Principles of Biology II
Biol 2108K
Fall 2006
Lecture Room:
Time:
Credits:
Text:
Course website:
Professor:
Office:
Office hours:
Office phone:
e-mail:
Lab:
Lab Time:
Lab manual:
Supply card:
200 GCB
Tues. and Thurs 9:30-10:45 AM
4.0
Life: The Science of Biology by Purves, Sadava, Orians and Heller, 7th Ed.,
Sinaur Assoc. & Freeman and Co.
Visit the textbook website at http://www.thelifewire.com/ for additional
exercises
All course materials will be posted on WebVista at:
http://www.gsu.edu/webct.html under the course number
Dr. Laura Carruth
223 Kell Hall
Tues. 11:00-12:30pm, Weds. 11:00–noon; if you cannot make office hours then
please make an appointment.
404-651-1057
lcarruth@gsu.edu
330 NSC
Weds. or Thurs. Please note that you can only attend the lab time you are
registered for
To be handed out in class
Purchase at GSU bookstore: $25. Buy a $15 and a $10 card. These cards are
required for admittance to the lab. Labs begin the first week of the semester on
August 23rd/August 24th.
LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW WITH A "W": Monday October 16, 2006
Objectives and Policies:
BIO 2108 is the second part of an introductory course in general biology FOR BIOLOGY MAJORS
and will provide basic principles and practical applications of this discipline as outlined in the schedule
of lectures at the end of this syllabus. The agenda of this course will strictly adhere to the concepts of
science and will not address subjects that are considered pseudoscientific. The student's ability to
understand the information in this course will be assessed through exams in lecture, in-class activities,
class discussions and a formal writing assignment. There are no extra credit opportunities,
underscoring the importance of being prepared and studying hard. Rather than just rote-memorizing
the material you will be expected to learn it and combine information in novel ways. This may be a
new experience for some students. I expect you to play an active role in the learning process.
Learning outcomes:
This course will facilitate the development of critical thinking skills through:
• Application of the Scientific Method, data analysis, data interpretation, appreciation of
experimental design and scientific communication.
• Developing introductory knowledge of evolutionary biology; plant anatomy and physiology;
animal anatomy, physiology, and behavior; and population ecology
WAC course: This course is a “Writing Across the Curriculum” or WAC course and is therefore
writing intensive. During the semester you will write daily class assignments, there will be essays on
every exam, and you will have a lecture paper. Some of your assignments will be submitted using the
WAC website at http://wac.gsu.edu/wow/. The writing consultant for this class is Ms. Kelli Duncan.
The policies and rules for this course are as follows:
Attendance: You will not do well in this course if you do not attend lecture. Everyday you will
complete a short in-class writing assignment which will be collected and graded with a check, checkplus, or check-minus daily. You will need to complete 25/28 of these in order to get 25 participation
points for class (in-class writing assignments below). Four of these assignments will be submitted
using the WAC website above. If you have a valid reason to be absent (eg. religious holiday, sports
participation, illness) please let me know in advance if possible. In addition, material presented in
lecture may not always be in the textbook. Laboratory attendance is mandatory. If a student misses
a lecture session, then it is the responsibility of the student to obtain notes, assignments, and any
materials handed out in class. Poor attendance correlates strongly with lower grades. This class is the
foundation for your other Biology Classes at GSU and you should use this opportunity to prepare your
self as thoroughly as possible for your upper division courses.
Prerequisites: Biol 2107K (or Biol 1107K and 2800) and Chem 1211. If you have not had these
prerequisites you may not take this class.
Being late for lecture or lab: It is very disruptive to both the instructor and other students when you
are late to class. Please be respectful and be on time.
Reading: It is expected that students will have read the assigned chapters of the textbook PRIOR to
coming to class or lab. This will help you to appreciate the material being presented. Do not wait to
do the reading to the night before an exam, you will not do very well with that type of studying.
Tests and quizzes: Make-up exams are given only for excused absences, which must be documented
and are at the instructor's discretion. The make-up exam will consist of essay and oral exam questions
that are considered to be harder than the principle exam. NO MORE THAN ONE MAKE-UP EXAM
WILL BE GIVEN TO ANY STUDENT DURING THE SEMESTER.
Labs: Every lab session is mandatory. There are no make-up labs! Your lab grade is determined by
your lab TA and then given to me to be included as 25% of your final course grade.
Grading: Your grade will be determined by the results of 3 lecture exams (two midterms and a final
exam, 125 points each), 4 in-class activities (12.5 points each), 1 paper for lecture (75 points), 25 inclass writing assignment points, and lab points (see lab syllabus). All exams will be administered in
GCB 200. Cheating will not be tolerated and a grade of 0.0 will be submitted for anyone caught
doing so.
