HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SPRING BRANCH CAMPUS
BIOLOGY 1406 /GENERAL BIOLOGY I/
SPRING 2012, COURSE Number 79238
Instructor: Dr. Jessica A. Moody
Jessica.Moody@hccs.edu
TEXTBOOK: Campbell, N.A., BIOLOGY, 9th Edition, Vol. I, Benjamin/Cummings Publishers, 2008.
LAB MANUAL: Loesch, Mishra, Palmer, Sawant, Schwartz, Shah, and Wiersema, Biology 1406: Laboratory
Manual Blue Door Publishing, 2011
LECTURES:
Monday:
Room 515 2:00-5:00 p.m.
LABS:
Wednesday:
Room 528 2:00-5:00 p.m.
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment only
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Discussions focus on biological chemistry, biological processes, cellular morphology,
metabolism, genetics and molecular biology. Core Curriculum Course; cannot be used in conjunction with 1308.
PREREQUISITE: College reading skills/one year of high school Biology/high school Chemistry recommended.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
1.
Roll will be taken, and I expect students to attend all classes. Good class attendance is absolutely essential to do
well in this course! I reserve the right to drop a student after missing in excess of 12.5% of the hours of
instruction. It is a good idea to exchange names and phone numbers with others in the class so that you can
obtain the information you missed as quickly as possible. In case of a prolonged absence (2 or more class
meetings), the instructor should be notified. In the event you are absent, it is your responsibility to check for
information you missed as a result of your absence. Please DO NOT contact me to find out what material was
covered.
2.
Notes: Notes for each lecture will be posted prior to class on the Learning Web. It is your responsibility to access
and print the notes. Bring the notes to class with you to serve as a discussion outline. You must take your own
notes and read the textbook to do well in this class! Anything that I discuss in class is fair game for an exam.
3.
Exams will be given at the beginning of class time and you will have 90 minutes to complete the exam. After the
first exam has been completed, submitted, and that student has left the room, no more exams will be passed out.
DON’T BE LATE TO AN EXAM! Each student is allowed to drop ONE LECTURE exam only. No make-up
lecture exams, quizzes, or lab exams will be offered.
4.
Due Dates: If you are absent for any reason, you will not be allowed to make up missed in-class assignments or
quizzes from that day. Quizzes are generally given at the beginning of the class period. If you are late to class,
you will not be given extra time to complete your quiz. If you arrive after the quiz has ended, you will receive a
zero for that quiz. Late homework/lab assignments will be accepted up to the next class meeting and are penalized
50%.
5.
All phones and beepers must be turned off or be in silent (courtesy) mode. You may not leave the room during a
test to answer a phone call. Should this occur your test will be taken up immediately. There will be no use of cell
phones in the laboratory. I will allow the use of laptops in class, but only if you are using them for note taking
purposes.
6.
LABORATORY. Students are expected to abide by the rules of safety at all times during the laboratory
exercises. Students work in groups during the laboratory sessions, but individual participation is expected in
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completion of laboratory reports. These reports are to be completed and turned in at the following laboratory
session or when requested. A grade will be given for each report.
5.
SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY DURING EXAMINATIONS. A verbal warning will be promptly issued if
dishonesty is suspected with a possible zero entered for the test grade. If it should become a chronic and persistent
problem the student will be advised to withdraw from the course.
6.
STUDENT CONDUCT. Abusive language or disruptive behavior by a student(s) will not be tolerated. Talking
and sleeping in class during lectures is distracting to the professor and to other students. It will not be tolerated.
7.
STUDENT HANDBOOK- important information for all students. Also contains the mission statement of the
Houston Community College System (available online at HCCS home page.)
8.
DISABILITIES.
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.
For questions, contact Donna Price at 713.718.5165 or the Disability Counselor at your college. To visit
the ADA Web site, log on to www.hccs.edu, click Future Students, scroll down the page and click on the
words Disability Information.
District ADA Coordinator – Donna Price – 713.718.516
Central ADA Counselors – John Reno – 713.718.6164,
Martha Scribner – 713.718.6164 Northeast ADA Counselor – Kim Ingram – 713.718.8420
Northwest ADA Counselor – Mahnaz Kolaini – 713.718.5422
Southeast ADA Counselor – Jette Friis – 713.718.7218
Southwest ADA Counselor – Dr. Becky Hauri – 713.718.7910
Coleman ADA Counselor – Dr. Raj Gupta – 713.718.7631
9.
No children are allowed in class at any time.
10.
CORE CURRICULUM. Essential to the learning process are six basic intellectual competencies. Among the
objectives covered in this course the following components will be addressed such as reading, writing, speaking,
listening, critical thinking and computer literacy.
11.
If a student lacks the prerequisite for this course they should meet as soon as possible with the Instructor to
determine the exact status of this situation.
12.
As mandated by the Texas State Legislature students who repeat a course for a third or more times may soon face
significant tuition and fee increases at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. Please ask your
Professor or Counselor about opportunities for tutoring or other possible assistance prior to considering course
withdrawal or if you are not receiving passing grades.
