Houston Community College System BIOL 1413: GENERAL ZOOLOGY FALL, 2011 Catalog Description: A general overview of the animal kingdom including principles, life histories, and classification. Emphasis is placed on the vertebrates Course Title: General Zoology Course Number Biol. 1413; CRN # 56019 Credit Hours: 4 Semester Credit Hours: Prerequisites College reading and writing skills/one year of high school Biology recommended. Semester and Year Fall 2011 Instructor Dr. William Palmer Class Days and Times Tuesday & Thursday 8:00 – 11:00 AM Class Room Location West Loop Campus – Lecture Tue. & Lab Thur. in 163 Office: Biology Office SW Campus; room F11 Office Hours: Appointments arranged in advance E-mail william.palmer@hccs.edu Office Phone: 713-718-8136 ADA STATEMENT: The HCCS colleges are dedicated to providing the least restrictive learning environment for all students. The college district promotes equity in academic access through the implementation of reasonable accommodations as required by the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title V, Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) which will enable students with disabilities to participate in and benefit from all post-secondary educational activities. Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office at the respective college at the beginning of each semester. Faculty is authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the Disability Support Services Office. BIOLOGY PROGRAM STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (PSLO): Program SLO #1 - To recognize, identify, and describe the basic structures and functions associated with most life forms. Program SLO #2 - To develop basic laboratory techniques appropriate to the field of Biology. Program SLO #3 - To develop study skills and habits appropriate for pre-professional students interested in health-related fields. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (SLO): The following Student Learning Outcomes with their associated assessment criteria are not meant to be all-inclusive, and are meant to be used along with all other course learning outcomes and assessment devices, listed under Course Objectives, in the determination of the student's final course grade. Completion of the specific Student Learning Outcomes listed below, at any assessment grading level, does NOT and will NOT guarantee the student that final course grade at the end of the semester! LEARNING OUTCOMES for BIOLOGY 1413: Biol 1413 SLO#1 The student will be able to recognize the basic structure and describe the function of eukaryotic animal cellular organelles, cells, organs, and organ systems. PSLO#1 Biol 1413 SLO#2 The student will be able to describe mitotic and meiotic cell division and inheritance patterns in animals. PSLO#1 Biol 1413 SLO#3 The student will be able to explain Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection both in terms of anatomical change and by changes in gene frequencies between and among animal groups. PSLO#1 Biol 1413 SLO#4 The student will be able to explain animal classification schemes and associated taxonomic group diagnostic characteristics PSLO#1 Biol 1413 SLO#5 The student will be able to devise an experiment containing the correct experimental test points along with correct positive and negative controls. PSLO#2 Biol 1413 SLO#6 The student will develop the habit of reliable attendance by being absent from class no more than four times per semester, and will demonstrate punctuality in the submission of class assignments on their due date. PSLO#3 Prerequisites College reading and writing skills/one year of high school Biology recommended. Required Texts Textbook: Zoology, 8th Edition, Miller & Harley, McGraw Hill, 2010. Lab Manual: General Zoology – 1413: Laboratory Exercises. Available on my Learning Web page. Other Operating Guidelines (1) You are spending a good deal of time, energy and money on this course – please, make the most of your investment! There is a school-mandated attendance requirement for this course (please see the “Classroom Evaluation” section for a description). If you’re still struggling with certain aspect of the course, please make an effort to see me and I will gladly make time to help you work through the material. (2) Make up tests are very difficult to schedule and may not be rescheduled for unauthorized absences. I reserve the right to give students who miss a test an alternate version of the appropriate test. Other assignments not turned in on time will be docked 10% of their final value for each class day that they are late. There will be NO make up labs. (3) My purpose in this class is to act as your guide through this subject material. I also must make sure that your grade in this class indicates your mastery of the subject material required by this college. I am not here to spoon-feed you. It takes approximately 2-3 hours of study time for each hour of class time to master the material. This class will have over 96 contact hours (4 hr. credit) compared to 48 contact hours that comprise the normal class (3 hr. credit). (4) The class and study time necessary to succeed in this class will be close to 300 hours. If you cannot put in the time, please