Houston Community College System
BIOL 1406: GENERAL BIOLOGY I
FALL, 2010
CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
Discussions focus on biological chemistry, biological processes, cellular morphology,
metabolism, genetics and molecular biology. Note: only one of BIOL 1308 or BIOL 1406 can
be used toward associate degree natural science requirements. Only one of the two will count as
natural science core; the other may count as an elective in the degree plan.
Course Title:
General Biology I; CRN # 55380
Course Number
Biology 1406
Credit Hours:
4 Semester Credit Hours
Prerequisites
College reading skills/one year of high school Biology/high
school Chemistry recommended.
Semester and Year
Fall 2010
Instructor
Dr. William Palmer
Class Days and Times
Monday & Wednesday 8:00 – 11:00 AM
Class Room Location
West Loop Campus – Lecture Wed in A227 & lab Mon in 162
Office:
Biology Office SW Campus
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.
LEARNING OUTCOMES – BIOLOGY 1406
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Apply the scientific method in a laboratory setting.
Demonstrate an understanding of basic organic chemistry and apply chemical concepts to living systems,
examine cell structure, function, and reproduction utilizing the Cell Theory as a unifying theme in biology.
Examine the importance of energy flow by analyzing the interrelated processes of cellular respiration and
photosynthesis.
Analyze the genetic components responsible for heredity and examine current advances in bioscience
technologies.
Demonstrate basic knowledge of virology and the impact of viruses on living things.
Demonstrate an understanding of the components of Darwin's Theory of Evolution and contrast
microevolution with macroevolution.
Work collaboratively in a group to achieve a common goal.
PREREQUISITES
College reading skills/one year of high school Biology/high school chemistry recommended.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Textbook: Biology, 8th Edition, Campbell & Reese; Benjamin Cummings, 2008.
Lab Manual: Biology 1406 Laboratory; Cache’ House, 2008.
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:
3 Tests @ 100 points each
=
300 points
1 Final Exam @ 200 points
=
200 points
2 Lab Tests @ 100 points each
=
200 points
------------------------------------------------------------------TOTAL
700 points
Tests: There will be 3 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.
My thanks to Dr. Loesch for allowing me to use his class syllabuses as a guide.
FINAL GRADE “CALCULATOR”
Test #1 - __________________________ (100 points max)
Test #2 - __________________________ (100 points max)
Test #3 - __________________________ (100 points max.)
Total Lecture Points _________________ (300 points max)
Lab Test # 1 _______________________ (100 Points)
Lab Test # 2 _______________________ (100 Points)
Total Laboratory Points ______________ (200 points)
Final Exam - _______________________ (200 points)
TOTAL - _________________________ (700 points)
Divide your total by 700 = 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 = Sep. 4th)
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 FALL 2010: LECTURE IN A227 & LAB IN W162
Week 1
Introduction, Syllabus, & Chapter 1: Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life
Lab.
Week 2
Introduction to the Laboratory, Laboratory Safety & the Scientific Method
Chapters 2 & 3: The Chemistry of Life & Water & the Fitness of the Environment
Lab.
Week 3
Exercise 1: Basic Chemistry
Chapter 4: Carbon & the Molecular Diversity of Life
Lab.
Week 4
Exercise 2: Properties of Water
Chapter 5: The Structure & Function of Large Biological Molecules
Lab.
Week 5
Exercise 3: Biochemistry: Detection of Biological Molecules
Lecture Exam 1 on Chapters 1-5 & Chapter 6: A Tour of the Cell
Lab.
Week 6
Exercise 4: The Care and Feeding of the Microscope
Chapters 7 & 8: Membrane Structure & Function & An Introduction To Metabolism
Lab.
Week 7
Exercise 5: Cell Structure
Chapters 8 & 9: An Intro. To Metabolism & Cellular Respiration: Harvesting Chemical Energy
Lab.
Week 8
Exercise 6: Diffusion & Osmosis
Chapters 9 & 10: Cellular Respiration: Harvesting Chemical Energy & Photosynthesis
Lab.
Week 9
Exercise 7: Enzymes
Lecture Exam 2 on Chapters 6-10 & Chapter 11: Cell Communication
Lab.
Week 10
Chapters 12 & 13: The Cell Cycle & Genetics
Lab.
Week 11
Exercise 8: Respiration
Chapters 14 & 15: Mendel & the Gene Idea & The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
Lab.
Week 12
Exercise 9: Photosynthesis & Spectrophotometry
Lecture Exam 3 on Chapters 11-15 & Chapter 16: The Molecular Basis of Inheritance
Lab.
Week 13
Exercise 10: Cell Division
Chapters 17 & 18: From Gene to Protein & Regulation of Gene Expression
Lab.
Week 14
Exercise 11: Genetics
Chapters 19 & 20: Viruses & Biotechnology
Lab.
Week 15
Exercise 12: DNA to Proteins
Chapter 21: Genomes & Their Evolution & Review
Lab.
Week 16
Lab Exam 1 on Exercises 1-6
Lab Final on Exercises 7-12
FINAL EXAM on Chapters 16-21 & comprehensive on chapters 1-15
Week
Dates
Fall 2010
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
12/13-19 Finals
8/30-9/03
9/07-9/10 (9/06 is labor day)
9/13-17
9/20-24
9/27-10/01
10/04-08
10/11-15
10/18-22
10/25-29
11/01-05
11/08-12
11/15-19
11/22-24 (11/25 & 26 are Thanksgiving holiday)
11/29-12/03
12/06-12/10
Biology 1406
Acknowledgement Page
I acknowledge that I have read the syllabus for Biology 1406 and understand
the effort and time commitment necessary to succeed in this Science Major,
Medical Professional Class. (Approximately 300 hours)
Name_____________________________________________________
Email Address _____________________________________________
Current Phone # ____________________________________________