LS1: Introduction to Evolution and Biodiversity
Professor:
email:
Office:
Office Hrs:
Dr. Patricia Halpin
halpin@ucla.edu
Botany 413
Mon 2:00-3:00, Wed 2:00-3:00, 3:30-4:30, Fri 10-11:00
Lectures:
MWF 11-12:00 (Lec 1) 1-2:00 (Lec 2), Lakretz 110
Text:
Biological Science, Freeman
Course Website: http://www.lsic.ucla.edu/classes/fall11
Enrollment: All questions related to enrollment should be taken to the LS Core office
in the Life Sciences 2305 (phone: 310-825-6614). Enrollment changes must be done
through URSA.
Lectures: Lectures will cover materials in the book as well as ideas not covered by the
book. You do not need to bring your book to class. Slides will be posted on the
blackboard website. Students are encouraged to take notes in class and later check them
against the posted notes. Lectures will be podcast through bruincast
(www.bruincast.ucla.edu).
Labs/Demonstrations: There are ten demonstration sections, one each week. Lab
materials will be posted to the class website and must be read before each lab. Starting
in Week 2, quizzes on the reading material will be posted online. Lab quizzes will be
available from 9:00 AM Sunday until 10:00 PM Tuesday. These are not optional. Each
demonstration is two hours long. They will (1) help reinforce many of the topics you
learn in class, (2) give you the opportunity to see many of the organisms discussed in
lecture, and (3) give you the opportunity to ask questions and think about topics in
small groups. Check your course listing to make sure that you are going to the correct
demonstration room, either YH 2343 or SH 2870. You must attend the section in which
you are enrolled. If there is an extenuating circumstance and you must attend another
section once, then you must arrange this with your TA and the TA of the section you
would like to attend. At the end of the term, your lowest section grade will be dropped
and replaced with your lab participation grade. If you have missed a section for any
reason, including illness, that is the section that will be dropped. There are no make-up
sections. Your TA will give you his/her contact information in class. The TA’s are:
Gary Bucciarelli
Brittany Enzmann
Jordan Rosencranz
Brendan Sullivan
Mika Watanabe
Kyle Yamamoto
garyb@ucla.edu
benzmann@ucla.edu
jrosencranz@ucla.edu
bsullivan@ucla.edu
mikaw295@gmail.com
Kyle.A.Yamamoto@gmail.com
Course Grading:
Midterm 1
180 points
Midterm 2
180 points
Demonstrations
200 points
Lecture Participation
60 points
Reading Questions
80 points
Final Exam
300 points
Total
1000 points
If the class mean is 75% or higher, letter grades will be based on a straight percentage of
the 1000 point maximum according to the breakdown shown 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%, we will adjust the cutoffs to compensate (e.g.,
89% may become an A–).
90-100%
80-89%
70-79%
A±
B±
C±
60-69%
<60%
D±
F
At the end of the term, your lowest section grade will be dropped and replaced with your
“lab participation” grade. If you have missed a section for any reason, including illness,
that is the section that will be dropped.
The midterms are non-cumulative. The final will have approximately 180 points
covering the last third of the course not covered on the previous two midterms, and
approximately120 pts covering the entire course.
Exams: Both midterms are held in the evenings, so please plan accordingly. You
MUST take the exams at the scheduled date as there are no make-up exams. Failure to
appear, hand in, or take an exam will result in a zero for that exam. There are no
exceptions to this policy. If you miss a midterm for a medical emergency, medical
documentation must be supplied to the LS Core office. Material for the exams will be
taken from primarily from the lectures, but also from the text and demonstration. The
exams consist of multiple choice and short answer questions and will cover the lectures
as announced in class.
Regrading policy: Any request for a regrade on an exam must be made within one
week of the exam being returned to you. If you think there was an error in grading or if
you want an explanation for a particular answer please write a brief note explaining your
point of view and submit it with your exam to your TA. You will not have your midterm
returned to you. Regrade requests will only be considered at the end of the
term, and only used if it changes your final letter grade.
Final exams are available for review in the LS Core office during the following academic
year term. Contact the core office regarding their availability, they typically become
available after the 3rd week or so. Regrade requests on the final must be made in writing
before the end of the following term (e.g. Fall Quarter for Spring Quarter finals.)
