Salt Lake Community College - Biology Department
BIOL1615(BS): College Biology I Lab
Spring Semester 2014
Instructor: Kathleen Staker
E-mail: kathleen.staker@slcc.edu
Required Course Materials:
Textbook: Customized version of: Biology Laboratory Manual by Vodopich and Moore
Course Description:
BIOL 1615 –Coreq: BIOL 1610. Laboratory observations and experimentation to enhance understanding of
biological chemistry, cell structure, metabolism, genetics, and evolution. One 3 hour laboratory session per
week.
GENERAL POLICIES
Attendance: Attendance at one of the first two class meetings is MANDATORY! If you do NOT attend at least the
lab the first week, YOU RISK BEING DROPPED from the course by the end of the day on January 18.
Americans with Disabilities Act: Students with medical, psychological, learning or other disabilities desiring
accommodations or services under ADA, must contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC). The DRC
determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of these accommodations and services for the college."
Please contact the DRC at the Student Center, Suite 244, Redwood Campus, 4600 So. Redwood Rd, 84123.
Phone: (801) 957-4659, TTY: 957-4646, Fax: 957- 4947 or by email: linda.bennett@slcc.edu"
Incomplete Grade and Withdraw from Class: A grade of “I” (Incomplete) is the instructor’s option and is not
given except only in the most extenuating of circumstances for which there is verifiable written documentation.
In order to receive an incomplete, nearly all course work must have been completed (e.g. ~75%) with a passing
grade. Last day to withdraw from class with refund is February 3, without refund is March 24. It is the
responsibility of the student to drop/withdraw from this class, not the instructors.
Make-up Labs: Students are permitted to make-up one lab only. The make-up lab must be taken during the
week that the specific lab is being conducted as materials will not be available at any other time.
Academic Dishonesty: Absolutely NOT tolerated and includes all forms of cheating and plagiarism as outlined in
the Student Code. Penalty for first offense will be a grade of “0” on the assignment or exam; second offense will
be an “E” for the course.
Electronic Devices: Cell Phones, pagers are to be turned off during class. Computers can be used for notetaking and course-related purposes ONLY but should not be used during class for working on other tasks (e.g.
answer emails, Facebook, other classes etc.). You will be asked to leave if your electronic device disrupts the
class in anyway. Cell phones MUST be turned completely OFF during quizzes and exams.
Classroom recordings: Students may not record or publish information from the class without written
authorization from the instructor. If used without authorization you have violated Privacy/Intellectual Property
Rights.
Student Code of Conduct: The student is expected to follow the SLCC Student Code of Conduct found at
http://www.slcc.edu/policies/docs/Student_Code_of_Conduct.pdf
EVALUATION/GRADING
Laboratory performance will be assessed on the basis of lab participation, lab quizzes, and a writing assignment.
The laboratory score constitutes twenty percent (20%) of the student’s final BIOL1610 grade. Students are
expected to attend and participate in laboratory each week. Students should read the lab manual prior to lab so
as to use their limited time in lab to full advantage. Laboratory methodologies will vary from week to week,
depending upon the nature of the laboratory exercise, but will include both individual and collaborative efforts.
The laboratory includes both quantitative and qualitative exercises. The written assignment will count as the
BIOL1610/1615 signature assignment for the ePortfolio.
Lab Grading:
Participation:
Weekly Quizzes:
Writing Assignment:
Total possible points:
60 pts.
110 pts.
30 pts.
200 pts.
