Download BIOLOGY 101 LABORATORY

BIOLOGY 101 Lab Syllabus Fall 2017
BIO 101-17L: Saturdays 9AM-3PM ON LISTED DATES ONLY
Instructor: Kerry Michaels
E-mail: [email protected]
Office hours: By appointment through email or in-person request
RECOMMENDED Text: Biological Science (5th edition), Scott Freeman. Co-requisite: Biology 101 Lab.
You MUST
1) read your lab handouts completely BEFORE you walk into lab
2) print your lab handouts and bring them with you to class each week.
Course Description: Biology 101 lab is the hands-on component that a student takes concurrently with
Biology 101 lecture. In lab you will have the opportunity to learn about living organisms at the cellular and
organismal level. You will also be introduced to and learn how to use the scientific method. Lab counts for
1/3 of your overall grade in Biology 101.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course the student will be able to:
 Describe biology on a cellular and organismal level
 Demonstrate basic laboratory safety procedures.
 Recognize specific biological concepts like diversity, classification, cause and effect, and variation
within a laboratory
 Communicate scientific findings both in writing through assignments and a lab report and verbally
through group activities
 Construct a scientific graph
 Work as a member of a scientific team within lab groups
 Recognize and apply the steps of the scientific method
 Analyze basic scientific data
 Apply simple laboratory math such as calculating dilutions
 Identify how biology relates to everyday life
 Operate laboratory equipment such as microscopes, spectrophotometer, centrifuge, and gel
electrophoresis
Course Requirements:
Two tests (20% each) 40%
Quizzes 10%
Homework Assignments 25%
Lab report 10%
Participation 15%
Participation points are based on:
(1) Attendance
(2) Coming to class on time, PREPARED and staying for the entire lab
(3) Being prepared for lab, reading the lab before coming to class
(4) Ability to work well with others and independently
(5) Working safely in the lab and following safety protocols
(6) Clean up at the end of lab
(7) Positive attitude 
(8) Active participation through questions and comments relating to the subject
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Attendance/ Participation Policy: Students are expected to attend all labs. Participation is worth 10% of
the overall lab grade. It is the student’s responsibility to withdraw from the course if he/she stops attending.
The last day to withdraw with a refund is September 7, 2017. The last day to withdraw without a grade
penalty is October 30, 2017.
If you miss a lab you are still responsible for the information covered and any assignments associated with
the lab. The only way to make up a missed lab and receive credit is to attend another lab section, but this will
only be allowed under extreme circumstances and with prior approval of your lab instructor.
A record of student attendance is kept by each student signing the attendance sheet BEFORE lab begins. If
you do not sign in it will be assumed you were absent. Do not sign in for anyone but yourself.
Because of the modified schedule for Saturday labs, missing one lab date is equivalent to missing TWO labs.
Missing more than two labs (ie one lab date) will dramatically affect your grade in the course. As such, the
instructor reserves the right to withdraw anyone from the class who has or plans to have more than one
absence (two missing labs). The instructor will make all reasonable accommodations in extreme
circumstances. Commitments to other obligations in life, including school/college sponsored extra-curricular
activities are NOT excused absences.
Lab is a mandatory 1/3 of your overall grade for Bio101!
Blackboard is used for course management. You can access powerpoints, lab handouts, quizzes, and
homework assignments. You can also use Blackboard to submit assignments. Visit
http://www.pvcc.edu/center_for_excellence/student.php for log-in information and tutorial on using
Blackboard. E-mail [email protected] or call the PVCC Help Desk at 434-961-5261 for additional help.
Lab Manual: You are to read the lab before attending class so you will need to print out the lab in advance.
You can find each lab on Blackboard. Do not wait until the day of your lab to print it out. You MUST bring
your lab manual to class. You may not attend lab without it. I suggest you print each lab at least one week
in advance.
Quizzes, Exams, and Homework: An online quiz will be given between each lab via Blackboard. You can
take this quiz two times to improve your score. The quiz is open note but you may not work with another
student. The purpose of the quiz is to review the material from the previous lab. If you have problems
accessing the quiz through Blackboard please contact me immediately so that I can help you. If you wait to
tell me at the next lab meeting it will be too late. There will be two in-class tests that are closed note. There
are no make ups for missed quizzes. I will drop the lowest quiz grade of the semester.
There will be two exams during the course. There is no cumulative final exam. Lab material WILL be visited
on the final exam for the lecture as the two components are co-requisites for one grade on your transcript.
Homework assignments will be given throughout the semester. All assignments are due at the beginning of
following lab. You will also write one complete lab report.
Each quiz, homework, exam, and the final lab grade is marked based on the College grading scale.
