BIOLOGY 305 “Introduction to Genetics”
Dr. Patricia Wittkopp (wittkopp@umich.edu), 1061 Natural Science Building
Dr. Andrzej Wierzbicki (wierzbic@umich.edu), 4075 Natural Science Building
Genetics is at the heart of all of biology. Geneticists do not simply study genetics, but rather apply
genetic principles to understand nearly all biological processes. Much more than simply a collection
of facts, genetics is a way of investigating the biological world. By the end of the course, you will
understand how genetics research is used to understand and even change the world around you.
Biology 305 will introduce you to genetic principles and analyses ranging from classical Mendelian
transmission genetics to state-of-the-art molecular genetics and genomics. You will be provided
with the factual information needed to understand genetic analyses as well as given opportunities to
develop your ability to apply genetic principles to solve problems in new settings. You will learn
the genetic principles needed to succeed in future biology courses and in biology-related graduate
programs. But, even if you never take another biology course, the knowledge you will gain in this
course will help you to evaluate and interpret genetics research reported in the mainstream media
and to make informed decisions about political issues such as stem-cell research.
Lecture time and place
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:10 – 11:30 AM, Natural Science Auditorium
The i>clicker and web>clicker (hereafter collectively referred to as i>clicker) student response
system will be used during every lecture to assess and enrich student learning. While participation is
not mandatory, optional points (see below) can be earned that may help raise your grade. (For more
information see, the “i>clicker” section below. Please have your i>clicker ready to use when class
starts. You may also want to bring a (non-graphing) calculator to class. (Graphing calculators will
NOT be allowed on exams, and you should practice problem solving with a non-graphing
calculator before the exam.)
The Nat Sci auditorium contains 429 seats and there are 429 students enrolled in the class. Please
move in as far as possible to the center of the row when you arrive and minimize the baggage
that you bring to class with you. Sitting on the stairs or in the aisles is a violation of the Fire Safety
Code and we have been informed by the Biology department that Fire Marshals patrol the campus
buildings and will issue citations. The GSIs will be circulating around the room to enforce this
policy. Please be considerate of your fellow classmates and respectful of the space constraints you
all face. Space for students with physical disabilities is available. Please contact either Dr.
Wittkopp or Dr. Wierzbicki for details.
Discussion sections
The first discussion sections meet the week of Jan 10; NO discussion sections meet Jan 5, 6, or 7.
Discussion sections will primarily be used for extra guidance and assistance with difficult topics and/or
problem solving. You should come prepared with a list of topics/problems that you would like help
with, although your GSI may not have time to address all requests of all students and will focus on
issues troubling the greatest number of students. Attendance at and participation in discussion sections
is encouraged. Optional participation points can be earned that may raise your grade.
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Genetics Study Center (GSC)
1100 Chemistry Building, opening Jan 8, 2008
All Graduate Student Instructors will hold their office hours in the GSC. GSIs are available to
ALL students during office hours, not just those in their discussion sections. The GSC is open
approximately 20 hours a week and the most current schedule will be maintained on CTools. GSIs
will be happy to answer questions you have about course material, practice problems, practice
exams and real exams.
_______________________________________________________________________________
e-mail policy: e-mail is for administrative purposes only. For questions related to course material,
please seek help in person, during office hours, at the GSC, or by appointment (which can be
arranged via email).
Biology 305 Website
The CTools site for Bio305 W2011 will be the official site for the course.
You can access this site through https://ctools.umich.edu/portal.
All course materials will be posted on CTools. The Resources section will contain lecture slides,
practice exams, exam keys, and other supplementary materials, posted as needed during the course.
Any administrative announcements (e.g. exam room assignments) will be posted in the
announcements section and students will be notified via their umich email accounts. All
information posted to the CTools site is assumed to have been read by all students. You should
check this site frequently for any new announcements. Please check the CTools site for information
before emailing an instructor.
Course materials
Textbook (required):
9th edition of "Introduction to Genetic Analysis" by Griffiths, Wessler, Lewontin, and Carroll.
Web-based resources available at www.whfreeman.com/iga9e.
