BISC 103L: General Biology for the Environment and Life.
4 units.
Spring, 2010
Welcome to BISC 103L. This is a one semester, rigorous introductory biology lecture
and laboratory course that covers important aspects of general and molecular biology.
While the text and outline are similar to introductory courses taught at other universities,
this course is tailored more specifically to Environmental Studies and other life science
studies at USC. This course is not appropriate for medical school preparation and will
not serve as a prerequisite for upper division courses in biology. Students majoring in
biology, chemistry, other natural sciences, or engineering will normally register in the
BISC 120L sequence. Consult your advisor and the instructor immediately if you have
questions about BISC-103L vs. BISC 120L. Students majoring in neuroscience should
take BISC 220, for which this course is not a substitute.
Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary field in which students are required to have
mastered elements of several traditional disciplines in addition to content and methods
specific to their own fields. Students of the environment require a common set of skills
in biology, including basics of evolution, systematics, ecology, genetics, biochemistry
and molecular biology, physiology and anatomy. They must be firmly grounded in the
chemistry of proteins, nucleic acids and other biological molecules.
In our biology curriculum leading to a BS degree in that subject these topics would be
presented over the course of five or more semesters of study. In order to provide a
rigorous one-semester survey, BISC 103L will not address all specialized concepts in
many of the areas traditionally covered in biology. The complementary laboratory
features representative exercises from appropriate areas of biology selected to be most
appropriate for environmental studies.
Fundamental concepts in chemistry are required for an understanding of biology. The
student should have a working knowledge of high school chemistry, and is urged to take
the companion chemistry course, CHEM 103L: General Chemistry for the Environment
and Life. The chemical concepts that we shall use regularly throughout the course will
reinforce those of CHEM 102L.
This year BISC 103L will be offered as a 4 unit course presented in a block format: i.e.,
you will take only one course, and concentrate completely upon that subject, for ¼ of the
usual semester. In spring of 2010 the block for BISC 103L will begin on 5 Apr and end
on 30 Apr (both inclusive).
The course will be offered only at the Marine Science Center at Catalina Island.
Catalina offers unique experiences in both terrestrial and marine environments and is
ideally suited for study of biology from an environmental viewpoint. Many of the
laboratories take advantage of the island’s properties with field trips, sampling, etc.
Lecturers:
Eric Webb, PhD AHF 331, 213-740-7954, eawebb@usc.edu
William McClure PhD CEM 204, 213-740-9181, wmcclure@usc.edu
Textbook: Life on Earth. Audesirk, Audesirk, and Byers. Fifth edition, Benjamin
Cummings 2009
Ancillary material: handouts will be supplied when needed.
Lectures: time and place will be announced in the first session, on 5 April. In general,
lectures will be given in the mornings and laboratories in the afternoon. Students are
expected to be in the classroom by 10 am on 5 April.
Website
All course materials, information, and recordings will be posted on Blackboard
(https://blackboard.usc.edu/) until Commencement Day. Blackboard is to be used only for
appropriate, course-related activities. Use for other purposes will result in disciplinary action.
Remember that to use Blackboard you must use your usc email account and password to sign
in. Off-campus email accounts (hotmail, AOL, etc) will not work.
Twice Weekly Question & Answer Sessions
We recommend that students attend Q&A sessions in person. Alternatively, you may log in to
a live webcast which includes an interactive chat window (text only) that you can use to submit
questions. A link to the Q&A webcast will be posted on Blackboard. All Q&A sessions will
be recorded and will be available until the end of the semester.
Instructor Office Hours
Please contact instructors directly for office hour appointments. Office hours are intended for
discussion of individual, confidential matters such as grades. Course subject matter and other
public issues should be discussed in the Q&A sessions so that all students can benefit from the
interchange.
E-mail: Students are encouraged to e-mail the instructors. When you do write the subject line
should state: “BISC 103”. We will more likely respond to thoughtful questions about class
material or notices of real emergencies that affect attendance.
