Western Nevada College Course Syllabus
Nutrition 121 – Human Nutrition – Fall15 (rev. 8-13-15)
Instructor: Professor O’Toole
E-mail: Instructor: holly.otoole@wnc.edu
Director: Scott Morrison
Phone: (office) 423-7565 ext 2233
Cell:
_____________________
Office: 316 VRGH (or Sage 104)
Office Hours
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
3:00 - 4:00 pm
4-5 pm
By appt.
1-4 pm
By appt.
Communication: WNC email, cell phone, and WNC online. Be sure and activate the email
and phone number you have on file with WNC. For quicker response time, email me at
Holly.OToole@wnc.edu and not through WNC online.
Cancelled Class Hotline: 775-445-3030 or 1-866-532-5118 or http://www.wnc.edu/academics/hotline/
Lecture: 4:00 – 5:15 pm (MW)
Required Text: Nutrition Now 6th or 7th ed. (earlier editions are fine) Judith Brown, pub.Thompson
Wadsworth ISBN 9780538741378
Additional reading sources will be assigned during the semester.
Transfer Information for Courses with numbers 100 to 299: This course is designed to apply
toward a WNC AA or AAS degree and/or transfer to other schools within the Nevada System of Higher
Education, depending on the degree chosen and other courses completed. Transfers as NUTR 121 in
the NSHE. For information about how this course can transfer and apply to your program of study,
please contact a counselor. 3 credits
Programs of Study: A.A., A.G.S., A.A.S., Early Childhood Education
Course Description: Offers a beginning course in the principles of human nutrition including a study
of each of the major nutrients and how they relate to good health and a well balanced diet. Includes
four laboratory experiences. Prerequisite: MATH 120 or MATH 126 or higher, or consent of instructor.
General Education Learning Outcomes: Understand the methods of science and the role of science
and technology in the modern world; have problem solving, creative, and critical thinking skills; have
effective and efficient learning skills, including the location and evaluation of information.
Course Objectives: Upon successful completion of NUTR 121 Human Nutrition, (defined as a 75%
course score or better) learners will be able to:
The information in the parentheses after a course objective refers to the specific general education
(GE) learning outcome that the objective meets. Objectives without this information are not linked to
WNC’s general education program.
Describe and/or define terms such as calories, nutrients, essential nutrients, Recommended Dietary
Allowances and malnutrition (GE #1);
Illustrate and explain safe food handling, diet and disease relationships, food additives and
regulations, nutritional assessment and nutrient deficiencies among various age groups (GE #1);
Illustrate and explain the role that nutritional science and technology plays in the modern world (GE
#1);
Illustrate and explain the role that nutrients play in human health, with a focus on the major nutrients,
including carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, water, vitamins, minerals. (GE #1);
Present accurate calculation and symbolic operations, and explain how such calculations and
operations are used in either introductory nutrition or in interpreting information in related fields. (GE
#1, #3).
Course Topics: All students will have a basic (one semester of a non-traditionally-lab-experienced
one-semester course) knowledge of nutrients, nutritional status, recommended dietary allowances,
dietary reference intakes, and essential nutrients; problem solving, creative, and critical thinking skills,
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including distinguishing nutrition fact from fallacy; the principles of nutritional assessment; data
collection and interpretation; nutrient percentages on nutrition labels and in planning a well-balanced
diet.
Student Evaluation:
1. Grades based on the following:
2. Grading Scale
Exams (3)
60%
90-100% A
Diet Analysis
10%
80-89 % B
In Class Activities 30%
70-79% C
60-69% D
<59%
F
Further Information:
Presentation, activities, and additional assignments are part of the course. For credit, you
must attend that class section. The class schedule is tentative and will be updated as needed.
To do well in a college course demands that your work, personal life, and health allow for you to make
your coursework a priority.
Attendance:
Attendance is required and I will record it. More than three absences may result in a grade
reduction.
Student Classroom Conduct:
WNC is committed to providing a safe effective learning environment for students, faculty, and
staff. Disruptive student conduct is subject to strict disciplinary action.
This is a college classroom. You are expected to arrive on time and stay for the entire class
period. Late arrivals and early departures are disruptive for the entire class. Three late arrivals/early
departures will count as one absence. No children or pets are allowed in class or in the lab. Turn
pagers to silent and cellular phones off when you come to class.
Behavior that impedes the teaching/learning process including: private conversations; leaving
during a guest lecture; late arrivals and early departures; texting, phone, or pager calls; and behaviors
that do not contribute to the course learning environment is unacceptable. I reserve the right to
administratively fail or withdraw any student who presents behavioral issues that impede the learning
environment. Use of any conduct or harassment that threatens the quality of this learning environment
will result in immediate removal from the class.
Dishonesty/Cheating:
Any student determined to be cheating or assisting or participating with another student in
dishonest behavior will be immediately withdrawn from the course or receive a grade penalty. The
penalty for cheating at WNC is outlined on the WNC website. An Honor Code is inherent in ethical
societal behavior: “I will not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate those who do”. Come to me if
students are violating that code.
Study Tips and Techniques:
To get the most out of this class attend each class period and complete all of the required
reading and assignments. Be sure and utilize the quizzes on the textbook companion website. If
you are having difficulty understanding or preparing for this class, please do not delay in asking me for
assistance.
