SYLLABUS BIO 20, BIOLOGY: A HUMAN PERSPECTIVE, FALL 2010
Instructor
Office Hours
E-mail
Lecture
Brett Holland, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Biological Sciences
M, 10-11; T, 12-1; R, 4-5; SQU 120C
Holland@csus.edu Include "Bio 20, section 1". Copy questions from WebCT.
Del Norte Hall 1004 (Section 1, Call # 84093)
Web
WebCT: This website contains assessments, lectures, and other resources.
Texts
Required
1) Hamer and Copeland (1999). Living with Our Genes (LOG). Anchor. ISBN
Optional
H
H
9780385485845.Bookstore 17$; Amazon 5-15$+shipping
2) Phelan, J. (2010). What is Life. WH Freeman and Co. ISBN : 1429223189 Bookstore:113$
new, $85 used, $49 rent; CafteScribe: e-book (64$); Amazon 50-100$+shipping
Course description and learning outcomes
Introduction to the major concepts of biology and their application to humans. Major topics include
reproduction and heredity, energy and metabolism, ecology, evolution, and the levels of biological
organization using the human as an example. Lecture three hours. Note: Not open to majors in
biological sciences and students who have received credit for BIO 10. Graded, 3 Units.
Values: I hope you will develop a life-long interest in biology, a subject that, allows us to understand
ourselves more deeply, and challenges us to form ethical values as our technical abilities grow. Selfeducation: A fundamental goal of all university education is to develop the ability to self-educate.
Evaluating, and drawing inferences from information will be a major component of this course, as
opposed to simply memorizing and recognizing information. Personal responsibility: You have chosen to
take this course. You are responsible for knowing and meeting the requirements set forth in the course
syllabus and any other information provided by the instructor.
Evidenced based decision making: A central theme of this course is the application of scientific
evidence to issues personal and public importance (e.g., immunizations, diet, product claims,
cancer, environmental change, human evolution and behavior).
Specific Learning Objectives
Students will demonstrate an understanding of
1. How science is conducted and the evaluation of evidence.
2. The central properties of life and how it is organized: Metabolism, cells, inheritance, ecology, and
the central unifying principle of biology -- evolution by natural selection.
3. The application of modern biology to practical human problems.
How to Succeed
 Recognize and commit to your obligation: Spend approximately 9 hr per week working outside of
class. Working does not include passively reading while day dreaming, texting, etc.
 Know this syllabus and re-read it as needed while working in WebCT.
 Meet your WebCT deadlines (listed on the last page of the syllabus).
 During lectures: think, take notes, and ask questions.
 Actively read. After each paragraph, ask yourself, “What was the main point”? After every section:
“what were the main points”?
 Join a study group (connect through Discussion on WebCT).
Holland
BIO 20 Syllabus
P. 1 of 4
WebCT
Contains the following links on the Course Content/Home Page:
 Syllabus
 Lecture slides: PDFs of most slides used in lecture. They may be printed prior to lecture.
 Homework: based on all lecture activity and assigned reading. These questions will be similar to the
exam questions.
 Quizzes and Exams: all will be taken through WebCT
WebCT Assessments
 Exams: Can only be taken at assigned times shown on the last page of the syllabus. Exams have a
time limit. You are to take all exams on campus, in the IRT Lab of your choice (to protect yourself
from internet service outages). If you have a technical/service problem you will not be able to
retake the exam. No make-up exams will be given (unless it is a documented IRT lab interruption of
electrical/internet service during an exam). Your lowest exam score will be dropped. They are open
book, open note, open internet. You must work alone. To insure that students do not benefit from
colluding during exams, multiple exams will be created and they will intentionally be long. I will be
available through the Discussion link at WebCT during the exam to answer any questions (however,
because of time constraints you should avoid this unless you are confident you will finish the exam).
Exam content: any aspect of the course except LOG quizzes. Exams will be similar to homework.
Students can only view their exams in the instructor's office.
 Homework: based on any aspect of the course. You can take the homework as many times as you
want. Your highest score obtained before the due date will be used to calculate your course grade. If
not submitted until after the due date (listed at the end of this document), your score will decreased
by 50% at the end of the semester.
 LOG Quizzes: based on Living with Our Genes reading. The purpose is to encourage attentive,
thoughtful reading. They are intended to be challenging, and can be taken once. Your results are
available after the due date. If submitted after the deadline (listed at the end of this document), the
score will be decreased by 50% at the end of the semester.