Lecture Participation: Lecture participation will be based on Turning Point Clickers
as well as any additional activities. Students are required to bring Turning Point clickers
to class beginning 1/7. Students use clickers to respond electronically to questions posed
during lecture. Clickers are purchased at the bookstore. Students enter their UID on the
clicker for identification. Turning Point clicker questions are worth 3 points/lecture for
a maximum of 60 points. This means you may miss 6 lectures (20% of the class!) and
still receive full credit. Students must only answer the questions to receive points; the
answer does not need to be correct. You may share a clicker with a student in a different
class You may NOT use the same clicker as another student in LS1. The
responses for one student will not record properly and you will not receive credit.
Answering questions for another student on a clicker so that they receive credit for a
lecture they did not participate in is cheating. Cases will be referred to the Dean of
Students. IMPORTANT: Students must register clickers beforehand on the
TurningPoint Website: http://student.turningtechnologies.com/registration.aspx. The
clicker number is on the bottom of the clicker under the barcode. Fill in your UCLA uid,
using numbers only, e.g. 100200300, in the “other info” box on the registration
page. A following page requires the instructor email, which is halpin@ucla.edu. If you
lose your clicker, you must reregister your new clicker number on the web site.
Reading Questions: Reading quizzes will be posted through the textbook website,
www.masteringbio.com (Course ID: MBHALPIN27940). Reading quizzes will be
available from 12:00 PM (noon) Monday to 12:00 PM Tuesday starting in Week 2. One
quiz will be dropped at the end of the quarter.
Academic Dishonesty: If you are caught cheating (e.g., giving answers to or receiving
answers from someone else) or plagiarizing you will be reported immediately to the
Dean of Students – NO EXCEPTIONS – for further action. Read the attached pages
from the Dean of Students office on Academic Conduct. The last page has a list of
resources for students.
Lecture Etiquette: Students coming and going during lecture is a significant
disruption. Further, it's quite inconsiderate to the students listening to the lecturer. It's
only a small fraction of students who typically do so, but in a class this size, it makes an
impact.
You should try to arrive at lecture on time, although arriving late is better than not
attending at all. More importantly, you should not leave lecture early. When you do, you
disrupt the class. If you must leave early (e.g. for a doctor's appointment), you should
inform me beforehand that you will do so and why. Also, you should sit near one of the
exits at the top of the class to minimize disturbance when you leave. If you don't follow
this policy, don't be surprised if I ask you what is so important that you have to leave
class before it is over.
Course Website: If you are having enrollment problems but need access to the site
before you can be enrolled, go to the computer lab in 2127 LS and ask how you can
access a course site temporarily. Temporary access is available during the first 4 weeks
of a regular quarter (Fall, Winter, Spring) or 2 weeks of a Summer Session. If you have
not resolved your enrollment issues by the time the temporary access has expired, your
access will be cut off until you do.
Date
Wk 1
1/3-1/7
Wk 2
1/10-1/14
Wk 3
1/19-1/21
Wk 4
1/24-1/28
Week 5
1/31-2/4
Week 6
2/7-2/11
Week 7
2/14-2/18
Week 8
2/23-2/25
Week 9
2/28-3/4
Week 10
3/7-3/11
3/14 Monday
TOPICS
Intro, How Do We Test Evolutionary Hypotheses?
How Does Natural Selection Work?
Evolutionary Processes & How To Detect Them
MLK Holiday Monday 1/17- No Lecture
How Do New Species Form?
How To Survive a Mass Extinction
Evolution Case Study: Flying Dinosaurs
Size Matters
Energetic Pathways: How To Eat Almost Anything
MIDTERM 1 5-6:50 Wed 1/26
Great Moments in Eukaryote Evolution
Photosynthesis & Endosymbiosis
Mutualisms and the Invasion of Land by Plants
Secret Life of Fungi
Air and Water
Protostomes I: Why Are There So Many Worms?
MIDTERM II 5-6:50 Wed 2/16
Washington’s B-day Monday 2/21 – No
Lecture
Protostomes II: The Importance of a Good Body Plan
Ecdysozoans & Deuterostomes: A Variety of
Skeletons
Ecdysozoans & Deuterostomes: A Variety of
Skeletons
Global Cycles: Life on a Spinning, Tilted, Wet Planet
Population Ecology: Is it Better to Live Fast & Die
Young?
Community Ecology: How Species Interact
FINAL 11:30-2:30
Book
Ch
1 & 24
25
26 & 27
28
29
30 & 31
32 & 33
33 & 34
50 & 54
52 & 53