Biology I (Biol 1406)
Instructor: Bruce Carroll
Phone: 281-765-7828
e-mail: bruce.carroll@nhmccd.edu
Office: WN 208 E
Office hours: Mon. and Wed. 9:30-10:30
Tue. and Thu. 11:00-12:00
1. Prerequisite: college level English skills
2. Catalog Course Description:
A contemporary approach to the history and
applications of the scientific method, biochemistry, cell biology, classical, molecular
and human genetics, principles and mechanisms of evolution and virology.
3. Purpose: This course is the first half of a two-semester sequence that will satisfy natural
science requirements for majors in most fields. It will also satisfy the freshman biology
requirements for biology majors, pre-professional fields and other allied health
sciences.
4. Course Outcomes:
a. Apply the scientific method in a laboratory setting.
b. Demonstrate an understanding of basic organic chemistry and apply chemical
concepts to living systems,
c. Examine cell structure, function, and reproduction utilizing the Cell Theory as a
unifying theme in biology.
d. Examine the importance of energy flow by analyzing the inter-related metabolic
processes of cellular respiration and photosynthesis.
e. Analyze the genetic components responsible for heredity and examine current
advances in bioscience technologies.
f. Demonstrate basic knowledge of virology and the impact of viruses on living things.
g. Demonstrate an understanding of the components of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
and contrast microevolution with macroevolution.
5. Credit: 4 semester hours
6. Materials:
Text: Biology, 5th Edition, Solomon, Berg, Martin and Villee (Part I)
Lab Manual: A Look at Life: Exploring the Unity of Organisms, 4th Ed., Crowder, Durant
and Penrod
Safety glasses
Study Guide: The Biology Crossword Puzzle Book, 2nd Edition, Crowder
Set of colored pencils including: red, orange, yellow, purple, green, blue, brown and
pink
Scantrons: 20 (1-100, test answer sheet B) and 1 (1-200, test answer sheet E)
7. Evaluation:
4 lecture exams @ 125 points each = 500 points
lab quizzes and data sheets
= 300 points
comprehensive final lecture exam = 200 points
Your grade in the course is determined by the total number of points you accumulate
during the semester. The maximum number of points (not including bonus questions or
extra credit points) is 1000.
891-1000 points (90-100%)
791-890 points (80-89%)
691-790 points (70-79%)
591-690 points (60-69%)
below 600 points
=A
=B
=C
=D
=F
8. Exams: Lecture exams are primarily multiple choice (about 85%). They are
approximately 15% short answer (list/describe or essay). Each exam also contains
bonus questions. These are to make up for any questions that might be ambiguous
because no exam is perfect! Exam questions come from the lecture notes! We will
not go over exams in class, but you may come to my office to look over an exam and
see what you missed. You will have only until the next exam to review your answers.
The comprehensive final exam will NOT include information strictly from lab. It is more
general in nature than the lecture exams and is NOT optional. You will receive a final
exam review sheet the first day of class. It is divided into the 4 units of the course and
topics are listed. Obviously, if something is important enough to be on the final, it will
also be on the lecture exam! If you fill out the sheet as we go through the course, you
will have it completed for the final and also be able to use it as a guide for each
lecture exam. (There is more covered on the lecture exams, but this is a start!)
9. Absences and Make-up: The student is expected to attend each class/lab and is
therefore responsible for all material covered. Good class attendance is absolutely
essential to do well in this course! It is a good idea to get a few names and phone
numbers of others in the class so that you might reach them if you miss a class to
arrange to get the information you missed as quickly as possible. In case of a
prolonged absence (2 or more class meetings), the instructor should be notified.
Roll will be taken each day and for each lab. If you come in after class or lab has
begun, it is your responsibility to tell the instructor so that your absence will be
changed to a tardy.
Since exam questions come from the lecture notes, there is no substitute for being
there yourself and taking your own notes! Missing even one class is a major mistake!
DON'T DO IT!
A student must go through proper channels to withdraw from (drop) the course.
NONATTENDANCE DOES NOT DROP ANYONE FROM THE COURSE! Drops are not
allowed after official drop date.
No make-up lecture exams are given. A prorated final exam score is used as a
"make-up lecture exam grade" if a lecture exam is missed for any reason. However, to
encourage everyone to take all four lecture exams, the prorated final exam score will
replace your lowest lecture exam grade IF it is higher and will therefore help your
grade!
10. Laboratory Grading: Points will be accumulated in the following way:
Lab quizzes will cover material from the preceding lab and will be given at the
beginning of the class period following that lab. (The only exception to this is when a
major exam is scheduled the next class period. In this case, the lab quiz will simply be
the next class period.)
About 15 minutes will be allowed for each lab quiz. If you arrive late to class during
the quiz, you will not be given extra time to complete it. If you arrive too late to take
the quiz at all (10 min. or more), it may not be made up.
Each lab/quiz is worth 20 points. Sometimes you will turn in data sheets/answers to
questions/graphs etc. as part of the 20 points and other times there will simply be a 20
point quiz. When data sheets etc. are a part of the lab grade, you must have been
present in the lab to receive those points. Regardless of attendance, however, you
may always take the lab quiz.
