Biol 106 (52641): Spring 2022, General information and Syllabus,
Dr. Mitchell Baker, Course Head
Dr. Stephen Arnott, Co-instructor
Dr. Baker’s contact information
Office: (718) 997-3425; NSB E-324
Email: mbaker@qc.cuny.edu
Dr. Arnott’s contact information
Office:
Email: Stephen.Arnott@qc.cuny.edu
Dr. Baker’s virtual office hours will be from 10 AM-12 Noon Tuesdays, and 1-2 PM Mondays.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81241829555?pwd=d0NvU3VHQkJlc1Y1RlJON0Q2RThNdz09
Other times can be arranged by appointment via email.
Dr. Arnott’s office hours will be Fridays 10:00 am - 12:00 pm via Zoom. (Link will be posted on
Blackboard). Other times can be arranged by appointment via email
Biology 106 is the second semester of the year-long introductory course in general biology for
biology majors, science majors, pre-health professionals and those specializing in related
areas. DO NOT take this course to simply fulfill a science lab requirement, take Biology 11
or 40-41 instead. A prerequisite is passing Bio 105 with a C- or better, though when 105 is full
students can enroll in 106. If this is your situation, make sure to read/review Chapter 11 (cell
cycle) well. Any changes of lab sections must be done formally through the Registrar.
Course overview: Biology 106 explores the subjects of ecology, evolution, and biodiversity. We
begin with an introduction to evolutionary history and process, including Mendelian genetics.
The survey of biodiversity will occupy just over a third of the course’s lectures. Analysis of
biodiversity is followed by an introduction to behavior and ecology (biomes, populations and
communities). The laboratory component of the course is coordinated with the lectures and
involves the examination of preserved and living specimens along with dissections designed to
develop your observational skills and to recognize the diverse ways that similar problems are
solved in different taxa. There are two longer term assignments in lab: An essay question due in
week 6, and an independent assignment where you will record local phenological events
(flowering and leaf out and bird migration) and compare those with historical records.
Goals: What is it that we hope you will achieve by taking this course?
1. To appreciate and get to know the scope of biodiversity.
2. To understand the cellular basis of biodiversity, and the nested adaptations that
convinced naturalists that life evolves and descended from a common ancestor.
3. To understand the ecological and evolutionary forces acting on living organisms,
especially in the face of our changing climate.
4. To develop an understanding of how scientists work and how discoveries are made.
5. To develop laboratory skills in systematic and critical observation.
6. To attain a level of competence in biology that permits you to be successful in
whatever path you follow.
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Scheduling: Biology 106 meets for 3 lecture hours and 3 laboratory hours per week.
● Lectures: I will present lectures in KY 170 Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:15-1:30.
Synchronous participation is required, either in-person or online. There will be ‘Kahoot’
quizzes during lecture for us to gauge understanding that will be graded on participation.
We will record and present lectures using Collaborate, so you will be able to attend
lectures remotely or in person. Internet failures and life happens, up to two kahoots can
be missed. If any religious requirement prevents you from synchronously participating in
a class, we can arrange a substitute assignment as long as you contact us beforehand.
Lecture exams will be in-person in Colden 150 plus overflow rooms, so you will have to
come in for those at least.
● Laboratory: The 3-hour laboratory session meets in person. In Science Building B241.
Some lab quizzes are written, some are oral and will take place during the scheduled lab
time.
Lab attendance is required and no absences are permitted. If you know you will be
missing a scheduled lab, you must contact your lab instructor and cc Dr. Baker and
arrange a time for any missed quizzes or assignments. You may make-up up to two labs
per term.
Safety: I’m vaccinated and to a good approximation so are all of you. We are all masked in all
classrooms and labs. 6-foot social distancing is not possible in lab, but 3-foot is, I suspect 6-foot
social distancing will be available in lecture for those who want it (I anticipate a mix of live and
on-line participation). Alcohol disinfectant spray is available in lab
Textbook: We use the same text as Bio 105 - but some of you may have an earlier edition, so
the Chapter references for the 11th and 12th editions are the same. The ebook with Achieve is
mandatory for completing 15% of the course assignments. The Achieve/ebook contains all the
text, but the hard copy is easier to read.
David M. Hillis; Craig H. Heller; Sally D. Hacker; David W. Hall; Marta J. Laskowski;
David E. Sadava. 2020. Life: the Science of Biology, 12th Ed. W.H. Freeman and
Company ISBN-13: 978-1319017644.
