Life Science 2 (Lecture 1)
4 credits
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:00 - 10:50 AM
LaKretz 110
This course covers structure, physiology and neuroscience from
molecules to cells to tissues to organs to systems).
Professor Stan Schein:
Office hours: Monday and Wednesday 4:00 – 6:00,
and by appointment
Franz Hall Room 8522
phone 855-4769 (cell); email ls2.schein@gmail.com
Class Website: https://ccle.ucla.edu/course/view/13F-LIFESCI2-1
Enrollment
If you are not enrolled but want to be, you should keep trying URSA,
in case someone drops the course. Neither the professor nor the LS
Core office have any PTEs to distribute. Sorry.
If you have other enrollment concerns, go to the Life Science Office,
222 Hershey Hall, where you can contact
Michelle Veintimilla (lscore@lifesci.ucla.edu)
You MUST go to your assigned Discussion section. If you are
unhappy with your Discussion section assignment, you can change it if
you can find someone else with whom to swap. For this purpose, there
is a real bulletin board outside of the LS Core office and the
Discussion Board of the course website. Then, consult with the LS
Core office to make the swap. Do NOT drop the class, intending to reenroll!
Books
The main textbook is D Sadava, DM Hillis, HC Heller, MR
Berenbaum. Life, The Science of Biology, 10th Ed. The bookstore has
a custom (!), loose-leaf version – much less expensive than hardback,
with just the chapters that you need. And, you can carry one or two
chapters at a time in your backpack! Students love it!
BioPortal, which many student like, is not required. It is bundled with
the custom version or a new hardback version. Anyone can access the
websites listed with the QR code boxes. For example, the book lists
Life10e.com/at3.1 for Animated Tutorial 3.1. Anyone can find this
animation at http://www.life10e.com/at03.01.html.
Slides (ppt), audio (MP3), and video streaming
The slides for each lecture (in powerpoint files) are posted on CCLE.
You might want to print them out and bring them to lecture.
Barring glitches, the audio portion of the lectures will also be posted
as MP3 files shortly after the lecture. Students find the recorded
lectures useful for review (while looking at the slides) and for taking
notes, but they report that they are less useful if they had never
attended the lecture.
The lectures are also being videotaped, and the videotaped versions
will be available on the web, for streaming or for downloading,
usually on the same day as the lecture.
(Applause)
See the syllabus for instructions on accessing the audio and video
recordings. However, as you will see, you are well advised to attend
the lectures in person.
Midterms in the evening, not during the lecture hour
Thursday, October 24, from 5:00 pm – 6:50 pm
Thursday, November 14, from 5:00 pm – 6:50 pm
Why??
First, you will get more lectures.
Second, you can have a lot more time to complete your exams.
Third, when it comes time to take the exams, you won't have to wait
anxiously for the previous class to leave the lecture hall or feel the
pressure of the students in the next class trying to get into the room.
If you cannot be available during those times, please drop the class
right away and give someone else the chance to take your place.
Bring your student ID to the exams!
Re-grading policy
Exams will not be returned to you. Your TAs will go over the exams in
Discussion section.
If you wish to compare your own answers with the Key, you may do so
in my office during office hours or by appointment. Midterm exams
will be destroyed two weeks after the end of the quarter.
If you disagree with an answer on an exam or quiz, the points you
received on an exam or quiz, or your final grade, you should contact
your TA and me. Or, you can visit me at my office. Believe it or not: I
do make mistakes! And, if I make one, I want to learn about it and
correct it as soon as possible.
Discussion section meetings
Discussion sections meet every week.
The first part of the section will be taken up by a quiz with five or
more questions (10 points) from lecture, the textbook and the
animations. We will drop your lowest score, so missing one
discussion will incur no penalty, leaving 9 x 10 = 90 pts.
This is a good time to get your own questions answered!
If you miss your own Discussion section, you may ask your TA for
permission to attend a different one that week.
In-lecture quizzes
Generally, one question of the In-lecture quiz can be answered if you
have skimmed the material beforehand. The second question will be
taken from the material in the lecture, so pay attention!