Schedule of lectures. The schedule below is tentative, and will probably change. The
textbook contains excellent presentations of much of our material, but is lacking in certain
areas. Material in these areas will be provided through selected handouts. In addition to those
lectures dealing directly with the environment, material specific to the interaction of the
environment will be presented in every lecture.
Day 1.
Day 2.
Day 3,4.
Orientation. No lab, no lecture.
Overview of Life: systematics, reductionism. Chapters 1, 2.
Cellular physiology: chemistry, membranes. Chapters 2, 3, 4.
Day 5.
Day 6,7.
Day 8,9.
Day 10.
Day 11.
Biochemistry: respiration, photosynthesis. Chapters 5, 6, 7.
First hourly exam.
Genetics and molecular biology. Chapters 8, 9, 12
Ecology: populations, communities. Chapters 27, 28.
Ecology: ecosystems, biodiversity. Chapters 29 – 31.
Second hourly exam
Ecology: ecosystems, biodiversity. Chapters 29 – 31.
The remainder of the lectures will consider the physiology and anatomy of organ systems
of mammals, particularly humans, and the effect of environmental variables on them.
Day 12.
Day 13.
Day 14.
Day 15.
Day 16.
Day 17.
Day 18.
Day 19.
Day 20.
Physiology and anatomy: Basic Principles. Chapter 19.
Bones, joints, and muscles. Chapter 19.
Hearts and blood vessels. Chapter 20.
Respiration. Chapter 20.
Third hourly exam.
Digestion. Chapter 21.
Excretory systems, electrolyte balance. Chapter 21.
Nervous system. Chapter 24.
Development and the reproductive system. Chapter 25.
Review
Fourth hourly exam.
Grading: The numbers of points for the various parts of the course are:
First Midterm, 1 hour
100 points
Second Midterm, 1 hour
100 points
Third Midterm, 1 hour
100 points
Fourth Midterm, 1 hour
100 points
Term paper
100 points
Oral presentation
50 points
Laboratory
250 points
------------------------------------------------------------------Course Total
800 points
Chronic, unexcused absence from lecture and/or laboratory (more than two unexcused
absences) will result in a grade penalty above and beyond missed work or exercises.
Examinations. Four hourly examinations will be given. These will be 1 hr in length,
and will be given on Friday of each week. Each will cover the material of the preceding
section of the course.
Final grades are assigned on a curve, based entirely on the total number of points earned
in the course. After each exam a curve will be given by the instructors to indicate roughly
what letter grade corresponds to the student’s current number of points. Specifically, you
will be provided with the current course average and a provisional letter grade scale.
Please remember that (1) the course mean given on Blackboard is NOT authoritative, and
(2) that only the total number of points earned determines your course grade. We will be
glad to discuss your performance, and your possible grades, at any time throughout the
course. Help provided in this way should be considered only provisional, however: your
later performance may change (sometimes dramatically) the best-meant extrapolation.
In a course such as this, in which the exact content of the lectures will vary, the student
must realize that examinations can and will cover anything that is discussed in class.
Some of this material may not be in the textbook, and will be available only to those who
were present in class. For this reason, it is very important that you attend class. Those
who do not attend will surely do less well on examinations. Note that this course
involves conceptual ideas that are not easily grasped, as well as a significant amount of
memorization. These are often challenging to students. BISC 103 is not a trivial course.
The entire grade distribution will be used, including Ds and (if we are forced to) Fs.
Students who seek less challenging material would be well advised to consider alternate
enrollments.
A reminder about Pass/No Pass Status. Should you choose the Pass/No Pass option,
you must have a final score equivalent to “C minus” quality or better to receive a “Pass.”
“No Pass” will be assigned if your final score is less than the equivalent of a “C minus.”
No petitions for change from Pass/No Pass to graded status will be accepted after the
deadline to change status has passed.
Re-grading of exams. If you wish to have exam questions re-graded, you must submit a
request to your TA within one week of when your exam was returned to you. Your
request must be thoroughly explained in writing. TAs will not consider oral requests.
The entire examination will be re-graded, not just the part you think deserves more credit.
Your score may go up or down as a result of a re-grade.
