Biology 190 – Intro. to Cell and Molecular Biology
Great Basin College
Course Syllabus – Summer 2013
PLEASE READ THIS SYLLABUS CAREFULLY!!
Welcome to the Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology class! I am looking forward to a
wonderful, productive, and enriching semester. To make sure the class runs smoothly, please
read this syllabus carefully.
Instructor: Dr. Sameer Bhattarai
Email: sameer.bhattarai@gbcnv.edu (use email to get faster response)
Office: Lundberg Hall 128F
Phone: 775-753-2323 (use email to get faster response)
Office Hours:
Mondays and Tuesdays: 8:30 am – 9:30 am, or by appointment
Course Description: Structure and function of cells. Major molecules of life; composition and
physiology of cellular organelles; cell metabolism, reproduction, motility, and gene function of
both plant and animal cells. Required for biology majors.
Course co-requisite and Pre-requisite: Concurrent enrollment in a corresponding lab section is
required for this course. Must have completed MATH 96, MATH 120, or higher, or sufficient
SAT/ACT/Accuplacer test score for placement into MATH 120.
General course goals: The goal of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to 1) to
explore the underlying chemical basis of life as well as the structure and function of the basic
unit of life, the cell, 2) examine some of the basic energy transformation processes on which
living things depend, and 3) explore the fundamental concepts of genes, heredity, and evolution.
The GBC General Education Objectives are addressed at the end of this syllabus.
Required materials:
Lecture text: Scott Freeman, 2011. Biological Science, 4th edition, Benjamin Cummings
Addition material: Mastering Biology – the online system included with the new texts –
contains online homework – can be purchased separately online if you have a used text book.
Lab text: Perry, Morton, and Perry, 2013. Laboratory Manual for Non-Majors Biology, 6th
edition, Brooks/Cole.
Method of Instruction: Reading assignments from text books each week. Lectures, laboratory,
and online enhancements. Important course announcements and documents, including
“skeletons” of lecture PowerPoints will be made available to you via WebCampus, available
online at https://gbcnv.instructure.com/login. Please contact GBC Helpdesk for WebCampus
accessibility issues. You bear the responsibility for getting the technical aspects of the course to
function properly so that you can participate fully.
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Learning Outcomes and Measurements:
Learning outcomes
Measurements
Recognize the chemical basis of living organisms
Class discussion, lab experiments,
exams and quizzes, online homework
Describe the composition and physiology of cellular
components and explain the cell division process
with diagram
Class discussion, lab experiments,
exams and quizzes, online homework
Explain the basic energy transformation processes on
Class discussion, lab experiments,
which all living things on earth depend
exams and quizzes, online homework
Explain the fundamental concepts of genes, heredity,
and evolution
Class discussion, lab experiments,
exams and quizzes, online homework
GBC e-mail: All Great Basin College students are issued an e-mail account. Instructors often
find it convenient or necessary to e-mail individual students, or the class as a whole. Therefore,
it is necessary for the students to activate and frequently check their GBC e-mail account to
insure receiving messages in a timely fashion.
GBC ID's: All students are issued a GBC photo ID card. Please carry this with you, especially
during exams, as it will be necessary for instructors to verify each student's identification.
Attendance and classroom behavior: Regular attendance in both laboratory and lecture is
crucial to successful completion of this course. Studies have shown that students who attend
each class perform far better than those whose attendance is irregular. Many important,
interesting and subtle points can be made by instructors which may not be presented in the
textbook. Instructor may also make announcements regarding changes in scheduling or material
to be covered. Therefore, students are expected to attend every lab and every lecture, to arrive
on time, and to remain until class is dismissed. Students are responsible for being aware of all
information and announcements presented in class, whether or not they are present.
Attendance in laboratory is mandatory. Three or more unexcused absences in lab will
result in a grade of zero for the entire laboratory portion of the course. Students must heed
all warnings and safety precautions issued by their lab instructors. Students are expected to fully
participate in all exercises, including clean-up of supplies and equipment at the end of each
exercise. Notify the instructor immediately if there is any condition which prevents you from
participating in a given exercise. Because there can be hazards associated with some laboratory
procedures, equipment, and chemicals, all students must follow standard safe laboratory
practices as well as any particular precautions and instructions given by the instructor.
If something is not clear to you, by all means ask questions! A well-timed question can
help everyone in class, even the instructor. Students are also expected to be respectful and
considerate of one another as well as their instructors. To that end, please listen when someone
else is talking, and turn off all cell phones or other noise-makers while in class or lab. If it is
necessary to carry on activities that are not directly related to the material being presented in
class, please conduct these activities elsewhere. In order to make the most effective use of both
students' and instructor's time and energy, disruptive students may be required to leave the
classroom.
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Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and may result in a failing
grade and/or reporting to GBC Administration. Students are expected to read and adhere to the
GBC’s Student Conduct Policy. Ignorance of the Student Conduct Policy is no excuse for
infractions thereof. All work done in lecture and lab (exams, assignments, quizzes, etc.) must
be the sole work of the student. Any form of academic dishonesty including copying data,
falsifying data, cheating on exams and quizzes, failing to credit the work of others will be dealt
with most seriously.