Solutions manual (optional): Introduction to Genetic Analysis Solutions Mega Manual
This book contains answers to the optional book problems. Book problems relevant to material
covered in the course are identified on the overview sheet for each lecture and are provided as
additional study aids only. Completion of these problems will improve your understanding of
genetics, but is not required for the course.
i>clicker student response systems (required for participation points):
We will be using the i>clicker student response system in the course and each student is required to
have their own remote to use during lecture. Remotes will not be used in discussion sections. It is
your responsibility to bring your remote to every class and to keep it in working order. For example,
it would be a good idea to bring spare batteries with you to class. Because there are more
participation points possible than required and because these points are optional (see Grading Policy
section below), there will not be any make-ups or allowances for problems with remotes.
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Effective with the Fall 2010 term, the College of LSA has adopted i>clicker as the replacement
system for Qwizdom. i>clicker devices will be available for purchase from the Computer Showcase
in the Michigan Union, Pierpont Commons, as well as other locations. For this class you may
purchase a clicker device or a 24-month web-clicker subscription. The subscription service allows
users to participate in i>clicker polling by logging into the internet through a laptop, smartphone or
other Wi-Fi enabled mobile device. The cost for a new i>clicker is $32. The cost for a web-clicker
subscription is $25.
Important Notes about Web-Clicker Subscriptions: While a handheld unit will work in any class
using i>clicker, web>clicker MUST be approved by the instructor of each course in which i>clicker
will be used. Before purchasing a web clicker access card from the Computer Showcase, you may
want to check that ALL of your instructors using i>clicker allow the use of personal electronic
devices during class. Web-clicker subscriptions cannot be shared with other students and are not
eligible for the semester-end buy back program.
Additional information about clickers: http://bit.ly/studentclickers
Coursepack (optional): Reading assignments, lecture slides, and practice problems for each lecture
assembled into a convenient book. The coursepack may be purchased from Dollar Bill.
Alternatively, all course materials can also be downloaded from ctools (see next section). This year,
the course material will be divided into two coursepacks, one for each half of the course. The
second coursepack will be available near the end of February and will be announced to the class.
Lecture resources on ctools:
All of the materials provided in the coursepack are also available in the Resources section of
CTools in case you prefer to print your own copies or work with electronic documents.
- Pre-lecture reading: Prior to each lecture you will be asked to master the material covered
in these pre-reading assignments. These readings cover the basic factual material you need to know
before coming to lecture and will prepare you for the problem solving exercises during lecture.
Your understanding of the pre-reading material will be tested using multiple choice questions
answered using the i>clicker during lecture. These readings are NOT a summary of the lecture, but
rather, a starting point for it.
- Powerpoint slides: We strongly recommend that you bring a copy of these slides to class
and use it as a template to facilitate taking notes during lecture. Note that these slides will be
annotated during class by the professors. That is, the versions provided in the coursepack and online
are used as a starting point for the lectures and do not represent the complete information provided
during lecture; they are not a substitute for coming to lecture. Most slides have information
missing (e.g. solved problems, annotations) that is essential for success in the course.
- Practice problems: Practice problems will be provided for each lecture in the coursepack
as well as posted on CTools in the appropriate lecture folder. Final solutions, but not detailed
solutions for these problems will be available on Ctools. Students are encouraged to solve these
problems in formal or informal study groups. Be sure that you understand the process used to solve
each problem, not simply its final answer. Some of these problems will also be covered in
discussion sections.
________________________________________________________________________________
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Exams
The examinations will test your ability to apply genetic analysis to novel situations. All questions
on the exam will cover material from lecture and pre-readings, unless a specific exception is made
in lecture. All exam questions will be multiple-choice.
Each evening exam is worth 100 points, and the final will be worth 125 points.
The exam schedule is as follows: (locations will be announced closer to the exam dates)
Exam I (lectures 1 - 7): Wed, Feb 2, 2010, 6-8 pm
Exam II (lectures 8-13): Wed, Feb 23, 2010, 6-8 pm
Exam III (lectures 15-21): Wed, March 30, 2010, 6-8 pm
Final exam (lectures 22-28, and questions from lectures 1-21): Tues, April 26, 1:30-3:30 pm
Alternate times for exams 1-3 will be offered from 5-7 pm and 7-9 pm on the same day as the main
exam. In order to offer these alternates, all students – regardless of whether they take the exam 5-7,
6-8 or 7-9 – must be in an exam room at 7 pm. Students with documented university conflicts
(e.g. another course or another exam) and students with learning disabilities will be given top
priority for seats in the alternate exam room. There will be an opportunity to request an alternate
exam prior to each exam. Because of the limited seating available for these alternate exam times,
we cannot guarantee that we can accommodate conflicts with non-university commitments such as
work schedules, volunteer schedules, and MCAT prep courses. Make-up exams will only be given
outside of this 5-9 pm time window on exam days for students with extreme, unavoidable, and
documentable conflicts. Please contact a professor as soon as possible if you know you are in this
situation.