This semester we will be using the Achieve system for mastering the Hillis text. Students
must purchase access to Macmillan Achieve for 1 semester if you have already
passed 105. Note that the 2-term and 4-term access plans are highly discounted
(~$15 or $30 more for 2 or 4 term access versus single term). The course link for
this semester directly through MacMillan is
https://achieve.macmillanlearning.com/courses/a5gu6p
You should also be able to purchase through the qc/Akademos bookstore
https://qc.textbookx.com/institutional/index.php?action=browse /books/3055775/
Laboratory: Handouts will be posted for each lab.
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Dissecting Kit: McCoy intermediate dissecting kit, available through the bookstore, starting
week 7.
An important note on reading assignments and exam materials: In the following, syllabus
reading assignments are shown by text chapter numbers, specific pages and sometimes subheadings. More specific information is presented in the laboratory manual. Textbook chapters
typically contain more material than that covered in lecture and you will not be examined
on material not presented in lecture or lab manual. Concentrate your studies on only those
subject materials covered in lecture and focused upon in the lab manual. Lecture presentations
are posted on Blackboard. If you expect to do well in this course, lecture attendance and good
note taking are essential. Studying the lecture slides without attending lecture is not enough,
because we may write on them as well as explain them in lecture.
The subject material of lectures and laboratory sessions are coordinated as far as possible and it
is expected that you will have read the associated materials before each lecture or laboratory
class. Current lecture information is necessary to perform in, and understand, the laboratory
exercises. Recitations by your laboratory instructor will focus on the lab exercises and
synthesize lecture materials.
Grading policies: Your final course grade is based on lecture exam and laboratory performance:
● Lecture material: Sixty percent of your course grade is based on lecture material. These
will consist of two “mid-term” lecture examinations and a final examination (15% for
each exam). This semester we will have MacMillan Achieve assignments, sometimes
chapter questions, some active learning modules that are intended to explain, re-inforce,
and ensure mastery of the textbook material. Completion of these assignments will count
for 15% of your grade. The midterms and final are non-cumulative exams of 60 multiplechoice questions. See the lecture schedule for the subjects covered on each exam.
● Laboratory work accounts for 40% of your final grade.
a) four written and three oral instructor-generated quizzes account for 10% of your
total grade.
b) 5% of your grade will be based on your instructor’s evaluation of your laboratory
assignments); 5% of your grade is based on your promptness, performance,
cooperation and contribution to the laboratory sessions. (A missed and unfulfilled lab
will cost a minimum of 1% of your participation/course grade.)
d) 10% is based on one essay assignment and one independent observational
assignment on local phenology (seasonal timing) described in separate handouts.
e) The final practical exam will be given the last week of lab and will count for 10%
● The final letter grade is adjusted for balance among the laboratory sections. The final
letter grade is determined using the guidelines described in the Queens College Bulletin.
Questions concerning your course status and non-letter grades:
● The self-service withdrawal/P/NC period Starts February 18th and ends on May 17. After
that date, requests for evaluated withdrawals must be made to the Undergraduate
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Scholastics Standard Committee (201 Frese Hall).
● Students should not simply stop participating in class and taking exams without officially
withdrawing because a grade of WU will be assigned.
● Students who have completed all course work but are missing only the final exam will be
assigned a grade of INC. The final will be made-up at a later date upon consultation with
the course head. Incompletes automatically convert to ‘F’ if not made up by the end of
the following term.
● Students may request an INC only if they have a reasonable chance of passing (based on
their record to date) and then complete a written contract with the course head detailing
the manner by which the all missing materials will be completed.
● Any question of the grade received or grading policies must be made in writing.
Exams, make-up examination and due dates of assignments:
● 3 75 minute Exams consisting of 60 multiple choice or matching questions will be given,
two during lecture hours, and a non-cumulative exam during finals week, date and time
of the final to be announced.
● Make-up examinations are not normally given and missed examinations will be counted
as a zero. Under special circumstances, where there is verifiable note or special prior
arrangement, make-ups for Exam I, II and the Final will be offered on a date to be
determined between the student and course head. If prior arrangements for the finals are
not made, they will be taken at the scheduled final exam period the following semester.
● The due-dates of lab assignments are given in the laboratory syllabus. Work submitted
after the “due date laboratory session” will be decreased by one letter grade, and for each
subsequent week that the work is tardy, an additional letter grade is subtracted.
