Heartland Community College Math/Science Division
Student Syllabus for BIOL 114 Contemporary Biology Fall 2010
Meeting times: M and W, 1:30 pm – 3:50 pm [ICB 1405]; T and R, 1:30 pm – 3:50 pm [ICB 1405]
Catalog Description:
Prerequisite: MATH 087 with a C or better or assessment. BIOL 114 will introduce students to a broad
range of biological principles, including organization, structure and function, heredity, evolution, and
ecology. Students will demonstrate how their knowledge in biology is relevant to them, their community,
and their world. Students will use scientific evidence as the basis for their arguments. Students will
improve their skills in relaying biological information to peers and to the college. In addition, students
will leave with a better understanding of scientific views that differ from their own. The laboratory
component will emphasize scientific inquiry and use of knowledge in problem solving. This course is
intended for students who are not pursuing a science career.
Instructor: Jon Hoekstra. My name is Dutch and is pronounced “hook-struh.” I grew up in Grand
Rapids, Michigan, and have lived in Illinois, Arizona, New Mexico, Mississippi, Georgia, and Oregon. I
enjoy being outside and spending time with my wife Tina and 6-yr-old daughter Pomona. My research
specialty is stream ecology. Some of my enthusiasms include gardening, learning about bugs and plants
and mushrooms, fishing, and photography. I view science as a powerfully positive force and hope that
you, too, will come to appreciate its beauty and usefulness.
Phone: 268-8648; Office: ICB 2414; e-mail: jon.hoekstra@heartland.edu
Office hours: MWTR 11:00 am – 12:00 pm and 4:00 – 4:30 pm
Email is the best way to contact me for almost any purpose; I will generally respond within a day (two
days on weekends). I will not respond to emails from non-HCC accounts; use your __@my.heartland.edu
account. I also will not respond to emails asking about grades (come to class or office hours).
Required Materials:
Starr, C., Evers, C.A., & Starr, L. 2010. Biology Today and Tomorrow with Physiology (3rd ed.).
Brooks/Cole Publishing, Belmont, CA.
Jongky, T. & E. Wallace. 2009. BIOL 114 Laboratory Manual. Heartland Community College, Normal, IL.
Course Learning Outcomes:
1. Students hypothesize, experiment, gather data, and formulate conclusions.
2. Students question validity of results and conclusions that are presented in lab, newspapers,
magazines, TV, or radio.
3. Students relate concepts (in cellular biology, organismal biology, and biodiversity) to their daily life
and to the world around them.
4. Students synthesize information from various sources to produce a product.
5. Students demonstrate responsibility for the community and global ecological environment.
6. Students improve independent learning skills.
HCC General Education Learning Outcomes:
Because BIOL 114 is part of HCC’s General Education Program, assessments done to assess the course
learning outcomes will also measure the following four General Education Outcomes:
1. CT 1: Students gather knowledge, apply it to a new situation, and draw reasonable conclusions in
ways that demonstrate understanding.
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2. CT 3: Students generate an answer, approach, or solution through an effective synthesis of diverse
sources and arguments and provide a rationale.
3. CO 2: Students effectively deliver a message via various channels/modalities.
4. DI 1: Students are receptive to beliefs and values that differ from their own.
Relationship to Academic Development Programs and Transfer:
BIOL 114 fulfills 4 of the semester hours of credit in Life and Physical Science required for the A.A. or A.S.
degree. This course should transfer as part of the General Education Core Curriculum described in the
Illinois Articulation Initiative to other Illinois colleges and universities participating in the IAI. However,
students should consult an academic advisor for transfer information regarding particular institutions.
Refer to the IAI web page for information as well at www.itransfer.org
Important URL
http://www.heartland.edu/asc/ includes information about library, tutoring and testing services,
computing lab, writing services and disability support services.
myHeartland information:
https://my.heartland.edu includes: access to IRIS, your Heartland student e-mail, Blackboard, your
Backpack files, the library, Class Cancellations, and announcements.
 If you are logging in for FIRST time, use Password Station to create password and change your
security questions after creating password.
 I will e-mail the entire class through myHeartland periodically for class announcements and
reminders. Check your email regularly.
Quizzes, Tests, and Assignments:
Quizzes will be taken in class. Quizzes will include a mix of traditional closed-book quizzes, open-note
and open-book collaborative quizzes, and in-class learning exercises. Collectively, quiz scores will make
up 20% of your course grade.
