Heartland Community College
Math/Science Division
Student Syllabus for BIOL 114
Contemporary Biology
Spring 2008
Meeting times:
 BIOL 114-08: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:30 – 8:50 pm [ICB 1405]
Catalog Description:
An introduction to biological principles, including organization, function, heredity, evolution,
and ecology, with emphasis on the importance of biology to the individual and society. The
laboratory component will emphasize scientific inquiry and use of knowledge in problem
solving. This course is not intended for students planning a science major, nor will it fulfill the
prerequisite for BIOL 181 or BIOL 191. Students will not receive science credit toward their
graduation requirements for both BIOL 114 and BIOL 161.
Instructor Information:
Hong Fei
Adjunct Faculty
Phone: 268-8649; cell 212-0455; Office: ICB 2402; e-mail: hong.fei@heartland.edu
If you wanted to speak with the Division Secretary (Kathryn Waterkotte) or to leave a
message with her, call 268-8640.
Office Hours:
Best to call or email me, any time 24/7, to set up an appointment.
Monday through Thursday: 4:45 – 6:30 pm
You are encouraged to contact me with anything on your mind. Please do not hesitate to
call me to discuss anything at all.
Lab Assistant:
Angela Kerr
Phone: 268-8509
Required Materials:
Starr, C., et al.Biology Today and Tomorrow. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.,
2007.
Jongky, T., and E. Wallace. BIOL 114 Laboratory Manual.
Relationship to Academic Development Programs and Transfer:
This course counts as a four-credit lab science course for partial completion of the IAI (Illinois
Articulation Initiative) requirements for either the A.A. or A.S. Degree. However, it may not
count toward a biology major.
Make-up policies
1.
There are quiz make-ups. It will be in the test center (located in the library) only in the period
of time between the quiz and the time next class meets.
2.
There are NO make-ups for in-class activities.
3.
There are NO lab make-ups.
4.
There is NO make-up for the Journal Club.
5.
The student will complete most labs before leaving class. If a lab assignment has to be
finished outside of class, the assignment is due the next class day that the student comes to
class. Only students who attend lab can finish the lab assignment.
6.
In extreme cases (such as, documented severe illness, documented accident, or military
duties) when a student must miss class for more than 2 weeks, the student must contact the
instructor as soon as possible to discuss the best course of action.
Incomplete Grade
An Incomplete grade may be justified to a student if the student encounters extreme
circumstances (e.g., serious illness, accident, death or serious illness in the immediate family)
toward the end of the semester and is unable to complete the semester. The student must be in a
position to pass the class if the Incomplete is given. The student must sign a form requiring
him/her to finish the class by next semester.
Required Writing and Reading
Students must read the textbook to prepare for classroom activities. Students will write about
biological news and answer questions on quizzes and labs.
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism is the presenting of others’ ideas as if they were your own. When you write a paper,
create a project, do a presentation or create anything original, it is assumed that all the work,
except for that which is attributed to another author or creator, is your own. Plagiarism is
considered a serious academic offense and may take the following forms:
Copying word-for-word from another source and not giving that source credit.
Paraphrasing the work of another and not giving that source credit.
Adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own.
Using an image or a copy of an image without crediting its source.
Paraphrasing someone else’s line of thinking in the development of a topic as if it were
your own.
Receiving excessive help from a friend or elsewhere, or using another project as if it were
your own.
[Adapted from the Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers. New York: MLA, 1995: 26]
Note that word-for-word copying is not the only form of plagiarism. The penalties for plagiarism
may be severe, ranging from failure on the particular piece of work, failure in the course or expulsion
from school in extreme cases.
Academic Support Center Services
http://www.heartland.edu/asc/
1.
Library
The Library, located in the Student Commons Building at the Raab Road campus, provides
Heartland students with a full range of resources including books, online journal databases,
videos, newspapers, periodicals, reserves, and interlibrary loan. Librarians are available to
assist in locating information.
For more information please call the Library (309) 268-8200 or (309) 268-8292.
http://www.heartland.edu/LIBRARY/index.html
2.
Tutoring Services
Heartland Community College offers tutoring in various forms at no cost to Heartland
students at the Tutoring and Testing Center in Normal and at the Pontiac and Lincoln
Centers. Tutors are available at convenient times throughout the week. Study groups are also
available by request. For more information about services available at each location, please
call the Tutoring and Testing Center in Normal at (309) 268-8231, the Pontiac Center at
(815) 842-6777, or the Lincoln Center (217) 735-1731.
http://www.heartland.edu/asc/tutor.html
3.
