Course Information
LS3 Section 1: Introduction to Molecular Biology
Instructor:
Debra Pires
Office Hours: T 11-1 and W 11-1
Schlicter Hall 2877
debpires@ucla.edu, phone 825-0376
Course Website: http://www.lsic.ucla.edu/classes/
Text: Molecular Cell Biology by Lodish et al. 6th Edition
Lectures: TR 9:30-10:45 La Kretz 110
Lectures will be based on the reading listed in this handout. There will be additional
examples given in the class that may not be from the text, but are chosen to help in
understanding different concepts in the course. Lectures will be posted on the course
website the night before so that you can print them out and bring them to class if you
choose.
Labs: There are five labs for this course during weeks 2,4,6,8 and 10. Each lab is three
hours long. These labs are designed to give you practical experience in molecular
biology techniques, and reinforce material you are learning in lecture. You are able to
drop your lowest lab score, with the exception of lab 3 (everyone must attend and
complete that lab). If you have to miss a lab for any reason, then that is the score that
will be dropped. There will be 20 points pertaining to lab material on the final exam.
Discussion sections: In weeks where there are no labs you will attend discussion
section. You can find the appropriate discussion room There are four discussion
sections during weeks 1,3,5,7 and 9. These discussion sections are approximately 1 ½
hours and attendance is required. Discussion sections are run by your TA’s and are your
opportunity to ask questions about material that may seem unclear, or to go over
problems that have been assigned to help you study for the exams. You must attend the
discussion schedule in which you are enrolled. If you need to switch a section you must
confirm it with your TA and the TA for the section you will be attending that week. You
may not simply show up to another section or lab without arranging everything ahead of
time.
Exams and Review Sessions: You have two midterms for the course. Both midterms
are held in the evenings, so please plan accordingly. The midterms for this class are on
January 28th and February 25th. You must take the exams on the scheduled date as
there are no make-up exams. Fail to appear, hand in, or take an exam will result in a
zero for that exam. There are no exceptions to this policy.
Enrollment: All questions related to enrollment should be taken to the LS Core office in
the Life Sciences building room 2305. You can also e-mail them at the following e-mail
address: LSCore@lifesci.ucla.edu. If you would like to switch sections, there is a sign-up
board just to the left of the door to the Core Office
Exams and Grading: Material for the exams will be taken from lectures, the text and
problems that have been handed out in lecture, discussion. There will be a mix of
multiple choice, true/false, and short answer questions on the exams. The exams will
cover all material, including the previous days lecture material. All grades will be posted
into MyUCLA. You will have a chance to review your exam during the discussion section
following the exam, you will not be able to keep your midterms.
Midterm 1: January 28th
Midterm 2: February 25th
Final Exam: March 16th
5 – 6:50 PM
5 – 6:50 PM
11:30 – 2:30
Regrading policy: Any request for a regrade must be made within one week of the
exam being returned to you. If you think there has been a simple addition error on your
exam then write a note explaining which page was added incorrectly, attach this to the
front of the exam and let your TA know when you return the exam during discussion. If
think there was an error in grading that is not an addition mistake then write a brief note
explaining why you think more points should be awarded, attach this to the front of the
exam and let your TA know when you return the exam during discussion. All exam
regrades will be done at the end of the quarter after we have calculated final grades. If
the points you request will affect your final grade then we will reevaluate the exam to
determine if more points should be awarded.
PRS Clickers: Students are required to bring PRS clickers to class beginning Week 2.
Students use clickers to respond to questions posed during lecture. Each lecture is
worth 5 points. Follow the instructions included with your clicker to enter your SID#. You
will receive two “free days” of points – this means that you can miss two lectures and not
be penalized points. You must answer all of the questions each day to receive full
participation credit for that day. You may not share a clicker with someone else in this
lecture. If you do, the responses for one student WILL NOT be recorded and that student
will not receive credit. Answering questions for another student not in attendance
constitutes cheating and both students involved will be referred to the Dean of Students
for academic dishonesty.
Point Breakdown:
Midterm 1
Midterm 2
Final Exam
Lab
Discussion
Participation
120
120
190
80
100
90
Total Points
700
If the class mean is 75% or higher, letter grades will be based on a straight percentage
of the total points in the class, see the breakdown below. Within each letter grade, a
minus (-) will be assigned to the bottom three percentage points and a plus (+) will be
assigned to the top three percentage points (e.g. 80-82.9% is a B-, 87-89.9% is a B+). If
the class mean is lower than 75% the scale will be adjusted to compensate (e.g. 89%
may become an A-). Under no circumstances will grades be curved down. You can use
the straight grading scale as an indicator of your minimum grade in the course. I am not
responsible for tracking your progress in the course, you should keep track of your own
points so that at any time during the quarter you know your standing. If for any reason
you have concerns about your grade, then that is a great time to come and see me so
we can discuss study techniques or alternative strategies to help you along in this
course.
Lecture Etiquette: Although you are one in a class of many, your behavior has an
impact on other students in the course. If you are going to be late by any amount of time,
enter the room from the second floor entrance and then quickly find a seat. All cell
phones must be turned off. Computers should be used for the sole purpose of taking
notes, and not for tweeting, carrying on long conversations with your neighbor, looking at
websites, etc. during class time. While you may not think that these activities bother
others, it is not fair to those who have come to lecture and are fully engaged in the
activities of the day. You have signed up to be in this course at the designated time, I will
hold you to that agreement.
Academic Dishonesty: My best advice to you is just don’t do it!!! If you are caught
cheating (e.g. giving answers to someone else, receiving answers from someone else,
turning in any written work that is not your own for points, copying passages from
websites, copying passages form your or any other textbook, you should be getting the
idea by now…) on any graded material in the course you will receive a zero as your
score for that assignment. In addition, you will be reported immediately to the Dean of
Students – NO EXCEPTIONS – for further action.