The Unit Tests and Final Exam are traditional in-class tests. You will take them independently with no
outside resources. You can expect to do better on these if you prepare by taking the quizzes and labs
seriously. 20% of the questions for any Unit Test will be taken directly from the quizzes for that unit.
News journal entries are two-paragraph summaries of biology-related news reports. Criteria and
suggested resources for articles will be provided in a separate handout.
Return of Graded Work:
Graded work is returned in class, generally within one week of being turned in; grades are not reported
by email. KEEP all graded work that is returned to you. If you do not keep a graded test or assignment
and I fail to record your grade properly, you do not have any way to recover the lost points.
Extra Credit:
You may earn up to 3 course percentage points in extra credit by submitting Observations of life forms to
INaturalist (see handout). Additional extra credit will not be provided to any student on an individual
basis, but may be offered to the entire class. If there is a relevant campus event or activity, let me know
and I may decide to offer extra credit for your participation.
The final grade will be based on the following requirements:
1. Quizzes (20%)
2. Unit Tests (30%)
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3. Final exam (10%)
4. Biological news journal entries (20%)
5. Lab exercises (20%)
Each assignment has a possible point score (generally 10 or 100 points) and the score you actually earn.
As we progress through the semester, keep track of the points you earn on the worksheet below. Use
pencil so that you can update it easily or correct errors.
Track points earned and possible in the second column. Calculate a proportion for the next column (89
quiz points out of a possible 100 would be entered as 0.89). Multiply by the weight to get a score
contribution and enter in the last column (0.89 X 20 = 17.8). You can enter any number for the final exam
to reflect your anticipated grade on the final exam (7 would be a C grade, 70%; 10 would be an A grade).
Total up all contributions, ADD 3 points, and enter in the lower right corner to get your course grade.
Category
Quizzes
Earned
÷
Category
Possible Weight
Earned and Possible Points (track)
Contribution
Toward Your
Total Grade
Earned:
Possible:
20
Unit Tests
Earned:
Possible:
30
News
Journal
Entries
Earned:
Lab
Manual
Earned:
Possible:
20
Possible:
20
Final Exam
(estimate to predict grade; A = 10, B = 9, C = 7…)
10
sum + 3 =
TOTAL:
Course Grade Scale
90+ = A
80+ = B
70+ = C
60+ = D
100
<60 = F
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Make-up policies:
 There are no make-ups for quizzes or missed labs. If you take an online quiz after the due date or
miss a lab, you will not earn credit for that score, but it will still count as part of the possible score.
Note that there are three extra percentage points built into the grade calculation. This allows you to
succeed in the class even if circumstances out of your control make it impossible for you to complete a
couple of the labs or quizzes. However, it will not make up for habitual failure to do your work.
 If you are unable to take a Unit Test, inform me by email or in person as soon as possible. I will put
the test in the Testing Center. Take the test before the next class session that you attend. If the test is
taken late there will be a 10% deduction per weekday late.
 You will complete and turn in most labs before leaving class. If a lab assignment has to be finished
outside of class, the lab assignment is due the next class day.
 News journal entries are due at the beginning of class. A 10% deduction will be taken for assignments
handed in within 1 day after due date and time. An additional 10% deduction per day will be taken
for each weekday thereafter that the assignment is late.
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
The student will read the textbook, laboratory manual, and any assigned articles. The student will write
summaries for articles, will write essays for assignments, and will write answers for various test, quiz,
and lab questions.
Classroom Atmosphere
Fun but focused. You are in class to learn. Don’t waste much time socializing, texting, web surfing, etc. or
you will have to make it up by learning and studying later, when you could be socializing, texting, web
surfing, etc. See what I mean?
A key value in this class, and in college generally: it is okay and, in fact, good to be well-informed and to
talk and think about things. We might talk about items from the news or aspects of various occupations
and pastimes. If you know about those things, you will have an easier time following what’s going on and
will have more to contribute. So if you’ve never done so before, I urge you to begin reading a newspaper,
reading a weekly newsmagazine, or listening to quality news radio such as National Public Radio –
stations are generally found low on the FM dial, in the 88-92 range.
Finally, respect, ethics, and good manners are critically important in any professional setting.
Incompetence is not a good thing, but professionals rarely get fired for being bad at specific tasks. Much
more frequently, they get in trouble by bad-mouthing or harassing other people. Or they exhibit an
attitude of hostility and indifference through body language and dress. Or they fail to show up on time, or
they habitually turn in their work late. Or they get caught cheating or stealing…
Start BEING A SUCCESSFUL PROFESSIONAL now – be courteous, kind, friendly,
reasonably clean-cut, prompt, and scrupulously honest in all that you do.