Testing Services
The Tutoring and Testing Center provides a secure testing environment for students who are
enrolled in online, hybrid, and other distance learning courses; have a documented disability;
or need to take a make-up exam. Testing accommodations for students having documented
disabilities must be arranged by the student through the Office of Disability Services, and
Testing Services will only administer make-up exams at the request of the instructor.
Contact Testing Services at (309) 268-8231 for more information.
http://www.heartland.edu/asc/testing.html
4.
Open Computing Lab
The Open Computing Lab provides free computing for HCC students at convenient times
throughout the week. The computer lab is staffed by trained Lab Assistants and offers the
use of approximately 70 computers, a scanner, a laser printer, and an electric typewriter.
http://www.heartland.edu/asc/computerlab.html
Documented disability
If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please
contact Anita Moore at 268-8249 or anita.moore@heartland.edu
**Notice of Cancelled Class Sessions**
Cancelled class sessions, for all HCC classes, will be listed under Cancelled Class Meetings in
the A-Z Index and under Academic Information in the Current Students page on the HCC Web
site. Go to http://www.heartland.edu/classCancellations/ to learn what classes have been
cancelled for that day and the upcoming week. Be sure to check the last column, which might
contain a message from the instructor.
Tentative Schedule for Bio 114
Course Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to fulfill the following
tasks.
1.
Presented with hypothetical problems, using scientific method to propose testable
hypothesis, methods of study, experimental design and methods of data analysis.
2.
Presented with hypothetical experimental results, propose possible conclusions and
offering critiques aimed at conclusions.
3.
Identify the differences in prokaryotes and eukaryotes; and apply these differences in the
use of antibiotics, tools in drug discoveries and health.
4.
Identify routes in oncogene product actions and identify steps in mitosis that can be
disrupted in cancer.
5.
Using Mendel's Laws and knowledge about meiosis, identify out come of possible
progeny from N different loci, which is the basis of genetic fingerprinting.
6.
Comparing current genotyping methods identify advantages and disadvantages of the
methods in forensics and in disease screening.
7.
State your view for or against prenatal genotyping for screening of genetic disorders with
at least two cause / effect reasons.
8.
Given experimental data of phenotype distributions, judge if the closed population is
evolving or at the equilibrium.
9.
Identify basic structures and functions of three organ systems (among the eight systems) circulatory, digestive and skeletal systems.
10.
Using the body temperature regulation as example, identify components in a typical
negative feedback regulatory pathway that maintains the homeostasis.
11.
Identify factors in baroreceptor pathways that affect heart rate and blood pressure during
exercises.
12.
Identify factors in the energy homeostasis regulatory pathway and mechanism of keeping
the body's energy homeostasis.
Week 1, January 14
Unit 1 - Cells:
Scientific Methods
Biochemistry of amino acids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids and protein
Lab 1: Scientific Method
Week 2, January 21
Unit 1 - Cells:
Journal Club 1, 2
Basic unit of life - the cell
Comparing prokaryotes and eukaryotes
Lab 2: Microscope
Lab 3: Observing Life
Week 3, January 28
Quiz for unit 1
Unit 2 - Genetics:
Mitosis and meiosis; simulation of mitosis and meiosis
Lab 4: Cells
Week 4, February 4
Unit 2 - Genetics:
Cell cycle and regulation
Lab 5: Mitosis
Week 5, February 11
Unit 2 - Genetics:
Human genetics - problems and pedigree
Lab 6: Human Sexual Reproduction
Week 6, February 18
Unit 2 - Genetics:
Journal Club 3, 4
Molecular genetics: DNA replication, restriction analysis, sequencing, DNA fingerprint,
the genome and ethic implications
Lab 7: Genetics
Week 7, February 25
Unit 2 - Genetics:
Journal Club 5, 6, 7
Molecular genetics: Gene expression, functional genome
Lab 8: Extracting DNA
Week 8, March 3
Unit 2 - Genetics:
Lab 9: Protein synthesis
Gene Expression: Transcription and translation - Synthesis of RNA and protein
Quiz for unit 2
MARCH 10 - 15: SPRING BREAK, NO CLASS
Week 9, March 17
Unit 3 - Physiology:
The Digestive System
Lab 10: Nutrition and Digestive System
Lab 11: Enzymes
Week 10, March 24
Unit 3 - Physiology:
The Skeletal System
Lab 12: Skeletal System
Week 11, March 31
Unit 3 - Physiology:
The circulatory system
Lab 13: Circulatory system
Week 12, April 7
Unit 3 - Physiology:
The Nervous System
Lab 14: Senses and Reflexes
Week 13, April 14
Quiz for unit 3
Unit 4 - Evolution and Classification
Lab 15: Natural Selection
Week 14, April 21
Unit 4 - Evolution and Classification
Activities about evolution replacing the lab 16
Week 15, April 28
Quiz for Unit 4
Unit 5 - Microbiology, Ecology
Lab 17: Bacteria
Week 16, May 5
Unit 5 - Microbiology, Ecology
Lab 18: Protists and Fungi
Quiz for unit 5
The Final Week
Review
Final Exam May 15
Grade Calculation:
Each unit quiz = 100 points
Total points possible for the quizzes = 500 points (61%)
Journal Club presentation = 100 points (13%)
*During the semester, five or more journal articles will be distributed for presentation and
discussion. The presentation and discussion will be graded.