Points Breakdown:
Assignment
Point value
Percent of final grade
Exam I:
125
18%
Exam II:
125
18%
Final Exam:
125
18%
In-Class Activities (12.5 points each)
50
7%
Lecture Paper:
75
11%
Lecture in-class writing assignments
25
3%
Lab quizzes and write ups:
175
25% (Lab total is 235 and is 25% of total grade)
Total Points Possible:
700 points
Assignment of Final Letter Grades:
The Department of Biology does not award plus or minus grades. Your grade will be determined using
the following scale:
Grade
Points
Percent Scale
A
630 and above
90-100%
B
560-629
80-89%
C
490-559
70-79%
D
420-489
60-69%
F
419 and below
59% and below
NOTE: Proper conduct in class and lab is an assignment. If you choose to engage in conduct that
is disruptive to other students or the instructor, you will automatically forfeit 10% of your grade for
every infraction. This rule will be enforced at the instructor's discretion. The following actions
will result in automatic application of this rule: talking in class for any length of time, improper
disruptions from irrelevant questions, answering calls on your cell phone. If I need to stop
class for any of these reasons, you will have your grade reduced by 10% immediately.
University policy on academic honesty: Please read the GSU Student Code of conduct and Polices at
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwdos/codeofconduct_conpol.html#4. All members of the university are
responsible for abiding by its tenets. Lack of knowledge of this policy is NOT an acceptable defense
to any charge of academic dishonesty. All members of the academic community are expected to report
violations of these standards of academic conduct to the appropriate authorities. Copying from other
students or plagiarizing information on assignments are violations of the GSU policy on academic
honesty.
Letters of recommendation: If the program you wish to apply for requires a letter from your
instructors, then it is worth thinking about what I would write in a letter about you well before you ask
me for one. If you exhibit improper conduct, never participate in class, have poor attendance, or remain
invisible to me with the exception of your test scores, then I cannot write a letter for you. Letters of
recommendation are written for students of outstanding ability and involvement, or students with
average or above average grades that demonstrate hard work and dedication to learning.
Need Help? If you experience any academic difficulties, please contact the Counseling Center (404651-2211). The education counselors can assist with time management, reading note taking, and test
preparation skills. Students with special needs should also contact the GSU Counseling Center at
www.gsu.edu/~wwwcou or go to 106 Courtland Street (404-651-2211) and notify Dr. Carruth at the
beginning of the semester. If you are having a problem with the course material please ASK FOR
HELP EARLY! I cannot help you unless I know you need help and once the semester is over it is too
late.
Turn off your cell phone and pager when you enter class.
If your cell phone rings I WILL answer it.
All cell phones must be packed in your bag/put away during exams. Failure to do
so will result in your phone being confiscated until the exam is over.
Tentative schedule of lectures
** The schedule and assignments are subject to change at the professor’s discretion**
Lab W or TH
Lab Topic
22, 23
8/23 or 8/24
Introduction,
Bring Breakage
Cards
8/30 or 8/31
Termite Lab
9/6 or 9/7
Microbiology
A, B and C
9/20 or 9/19
Microbiology D
9/20 or 9/21
Plant hormones
I
9/27 or 9/28
Plant hormones
II
10/4 or 10/5
Lab midterm
10/11 or
10/12
Animal
Behavior and
Comparative
Anatomy
10/18 or
10/19
Plant
presentations
10/25 or
10/26
Senses
Lecture
1
TH Aug. 24
2
T Aug. 29
3
Speciation, Phylogenetics
24, 25
TH Aug. 31
4
Molecular evolution
26
T Sept. 5
5
Bacteria
Protists
In-Class Activity I
27
28
TH Sept. 7
6
Fungi
31
T Sept. 12
7
29, 30
TH Sept. 14
8
T Sept. 19
9
TH Sept. 21
10
Plant Evolution (plants
without and with seeds
Plant Anatomy
In-Class activity II
Transport in Plants
Plant hormones
Exam I
T Sept. 26
11
39
TH Sept. 28
12
T Oct. 3
13
TH Oct. 5
T Oct. 10
TH Oct. 12
14
15
16
Reproduction in flowering
plants
Plant nutrition
Plant Responses
Animal Origins and Body
Plans
Ecdysozoans
Deuterostomes
Using the GSU library
Skye Hardesty, GSU Science
Librarian
M, Oct. 16
T Oct. 17
17
TH Oct. 19
18
T Oct. 24
19
TH Oct. 26
20
Lecture Topic
Introduction,
Scientific Method
History of Life on Earth,
Mechanisms of evolution
Text Chapters
1
Date
T Aug. 22
35
36
38
37, 40
32
33
34
40
Last day to withdraw and
possibly receive a “W”
Homeostasis
41
Animal Development
In-Class Activity III
Animal Hormones
Lecture Paper draft
due (optional)
Animal Reproduction
20
42
43
T Oct. 31
TH Nov. 2
21
22
T Nov. 7
TH Nov. 9
23
24
T Nov. 14
25
Muscle Physiology
47
TH Nov. 16
26
48
Nov. 21-24
T Nov. 28
TH Nov. 30
27
28
Gas exchange and
respiratory systems
Lecture Paper due in class
(no late papers accepted)
Thanksgiving Holiday
Circulatory Systems
Excretory system
T Dec. 5
29
52, 53
TH Dec. 7
30
Animal behavior and
behavioral ecology
Population Ecology
Review for final
*Final Exam at 8:00am*
200 GCB
TH Dec. 14
Exam II
Neurons and Nervous
Systems
Sensory Systems
Central Nervous System
In-Class Activity IV
44
11/1 or 11/2
Circulatory
system I
45
46
11/8 or 11/9
Circulatory
system II,
Muscles
11/15 or
11/16
Review for lab
final exam
11/29 or
11/30
Lab final exam
49
51
54