VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY

BIOLOGY 1010--Fall 2004

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. J. A. NIENOW

OFFICE: 2089 New Science Building; 249-4844
Office hours: 1:00 to 2:00 MWF or by appointment
EMAIL: jnienow@valdosta.edu
TEXTS: Starr, C., and R. Taggart. 2004. Biology, the Unity and Diversity of Life. 10th Edition. Thomson--Brooks/Cole.
OTHER RESOURCES: http://www.valdosta.edu/~jnienow
PREREQUISITES: None.

COURSE GOALS: The primary goal of the non-majors biology courses is to introduce you to the many fields of biology. This semester (Biology 1010) we will focus on the evolutionary history of life on Earth and the ecological processes at work today. A more specific list of specific topics can be found in the attached schedule of lectures.  Because this is an introductory course, we won't study any particular topic in great detail. However, you should have sufficient background at the end of the semester to pursue interesting topics on your own. It is also hoped that you will gain an understanding of how biologists and other scientists approach problems.
   The biology program also seeks to develop some of your general college skills, in particular, your communication skills, your information-processing skills, and your ability to think. Your information processing skills will be developed because of the nature of biology. You will be supplied with a large quantity of information in a very short time, which you must learn in some detail or you will not do well in this course. This will not be wasted effort, however. The ability to digest and incorporate large amounts of information quickly is a valuable skill in most fields of endeavor. Your ability to think and to communicate will be involved in the analysis of lab exercises, class assignments, and test questions.

ATTENDANCE: Students are responsible for attending class and for the material presented in all classes. There will be no make-ups of missed quizzes and in class assignments. Homework assignments submitted late are subject to a 10% reduction in their grade for each week they are late.  EXAMS MISSED WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION OF THE INSTRUCTOR MAY BE MADE UP, BUT THE FINAL SCORE WILL BE REDUCED BY 25%. Students who have missed 20% of regularly scheduled class meetings are subject to a failing grade for the course.
EXAMS: There will be five unit exams, each worth 100 points, and a comprehensive final exam worth 200 points. The exams will include a mixture of short answer and multiple choice questions. The dates of these exams are included in the attached schedule of lectures. REMEMBER, DO NOT MISS THESE EXAMS WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION. Estimated total from exams--700 points.

ARTICLES: Each student is required to read and summarize articles of interest to biologists. The article may be from any source, newspapers, magazines, or scientific publications, but must be at least 1000 words long.The summary should be no more than 200 words long. Each summary should be accompanied by a copy of the first page of the article. Articles and summaries may be turned in at any time, but no more than three summaries may be turned in during any calendar week. Summaries are graded on content, grammar, and neatness. A good summary is worth 10 points. You are expected to do five articles, but may do an additional 3 for extra credit.  (Expected total--50 points.)

OTHER ASSIGNMENTS: Your instructor will periodically assign some tasks to be completed during class or outside of class. Be prepared. Your grade will be determined by how well you complete the assignment. The estimated total from miscellaneous assignments is 200 points.

GRADING: Your grade will be based on the total number of points you earn during the quarter. Your point total will be compared with the total number of assigned points (including 10 articles). If you receive 90-100% of the points you will receive an A, 80-90% you will receive a B, 70-80% you will receive a C, 60-70% you will receive a D, and below 60 % you will receive an F.
   Note: There will be about 950 points assigned this semester. Suppose you decide not to do any outside work, so you can concentrate on the exams. Now suppose you earn 100% of the exam points. What would your final grade be? An A, right? Well, not exactly. You would end up with 700 out of 950 points, a mere 74% of the total points, earning you a C for the course. Since the probability of scoring 100% on all of the exams is close to zero, your actual grade would probably be lower, much lower. DO NOT NEGLECT THE OUTSIDE ASSIGNMENTS.

DROPPING A COURSE WITHOUT PENALTY: In order to officially drop a course without penalty, a student must obtain and fill out a drop/add form from the Registrar's Office, acquire appropriate signatures, and return the completed form to the Registrar's Office before the designated date (published in the academic calendar). If you don't officially withdraw, and instead just stop coming to class, you will receive an F for the course. It will then take three A's in science classes cancel out that F and bring your GPA back up to 3.0 so you can maintain your scholarship.

SPECIAL NOTE 1: Grades will be neither posted nor given out over the telephone.

SPECIAL NOTE 2: Students requiring special accommodations because of disability should discuss their needs with me as soon as possible. Those needing accommodations who are not registered with the Special Services Program should contact the Special Services Office.

SCHEDULE OF LECTURES
BIOLOGY 1010, FALL 2004
(Note:  The lecture schedule is tentative.  The time spent on each topic may change to match the needs of the class.  The test schedule is firm.  The material on the tests may change as the lecture schedule changes, but the dates will not.  Attend class regularly to keep track of where we are.)
 
8/20 Introduction Chapter 1
8/22 Introductory exercises--phylogenetic relationships Chapter 19
8/24 Introductory exercises--phylogenetic relationships Chapter 19
8/27 Darwinian evolution Chapter 17 (first half)
8/29 An overview of life on Earth Chapter 20, 28
8/31 Origins Chapter 20
9/05 Prokaryotes--past and present Chapter 21
9/07 Prokaryotes--past and present (continued) Chapter 21
9/10 Prokaryotes--reproduction and evolution Chapter 13
9/12 Prokaryotes--reproduction and evolution (continued) Chapter 14
9/17 Simple eukaryotes--structure and origins Chapters 4, 22
9/19 Simple eukaryotes--origins and structure Chapters 4, 22
9/21 Simple eukaryotes--diversity Chapter 22
9/24 Simple eukaryotes--diversity Chapter 22, 24
9/26 Simple eukaryotes--asexual reproduction Chapter 9
9/28 Simple eukaryotes--sexual life-cycles Chapter 10
10/01 Sex and evolution Chapter 17
10/03 Sex and evolution (continued) Chapter 17
10/08 Early evolution of multicellular animals Chapter 25 (first half)
10/10 Early evolution of multicellular animals (continued) Chapters 25 (first half)
10/12 Origins and early evolution of chordates Chapter 26 (first half)
10/15 The movement to land--plants Chapter 23
10/17 The movement to land--plants (continued) Chapters 23, 29
10/19 The movement to land--arthropods Chapter 25 (second half)
10/22 The movement to land--vertebrates Chapter 26 (second half)
10/24 Later evolution of terrestrial life Chapters 23, 26
10/26 Speciation and biodiversity in perspective Chapters 18, 27
Speciation and biodiversity in perspective (continued) Chapters 18, 27
10/29 Intro to modern ecosystems Chapter 49
10/31 Modern ecosystems--aquatic systems Chapter 49
11/02 Modern ecosystems--aquatic systems (continued) Chapter 49
11/05 Modern ecosystems--terrestrial systems Chapter 49
11/07 Modern ecosystems--terrestrial systems Chapter 49
11/09 Ecosystem dynamics--simple models of population growth Chapter 45
11/12 Ecosystem dynamics--demographics and population growth Chapter 45
11/14 Ecosystem dynamics--human populations Chapter 45
11/26 Ecosystem dynamics--energy flow Chapter 48
11/28 Ecosystem dynamics--element cycling Chapter 48
11/30 Ecosystem dynamics--element cycling (continued) Chapter 48
12/03 Human interactions with the global environment Chapter 50
12/05 Human interactions with the global environment Chapter 50
12/07 Prospects for the future Chapter 50

Continue with the outline of Unit I
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