 General Assessment Guidelines: All assessments should be taken in an IRT Lab (see above). When
finished with an assessment, you must also successfully hit the "Finish" button to receive credit. A
window will appear acknowledging the successful submission of your assessment. You have access to
assessments for at least 3 days before they are due. Because of the extended availability of
assessments, late work will not be accepted (e.g., failure to hit “Finish” at the bottom of the
assessment, or, Internet service interruptions) other than documented hospitalization during the
majority of the availability period. WebCT has failures. Therefore, save your answers as you go. Saved
answers have a check mark next to question number (in the right column). If there is a WebCT failure
during your assessment, close the assessment and reopen it. If it is working properly, you will be able
to save new answers. If that does not work, log out of WebCT and start again. If necessary: move to a
new computer, seek a local lab technician, or, finally, contact IRT. Settings: at the bottom, right corner
of the Assessments page you will see a small yellow icon that looks like 3 overlapping pages. Click it.
Set the number of items per page to 99. Multiple selection: If the answer choices have squares
for selecting, any number of answers may be correct. Some questions will specify the number of
correct answers (e.g., “Choose two”). Grading: 100%/n for correct choices, minus 100%/n for incorrect
choices (n=the number of correct, or, incorrect choices, respectively. Example: there are six answer
choices and two are correct (100%/2= 50% each); four incorrect (-100%/4 = -25% each). If you chose
both correct answers and one incorrect answer your score would be 50%+50% -25% = 75%.
Holland
BIO 20 Syllabus
P. 2 of 4
Course Grading
Evaluation
Homework
Living with Our Genes (LOG) Quizzes
Lecture Exams
Course Total
Details
11 (anything associated w/ lecture)
9 (one quiz per section or chapter )
4 x 100 points (lowest score dropped)
Approximate Pts
~100
~100
~300
~500
%
≥ 93
Grade
A
%
83 – <87
Grade
B
%
73 – <77
Grade
%
C
63 – <67
Grade
D
90 – <93
A-
80 – <83
B-
70 – <73
C-
60 – <63
D-
87 – <90
B+
77 – <80
C+
67 – <70
D+
<60
F
Miscellaneous Course Policies
 Adding – If you would like to add this course, you must print your full name and student ID on the add
sheet at the end of the first class meeting.
 If you cannot add the course this week (e.g., Open University students), and do NOT have a SacLink ID,
try to get a SacLink ID from the SacLink help desk located in the Academic Information Resource
Center (AIRC), Room 2005, 278-7337. Email the SacLink ID to me. If you cannot get one by the
beginning of the second week, email your full name as it appears on school records.
 Attendance: If you attend a class, arrive on time and remain for the full class period. If you are late, or
must leave early, enter/exit through the rear doors .
 Students are responsible for using the information in this syllabus, attending lecture, and reading
announcements posted at WebCT.
 Absences: you are responsible for what you miss. I have over 300 students. If you miss lecture without
first contacting me (email) or without a medical excuse, do not ask if "I missed anything important". I
do not have time to repeat everything for you individually.
 Cell phones should be silent. Text messaging is not allowed.
 If a student is disruptive, I will follow the procedures described here.
 If you have a disability and require accommodations, you need to provide disability documentation to
SSWD, Lassen Hall 1008, 278-6955. Please discuss your accommodation needs with me after class or
during my office hours early in the semester.
 Academic dishonesty –in any form is illegal and degrades the education of everyone. Any
communication (except with the instructor) during an exam is viewed as dishonest. Academic
dishonesty may result in result in dismissal from the course with an F grade.
Schedule (All dates, other than exams, may be changed)
Each meeting will include the following:
 Discussion of student questions on lecture, reading, homework, and quizzes.
 Lecture/discussion of the new material.
Holland
BIO 20 Syllabus
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Schedule (all HW/quizzes are due by midnight)
Labor Day Holliday
Homework 1 (through previous lecture)
LOG 0 (through p. 25)
Homework 2 (through previous lecture)
Exam 1 – 9-9:50 AM (through last Wed's lecture)
LOG 1 (Chapter 1)
Homework 3 (through previous lecture)
LOG 2 (Chapter 2); University drop deadline
Homework 4 (through previous lecture)
LOG 3 (Chapter 3)
Homework 5 (through previous lecture)
Exam 2 – 9-9:50 AM (through last Wed's lecture)
LOG 4 (Chapter 4)
Homework 6 (through previous lecture)
LOG 5 (Chapter 5)
Homework 7 (through previous lecture)
LOG 6 (Chapter 6)
Homework 8 (through previous lecture)
Exam 3 – 9-9:50 AM (through last Wed's lecture)
LOG 7 (Chapter 7)
Homework 9 (through previous lecture)
Thanksgiving Holliday
Homework 10 (through previous lecture)
LOG 8 (Chapter 8)
Homework 11 (through previous lecture)
Final Exam – 8-10 AM (Cumulative)
BIO 20 Syllabus
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