Learning disabled students: Students with learning disabilities on file with the university that
require additional time will be allowed to take the exam from either 5-8 pm or 6-9 pm. We can also
provide a more isolated test taking environment if your disability requires it. To qualify for either of
these exam accommodations, you must provide Dr. Wierzbicki or Dr. Wittkopp with official
documentation of your disability on or before January 21, 2010.
Lecture and discussion participation
Exams in this course will require you to apply genetic principles and factual material in
novel settings. To give you practice with this type of thinking, we have incorporated problem
solving exercises into both lecture and discussion sections. It is our opinion that all students will
benefit from participating in these activities. Therefore, to encourage participation, you have an
opportunity to earn up to 50 points from lectures and 25 points from discussion sections (see
below); however, these points are optional and can only help your grade. That is, at the end of
the course, each student’s grade will be calculated with and without these 75 participation points
and students will be given the higher grade. (Note that the lecture and discussion points are a
package – they will both be factored in or both left out.) If you choose not to participate in lecture or
discussion section, there will be no penalty and your grade will be based solely on the four exams.
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Lecture participation will be assessed using i>clicker remotes. With the exception of the
first lecture, each lecture (27 total) will provide an opportunity to earn up to 2 participation points,
as follows:
1 point for answering at least 75% of the questions during each lecture.
1 point for answering at least 50% of all questions posed during the lecture correctly. For
particularly challenging questions, you might be given more than one opportunity to answer the
question the correctly.
Note that there are 54 possible lecture points, however the maximum number that any student can
earn is 50. This allows two lectures (4 points) to be missed without penalty. Therefore, there will be
no allowances made for problems with i>clicker remotes. Bringing a working remote to class is the
responsibility of each student. We do not have any extra i>clickers to loan out.
Discussion section participation: Discussion sections will be largely spent solving
problems. Students can earn up to 3 participation points for each discussion section, with a
maximum of 25 participation points from discussion. Discussion sections will not be held the weeks
of exams (Feb 2, Feb 23, Mar 30); instead, there will be extra staffing and hours of the genetics
study center. Discussion points will be determined by your GSI, and the criteria they will use to
grade participation will be explained during the first meeting of the discussion section.
Grading Policy
Your grade in the course will be based on the following:
Exam I
100 pts
Lectures 1-7
Exam II
100 pts
Lectures 8-14
Exam III
100 pts
Lectures 15-21
Final Exam
125 pts
Lectures 22-28+cumulative
Lecture points
50 pts*
27 lectures (2 pts ea), max of 50 pts
Discussion points
25 pts* 10 discussion sections (3 pts each), max 25.
* optional
At the end of the term, we will calculate your grade two ways.
1. The percentage of points earned on exams 1-3 and the final exam (425 total).
2. The percentage of points earned on exams 1-3, the final exam, and participation points from
lecture and discussion sections (500 points total).
You receive the higher of the two scores. Lecture and discussion points can only help your
score!
Grading scale:
Numerical scores will be converted to letter grades using the following scale:
Score
Letter Grade
98-100%
A+
93-97.99%
A
90-92.99%
A–
87-89.99%
B+
83-86.99%
B
80-82.99%
77-79.99%
73-76.99%
67-72.99%
60-66.99%
<60%
5
B–
C+
C
C–
D
E
Note the following:
1. There is no rounding up for final grades (e.g. 90.0 is an A- and 89.9% is a B+). No exceptions.
2. There is no option for extra credit.
3. Cheating will not be tolerated. If you are caught cheating, you will be given the grade of E for the
course.
4. Points will NOT be awarded for personal situations and/or difficulties. If a personal situation is
preventing you from participating in the course, seek assistance from the Student Academic
Advising Office (http://www.lsa.umich.edu/lsa/students/resources/academics/advising/) and/or
the Dean of Students. Seek help as soon as possible; do NOT wait until the end of the
semester. Allowances WILL NOT be made retroactively.