Plagiarism and cheating: It’s simple; don’t turn in someone else’s work as your own, on
assignments or exams.
Plagiarism and cheating are serious academic violations that will result in a failing
grade for the assignment and perhaps the course as well. Cases of plagiarism may
escalate to hearings with the Dean of Students, resulting in a notation on your transcript
and potential dismissal from the institution.
Please go to the Queens College Writing website for excellent commentary and help in writing
and preventing plagiarism.
"What is Plagiarism" http://writingatqueens.org/for-students/what-is-plagiarism/
A guide to using outside sources has been posted to the blackboard page for this course
Blackboard and on-line materials: We will be using the CUNY BLACKBOARD for which
you are automatically registered when enrolling in this course. Online materials include: a lecture
and lab syllabus; lecture images and outlines; laboratory assignments; announcements of exam
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review sessions; examination information such as room assignments and scheduling; sample
examinations; and links to information associated with the lectures.
During appropriate lab sessions, your instructor will demonstrate the use of Bb for submitting
specific assignments. You will be using “Safe Assignment,” which is a utility program on
Blackboard for submitting all written assignments. Upon submission, assignments are
automatically screened for instances of plagiarism and, if that is the case, the sites of origin are
indicated. Remember, plagiarism, even a single sentence, results in a grade of zero for that
assignment, and depending upon the violation, may be turned over to the Dean of Students.
Biol. 106: Fall 2021, Lecture schedule, readings and exam schedule.
Remember, and this is important: When the text goes beyond the lecture you only need the
lecture material.
______________________________________________________________________________
MB Feb 1 Lecture 1. Introduction to Biology 106: What is Life, Science? and Meiosis?
Note: Concerning understanding of basic chemistry: Review Life: Chaps. 2 & 3.
Readings: Life: Chap. 1 and carefully read Chap. 2 (What properties of water make it so
important in Biology?). Chapter 11
MB Feb 3 Lecture 2: Inheritance, Genes, and Chromosomes
Readings: Life 12: Chap. 12
MB Feb 10 Lecture 3: Mechanisms / Processes of Evolution
Readings: Life 12: Chap 19
MB Feb 15 Lecture 4: Phylogenies; how are they constructed and what are they good for?
Readings: Life 12: Chap. 20
MB Feb 17 Lecture 5: History of Life on Earth,
Readings: Life 12: Chap. 23
MB Feb 22 Lecture 6: Evolution of Genes and Genomes
Readings: Life 12: Chap 21 (11th ed.: Chap. 23)
MB Feb 24 Lecture 7: Bacteria, Archaea, and Viruses
Readings: Life 12: Chapter 24, (11: Chap. 25)
MB Mar 1 Lecture 8: Origin and Diversification of Eukaryotes
Readings: Life 12: Chap 25 (11: Chap. 26)
MB Mar 3 Lecture 9: Plants without Seeds: From Water to Land
Readings: Life 12: Chap 26 (11: Chap. 27)
MB Mar 8 Lecture 10: The Evolution of Seed Plants
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Readings: Life 12: Chap 27 (11: Chap. 28)
MB Mar 10 Midterm Exam 1 – covering lectures 1-9
MB Mar 15 Lecture 11: Plant Physiology and Plant Reproduction
Readings: Life 11: Chaps. 33, 36
MB Mar 17 Lecture 12: Plant Responses to Stress and Climate Change
Readings: Life 12: Chap. 37
MB Mar 22 Lecture 13: The Evolution and Diversity of Fungi
Readings: Life 12: Chap 28 (11th ed.: Chap. 29)
SA Mar 24 Lecture 14: Animal Origins and the Evolution of Body Plans
Readings: Life 12: Chap 29 (11th ed., Chap. 30)
SA Mar 29 Lecture 15: Protostomes I; Lophotrochozoans
Readings: Life 12: Chap. 30:1-2
SA Mar 31 Lecture 16: Protostomes II; Ecdysozoans
Readings: Life 12: Chap. 30.3-4 (11th Ed. 31)
SA April 5 Lecture 17: Species and Speciation
Readings: Life 12/11: Chap. 22
SA April 7 Lecture 18: Deuterostomes I; Echinoderms and Hemichordates
Readings: Life 12: Chap 31.1-2 (11: Chap. 32.1-2)
SA+MB April 12, Midterm Exam II - covering lectures 10-17
SA April 14 Lecture 19: Deuterostomes II; The Chordates
Readings: Life 12: Chap 32.1-2 (11th ed. Cap. 32.3-4)
SA April 26 Lecture 20: Animal Behavior
Readings: Life 12: Chap 51 (11th Ed.: Chap. 52)
SA April 28 Lecture 21: Ecology I; The Physical Environment and the Biogeography of
Life
Readings: Life 12: Chap 52 (11th ed.: Chap. 53)
SA May 3, Lecture 22: Ecology II; Populations
Readings: Life 12: Chap 53 (11th ed.: Chap. 54)
SA May 5, Lecture 23: Ecology III; Species Interactions and coevolution
Readings: Life 12: Chap 54 (11th ed.: Chap. 55)
SA May 10, Lecture 24: Ecology IV; Communities and ecosystems
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Readings: Life 12: Chap 55-56 (11th ed.: Chap. 56, 57)
SA May 12, Lecture 25: Ecology V; Limits to human population and a Changing
Biosphere, review Readings: Life 12: Chap 57 (11th ed.: Chap. 58), J Cohen article on
Blackboard
______________________________________________________________________________
The lecture final exam will take place in person during finals week, in KY 170 and overflow
rooms to be announced. It will be 60 questions multiple choice, not cumulative.