Canceled classes: If an examination is scheduled for a day on which classes are canceled due to
weather or any other reason, the examination will be given during the next scheduled class.
Grading:
Instructors do not give grades, students earn them. You are in complete control of your
grade in this class. I firmly believe that you all possess the ability to do well in this class. Think
positively, believe in yourself, set high expectations, work hard, and you will do well in this
class. Remember, you are the one who decides what grade you will receive in this class.
Lecture exams and online homework: Four lecture exams will be given, each worth
100 points. 10 online homework (see more on online homework below) is required for this
course, each worth 10 points. For the lecture exams, students will be required to bring with them
one or two sharpened pencils with good erasers and a valid GBC ID card. The use by students of
electronic devices of any type is prohibited during exams.
Student Oral Presentation: Each student will be required to complete an in-class oral
presentation worth 30 points. The presentation will be done in done in subject matter relevant to
the course, and will be held toward the end of the semester. Each oral presentation will be
evaluated by all students individually, along with the instructor. Instructor and combined student
evaluations on oral presentation will each count as 50% of the oral presentation (in other words,
the average of all the student evaluations will count as 50% of the oral presentation grade, and
my evaluation will count as the other 50% of the oral presentation grade). We will use five (5)
categories for evaluating the presentation – 1 (poor), 2 (fair), 3 (satisfactory), 4 (very good), and
5 (Excellent). You will be required to present the class with a PowerPoint presentation.
Lab exams, quizzes, and assignment: The laboratory is worth a total of 170 points,
bringing the course total to 700 points. The grade for the lab portion of the class will be based
on ten daily quizzes worth 10 points each, a mid-term exam worth 50 points, and a final exam
worth 70 points. Lab quizzes will be given at the beginning of labs. Latecomers risk losing time
to take the quiz, possibly all of it. The lab quizzes will usually be based on previous lab's
material with a few questions from the lab that will be done on the current day. These quizzes
cannot be made up.
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The point breakdown is as follows
GRADED MATERIAL
Points
Lecture Exams (4 @ 100 pts each)
400
Lecture Online Homework (10@10 pts each)
100
Student Oral Presentation
30
Lab Quizzes (10 @ 5 pts each)
50
Lab Mid-Term
50
Lab Final
70
Total
700
Your course grade will be based on the following scale:
A ≥ 90%
B 80-89.99%
C 70-79.99
D 60-69.99%
F less than 60%
Final course grades are usually available via MyGBC Self-Service Center within 48 hours of the
final exam. If you wish to have additional information regarding your grade, please see me in
person after the grading period. Exam or final course grades will not be emailed!!
Extra credit: There is no extra credit given in this course.
Lecture exam makeup policy: In order to be fair to students taking the exams on the assigned
days, no make-up exams will be given to any student under any circumstances, except if you
present a written approved excuse for an unavoidable emergency before the next time the class
meets. Please read the previous statement once more – it applies to YOU. You must take the
makeup exam before the exam is passed back to the rest of the class, which is usually the next
class meeting.
Lab exam makeup policy: Since the labs are very difficult to set up, absolutely no lab makeup exams will be given to any student under any circumstances. Please read the previous
statement once more – it applies to YOU.
Online homework: Completion of online homework is required for this course. In order to
access the online homework system for this class follow the directions in “more on online
homework” below. Assignments will be based on the topics covered in lecture and some
additional topics we did not cover in lecture. You will be required to look up the information for
this additional subject matter in order to complete the assignments. The assignments are due the
due every Sunday at 11:00 PM. Multiple online homeworks (3 to 4) will be assigned every week.
You are responsible for having access to a functioning computer and for completing and turning
in of the assignments on time. Late work is not accepted.
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The online homework system is provided and maintained by the textbook publisher
(Benjamin and Cummings). I am only able to set up the assignments – this means that I cannot
help with technical issues. You must get help from the publisher if you think that there is
something wrong.
More on online homework: Online homework assignments will be assigned each week. They
will be made available on Monday morning and they are due following Sunday at 11:00 PM.
Multiple online homeworks (3 to 4) will be assigned every week. The homework assignments
will focus on what we have covered in lecture for the week. Some of the problems will be based
on material that we have not covered in lecture. This will require you to read the textbook
yourself in order to figure out those problems.
Instructions for access (for those with a brand new book): If you purchased a new book
that is shrink-wrapped with an access kit (a small cardboard fold-out), follow the directions in
the access kit. When prompted to do so you should enter our course section’s code:
BHATTARAIBIOL190SU13. If you do everything correctly you should see a welcome message
identifying the course as Bhattarai Biol190 Simmer 2013 with my name Sameer Bhattarai.
Instructions for access (for those with a used book or book without an access kit): go to
the website www.masteringbio.com and click on Register StudentsNo, I need to purchase
access online now. Select our textbook. Say no to the virtual labs and eText (unless you want to
pay extra)  Accept the Privacy statement and EULA Create a login and pay $66.00
(Credit/Debit Card) for access. When prompted to do so you should enter our course section’s
code: BHATTARAIBIOL190SU13. If you do everything correctly you should see a welcome
message identifying the course as Bhattarai Biol190 Summer 2013 with my name Sameer
Bhattarai.
