based Student Support Overview Lab Safety: Health and safety are paramount values in science classrooms, laboratories and field activities. Students are expected to learn, understand and comply with environmental, health and safety (EHS) procedures and protocols, and must agree to abide by the ACC science safety policy. Students are expected to conduct themselves with appropriate professional behavior and with respect and courtesy to all. Anyone who thoughtlessly or intentionally jeopardizes the health or safety of another individual will be immediately dismissed from the days activity, may be withdrawn from the class, and/or barred from attending all activities. Specific safety information for each activity will be discussed at the beginning of the activity. For those activities that require specific safety training, a student who is late and misses the safety training will not be able to participate in the activity. The comprehensive science safety policy can be found at: http://www.austincc.edu/sci_safe/.