Heartland Community College
Math/Science Division
Student Syllabus for BIOL 114-02
Contemporary Biology
Summer 2009
Meeting times:
 BIOL 114-02: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays 6:00–8:20 PM [ICB 1405]
Catalog Description:
An introduction to biological principles, including organization, function, heredity, evolution, and ecology, with
emphasis on the importance of biology to the individual and society. The laboratory component will emphasize
scientific inquiry and use of knowledge in problem solving. This course is not intended for students planning a
science major, nor will it fulfill the prerequisite for BIOL 181 or BIOL 191. Students will not receive science
credit toward their graduation requirements for both BIOL 114 and BIOL 161.
Instructor Information:
Britney Boerma
Adjunct Biology Faculty
Phone: 217-871-1434; e-mail: britney.boerma@heartland.edu
The Division Secretary is June Hargitt. 268-8640.
Office hours: by appointment
myHeartland information:
Just a reminder that to access WebCT, IRIS, your Heartland student e-mail, the library, Class Cancellations,
your Backpack, and more, you will need to log into myHeartland, at https://my.heartland.edu
If you are logging in for FIRST time, use Password Station to create password and change your security
questions after creating password.
1
Required Materials:
Starr, C., et al. Biology Today and Tomorrow. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc., 2007.
Jongky, T., and E. Wallace. BIOL 114 Laboratory Manual.
Relationship to Academic Development Programs and Transfer:
This course counts as a four-credit lab science course for partial completion of the IAI (Illinois Articulation
Initiative) requirements for either the A.A. or A.S. Degree. However, it may not count toward a biology major.
Course Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
determine how the scientific method is used to solve everyday problems as well as scientific research
problems.
differentiate between the importance of mitosis and meiosis.
solve genetic problems.
identify DNA structure and function.
differentiate how major body systems work, including reproductive, circulatory, digestive, nervous, and
respiratory.
differentiate between mechanisms of microevolution and macroevolution.
describe biodiversity, including bacteria, fungi, protists, animals, and plants.
relate how all living things are interconnected with each other.
apply all information learned to medical, environmental, or bioethical issues.
apply research skills and data collection techniques to complete laboratory exercises.
use a computer to access information and to analyze data gathered during lab.
criticize scientific articles and news for content and scientific validity.
formulate a hypothesis, devise a procedure, test the hypothesis, record results, and draw conclusions in lab.
improve communication skills
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Method of Evaluation
The final grade will be based on the following requirements:
Classroom Components
Chapter Quizzes (40 points each)
One cumulative final (100 points)
Biology presentation (52 points)
Lab Components
Labs in manual
(12 points each)
80 % of final grade
20 % of final grade
Total final grade %
Final Grade
90+
A
80+
B
70+
C
60+
D
<60
F
2
Make-up policies
If a student is unable to take a chapter quiz, the student will go to the instructor’s office during office hours
or another scheduled time and take the quiz before the next class session that the student comes to. There
would be 2 pts deduction. Maximum 2 make-ups.
2.
There are NO make-ups for in-class activities.
3.
There are NO make-ups for labs.
4.
The student will complete most labs before leaving class. If a lab assignment has to be finished outside of
class, the assignment is due at the beginning of the next class day that the student comes to class. Only
students who attend lab can finish the lab assignment.
5.
Any student who does not take the final exam will receive an F for the class.
1.
Incomplete Grade
An Incomplete grade may be justified to a student if the student encounters extreme circumstances (e.g., serious
illness, accident, death or serious illness in the immediate family) toward the end of the semester and is unable
to complete the semester. The student must be in a position to pass the class if the Incomplete is given. The
student must sign a form requiring him/her to finish the class by next semester.
Required Writing and Reading
Students must read the textbook to prepare for classroom activities. Students will write about biological news
and answer questions on quizzes and labs.
Academic Support Center Services (http://www.heartland.edu/asc/)
1.
Library
The Library, located in the Student Commons Building at the Raab Road campus, provides Heartland
students with a full range of resources including books, online journal databases, videos, newspapers,
periodicals, reserves, and interlibrary loan. Librarians are available to assist in locating information.
For more information please call the Library (309) 268-8200 or (309) 268-8292.
http://www.heartland.edu/LIBRARY/index.html
2.