Each lab report = 10 points
Total points possible for the lab part = 170 points (22%)
Attendance = 30 points (4%)
Total points possible = 800 points
Total points will be converted into a 100% scale.
Example:
If you got a total points of 400 from the quizzes and 130 points from the lab reports, 90 points
from the presentation and 30 points from attendance, your total points earned = (400 + 130 + 90
+ 30) = 650; Your final grade = 650 x 100/800 = 82
Final Grade:
A = 90+
B = 80+
C = 70+
D = 60+
F = 60-
The Journal Club
In biology, we encounter a lot of facts, concepts and theories. It makes little sense to
memorize facts without understanding how they were discovered and why the theories are
correct. It is important that at the college level, students read and present articles from original,
peer reviewed journals and understand them as the recognized source of information for
scientists or scientific community at large.
1. Objectives
Students will gain insight to the process of scientific inquiries.
2. Procedure:
At the beginning of unit 2, you will receive a series of scientific journal articles that are
simplified version of historical (Nobel Prize winning) discoveries. Because they are all
discoveries that revolutionized biotechnology and medicine, they will give you ideas of "how"
and "why" behind theories. Because they are simplified, technical details are avoided.
All students will be given articles to read. However, each group of students will have an
article to present. They will present to the class the following aspects of the article.
1)
Why the research was done? What problem they hoped to solve? What background work
had been done?
2)
Describe the methods. Why did they choose this particular method? What was the break
through in this methodology?
3)
Explain the results. If there are data, tables, or figures, you are expected to explain them
to the audience. You should show the data as if you were presenting them to the scientific
community, using visual aids.
4)
What were the conclusions? What was the significance of this work? Are there potential
applications in research and medicine?
5)
Critique the research. What is the next step if you were the one who finished the study?
3. Evaluation
Students are encouraged to discuss with instructor before the presentation.
Total point of 100 can be earned towards the final grade.
Presentation: Concise and accurate
20%
Content: Include the above aspects
60%
Discussion: Answering questions from audience
20%
Safety Rules for Biology Lab
1. Emergency shower and emergency eye wash are located at the side of classroom.
2. Fire extinguisher is located in the classroom. Familiarize yourself with the location.
3. Safety information about chemicals used in labs, including chemical storage, poison control
and treatment, is on file and available on my desk in binder. These papers are called Material
Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) that are required by law to be available for inspection by users.
4. Eye protection, gloves, aprons will be provided when exercise necessities; however, they are
available at all times upon request.
5. Always ware gloves when handling chemicals.
6. Dispose hazardous material in special containers.
7. Dispose sharps (needles, blades) in sharp container.
8. Dispose bacteria culture in biohazard bags.
9. Rinse with copious amount of water when chemicals spilled on skin.
10. Handling vaporous material in fume hood.
11. Clean up work area so next time or next person will not touch chemicals or microbes.
12. Report accident immediately.
Ways to Succeed in School
1.
Get to class on time. Bring books, pen and class notes.
2.
Study at the library for 1 hour every day.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
3.
Not comfy chairs
Book flat on the table
Feet flat on the floor
Back straight
No cell phone
No food
Often times, failure reflects poor communication rather than
intelligence. When trouble comes, TALK TO ME!!!