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Lecture and Lab Schedule – Summer 2013*
Date
Lecture Topic
7/1
Introduction, Syllabus,
Introduction to Biology
Chemical Basis of Life
Proteins, Enzymes
7/2
Chapters
in
Text
1, 2
Lab Exercise
3
4
5
6
# 8 Enzymes
7/10
Nucleic Acids
Holiday
Exam 1, Carbohydrates
Lipids, membrane, diffusion,
osmosis, transport
Cells
Check-in; Safety; Macromolecules
and functional groups (hand out will
be given to you)
Continuing Macromolecules lab
7/11
7/15
7/16
7/17
7/18
7/22
7/23
Cell interactions
Exam 2, Cellular respiration
Photosynthesis
Mitosis and Cell Cycle
Meiosis
Exam 3, Mendel and the Gene
Genetics Cont….
8
9
10
11
12
13
13
7/3
7/4
7/8
7/9
7
7/24
7/25
# DNA
Watson and Crick’s original papers as
an illustration of scientific method
(Download these articles from
WebCampus and read them before
you come to class)
# 7 Diffusion and Osmosis
# 3 Microscopy and # Cells
Lab mid-term
# 10 Respiration
Photosynthesis
(Download this lab from
WebCampus and read it before
coming to class.
# 11 Mitosis, # 12 Meiosis
# 13 Heredity
DNA synthesis and repair
14
How genes work,
15, 16
Transcription and translation
7/29
Evolution
24, 25
7/30
Evolution
26,27
Evolution Movie and discussion
7/31
Student Presentations
Lab Final
8/1
Exam 4
* This schedule is tentative for the semester. It will be followed as closely as possible.
However, unforeseen circumstances such as inclement weather or school closings may
necessitate changing the schedule. Students are responsible for being aware of all date changes.
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Lab Safety rules!!
No food or drink may be brought into the lab, or consumed there, unless part of the
laboratory exercise. High heels, bare feet, sandals, open-toed shoes, bare midriffs, shorts,
sleeveless shirts or excessive bare skin are not allowed in the lab. Report to your instructor any
unsafe conditions you notice. Follow all safety precautions given by your instructor.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Statement: Great Basin College is committed to
providing equal educational opportunities to qualified students with disabilities in accordance
with state and federal laws and regulations, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A qualified student must furnish current
verification of disability. The Director of Services for Students with Disabilities (Julie G.
Byrnes) will assist qualified students with disabilities in securing the appropriate and reasonable
accommodations, auxiliary aids and services. For more information or further assistance, please
call 775.753.2271.
Where to get help:
If you encounter any difficulties in this course, first see your instructor, immediately!
Do not wait until the end of the semester to ask for help in understanding the material in order to
improve your grade - by then, it may be too late! Know your instructor's names, office hours,
and e-mail addresses; then use them! Do not "be afraid" to ask your instructor for help - that is
our job! Make use of the many rich academic and personal opportunities available at GBC!
General Education Objectives:
Objective 1: Communication Skills
Communication skills are very important in this course, which studies structure and function of
living organisms.
Learning outcomes
Measurements
Understanding the molecular and cellular basis of life
Class discussion, exam scores, written lab
reports, oral presentation of relevant subject
matter
Class discussion, exam scores, written lab
Describing the fundamental concepts of genes, heredity,
reports, oral presentation of relevant subject
and evolution
matter
Objective 2: Critical Thinking
There will be a strong emphasis on reasoning, independent thought, scientific methods
Learner outcomes
Measurements
Use mathematical and quantitative methods to solve
problems
Answer lecture and lab exam questions,
complete lab experiments and assignments,
online homework,
Assigned readings, class discussion,
Use reasoning and independent thought to identify current complete laboratory experiments, answer
issues in biology
exam questions, independent research and
oral presentation of current issues
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Comprehend workings of molecular-biological and
cellular systems and the process by which the scientific
knowledge is discovered
Assigned readings, class discussion, exam
scores, complete lab experiments and
assignments, independent research and oral
presentation of relevant subject matter
Objective 3: Personal and cultural awareness
Understand the role of individuals in advancing technology and knowledge in the field of biology
Learner outcomes
Measurements
Identify and relate significance of human creativity in
advancing technology and knowledge in biological
fields such as DNA technology and Evolution
Assigned readings, class discussion, video
responses, and/or independent research and
oral presentation
Objective 4: Personal wellness
Examine advancement in biological field and how it relates to personal health and well being
Learner outcomes
Measurements
Understand how technology and knowledge in the field of
biology relates to our lives and personal health
Assigned readings, class discussion, lab
experiments, video responses, and/or
independent research and oral presentation
Objective 5: Technological Understanding:
Learn to use technology to enhance human experience
Learner outcomes
Measurements
Identify significance of technological advancement and
how it affects our daily lives
Use of computers/online resources for
homework assignments and independent
research, use of lab equipments for
experiments
Note that this syllabus is not a contract and is subject to change, without warning or notification,
at any time.
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