Zoo/Bot 3333
Genetics
Fall 2011 Syllabus
Lecturer: David S. Durica
Office: 300A Richards Hall
Lab: 216 Richards Hall
Phone: 325-1528
email: ddurica@ou.edu
Office Hours:
Monday 10:30 AM –12:30 PM (Richards Hall)
Tuesday 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM (240 Wagner Hall)
Thursday 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM (240 Wagner Hall)
or by appointment...
For the Monday meeting time, I will be available at the Zoology Department at Richards
Hall. The Tuesday and Wednesday meeting times will correspond to the Genetics Action
Center sessions (see below) in room 240 Wagner Hall. If you cannot make these times,
don’t hesitate to contact me. If possible, I suggest that you phone to make an appointment
(325-1528), or contact me via email so we can avoid time conflicts with your classmates.
Please do not hesitate to see me if you are encountering problems with any aspect of
this course.
Required Texts:
Hartwell, L.H., Hood, L., Goldberg, M.L., Reynolds, A.E., Silver, L.M., and Veres, R.C.
2011. Genetics: From Genes to Genomes, 4th ed. McGraw-Hill, New York, N.Y.
Thompson, J.N., Hellack, J.J., Braver, G., and Durica, D. S. 2007. Primer of Genetic
Analysis, 3rd ed. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, England.
Personal Response System:
Interwrite PRS RF transmitter. Available at the OU Bookstore. These clickers will be
used for recording answers to in-class questions/quizzes. This is the same response
system that was being used in introductory zoology last semester, as well as other
classes. I have decided to use this system due to my past experiences engendering class
responses using 'other technologies'.
Tentative Hourly Exam Dates and Final:
Exam #1 – Friday, 16 September
Exam #2 - Friday, 14 October
Exam #3 - Friday, 11 November
Exam #4 - Friday, 2 December
Final Exam: Thursday, 15 December, 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM. For final exam schedule,
click here:
Last day to withdraw with automatic grade of W: 28 October. On 23 August, the
Provost circulated a memo, advising faculty of an immediate change in the ‘automatic’ W
policy. The new policy stipulates that an automatic W will be granted through 28
October for the fall 2011 semester. Accordingly, I have modified the deadline date
initially given in the syllabus. (Note: Any student wishing to withdraw on or before 28
October can do so with a W. Grades recorded for withdrawals after 28 October will,
however, accurately reflect the work done on all examinations taken. Please note: there
will be no exceptions to this policy, so keep this date in mind.)
Grading:
4 one-hour examinations at 75 points each: 300
comprehensive final examination:
150
total points:
450
Normally, 90-100% = A; 80-89% = B, and so forth, though I reserve the option of
lowering these breakpoints (that is, curving the distribution in your favor). Your
individual performance on the final examination will be especially important in those
instances in which your grade is near a borderline; marked improvement will encourage
me to award you the higher grade in such cases.
The keys to each examination will be posted by the afternoon of the exam day in the
glass case beside room 300A in Richards Hall. Copies of practice tests, with answers, are
available on the Internet on the Genetics Home Page (see below). Copies of previous
quizzes, with answers, are also available on the Genetics Home Page.
Unless special arrangements are made in advance, examinations missed for legitimate
reasons will be prorated, based upon the average of your other examinations, at the end of
the semester. As usual for missed examinations in this department, a note from a doctor,
RA, or some other appropriate written excuse will be needed for the grade file.
If any student has a disability or needs special assistance, please inform me as soon as
possible, so that any accommodations that are necessary can be arranged with the
minimum amount of inconvenience. Students with disabilities who require
accommodations must register with the Office of Disability Services, which is located in
Goddard Health Center, Suite 166, phone 405/325-3852 or TDD only 405/325-4173.
Each student should be aware of the University regulations in regard to cheating on class
examinations or other work. Any instance of cheating will be dealt with seriously, under
the guidelines set out by the University. I sincerely trust that this will not be necessary.
Grades throughout the course will be posted on D2L, using your University ID number,
unless you specifically request that your grade not be posted. I am usually able to post
the grades on D2L before they are available through the registrar.
The following chapters in the Primer of Genetic Analysis will be useful aids to your
studying for examinations. In addition, each chapter is associated with a practice test at
the end of the manual, and the glossary gives brief definitions of terms you might be
asked to use or identify on examinations. This complements the problems given at the
end of every chapter and the glossary of terms in the Hartwell textbook.
For examination 1:
For examination 2:
For examination 3:
For examination 4:
Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Chapters 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16.
Chapters 16, 13, 3, 17.
Chapters 18, 19, 20, 21, 22.
Quizzes:
Quizzes and in-class questions will be periodically given throughout the course of the
semester. The quizzes and in class questions are primarily designed to aid you in
evaluating how well you are keeping up with the subject matter. They can earn you extra
credit points. Here's how:
Any individual with a cumulative quiz average equal or above the class average will earn
10 extra credit points, added to your final point total. This is usually equivalent to raising
you a letter grade on one in-class examination.
During regular lectures, I will also ask questions in class, and individual answers will be
tallied using a personal response system (clicker). My object here is to allow both you
and me to assess the level of understanding of lecture material. To earn additional extra
credit points, your individual responses over the course of the semester will also be
scored relative to the class average. All students that score at or above the class average
will receive 5 extra credit points.
Extra help:
Review Sessions
Review sessions will be scheduled weekly throughout the semester on Tuesdays and
Thursdays (4:30 PM) at the Genetics Action Center, room 245, Wagner Hall. These
sessions are a particularly good time to meet with me (and undergraduate TAs who have
previously taken the course) to clarify lecture topics that may be unclear to you, go over
end-of-chapter problems from the assigned texts, specific practice problem sets covering
lecture material, etc. Although these reviews will be totally optional, I urge you to take
advantage of these sessions- they are for enrichment as well as review. Prior to the
monthly exams, a review session will be scheduled in our regular classroom, 122 Dale
Hall (the room at Wagner is too small), and the questions on the practice exam will be
covered. These exam review sessions will be on the Wednesday preceding the hourly
exams (i.e. 14 September, 12 October, 9 November, 30 November) at 6:30 PM.
Genetics Web Page
The Genetics Web Page can be found at http://www.ou.edu/cas/zoology/Courses/3333/
(please note capitalization of "Courses"). This site can also be accessed from D2L. The
Genetics Web Page is meant to supplement D2L and contains material not available on
D2L. I do this because D2L is a closed server only available to enrolled students- if
someone wants to learn about the course, they can therefore go to the Genetics Web Page
prior to enrolling. I may be moving the site this semester off of the zoology home page,
because it takes up to much space! If and when a new URL is assigned, I will let you
know and make this site accessible from D2L. The web site will continue to develop as
the semester progresses. I hope to provide you with hyperlinks that will allow you to
explore some of the broader implications of the topics we are studying; topics which
emphasize how the science of genetics increasingly impacts many aspects of our personal
lives and our society.
Personal Appointments
Again, if you are having difficulties with the course, please do not hesitate to schedule a
personal appointment. If my office hours conflict with your schedule, email me or call me
at 325-1528 to set up a convenient meeting time. Don't fall behind! I'm here to help.