take a different course! Please do not talk during class. If you feel the need to discuss something with a classmate, please do so outside. I will not be offended if you need to take an important conversation outside briefly so as not to distract your classmates. No cell phones on in class and pagers off or on vibrate. EVALUATION: The final course grade will be determined by the percentage of points earned in the following: 5 Tests @ 100 points each = 500 points 1 Final Exam @ 200 points = 200 points 2 Lab Tests @ 100 points each = 200 points -----------------------------------------------------------------------------TOTAL 900 points Tests There will be 4 tests throughout the course (plus the comprehensive final exam). Dates for the tests are listed in the course calendar. The tests will cover material covered prior to the date of each test material). Tests will be given at the beginning of class on designated dates (see course calendar) with lecture or lab following the test. The final exam will cover material from the entire course, but about half of the final exam will contain material from the chapters and labs not covered in previous tests. Attendance Policy: Students are expected to be on time for class. After four unexcused absences, the professor recommends the student drop the class. In order for an absence to be considered “excused” the student must bring some form of documentation as to the reason for the absence (e.g. doctor’s note, court record, etc.). Partial unexcused absences from class will also be considered to be “absences”. The instructor reserves the right to take attendance at any time, even several times, during class. A student may be dropped from the class after four absences, but it is the student’s responsibility to drop the class officially if that is their intension. Reading Assignments & Possible Unannounced Quizzes: It is expected that each student will read the pre-assigned section of the text BEFORE coming to CLASS each day. Reading assignments for each class will be given at the end of the previous class. Use the class schedule to stay ahead of the lectures. The instructor may give pre-lecture quizzes to make sure the students are prepared for class. These quizzes MAY NOT BE ANNOUNCED in advance. Class Participation: While there is no “formal” assessment of your participation in class, it is appreciated and will no doubt aid in your learning (and your classmates’ learning) of the material! Lab exercise reports will be used to decide the final grade if a student’s grade score is between one grade and another. Make-UP Exam Policy: Make up tests are very difficult to schedule and may not be rescheduled for unauthorized absences. I will substitute the percentage score of the final for a missing test any other test missed will receive a 0. Other assignments not turned in on time will be docked 10% of their final value for each class day that they are late. There will be NO make up labs. Warning: Students who are repeating this class for the third time will be charged an additional fee per class hour. International Students: Receiving a W in a course may affect the status of your student visa. Once a W is given for the course, it will not be changed to an F for visa considerations. You may contact the International Student Office at 713 718 8520 if you have any questions about your student visa status or other transfer issues. Changes may be made to this syllabus when deemed appropriate by the professor. Students will be notified of any changes in a timely manner. Final Grade “Calculator” Test #1 - __________________________ (100 points max) Test #2 - __________________________ (100 points max) Test #3 - __________________________ (100 points max.) Test #4 - __________________________ (100 points max Total Lecture Points _________________ (400 points max) Lab Test # 1 _______________________ (100 Points) Lab Test # 2 _______________________ (100 Points) Total Laboratory Points ______________ (200 points) Final Exam - _______________________ (200 points) TOTAL - _________________________ (800 points) Divide your total by 800 = Final Percentage = _________________ % Letter Grade Assignment: A = 90-100% (or higher) B = 80-89 % C = 70-79 % D = 60-69 % F = 0-59 % GUARANTEED GRADUATE POLICY: Houston Community College System guarantees that graduates of its Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Applied Science and all Certificate programs, providing under certain circumstances, additional education and training tuition free to students lacking appropriate mastery of specified competencies. For additional information, refer to the HCCS college catalog. WITHDRAWAL POLICY: Withdrawal from the course after the official day of record (see current catalog) will result in a final grade of “W” on the student transcript and no credit will be awarded. Prior to the official day of record, it is the student’s responsibility to initiate and complete a request for withdrawal from any course. (Fall = Nov 3rd) ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: HCCS is committed to a high standard of academic integrity in the academic community. In becoming a part of the academic community, students are responsible for honesty and