These count for 44 points:
You can accumulate up to 36 points from 23 quizzes (usually
2 points each) in regular lectures (not today or Monday),
plus your scores (usually 2 points each) for the 4 must-notmiss lectures that are marked in the syllabus by an asterisk.
You will need an i>clicker device (i>clicker, i>clicker+, i>clicker2)
or wireless device with the i>clicker GO app. You need to register it
with your student ID – the email address by which you are known in
my.ucla.edu (e.g., student@ucla.edu or student@gmail.com). Your
zipcode is 90095. You do NOT need to register if you use the
i>clicker Go app.
Let’s try one
Mary had a little
A. Time
B. Fun
C. Finger
D. Lamb
E. Joke
Grading
The course has 439 total points
1st midterm (50 mult choice):
100 pts
2nd midterm (50 mult choice):
100 pts
Final
(50 mult choice):
100 pts
Discussion sections:
90 pts
10 quizzes, 10 pt each (lowest score dropped)
In-lecture quizzes (36 of 46 + 4x2): 44 pts
Movie:
5 pts
All exams are based on the Textbook, Lectures, Discussion sections
and animations. The exams are NON-CUMULATIVE.
(Applause)
Your grade is based on a curve: the top-ranked 16-21% receive an A,
ranks down to 60% receive a B. Since everyone has the same exams, it
doe not matter if you find the exams easy or difficult. No whining,
please!
How to enjoy and do well in this course
To understand the material and enjoy the course. (1) Skim the Textbook
before lecture. (2) Download the Powerpoint file. (3) Skim the
Powerpoints as well. (4) Attend the lecture. (5) Read the text carefully
and watch the assigned animations after lecture! (Some students prefer
to take no notes during the lecture, preferring to watch the lecture again
online and take notes then. (6) Attend your discussion sections. (7)
Create exam questions.
(Note: Skim Chapter 1 but do not spend time reading it carefully.)
Note as well: Like most other universities, the University of California
expects 3 hours of work/credit, or 12 hours/week for a 4 credit course!
For this class, that means 4 hours in class and 8 hours outside of
class. If you cannot devote this amount of time (or more!), consider
taking fewer courses, working fewer hours on your job, or dropping the
course!
Another clicker question:
How to do well in this course
You should
A.First read the chapter carefully and then attend the lecture
B.Skim the chapter, attend the lecture and pat yourself on the back
C.Skim the chapter, attend the lecture, read the chapter carefully,
perhaps watch the video and take notes, attend the discussion section,
and compose likely questions
D.Do nothing until the exam; then, watch the videos the night before
E.Just attend the lecture
Office hours, office hours!
You have your own TA, but you may attend the office hours (two
hours/week) of ANY of the five (5) TAs. Their office hours are listed
in the (frequently updated) syllabus, available on the class website:
Someone has office hours every day of the week!
You may also attend my office hours (MW 4-6) (four hours/week!).
I am not an ogre. You can come with questions. Or, you can come
without questions and learn from the questions other students ask.
You waste a precious resource in college if you do not get to know
your professors!
Do not fall behind! If you are confused, get help right away. Do not
delay! Ask questions during your Discussion section. Go to any TA’s
office hours or to the professor's office hours. Ask your friends.
Form a study group. Get help! And, use the Discussion Board, which
will be monitored by the TAs and the Professor. Do not fall behind!
Teaching Assistants
Sally Ahad
Christina Chang
Oren Ofer
Asof Razee
Danny Truong
Mon 3:30-4:30
Wed 12-1
Tues 2-3
Thurs 2-3
Mon 11-12
Fri 12-1
Mon 2-3
Wed 1-2
Mon 9-10
Fri 9-10
Honors
Any student interested in attending 10 hour-long biology seminars of
your choice and meeting for an hour 5 times during the quarter in an
honors meeting may take this course for 4+1 units of Honors credit.
(The 1 unit for LS 89 does not count against your unit cap.)
Evidence of attendance at a seminar is a one paragraph summary.
These are due at the Friday meetings, when we will meet from 3:154:30 in Franz Hall 3534. The last summaries are due at the final exam.
You may register for LS 89 by getting a PTE from Prof. Schein at the
Friday meeting of Week 1 (October 4). (No meeting today.)