5. Based on historical student performance in the course, we expect the median grade for this course to
be in the B- to C+ range. If the median final grade is not at least a C+, we will adjust the grading
scale accordingly. We will not adjust the grading scale for individual exams. Because there is no
curve in the course, you are not competing against other students for grades. Rather, exams are
designed to objectively discriminate among the level of understanding of expected of an A-student, a
B-student, etc. This means that a "B" in W2010 reflects similar understanding as a "B" in W2009.
Tips for success in Bio 305
1. Attend and participate in all lectures.
2. Attend and participate in all discussion sections.
3. Complete homework problems and make sure you understand each problem before moving on.
4. If you complete the book problems, make your best attempt to complete the entire problem
before looking at the answer. Looking at the answer before completing the problem can give
you a false sense of security for exams. Reading the answer and then understanding where it
came from is very different from being able to answer a question without the answer in front of
you.
5. Discuss course material (especially problems) with your GSIs during discussion or in the GSC,
with your fellow students using either formal or informal study groups, and with the professors
during office hours. Explaining a problem to someone else and/or having the same problem
explained to you by multiple people can be the best way to overcome difficulties with the course
material.
Although we do not anticipate doing so, we reserve the right to alter these course policies during the
semester if a situation warrants it. Any changes in course policies will be communicated to all students
electronically (via CTools) and in class in a timely manner. We strive to provide an equal opportunity
to all students and will therefore rarely make exceptions to the stated policy.
Schedule for W2011, Bio305, Introduction to Genetics
Day
Date
Lec
Prof.
Topics
Book
Th
6-Jan
1
Wittkopp
The genetic approach to biology
Chapter 1;
Chapter 2.1
Tu
11-Jan
2
Wittkopp
Single gene segregation and the
chromosomal theory
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Th
13-Jan
3
Wittkopp
Sex-linked inheritance, pedigrees and proof
of the chromosomal theory
Tu
18-Jan
4
Wittkopp
Independent assortment, meiosis and
probability
Th
20-Jan
5
Wittkopp Polygenic traits and cytoplasmic inheritance
Tu
25-Jan
6
Chapter 3
Wittkopp
Linkage, Recombination, and Genetic
mapping
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Th
27-Jan
7
Wittkopp
Three-point mapping, tetrad and octad
mapping
Tu
1-Feb
8
Wittkopp
Bacterial genetics
Wed
2-Feb
Th
3-Feb
9
Wittkopp
Viral genetics
Chapter 5
Tu
8-Feb
10
Wittkopp
Interactions between alleles and genes
Chapter 6
Th
10-Feb
11
Wittkopp
Organizing gene functions into biochemical
pathways
Chapter 6
Tu
15-Feb
12
Wittkopp
Quantitative and population genetics
Chapter 17
Th
17-Feb
13
Wittkopp
Evolutionary genetics
Chapter 19
Tu
22-Feb
14
Wittkopp
Review
Chapter 18
Wed
23-Feb
6-8 pm Exam 1 (Lectures 1-7)
6-8 pm Exam 2 (Lectures 8-14)
Th
24-Feb
15
Wierzbicki
DNA , chromosomes and replication
Chapter 7
Spring Break (February 28-March 4)
Tu
8-Mar
16
Wierzbicki
Telomeres;
Transcription
Chapter 7
Th
10-Mar
17
Wierzbicki
Genetic code and translation
Chapter 8
Tu
15-Mar
18
Wierzbicki
Methods to study DNA, RNA and protein
Chapter 9
Th
17-Mar
19
Wierzbicki
Mutation
Chapter 20
Tu
22-Mar
20
Wierzbicki
DNA repair
Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Chapter 10
Th
24-Mar
21
Wierzbicki
Meiotic recombination; Chromosomal
abnormalities
Tu
29-Mar
22
Wierzbicki
Gene regulation: Prokaryotes
Wed
30-Mar
Th
31-Mar
23
Wierzbicki
Gene regulation: Prokaryotes
Chapter 10
Tu
5-Apr
24
Wierzbicki
Gene regulation: Eukaryotes
Chapter 11
Th
7-Apr
25
Wierzbicki
Gene regulation: Eukaryotes
Chapter 11
Tu
12-Apr
26
Wierzbicki
Developmental Genetics
Chapter 12
Th
14-Apr
27
Wierzbicki
Genomes and Polymorphisms
Chapter 13
Tu
19-Apr
28
Wierzbicki
High-throughput methods to study
genomes
Chapter 10
6-8 pm
Exam 3 (Lectures 15-21)
Final Exam: April 26 1:30-3:30
(Lectures 22-28 and cumulative)