At the end of the semester, your 15 best lab/quiz grades (20 are scheduled for the
semester) will be added together. Because of this, there are NO lab quiz make-ups.
Always read the lab before the lab period so that the pre-lab talk will make sense! It
also gives you a better understanding of what you are actually doing in lab while you
are doing it.
Laboratory Safety: Most labs present no serious safety hazards and require only routine
lab precautions. Specific precautions and instructions for proper use and disposal will
be given at the beginning of a lab that uses potentially hazardous chemicals (such as
acids, bases or stains). Students are expected to adhere rigidly to these instructions
and precautions.
11. Extra Credit Points: An extra credit worksheet is available for each of the 4 (four) units
of the course. They are completely OPTIONAL and you may do all, some or none of
them. The worksheets cover a topic from within the unit and are to be done
individually, outside of class. Students that complete the worksheet will take a quiz
before or after class at the end of each unit. The quizzes will be 15 questions long with
each question worth 1/2 point each for a possible total of 30 points added to your
TOTAL accumulation of points. This could raise your OVERALL grade in the course by
3%.
12. Help: There are review worksheets and keys available at the front desk in the library.
You can ask for these as “Biology I Review Activities for Unit __” or “Keys to Biology I
Review Activities for Unit __”. These reviews are based on the text book. They may not
contain everything in your notes and may contain a few things not covered in class.
They cannot be used as a total study guide. They are intended as a means of review
only. The review activities are to be used only in the library but can be photocopied.
The Biology department web site offers some tutorials and helpful links to other web
sites. Address:
http://students.nhmccd.edu/academics/info/divisions/nsci/biol/Index.html
Computers are available for student use in the Winship Learning Center (Wn 114) (281618-5725).
13. Honors contract: Honors credit in Biology I is usually available only in the Fall semester
but can be applied retroactively for students completing Biology I in another
semester. The Honors contract involves group work outside of class in a scientific
investigation. A paper, trifold presentation are required, as well as a presentation on
Honors Day.
14. Academic integrity: Cheating and plagiarism are defined as taking credit for work
that is not one’s own or assisting others in doing so. Cheating and plagiarism are,
then, the unauthorized or uncited use of another’s work or the use of any materials or
type of assistance other than those permitted by the professor. Examples:





deliberate or prolonged looking at and/or copying another person’s paper
during a quiz/exam
unauthorized verbal or nonverbal communication during a quiz/exam
bringing unauthorized notes or other materials into a quiz/exam setting
using or distributing information about an unauthorized copy of a quiz/exam
helping someone else with any of the above activities
A student who is suspected of cheating or plagiarism will be confronted by the
faculty member for a violation of academic integrity. The consequences for such a
violation may include, but are not limited to, any or all of the following at the
discretion of the faculty:
 an F or zero on the assignment, exam, or project; or
 withdrawal from the course or expulsion from the college.
KEEPING UP WITH YOUR BIO I GRADE
LAB QUIZZES (15 best @ 20 points each = 300 possible points for semester)
1. (Chemistry Demos)……………………………..
2. (Biological Molecules)………………………..
3. (Amino Acid Chromatography)…………
4. (Microscope)……………………………………….
5. (Cell Structure/Function)………………..
6. (Cell Reproduction: Mitosis)…………….
7. (Movement of Molecules)…………………
8. (Enzymes)……………………………………………
9. (Fermentation)………………………………….
10. (Photosynthesis)……………………………..
11. (Meiosis)……………………………………………
12. (Statistical Inheritance)………………
13. (Drosophila Inheritance)………………
14. (Human Inheritance)……………………..
15. (DNA Take-Home)………………………….
16. (DNA Extraction/DNA Take-Home)
17. DNA Fingerprinting……………………….
18. (Evolution: Theory/Evidences)…….
19. (Population Genetics)…………………….
20. (Natural Selection/Adaptations)…
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
______/20 points (=______%)
LECTURE EXAMS (4 @ 125 points each = 500 possible points for semester)
1. _________/125 possible points (=______%)
2. _________/125 possible points (=______%)
3. _________/125 possible points (=______%)
4. _________/125 possible points (=______%)
EXTRA CREDIT (4 quizzes @ 7.5 points each = 30 possible points for semester)
1. _____/7.5 possible points (=_____%) 3._____/7.5 possible points (=_____%)
2. _____/7.5 possible points (=_____%) 4._____/7.5 possible points (=_____%)
COMPREHENSIVE FINAL EXAM (200 possible points)
Final_________/200 possible points (a percentage of the final exam can replace your
lowest lecture exam grade:)
example: 160 = 100
200 125
To determine your grade at anytime during the semester you can:
a. Add up all the points (not percentages) you have earned. (Extra credit points are
simply added in.)
b. Divide that by the total number of points possible at that time.
c. Multiply by 100. This gives you a percentage grade of how you are doing.