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BIOLOGY 114 Course and Lab Schedule
Week
Topics
Due Dates / Labs/ Activities
UNIT ONE: LIFE, SCIENCE, CELLS, AND CELL REPRODUCTION
1
16 Aug
Chapter 1 –Scientific Method
Introduction to Class; Lab 1: Scientific Method
Chapter 1 Practice Quiz available (grade not recorded)
2
23 Aug
Chapter 3 – Cell Biology
*Chapter 3 Quiz Due M,T; Lab 2: Microscope; Lab 3: Observing Life
27 Aug = Last day to drop with a refund
3
30 Aug
Chapter 8 – Cell Cycle, Cancer
6 Sep
Labor Day – no class Monday or Tuesday
4
Chapter 9 – Inheritance Introduction
7 Sep
*Chapter 8 Quiz Due M,T; Lab 5: Mitosis and Meiosis
*Cell Biology News Journal Entry Due W,R
*Unit 1 Test on W,R; Covers Labs 1,2,3,5 and Chapters 1,3,8
UNIT TWO: INHERITANCE, HUMAN REPRODUCTION, AND GENES
5
13 Sep
Chapter 9 – Inheritance continued
Chapter 26 – Human Reproduction
*Chapter 9 & 26 Quiz Due M,T; Lab 7: Genetics
Lab 6: Human Sex, Development
6
20 Sep
Chapter 6 – DNA
Chapter 7 – DNA to Protein
*Chapter 6 & 7 Quiz Due M,T; Lab 8: DNA
*Genetics, Sex, or Molecular News Journal Entry Due W,R
7
27 Sep
Molecular Biology continued…
Lab 9: Protein Synthesis
*Unit 2 Test on W,R; Covers Labs 7,6,8,9 and Chapters 9,26,6,7
UNIT 3: HUMAN STRUCTURE, FUNCTION, AND HEALTH
8
4 Oct
Chapter 20 – Skeletal system
Chapter 21 – Circulatory/Respiratory System
*Chapter 20 & 21 Quiz Due M,T
Lab 11: Circulatory System
9
11 Oct
Chapter 23 – Digestive and Urinary Systems
*Chapter 23 Quiz Due M,T; Lab 12: Nutrition
Lab 13: Calories, Calories
12 Oct = Midterm Grades Posted (No separate Midterm Exam)
10 18 Oct
Chapter 24 – Nervous System
*Chapter 24 Quiz Due M,T; Lab 14: Senses
*Unit 3 Test on W,R; Covers Labs 11,12,13,14 and Chapters 20,21,23,24
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BIOLOGY 114 Course and Lab Schedule
Week / Date
Topics
Due Dates / Labs/ Activities
UNIT 4 – EVOLUTION AND DIVERSITY OF LIFE
11
25 Oct
Chapter 11 – Evolution of Populations
Chapter 12 – Classification & History of Life
*Chapter 11 & 12 Quiz on M,T; Lab 15: Natural Selection
1 Nov = Last day to withdraw
12
1 Nov
Chapter 13 – Microbial Life
*Chapter 13 Quiz on M,T; Lab 17: Bacteria
*Evolution or Diversity News Journal Entry Due W,R
13
8 Nov
Chapter 14 – Plants and Fungi
*Chapter 14 Quiz on M,T
*Unit 4 Test on W,R; Covers Labs 15,17 & Chapters 11,12,13,14
UNIT 5 – ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR
14
15 Nov
Chapter 16 – Population Ecology
*Chapter 16 Quiz on M,T; Lab 22: Population Ecology
15
22 Nov
Chapter 17 – Communities and Ecosystems
*Chapter 17 Quiz on M,T; Lab 20: Food Chain
*Ecology or Behavior News Journal Entry Due W,R
24-26 Nov = Thanksgiving Break – No Classes
16
29 Nov
Animal Behavior
Animal Behavior video; Lab 21: Fighting Fish Behavior
4-10 Dec
Final Exams
MW Section = W, Dec 8, 12:00 – 1:50 PM
TR Section = R, Dec 9, 12:00 – 1:50 PM
*Exam covers key concepts from entire course, Unit 5 in greater detail.
Exams are held in normal classroom and are similar in format to Unit Tests.
*Optional Health- or Environment-Related News Journal Entry Due with Exam
20 Dec = Final grades posted by midnight
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