Biol 121, Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology



Biol 121: Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology

Fall 2007

Welcome to Biology 121! Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology is designed to create a foundation for study in the life sciences by introducing students to the biology of the cell, classical genetics and molecular genetics. The goal for this course is not only for you to become familiar with life at the cellular level, but the means by which it is investigated as well. Some outcomes of this familiarity will be an understanding of the:

• cell theory and the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

• structure and function of the major organelles of eukaryotic cells.

• structure and function of cell membranes.

• basic structure and function of the four major types of biological molecules

• importance of energy transformations and the role of enzymes in metabolic pathways.

• processes of cellular respiration and photosynthesis

• cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis.

• principles of Mendelian inheritance.

• molecular basis of inheritance including DNA replication, transcription and translation.

• control of gene expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

In lab you will gain hands on experience with a diversity of biological systems: from DNA and enzymes to spinach chloroplasts and jewel wasps. While investigating these systems you will become familiar not only with a variety of technical skills such as microscopy, spectrophotometry, and polymerase chain reaction, but you’ll also gain an understanding of how scientists communicate with each other using descriptive statistics, graphs and tables, scientific figures and scientific papers.

Course Structure: Your success as a student in this course will require regular attendance, careful note taking and mastery of the textbook material through careful study. You will meet for a 70-minute lecture period every other day. Since the labs are smaller than the lectures, you will probably attend another lab section than most of the people in your lecture. Labs are taught by professors and student Teaching Assistants, and meet once every cycle (including cycles 1 and 12). Lab attendance in your lab section is mandatory. The time scheduled for each lab is 2 hours and 50 minutes, but occasionally you may need to stay longer to complete assigned work, or come in outside of the regularly scheduled time to check on the progress of an experiment.

Text: The required text for this course is Biology by Brooker. R.J., E.P. Widmaier, L.E. Graham and P.D. Stiling (2008, McGraw-Hill, Dubuque, IA). It is available in either a single hardcover or three separate paperback volumes. We recommend purchasing the full-text unless you only plan to take the course for a single semester, as for pre-nursing students or students who are fulfilling a non-majors science core requirement. You should have received an e-mail regarding this prior to the start of school.

Lab manual and lab notebook: The faculty and staff of this department have written the lab manual used in this course. It will be handed out at the laboratory orientation session that you are scheduled to attend. However, you also need to purchase a carbonless Student Lab Notebook for Life Science, available at the SJU Bookstore.

Evaluation: Your grade in this course will be determined based on your performance on exams, quizzes, homework and laboratory work. The point breakdown is a follows:

Exam 1 15 - 17%

Exam 2 15 - 17%

Exam 3 15 - 17%

Final Exam 20 - 24%

Assignments, quizzes, seminars, etc. 0 - 10%

Lab 25%

The instructor for your lecture section will announce exact percentages for exams and assignments at the beginning of the semester. The format of the exams will vary according to section. You can expect multiple-choice, short answer, matching, fill in the blank, label the diagram and essay-type questions. The lecture exams will cover the chapters indicated on the course syllabus. The final will be approximately 20% comprehensive and 80% new material. Your instructor may also assign homework, give quizzes or request your attendance at seminars for a portion of your grade.

Your instructor may schedule a review session prior to the exam. If that is the case, don’t miss it. It is a valuable opportunity to ask your questions and go over some of the more difficult points in the text or lecture.

|Grading: Letter grades will be assigned as follows: | A 90-100% | C 72-78% |

| |AB 87-89% |CD 69-71% |

|Biol 121 is offered for standard, A-F, grading only. There is no |B 82-86% |D 60-68% |

|S/U option available. |BC 79-81% |F ................
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