Biological Principles: Unity (Biol 105)
Section C09C 
Lecturer:
E-mail:
Phone:
Texts:
Fall 2006
Dr. Thomas G. Lammers
Office:
9C Halsey (The Herbarium)
lammers@uwosh.edu
Office Hours: Mon 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
424-1002
Tue Thu 12:00 – 2:00 PM
Campbell, N. A., J. B. Reece, M. R. Taylor, and E. J. Simon. Biology: Concepts and Connections, 5th ed.
(Pearson Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, 2006), plus lab manual produced by UWO Document Services.
This course consists of several lecture sections of ca. 200 students, each taught by a different professor. Aside from using the
same text and covering the same general topics, each lecturer conducts his or her section independently of the others, with
completely different syllabi and exams. Attend the section for which you enrolled! Do not attempt to skip from one section to
another; you’ll only get confused. Do not take another professor’s exam; it won’t count! If you have questions or concerns about
lecture material or course policies, please contact me via e-mail or stop by during my office hours.
In addition to lecture, there are numerous laboratory sections of 30 students each. Labs generally are taught by someone other
than me. Your lab instructor will provide you with specific information on policies under his or her jurisdiction, e.g., attendance,
grading, office hours, etc. All concerns with lab work should be addressed to this instructor.
Our goal in this course is to provide you with basic knowledge about life and how it operates. For some, this is a precursor to
further science coursework. For others, it is part of your education in the liberal arts and your sole contact with such material.
Biology is in the news every day: medicine, environmentalism, genetic engineering, “intelligent design,” etc. To understand the
implications of all this, you need to know the basics of biology. If studying life isn’t germane to your life, what is?
Evaluation: Your final grade in this course will reflect your performance in three areas:
(1) Lecture exams (60% of your grade). There are four, each consisting of 60 multiple-choice questions worth 1.5 points each. They
are machine-scored so you will need to bring sharpened #2 pencils. Though each exam emphasizes a certain block of lectures and
textbook chapters, the nature of the course (i.e., each new topic builds on prior knowledge) means that each exam is in effect
comprehensive. You must master material on one exam to do well on the next! Note that at the end of each lecture, I will give you a
list of questions in the textbook that are germane to the material covered that day; these will serve as an example of what to expect on
exams. If you answer these questions (the answers are in Appendix 3), you will be very glad you did.
(2) Lab exams (25% of your grade). There are three, each consisting of 50 multiple-choice questions worth one point each. Like the
last, these are machine-scored. If you truly understand why you are performing the lab exercises and if you comprehend the principles
illustrated by each, you will do well on these exams. If you just go through the motions or rely too heavily on your lab partners, you will
be very unhappy at exam time.
(3) Laboratory work (15% of your grade). I will ask your lab instructor to provide me with a total of 90 pts. from work you perform
under his or her jurisdiction. This may take the form of lab reports, quizzes, work sheets, etc., at his or her discretion.
In addition, from time to time, unannounced and totally at my discretion, I will offer to all members of the class present on any
given day an opportunity to supplement your grade via bonus points, which will be added to your total score. Only students
actually present that day are eligible for this offer. Since this is optional work above and beyond course requirements, I am
not obligated to offer to those with an excused absence. This is the sole mechanism by which to supplement your class score.
Do not ask if there are any “extra credit” projects that may be performed to compensate for grade deficiencies; under no
circumstances do I permit this. Do the work assigned and your grade will be fine.
Your final letter grade will be based on the total number of points that you earn, according to the following scale. This grade scale
is absolutely rigid; it will not change, irrespective of class performance. Do not expect to be bumped up a grade if you are
“close,” as a cushion is already built into these grade spans, e.g., 356 points is actually only 59.6%, not 60%.
0-356
357-404
405-416
417-464
0- 59%
60- 67%
68- 69%
70- 77%
F
D
CD
C
465-476
477-524
525-536
537-600
78- 79%
80- 87%
88- 89%
90- 100%
BC
B
AB
A
By totaling up your points earned to date and dividing by possible points to date, you will know how you are doing in class. If you
are in a program that requires my signature, confirming your current grade in the course, you will have to bring the form to
my office, as I do not carry my records to the lecture hall with me.
DATE
NO.