13.
It’s your responsibility to submit all the work required during the semester including exams, quizzes, lab reports,
homework, and any other assigned work; you will receive a grade of (0) for any missing work.
14.
Contact: E-mail will be the best choice for contact.
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GRADE DETERMINATION:
Your grade will be
determined by the following
Details
Percent of
Final
Average
50%
Lecture Exams*
5 Exam: T/F, short answer, multiple choice,
essay
Homework/Quizzes/Labs/Inclass assignments
Lab Exam
Various times throughout the semester; lecture
& lab
Objective type questions, multiple choice,
practical work
25%
Final Exam
Final Exam is comprehensive
10%
Total:
15%
100%
*LOWEST LECTURE EXAM GRADE WILL BE DROPPED
LETTER GRADE ASSIGNMENT:
Letter Grade
A
Final Average in Percent
> 89.5
B
79.5 – 89.5
C
69.5 – 79.5
D
59.5 – 69.5
F
< 59.5
Tentative Instructional Outline: *Note: Subject to Change*
Week
Number
Lecture
1
JAN 18
Syllabus; Exploring Life (Ch. 1)
2
JAN 23
Chemistry of Life (Ch 2)
JAN 25
Water (Ch 3)
3
JAN 30
Carbon (Ch 4)
FEB 1
Review/Catch up
4
FEB 6
Exam I (Ch 1-4)
FEB 8
Macromolecules (Ch 5)
5
FEB 13
The Cell (Ch 6)
FEB 15
The Cell Membrane (Ch 7)
3
Week
Number
Lecture
6
FEB 20
President’s Day Holiday: NO CLASS
FEB 22
Thermodynamics (Ch 8)
7
FEB 27
Exam II (Ch 5-8)
FEB 29
Cellular Respiration (Ch 9)
8
MAR 5
Photosynthesis (Ch 10)
MAR 7
Cell Cycle (Ch 12)
9
MAR 19
Meiosis (Ch 13)
MAR 21
Review
10
MAR 26
Lecture Exam III (Ch 9, 10, 12, 13)
MAR 28
Genetics (Ch 14)
SPRING BREAK- MARCH 12, 14
11
LAST DAY FOR STUDENT WITHDRAWALS: MARCH 29
APR 2
Inheritance (Ch 15)
APR 4
DNA Structure (Ch 16)
12
APR 9
Lecture Exam IV (Ch. 14-16)
APR 11
Gene to Protein (Ch 17)
13
APR 16
Gene Regulation (Ch 18)
APR 18
Viruses/Bacteria (Ch 19)
14
APR 23
DNA Technology (Ch 20)
APR 25
Laboratory Exam
15
APR 30
Review
MAY 2
Lecture Exam V (Ch 17, 18, 19, 20)
16
4
Week
Number
FINALS
WEEK
Lecture
Final Exam (Comprehensive)
Wednesday, May 9th 2:00 pm
IMPORTANT DAYS
See calendar for exact date and time/ withdrawal, drop, holidays…etc.
1/18/20212
Last day drop/add/swap
1/30/2012
Official date of record.
3/29/2012
Last day for administrative withdrawals-4:30 pm
5/6/2012
Instruction ends
HCC Course Withdrawal Policy
The State of Texas imposes penalties on students who drop courses excessively. Students are limited to no more than six
total course withdrawals throughout their educational career at a Texas public college or university.
In order to withdraw from your class, you MUST first contact your professor, PRIOR to the withdrawal deadline to
receive a “W” on your transcript. After the withdrawal deadline has passed, you will receive the grade that you would
have earned. Zeros averaged in for required coursework not submitted will lower your semester average significantly, most
likely resulting in a failing grade of an “F”. It is the responsibility of the student to withdraw from the class; however,
your professor reserves the right to withdraw you without your request due to excessive absences. If you do not feel
comfortable contacting your professor to withdraw, you may contact a counselor. However, please do not contact both a
counselor and your professor to request a withdrawal; either one is sufficient.
The final withdrawal deadline for regular term is 3/29/12 at 4:30pm. Classes of other duration (mini-term, flex-entry,
8-weeks, etc.) may have different final withdrawal deadlines. Please review HCC’s online “Academic Calendars by Term”
or contact the HCC Registrar’s Office at 713.718.8500 to determine mini-term class withdrawal deadlines.
It’s your responsibility to contact me regarding withdrawal prior to the withdrawal deadline; your absences or
disappearance from the class doesn’t mean you will receive a (W). You will receive a (W) only if you contact me
prior to the deadline.
EGLS3 -- Evaluation for Greater Learning Student Survey System
At Houston Community College, professors believe that thoughtful student feedback is necessary to improve teaching and
learning. During a designated time, you will be asked to answer a short online survey of research-based questions related to
instruction. The anonymous results of the survey will be made available to your professors and division chairs for continual
improvement of instruction. Look for the survey as part of the Houston Community College Student System online near the
end of the term.
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