Tutoring Services
Heartland Community College offers tutoring in various forms at no cost to Heartland students at the
Tutoring and Testing Center in Normal and at the Pontiac and Lincoln Centers. Tutors are available at
convenient times throughout the week. Study groups are also available by request. For more information
about services available at each location, please call the Tutoring and Testing Center in Normal at (309)
268-8231, the Pontiac Center at (815) 842-6777, or the Lincoln Center (217) 735-1731.
http://www.heartland.edu/asc/tutor.html
3.
Testing Services
The Tutoring and Testing Center provides a secure testing environment for students who are enrolled in
online, hybrid, and other distance learning courses; have a documented disability; or need to take a make-up
exam. Testing accommodations for students having documented disabilities must be arranged by the
student through the Office of Disability Services, and Testing Services will only administer make-up exams
at the request of the instructor. Contact Testing Services at (309) 268-8231 for more information.
http://www.heartland.edu/asc/testing.html
4.
Open Computing Lab
The Open Computing Lab provides free computing for HCC students at convenient times throughout the
week. The computer lab is staffed by trained Lab Assistants and offers the use of approximately 70
computers, a scanner, a laser printer, and an electric typewriter.
http://www.heartland.edu/asc/computerlab.html
3
People learn 10 % of what they read, 20 % of what they hear, 30 % of what they see, 50 % of what they see and
hear, 70 % of what they discuss, 80 % of what they experience, and 95 % of what they teach to someone else.
KEEP TRACK OF YOUR OWN GRADES.
Lecture
Your
Poss
Lecture
pts
pts
Ch 1 quiz
40
Ch 7 quiz
40
Ch 8 quiz
Ch 25 quiz
40
Ch 12 quiz
40
Ch 13 quiz
40
Ch 14 quiz
40
Presentation
52
Final
100
40
40
Ch 9 quiz
40
Ch 10 quiz
40
Ch 22 quiz
40
Ch 24 quiz
40
TOTAL
Poss
pts
40
Ch 3 quiz
Ch 27 quiz
Your
pts
Lab
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
13
10
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
672
Your
pts
Poss pts
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
228
1. To calculate your classroom percentage:
Your Points in lecture / Possible Points in lecture = 0._____ x 80 =
2. To calculate your lab percentage:
Your Points in lab / Possible Points in lab = 0._____ x 20 =
3. To calculate your TOTAL class percentage: add the two answers above
4
BIOLOGY 114 Summer 2009 Course and Lab Schedule (tentative)
Day
6/1/2008
6/2/2008
6/3
6/4
6/8
6/9
6/10
6/11
6/15
6/16
6/17
6/18
6/22
6/23
6/24
6/25
6/29
6/30
7/1
7/2
7/6
7/7
7/8
7/9
7/13
7/14
7/15
7/16
7/20
7/21
7/22
7/23
Topics
Introduction
Scientific method (1.5); Life, diversity (1.1-1.3);
Finish Chpt 1 as necessary
QUIZ Chpt 1; Cell basics (3.1)
Prokaryotic cells (3.4); Eukaryotic cells (3.5)
QUIZ Chpt 3 + microscope
Cell division intro (7.1-7.2); Cell cycle & mitosis (7.3-7.4)
Cell cycle & cancer (7.8); Meiosis (7.5-7.7)
QUIZ Chpt 7; Male & female reproductive systems (27.1-27.5)
biology presentations
Contraception & STD’s (27.6-27.7)
QUIZ Reproduction (Chpt 27 + video info); basic Mendelian genetics (8.1)
Finish Genetics (8.2-8.10)
QUIZ Genetics (Chpt 8); DNA structure and replication (Chpt 9)
Begin protein synthesis (10.1-10.5)
QUIZ Chpt 9; finish protein synthesis
QUIZ Chpt 10; begin circulatory system (22.1-22.5)
Finish circulatory system (22.1-22.5); respiration (22.6-22.10)
QUIZ circulatory/respiration systems (Chpt 22); begin digestive system (24.1-24.4)
Urinary system (24.5-24.7) begin nervous system (Chpt 25)
QUIZ digestive/urinary systems (Chpt.24) ; Begin nervous system (Chpt 25)
Finish nervous system (Chpt 25)
QUIZ Nervous system (chpt 25); Microevolution (Chpt 12)
Evidence for evolution (13.1-13.6)
QUIZ Chpt 12; begin Macroevolution (13.7-13.9)
Finish Macroevolution (13.7-13.9)
Classification (13.10)
QUIZ Chpt 13; Prokaryotes (14.1-14.2)
Protists and Fungi (14.3-14.4)
QUIZ Chpt 14
Ecosystem (Chpt 30)
Behavioral Ecology (Chpt 32)
FINAL EXAM: Monday, July 29, 6:00-8:20 PM
Accompanying lab exercises/ Related activities
Lab 1: Scientific Method
Lab 2: Microscope
Lab 3: Observing Life
Lab 4: Cells
Video: mitosis; Lab 5: Mitosis portion
Video: meiosis; Lab 5: Meiosis portion
Lab 6: Human Sexual Reproduction
Genetics problems handout
Lab 7: Genetics
Lab 8: Building and Extracting DNA
Lab 9: Protein Synthesis
Lab 13: Circulatory System