Seminar listings are posted on the course website and updated each
week. Seminars are already listed for Week 1.
If you are in the College Honors program, then you must earn at least
a B in LS2 in order to receive College Honors credit.
This is a no cheating class
Don't do it. The penalties can be very harsh, the gain small. In all cases,
the allegation will be reported to the Dean of Students. It is not true that
"everyone does it." (You generally don't hear of the punishments
because they are kept confidential.) If you are found guilty of cheating
in an exam, either helping someone else or being helped, you will
receive no points on that exam. If you cheat with the clicker – either
bringing someone else’s clicker to lecture of having someone else bring
yours – you will receive no clicker points for the quarter. The loss of
these points may cause you to fail the course. Additional penalties may
include loss of an entire term of credit and suspension for several terms.
If you plan to apply to graduate or professional school, such a blemish
on your record may be a major obstacle to admission.
All of your fellow students are happier when no one cheats. Indeed,
your fellow students get angry when they detect cheating, and they can
report it to the instructors or the TAs during the exam. It’s not worth it!!
Please!
Do not surf the web, watch TV, movies, sports, check
your email, etc. during lecture.
It disturbs other students, and you will be asked to
leave the lecture.
Evolutionary relationships
Evolution is the principle on
which all of modern biology
(and all of your education in
biology at UCLA) is organized.
The initial understanding of
evolution awaited appreciation
of the great age of the earth.
For many years, biologists
traced relationships between
species by observing
structural similarities.
More recently, they examined enzymes and metabolism. Now, we are
able to compare entire genomes! Virtually no serious biologist
disbelieves evolution.
Timeline (memorize?)
13.7 billion years ago: Big bang, origin of the known universe
4.5 billion years ago: Welcome to planet Earth
4.0 billion years ago: The Earth cooled
3.8 billion years ago: LIFE. Almost RIGHT AWAY! The first
membrane-enclosed units (cells), prokaryotes; the rise of
metabolic mechanisms to extract energy and chemicals
2.5 billion years ago: photosynthesis
cyanobacteria (still prokaryotes)
added O2 to the environment; formation of ozone layer
invention of aerobic metabolism
1.6 billion years ago: eukaryotes with membrane enclosed organelles
nucleus, endosymbiosis (mitochondria, chloroplasts)
1.0 billion years ago: multicellular organisms
intercellular communication
specialization of cells for different purposes (organ systems)
specialization for gamete production (meiosis)
0.8 billion years ago: emergence on land, thanks to ozone (O3 ).
Three domains
Species are classified into domains Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya
(2 billion yrs later). Archaea and Bacteria consist of prokaryotic cells.
Eukarya contain the protists and the kingdoms Plantae, Fungi, and
Animalia, which are believed to have arisen from ancestral protists.
---- Plants
Even more recently (memorize?)
67 million years ago: Dinosaurs
7 million years ago: Apes and hominids diverged
4 million years ago: Upright posture: tools? Hands?
2.5 million years ago: Cerebral volume began rapid increase from
450 cm3.
1.7 million years ago: Homo erectus – our size, half of our brain
volume
1 million years ago: Migration of hominids out of Africa began
200,000 years ago: Brain size (homo sapiens) reached its current
volume, 1400 cm3
100,000 years ago: Crude stone tools. Unimpressive hunting skills,
No preserved art. No fishing.
50,000 years ago: Standardized stone tools. Cave art; jewelry.
Bone tools; fishhooks. Multipiece weapons (bow & arrow).
Better hunters. Rope; houses, sewn clothing. Language!!!
10,000 years ago: Agriculture, cities, written language
60 years ago: Computers
10 years ago: Smart phones
More highly evolved?
Only within the last 100 years has human population and
technology grown to the point where we have major effects on the
chemistry of the planet and perhaps our own existence.
Note: If 20 years is 1 human generation
100 years is 5 human generations
10,000 years (since farming)
is just 500 generations
If 20 minutes is 1 bacterial generation
1 day is 70 generations
7 days is 500 generations.
Which organism is more perfected by evolution?
Biology is studied at
many levels
Take a moment