independent effort. Failure to uphold these standards includes, but is not limited to, the following: plagiarizing written work or projects, cheating on exams or assignments, collusion on an exam or project, and misrepresentation of credentials or prerequisites when registering for a course. Cheating includes looking at or copying from another student's exam, orally communicating or receiving answers during an exam, having another person take an exam or complete a project or assignment, using unauthorized notes, texts, or other materials for an exam, and obtaining or distributing an unauthorized copy of an exam or any part of an exam. Plagiarism means passing off as his/her own the ideas or writings of another (that is, without giving proper credit by documenting sources). Plagiarism includes submitting a paper, report or project that someone else has prepared, in whole or in part. Collusion is inappropriately collaborating on assignments designed to be completed independently. These definitions are not exhaustive. When there is clear evidence of cheating, plagiarism, collusion or misrepresentation, a faculty member will take disciplinary action including but not limited to: requiring the student to retake or resubmit an exam or assignment, assigning a grade of zero or "F" for an exam or assignment; or assigning a grade of "F" for the course. Additional sanctions including being withdrawn from the course, program or expelled from school may be imposed on a student who violates the standards of academic integrity. SOFTWARE PIRACY: Law strictly prohibits unauthorized copying of software purchased by Houston Community College for use in laboratories. Houston Community College administration will take appropriate disciplinary action against anyone violating copyright laws. COMPUTER VIRUS PROTECTION: Computer viruses are, unfortunately, a fact of life. Using the diskettes on more than one computer creates the possibility of infecting computers and diskettes with a computer virus. This exposes the computers of the college, your personal computer, and any others you may be using to potentially damaging viruses. The college has aggressive anti-virus procedures in place to protect its computers, but cannot guarantee that a virus might not temporarily infect one of its machines. It is your responsibility to protect all computers under your control and use and ensure that each diskette you use, whenever or wherever you use it, has been scanned with anti-virus software. Since new viruses arise continually, your anti-virus software must be kept current. And, since no anti-virus software will find every virus, keeping copies of data (backups) is extremely important. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT: It is the policy of the Houston Community College System to provide equal employment, admission and educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, or disability. HCCS Colleges strive to provide an excellent learning environment free from harassment or intimidation directed at any person’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Any form of harassment will not be tolerated. COURSE CALENDAR: LECTURE & LAB IN 163. Week 1 Tuesday: Introduction, Syllabus, & Chapters 1 & 2: Thursday: Introduction to the Laboratory, Laboratory Safety & the Scientific Method Week 2 Tuesday: Chapter 2: Thursday: Lab Exercises 1 & 2: Week 3 Tuesday: Chapters 3: Thursday: Lab Exercise 3: Week 4 Tuesday: Lecture Exam 1 on Chapters 1-3 & Chapter 4, 5 & 6: Thursday: Chapters 5 & 6 continued & Lab Exercise 4 Week 5 Tuesday: Chapter 7: and Lab Exercise 5 Thursday: Chapter 8 Week 6 Tuesday: Lecture Exam 2 on Chapters 4-7 Lab Exercise 6 Thursday: Chapter 9 Week 7 Tuesday: Chapters 10 & 11: Thursday: Chapters 12 & 13 Week 8 Tuesday: Chapters 14 & 15 & lab exercise 7 Thursday: Lab Exam 1 on Exercises 1-6; Chapter 15 & Lab Exercise 8 Week 9 Tuesday: Lecture Exam 3 on Chapters 8-12 & finish Chapters 14 & 15 Thursday: Chapter 16 & Lab 12 Week 10 Tuesday: Chapters 17 & 18: Thursday: Chapter 19 & Lab Exercise 9 Week 11 Tuesday: Chapters 20 & lab exercise 10 Thursday: Chapter 21 & Lab exercise 11 Week 12 Tuesday: Lecture Exam 4 on Chapters 13-17 & Chapter 22 continued & labs exercise 12 Thursday: Chapter 23 continued and lab exercise 13 Week 13 Tuesday: Chapter 24 & 25 Thursday: Chapter 25 continued and Lab Exercise 14 Week 14 Tuesday: Lab Final on Exercises 7-14 Thursday: Lecture Exam 5 on Chapters 18-22 Week 15 Tuesday: Chapter 26 Thursday: Chapter 28 Week 16 FINAL EXAM Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Dates Fall 2009 8/30-9/1 9/6-9/8 9/13-15 9/20-22 9/27-29 10/4-10/6 10/11-13 10/18-20 10/25-27 11/1-3; Last Day for Admin./Student Withdrawals- at 4:30pm 11/8-10 11/15-17 11/22-24=(Thanksgiving holiday) 11/29-12/1 11/6-08 (last day of class) Finals; Lec. 12/15 @ 8AM; Lab 12/13 @ 8AM Biology 1413 Acknowledgement Page I acknowledge that I have read the syllabus for Biology 1413 and understand the effort and time commitment necessary to succeed in this class. (approximately 300 hours) Name_____________________________________________________ Email Address _____________________________________________ Current Phone # ____________________________________________