Lab 11: Nutrition Lab
Lab 14: Senses and Reflexes
Video: Visit to Galapagos
Lab 15: Natural selection
Video: Evidences for evolution
Video: Neanderthals
Lab 16: Classification and Dichotomous Key
Lab 17: Bacteria
Lab 18: Protists and Fungi
Lab 19: Plants
Lab 20: Food Chain
Lab 21: Siamese Fighting Fish
5
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism is the presenting of others’ ideas as if they were your own. When you write a paper,
create a project, do a presentation or create anything original, it is assumed that all the work,
except for that which is attributed to another author or creator, is your own. Plagiarism is
considered a serious academic offense and may take the following forms:
Copying word-for-word from another source and not giving that source credit.
Paraphrasing the work of another and not giving that source credit.
Adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own.
Using an image or a copy of an image without crediting its source.
Paraphrasing someone else’s line of thinking in the development of a topic as if it were
your own.
Receiving excessive help from a friend or elsewhere, or using another project as if it
were your own.
[Adapted from the Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers. New York: MLA, 1995: 26]
Note that word-for-word copying is not the only form of plagiarism. The penalties for plagiarism
may be severe, ranging from failure on the particular piece of work, failure in the course or
expulsion from school in extreme cases.
Documented disability
If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please
contact Anita Moore at 268-8249 or anita.moore@heartland.edu
QUIZZES
You be evaluated on:
1.
Information in the chapter. The Question Outlines have questions on them that keep you
active and focused while reading the chapter. The answers to the questions on the outline
serve as an excellent source for basic knowledge questions on the quiz.
2.
Information given in the in-class activities, which will be the same basic knowledge
information from the Question Outlines.
3.
Information on the Application Questions. These questions ask you to use the basic
knowledge from the chapter in different scenarios.
4.
Integration ability. You may be given a question(s) that you have not seen during class time
and will be asked to use your basic knowledge and reasoning skills to come up with an
answer. In essence, you are demonstrating that you understand the concept not just have
memorized it.
6
BIOL 114 News Journal (Biology Presentations)
Objectives of News Journal:
 The student finds out about events happening in the world.
 The student gets the chance to read about topics that interest him.
 The student realizes that biology affects his lives.
 The student understands the interconnectedness of all disciplines because a news item about
biology includes information about society, politics, even religion.
 The student can relate news items with concepts covered in class.
 The student becomes more aware of the validity or non-validity of scientific research.
 The instructor will learn a lot of news too!!!
Criteria:
All news must be CURRENT news, dated April 2009 onward.
All news must have biological content!!!!! Avoid news about meteors, for example. Avoid
news about a person’s success in training his dog, for example.
3.
WHERE you get your news depends on the source. Source 1: a news show, such as nightly
news, BBC, Nightline or a TV show from Discover channel, Animal Planet… Source 2: a
newspaper that could be found as a hardcopy in our library. Source 3: a magazine (with a
science theme) that could be found as a hardcopy in our library. Source 4: any news items
from Internet.
4.
IMPORTANT: For the news show news, please actually sit and watch the show. Please do
not search Internet about a show, and please do not watch a video clip via Internet.
5.
Your news articles will be BRIEFLY presented in class on June 25, 2009. Each student is
responsible for two different articles from two different sources.
6.
Type at least one paragraphs about the news item. Make sure the source and date of the news
is typed and referenced somewhere. For example, you watched CNN news on January 16,
2009, and heard ...
7.
Each news item is worth 26 points for a maximum of 52 total points for this project.
8.
If I notice that you have plagiarized any news articles, you will receive a zero for the entire
news journal.
1.
2.
7