No make-up exams will be given – except in serious situations. If you miss an exam
or quiz due to illness, and wish us to make an accommodation, you should proceed as
follows. Present a written request to the Lab Manager by Wednesday of the week
following the missed exam. This request should include a statement that you were seen
by a doctor, the doctor’s name and phone number, and authorization for us to discuss
with the doctor whether you were too ill to take the exam, which we will do. Neither you
nor the doctor need tell us the nature of your illness. If we judge your excuse to be valid,
we will give you a grade for the missed exam equal to the average of your grades for the
equivalent exams that you did take. Except in extraordinary circumstances, we will make
accommodations for only one missed lecture exam. If your excuse is judged not to be
valid, or you do not provide it within the allotted time, you will receive a score of zero for
the missed exam.
Preparation of the term paper and oral presentation
A term paper is required. The term paper should be a minimum of about 10 pages,
double spaced and machine printed in a manner that is normal for formal presentations
using a font size of 12 points. Please don't exceed 15 pages. Any style that you wish to
use is fine, as long as it is used consistently and is in accord with the usual formal
presentations of your field. Please don't submit illegible, torn, or handwritten papers.
Each paper must be annotated with a minimum of 4-10 references to the scientific or
popular literature. Of these references, one must be as recent as 2009. The references
must demonstrate evidence that the student has read at least two articles from a scientific
journal or one of the sources listed below. The presentation must be an original work by
the student involved. Plagiarism in this matter, as in connection with everything
concerning this course and your University activities, is strictly forbidden and will be
treated with the usual University rules if it is encountered. The recommended sanction for
plagiarism is an F for the course.
The term paper due date: TBD
Subject Matter The choice of subject for the term paper is up to the student, but must
deal with the material of the course. In general, a subject that deals with any aspect of
human biology from an environmental aspect will be accepted. Topics that are not
suitable will result in reduced credit. Students are urged to discuss the subject of their
paper with any of the teaching staff of the course. If you are in doubt as to whether a
subject is suitable or not, please present it to the instructors or one of the teaching
assistants prior to the 6th week of class to obtain permission. It is not necessary that every
student choose a different topic; many students can, and often do, present the same
subject. In this case, of course, all the students must work independently.
Sources of Material There exist a large variety of different reference sources. These
include the following popular level scientific magazines:
Scientific American
Science
Science News
American Scientist
Discover
New Scientist
Nature (any version)
Any of these sources can serve as a rich supply of ideas and information. You may use
references from any of them freely. You will often find excellent articles in Time,
Newsweek, the newspapers (particularly the NewYork Times and the Los Angeles Times.
Note particularly the excellent section on health in the Monday edition of the LA Times
and other news periodicals. Most of these are now available on the web. Newspaper
articles are quite satisfactory as sources, but must be appropriately referenced. In
addition to the popular magazines concerning science, there exist a number of more
formal scientific journals used by the professionals in the field. You will usually find
these articles too advanced to be read easily, but you may certainly feel free to use them
if you wish. The World Wide Web is an excellent source of information and ideas. If you
are not already familiar with the Web, go to Leavey and learn about it. The Web and
associated electronic means of communication are changing our society. While they are
very powerful, be careful of information from the Web. This material is almost
completely unrefereed, and may (and often does) contain significant errors. You may not
use only the Web as a source of information. Some web sites of interest are:
www.medlineplus.gov
http://www.cdc.gov/
http://www.fda.gov/
http://www.nih.gov/
http://www.ncbi.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi
http://www.usda.gov/
You may trust any information from these excellent governmental web sites.
Always cite scientific journals as journals whether accessed online or in print. You are
responsible for checking your sources to be sure that the information you report is
correct. This is a significant part of modern scholarship.
Turnitin for Term Papers The following statement provided by USC’s Center for
Scholarly Technology applies. “USC is committed to the general principles of academic
honesty that include and incorporate the concept of respect for the intellectual property of
others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed
by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from
misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. By taking this
course, students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. All submitted
work for this course may be subject to an originality review as performed by Turnitin
technologies (http://www.turnitin.com) to find textual similarities with other Internet
content or previously submitted student work. Students of this course retain the copyright
of their own original work, and Turnitin is not permitted to use student-submitted work
for any other purpose than (a) performing an originality review of the work, and (b)
including that work in the database against which it checks other student-submitted
work.” Each of you will be required to submit your term paper in hard copy as well as in
electronic form through turnitin® on blackboard by the due date. You will receive
instructions regarding how to submit your papers later in the semester.