General Education Statement:
This course fulfills the Biological Sciences requirement for the General Education Program at Salt Lake Community College. It is designed
not only to teach the information and skills required by the discipline, but also to develop vital workplace skills and to teach strategies
and skills that can be used for life-long learning. General Education courses teach basic skills as well as broaden a student’s knowledge of
a wide range of subjects. Education is much more than the acquisition of facts; it is being able to use information in meaningful ways in
order to enrich one’s life. While the subject of each course is important and useful, we become truly educated through making
connections of such varied information with the different methods of organizing human experience that are practiced by different
disciplines. Therefore, this course, when combined with other General Education courses, will enable you to develop broader
perspectives and deeper understandings of your community and the world, as well as challenge previously held assumptions about the
world and its inhabitants.
ePortfolio Statement:
Each student in General Education courses at SLCC will maintain a General Education ePortfolio. Instructors in every Gen Ed course will
ask you to put at least one assignment from the course into your ePortfolio, and accompany it with reflective writing. It is a requirement
in this class for you to add to your ePortfolio. Your ePortfolio will allow you to include your educational goals, describe your
extracurricular activities, and post your resume. When you finish your time at SLCC, your ePortfolio will then be a multi-media showcase
of your educational experience. For detailed information including a Student ePortfolio Handbook, video tutorials for each ePortfolio
platform, classes, locations and times of free workshops and other in-person help, visit www.slcc.edu/gened/eportfolio.
COLLEGE-WIDE LEARNING OUTCOMES
The Core Themes of SLCC’s Mission focuses on Access and Success, Transfer Education, Workforce Education
and Community Engagement. As such, all courses and programs address one or more of the below CollegeWide Learning Outcomes. Upon successful completion of any program at SLCC, students should:
 Acquire substantive knowledge in the discipline of their choice sufficient for further study, and/or
demonstrate competencies required by employers to be hired and succeed in the workplace.
 Communicate effectively.
 Develop quantitative literacies necessary for their chosen field of study.
 Think Critically.
 Develop the knowledge and skills to be civically engaged, and/or to work with others in a professional
and constructive manner.
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
In order to full-fill the goals of the College-wide Learning Outcomes, the following course learning outcomes
have been established for this course. Upon completion of this course a person educated in College Biology I Lab
should be able to demonstrate a general understanding of the following essential learning outcomes:
Students will be introduced to and participate in hands-on activities that will assist them in understanding the
major unifying themes of biology. These themes include:
 The domain and process of science
 The chemical basis of life
 The cell as the basic unit of life
 Evolution and the diversity of life
 DNA and the continuity of life
 The interrelationships of living organisms
 The concept of organizational levels and emergent properties of life

A person educated in College biology lab should have an understanding of the following essential concepts:
 Principles and applications of the scientific method.
 Basic microscopy.
 The metric system.
 The chemical and physical nature of life and the applicability of physical laws.
 The inheritance and continuity of life (DNA, genetics and cellular reproduction).
 Structure, function, and development at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels.
 The patterns and processes of evolution and the resulting diversity of life.
LABORATORY SCHEDULE
Week of:
Jan13-17
Experiment:
Intro, Safety Rules
Exercise #2 Measurements in Biology
Pages:
VIII-XII
Pages 11-20
Jan 20
Jan 21-25
Holiday-Martin L King Jr.
Exercise # 3 – The Microscope
Pages 21-32
Jan 27 – Feb 1
Feb 3-8
Exercise #4 The Cell
Exercise #5- Solutions, Acids, and Bases
Bring Article to Lab
Exercise # 6 : Biological Importance of Molecules
President’s day Holiday
Exercise #7 – Separating Organic Compounds
Exercise #8 - Spectrophotometry
Bring Outline to Lab
Exercise # 9 – Diffusion and Osmosis
No Classes-Spring Break
Exercise # 11 - Enzymes
Exercise # 12 Respiration
Exercise # 13 Photosynthesis
Exercise # 14-Mitosis
Exercise # 15-Meiosis
Exercise 17- Genetics
Article Due date
Exercise # 18-Evolution
Submit Grades
Pages 33-48
Pages 49-56
Feb 10-15
Feb 17-22
Feb 24-March 1
March 3-8
Mar 10-15
March 17-22
March 24-29
March 31- Apr 5
Apr 7-13
Apr 14-19
Apr 21-23
Pages 57-70
No labs
Pages 71-80
Pages 81-89
Pages 93-103
Pages 113-122
Pages 125-136
Pages 137-148
Pages 149-158
Pages 159-169
Pages 179-192
Pages 193-203