1. Meet with me during my office hours.
2. Start a study group with some of your classmates.
Assistance:
Qualified, self-identified students with documented disabilities have the right to free
accommodations to ensure equal access to educational opportunities at WNC. If you have a disability
for which you will need to request accommodations, please contact Susan Trist, Coordinator for
Disability Support Services at 775-445-3268 or susan.trist@wnc.edu as soon as possible to arrange
for appropriate accommodations.
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Laboratory:
We will do a minimum of four lab/activities in the course.
Laboratory Safety Guidelines:
1. No eating, drinking, smoking, handling contact lens, or applying cosmetics in the laboratory.
2. Lab space is tight. Backpacks are to be placed in a designated area of the lab, not on or under
lab tables.
3. Restrain long hair and remove dangling jewelry during dissections.
4. Work surfaces will be washed at the beginning and end of class and whenever a spill occurs.
5. Safety glasses must be worn. You may provide your own.
6. Personal protective equipment (aprons and gloves) will be worn when doing experiments where
contamination is possible. All protective equipment will be removed when leaving the
laboratory.
7. Laboratory work areas will be cleaned up at the end of class and all equipment and materials
returned to the proper location.
8. Report all spills or accidents, no matter how minor to the instructor.
9. Hands will be washed after cleaning work surfaces, when hands become contaminated, and
when leaving the laboratory.
10. WNC does not have insurance to cover students on campus. All students should carry personal
medical insurance.
Examination Quiz and Assignment Information:
1. The pedagogy of this class will include lecture, discussion, group assignments and laboratory
exercises.
2. Exams will be based on lecture, discussion, and the text. Exams will not be cumulative, but
information from previous material may be needed to answer questions. Text messaging with
your cell phone during an exam or quiz is forbidden. If you are caught text messaging
during the quiz or exam you will fail the course, not just the quiz or exam. Your cell
phone must be turned off or on silent and placed in your bag.
3. Exam questions may consist of multiple choice, true/false, calculations, fill-in, and matching,
short answer, and essay. Short answer and essay should be answered concisely and
accurately for full credit.
4. All exams need to be turned into the instructor. Failure to do so will result in an F on the exam.
5. Objectives and grades will be posted on WNC online. My lecture notes will not be posted. Any
posted power points are to be printed by the students. Check WNC online often.
6. You must take all exams to pass the course. Exams will be given at the times noted in the course
schedule. Once exams begin, you will not be permitted to leave the room without turning in your
exam. Once turned in, the exam will be considered complete and will not be returned.
7. There are no provisions made for missing an exam, therefore, 0 points will be averaged into the
grade for exams missed. Makeup exams may be permitted, at the discretion of the instructor,
when clear, documented reasons are provided. Make up exams will not be given for full credit.
8. I will not withdraw failing students. Student who are failing or earning a grade that they are not
satisfied with may withdraw themselves by the withdraw date.
9. Be sure and take advantage of the Companion website that comes with your text.
10. Points, up to100% of the total points from that week’s quiz, may be deducted for habitual
tardies, early departures, or disruptive behavior. Disruptive behavior includes talking when I am
talking, chatting, giggling, texting with classmates during lecture. Applying makeup during
lecture is also not allowed. This semester, I will ask you to leave class if you engage in
behaviors that keep other students from hearing instruction or distracts other students during the
learning or quizzing process. If habitual tardies are a problem for the class, I will lock the door at
the time when class begins. If you leave lecture during class, do not come back in. It is
disruptive.
11. Grades and quiz/test scoring concerns/disagreements/rescoring are issues to be dealt during
my office hours. Please do so.
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WNC Nutrition 121 Fall 15
(rev. 8-13-15)
Week Date
Lecture Schedule
Unit
1
8-31
Historical Overview of Nutrition
Nutrition Terms and Concepts
Unit 1
2
9-7
Monday Holiday: no class
Wednesday: Nutrition, Attitudes, and Behavior
Unit 2 and 5
3
9-14
Nutrition
Junk Science
Unit 3, 21, and 24
4
9-21
Understanding Nutrition Labeling
What is a Healthy Diet?
Unit 4 and 6
5
9-28
Digestion and Absorption
Exam #1
Unit 7
6
10-5
Food Energy and Energy Balance
Carbohydrates and Fiber
Unit 8
Unit 12
7
10-12 Alcohol
Unit 14
Unit 15
Proteins and Amino Acids
8
10-19 Fats and Cholesterol in Health
Unit 18
Unit 20
Vitamins
9
10-26 Minerals and Water
Units 23 and 25
10
11-2
Weight Control: Myths and Reality
Exam #2
Unit 9 and 10
11
11-9
Diseases and Disorders Associated with Nutrition
Diet Analysis: Due ________
Wednesday Holiday: no class
Unit 11, 19, 22, 26
12
11-16 Diabetes
Unit 13
13
11-23 Fitness and Health
Unit 27 and 28
Wednesday Holiday: no class
14
11-30 Nutrition For All Ages
15
12-7
16
12-14 A Global Look at Nutrition
Unit 29, 30, and 31
What Else About our Food?
Unit 32
Unit 33
Exam #3
This schedule is tentative and is subject to change
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