Academic Integrity: Students must work independently on all individual assignments
except that data will sometimes be shared for laboratory experiments. All USC students
are responsible for reading and following the USC Student Conduct Code, which
prohibits plagiarism. Some examples of behavior that is not allowed are: copying all or
part of someone else’s work (by hand or by looking at others’ files, either secretly or if
shown), and submitting it as your own; giving another student in the class a copy of your
assignment solution; consulting with another student during an exam; and copying text
from published literature without proper attribution. If you have questions about what is
allowed, please discuss it with the instructor.
Students who violate University standards of academic integrity are subject to
disciplinary sanctions, including failure in the course and suspension from the University.
Since dishonesty in any form harms the individual, other students, and the University,
policies on academic integrity have been and will be strictly enforced.
The Trojan Integrity Guide can be found at http://www.usc.edu/studentaffairs/SJACS/forms/tio.pdf.
The Undergraduate Guide for Avoiding Plagiarism can be found at
http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/forms/tig.pdf.
Oral Presentation An oral presentation must be developed by the student for delivery
in lab. The subject matter of the oral presentation will usually be the same as that of the
term paper. This presentation should be ten minutes in length. It will be followed by a
discussion period of five minutes, during which other students are urged to ask questions
and to consider the material. The use of visual aids is expected in the presentation.
Grades will be assigned on the basis of significance of the topic, quality of the material,
and the quality of the presentation. Detailed guidelines will be distributed later. All
presentations will be made during the final three weeks of the course.
Students with Disabilities. Any student requesting academic accommodations based on
a disability is required to register with the Office of Disability Services and Programs
(DSP, STU 301, 213-740-0776) each semester. You must deliver an approved DSP letter
to one of the instructors as early in the semester as possible. Please see SCampus
(http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS/) for additional policies that are not
covered here (i.e. academic integrity, proper conduct, etc) but that do still apply!
Laboratory
The laboratory is an integral part of this course. All aspects of biology, including the
environment and the nervous system, require hands-on interaction. More information
about the laboratory will be supplied to you at a later date. The laboratory will meet once
each day on Monday through Wednesday for two to three hours. Some of the
laboratories will involve field trips to both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and may
last considerably longer. There will be no laboratory on either Thursday or Friday. Be
sure to attend the first meeting of your laboratory.
The laboratories will be conducted in standard labs at the Center and in the field, taking
advantage of the unique opportunities offered by Catalina. Because of variations in the
weather, we cannot provide a detailed schedule of the experiments. Material to be
covered includes the ecology of several ecosystems on the island, including tidepools,
marshes, sandy and rocky beaches, and the chaparral of the terrestrial environment. Field
observations and measurements will be taken, and selected materials from these areas
will be returned to the labs for further analysis. Eutrophication of both freshwater and
saltwater environments will be examined. Physiological examination of mammalian
organ systems will be studied, with field experiments that may involve the
decompression chamber of the Center.
One Laboratory Report will be required each week. The assignments for the Report
will be made during the week, and the Reports will be due at the beginning of lab on the
following week.
Some Dates to Remember
April 30
Spring semester classes end
Final Thoughts
 Please forgive the length and detail of this syllabus. In a class such as this, which covers
the beginnings of your careers, we feel it is important for everyone to know exactly what
to expect.
 Rules and disclaimers aside, we hope that you will enjoy our mutual exploration of some
of the most exciting aspects of biology. The points we will study are of fundamental
importance in all living things, and highly relevant to the understanding of the our
interaction with the environment.. We instructors promise to apply our decades of
experience in teaching and research, as well as some of the latest pedagogical techniques,
to present an interesting and informative course, assign grades fairly, and prepare you
well for future studies in your chosen fields.