06 Sep
08 Sep
Week 1
01
11 Sep
13 Sep
15 Sep
Week 2
02
03
04
Lab 1
Chemistry & Life I
Chemistry & Life II
Chemistry & Life III
18 Sep
20 Sep
22 Sep
Week 3
05
06
07
Lab 2
Lab 3
Cells
Energy
Enzymes
Studying Infectious Disease
08
01-08
Membranes
25 Sep
27 Sep
29 Sep
Week 4
TOPIC
Introduction
1.1 – 1.9
Initial Baseline Assessment
 no lab this week 
Lab 2
Lab 3
Synthesis & Recapitulation
Lecture Exam I
Studying Infectious Disease
Mystical Molecules II & III
Respiration I
Respiration II
Respiration III
09 Oct
11 Oct
13 Oct
Week 6
12
13
14
Lab 5
Photosynthesis I
Photosynthesis II
Photosynthesis III
16 Oct
18 Oct
20 Oct
Week 7
15
16
Lab 6
5.10 – 5.19
Ch. 1-5
6.1 – 6.5
6.6 – 6.11
6.12 – 6.16
Studying Infectious Disease
Enzymes
7.1 – 7.2, 7.6
7.3 – 7.5, 7.7 -- 7.11
7.12 – 7.14
Osmosis & Diffusion
Lab Exam I
17
Lab 7
4.1 – 4.19, 5.10 -- 5.12
5.1 – 5.4
5.5 – 5.9
Mystical Molecules I
09
10
11
Lab 2
Lab 4
09-16
2.1 – 2.17
3.1 – 3.10
3.11 – 3.16
Being a Scientist
02 Oct
04 Oct
06 Oct
Week 5
23 Oct
25 Oct
27 Oct
Week 8
READING
Cell Division I
Cell Division II
Labs 1-4
8.1 – 8.7, 8.11
8.12 – 8.18
Respiration
Synthesis & Recapitulation
Lecture Exam II
Genetics I
Photosynthesis
Ch. 6-8
9.1 – 9.4, 9.6 -- 9.9
30 Oct
01 Nov
03 Nov
Week 9
18
19
20
Lab 8
Lab 9
06 Nov
08 Nov
10 Nov
Week 10
21
22
Lab 9
13 Nov
15 Nov
23
24
17 Nov
Week 11
17-24
Lab 8
Lab 9
Genetics II
Genetics III
Molecular Genetics I
Fruit Fly Genetics
Bacterial Genetic Engineering
Lab Exam II
20 Nov
Week 12
Molecular Genetics II
Molecular Genetics III
Labs 5-7
10.6 – 10.9
10.11 – 10.16
Bacterial Genetic Engineering
Gene Regulation
Biotechnology
Synthesis & Recapitulation
Fruit Fly Genetics
Bacterial Genetic Engineering
11.1 – 11.9
12.1 – 12.3, 12.6 – 12.7,
12.13 – 12.20
Ch. 9-12
Lecture Exam III
 no lab this week 
27 Nov
29 Nov
01 Dec
Week 13
25
26
27
Lab 9
Lab 10
Lab 11
Evolution I
Evolution II
Evolution III
04 Dec
06 Dec
28
29
Evolution IV
Evolution V
08 Dec
Week 14
25-29
Lab 8
12 Dec
13 Dec
15 Dec
Week 15
9.11 – 9.14, 9.22 – 9.24
9.5, 9.15 – 9.21
10.1 – 10.5
13.1 – 13.4
13.6 – 13.8
13.9 – 13.18
Bacterial Genetic Engineering
Natural Selection
Speciation
Synthesis & Recapitulation
Fruit Fly Genetics
Lab Exam III
Lecture Exam IV
Omnibus Make-up Exam
 no lab this week 
14.1 – 14.9
15.1 – 15.2, 15.6 – 15.9,
16.1 – 16.6
Ch. 13-16
Labs 8-11
Need more help? The Reading Study Center in 201 Nursing Education (424-1031) is an all-university
service whose mission is to facilitate development of efficient college-level learning strategies in students of all abilities.
Strategies for improved textbook study, time management, note taking, and test taking are taught through both credit
courses and non-credit services. For more information, visit: www.uwosh.edu/programs/readingstudycenter.
Students with disabilities Students with disabilities are welcome in this course. Please contact your lab
instructor and me in the first week of class so that we may arrange all possible accommodation regarding classroom
attendance, testing, etc.
Formal Statement of Course Management Policies
On this page, I spell out what I expect of you as a course participant. These policies are
predicated on the assumption that you are an adult now and that you intend to comport yourself
as such. Once you have read this page and fully understand all its implications, make a copy of
it, sign and date the copy, and give it to me. Doing so is a requirement for the satisfactory
completion of the course and earns you 5 bonus points.
You will attend every lecture meeting. Because it is a large lecture, you will be tempted on occasion
to skip class. You will think your absence will not be noticed; you will think that because I don’t take
attendance, it won’t affect your grade. Wrong! It is extremely difficult for you to earn a good grade if you
are not here for each and every meeting. No matter how boring I am, no matter how little you think you
get out of lecture, you will get far less out of not attending. The assigned lecture period is your only
opportunity to get essential information. If you must miss class for a grievous illness, funeral, jury duty,
etc., it is your responsibility to get notes from a fellow student and to consult with me via e-mail or during
office hours to clarify anything you don’t understand.
You will be present for every scheduled exam. No one should even think about missing an exam
for any but the most extreme emergencies (e.g., grievous illness or injury, death of a loved one). If such
an emergency should arise, if you notify me of your intended absence before the start of the exam or
immediately thereafter, and if your excuse is documented (hospital paperwork, obituary, etc.), then and
only then will you be allowed to take the comprehensive make-up exam scheduled for the last Friday
afternoon before Christmas vacation. This is the only opportunity to make up a missed exam, and
will only be allowed if the above conditions are met. If you miss an exam and these conditions are
not met, you will receive a zero for that exam. The sole exception is that which I am required to
provide to athletes and others engaged in official university activities. Such students should identify
themselves to me immediately, and provide me with official documentation from the pertinent faculty
sponsor or coach, in order to make other arrangements.
You will evince high standards of personal integrity in all that you do. Cheating is defined as
any attempt, successful or otherwise, to pass off the work of another as your own. On an exam, it
explicitly includes any attempt to obtain information from anywhere other than your own mind. Speaking
during an exam is forbidden, as is looking about the room. Cheating is no joke. It is morally
indistinguishable from robbing a liquor store or embezzling company funds. It reflects shamefully on the
cheater, his/her family, and his/her high school. No grade is worth a black mark on your self-respect. Not
everyone can be an outstanding student, but everyone can maintain a high standard of dignity and
personal honor. I hereby serve legal notice that anyone determined to be in violation of this standard will
be prosecuted to the full extent permitted under the provisions of Chapter UWS14 of the Wisconsin
Administrative Code, and that I will in all cases seek the maximum penalty allowed, i.e., expulsion from
the university.
By my signature here affixed, I affirm that I have read the above policies,
understand them thoroughly, retained a copy, and agree to abide by them.
__________________________________________________________________
Print Name
Signature
Date