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106, Spring 2021 Laboratory schedule
Note: The 106 laboratory meets in New Science Building B241 and consists of 13 laboratory sessions plus an
individual assignment on phenology. A Laboratory Practical Exam is scheduled for the final week.
DAY of the
week 
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Morning

Afternoon 
Evening

106-1A (47477)
106-1B (47479)
106-1I (47465)
106-1C (47469)
106-1D (47474)
106-1E (52672)
106-1F (47470)
106-1J (47463)
106-1G (47467)
106-1H (47466)
LAB
WEEK No.
Friday
No Labs
Scheduled
Dates that your lab session will meet




1
1/31
2/1
2/2
2/3
2
2/7
2/15
2/16
2/17
3
2/14
2/22
2/23
2/24
4
2/28
3/1
3/2
3/3
5
3/7
3/8
3/9
3/10
6
3/14
3/15
3/16
3/17
7
3/21
3/22
3/23
3/24
8
3/28
3/29
3/30
3/31
9
4/4
4/5
4/6
4/7
10
4/11
4/12
4/13
4/14
11
4/25
4/26
4/27
4/28
12
5/16
5/17
2/9
2/10
13
5/2
5/3
5/4
5/5
14 (Practical)
5/9
5/10
5/11
5/12
*Friday Schedule, Contact Lab instructor if you can’t attend synchronously
**Reading day – Contact Lab instructor if you need to take practical earlier in week
Morning sessions - 9:10 AM - 12:00 PM
Afternoon sessions - 1:40 - 4:30 PM
Evening Sessions - 6:30 - 9:20 PM
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
NoteW/
Th lab 12!
1
EVOLUTION AND NATURAL
SELECTION – Natural selection on
Crypsis and Ecomorphts and adaptation in
anoles (HHMI Virtual)
PORIFERA, CNIDARIA,
PLATYHELMINTHES
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2
Mendel, Hardy Weinberg, and
Phylogenies. Alleles, selection, and drift.
Phylogeny of anoles HHMI Module 2
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3
DATA ANALYSIS AND
STATISTICAL HYPOTHESIS
TESTING
10
4
CLASSIFICATION, MONERANS:
BACTERIA, BLUE-GREEN ALGAE
AND PROTISTS (NO TERMITES)
11
5
BRYOPHYTES, FERNS, ANGIO AND
GYMNOSPERMS
COMPUTER LAB– “Our Place In The
12 World” Ecological Footprint
6
MORPHOLOGY AND DISPERSAL
OF WINGED SEEDS
13
7
ANATOMY AND MORPHOLOGY OF 14 PRACTICAL
HIGHER PLANTS AND FUNGI
LOPHOTROCHOZOANS,
MOLLUSKS, ANNELIDS
NEMATODES, ARTHROPODS,
DEUTEROSTOMES 1
(DISSECTION: STARFISH)
DEUTEROSTOMES 2
(DISSECTION: BULLFROG/PERCH)
● The Lab practical will take one hour, and is comprehensive, consisting of
20 stations, with a model, slide, or figure with 2-4 questions, covering labs
3-11 and 13
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