Your lab grade counts 1/3 of the Biology 101 course grade
90-100%
80-89% B
70-79% C
60-69% D
0-59%
A
F
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Per VCCS policy, a grade of incomplete (I) is used only for verifiable unavoidable reasons when a student is
unable to complete a course within the normal course time. To be eligible to receive an “I” grade, the student
must 1) have satisfactorily completed more than 60% of the course requirements and 2) must request the
faculty member assign the “I” grade and indicate why it is warranted BEFORE grades are submitted.
It is the student’s responsibility to request a grade of incomplete and initiate the process by scheduling an
appointment with the faculty to discuss requirements for satisfactory course completion and consequences of
failing to meet established deadlines. The official written request must be completed prior to the “grade due
date” for the course. Students who fail to complete coursework and do not request a grade of incomplete will
receive 0 for the missed assignments and awarded a final course grade based on these calculations.
Late work policy:
There is no make-up for late quizzes but the lowest quiz grade of the semester will be dropped.
There is no make-up for missed exams without prior arrangements. Please contact your instructor
immediately if you must miss a lab exam. If, due to extenuating circumstances, a lab exam is missed it must
be made up within one week. The penalty for late assignments is one point off per day.
Communication and Response Time: You are required to use your assigned VCCS email address for all
electronic communications. When you email me, please use proper reference in the “subject” field (i.e. Bio
101 lab) and sign your name at the bottom of the email. I will answer emails within 24 hours. I will not
check messages over the weekend or college holidays. All written work will be returned within one
week.
Cell Phones and Talking: Because cell phones and pagers are a disruption to both the instructor and
students, they are to be turned off while you are in lab. In addition, out of courtesy to your classmates, please
do not talk while I am talking or while we are reviewing at the end of lab.
Having phones in the lab is almost always a safety hazard, and therefore you will receive one and only one
warning to put your cell phone away before being asked to leave class. If you are waiting for an important
call, inform me BEFORE class starts and we will make arrangements.
Academic Dishonesty: Piedmont Virginia Community College sets high standards for academic
integrity, and takes academic dishonesty very seriously. The following misconduct is considered an
honor offense and is subject to disciplinary action: cheating, plagiarism, knowingly furnishing false
information to the college or instructors, and the forgery, alteration or use of college documents or
instruments of identification with the intent to defraud.
Students found guilty of an honor violation in this course the student will result minimally in receiving 0
(zero) for that work. Students are advised that a written summary of this violation and the resulting penalty
will be placed in the student’s official college record. After one year of no further occurrences, the student
may request that the Dean of Student Services remove the statement from the official record. For a complete
explanation of actions constituting academic dishonesty and the consequences for dishonest behavior, please
consult the PVCC Code of Conduct.
Students with Disabilities: If you are a student with a disability who needs classroom accommodations
under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, you are required to
meet with the Disability Services Counselor, Susan Hannifan to request accommodations. Her office is
located in Rm. 125, The Counseling Center. Phone: 961-5281, Email: [email protected]. To receive
academic accommodations in a timely manner for this class, please obtain the proper forms and meet with
me at the beginning of the semester.
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Biology 101 Saturday Lab Schedule – Fall 2017
Date
Aug 26
Sep 16
Sept 23
Sept 30
Oct 21
Nov 11
Nov 18
Dec 2
Lab Exercise
Lab #1: Classification
Lab #2: Measurements &
Metric
Lab #3: Organic Compounds
Lab #4: Enzymes
Lab #5: Microscope & Cell
Structures
Lab Exam Review
LAB EXAM #1
Lab #6: Photosynthesis
Lab #7: Annotated
Bibliography
Lab #8: Antimicrobial I
Lab #9: Antimicrobial II
Lab #10: DNA Extraction &
Gel Electrophoresis
Lab #11: Cell Cycle
Lab #12: Genetics
LAB EXAM #2
Assignments
No assignment
Assign#1: Spec. Results,
due next class
Assign#2: Meat Results,
due next class
Assign #3: Enzyme
Results, due next class
Quizzes
Quiz #1 (Classification)
Quiz #2 (Metric)
Both due before Lab #3
Quiz #3 (Organics)
Quiz #4 (Enzymes)
Both due before Lab #5
Quiz #5 due before Lab
Exam #1
Assign #4: Annotated
Bibliography, due next
class
Work on methods for lab
report
Rough draft of lab report
due next class
Online submission of
rough draft due today
Online submission of final
lab report due today!
Quiz #6 due before Lab
#7
No online quizzes
Quiz #7 (Antimicrobial)
Quiz #8 (DNA/Gel)
Both due before Lab #11
Quiz #9 (Cell cycle)
Quiz #10 (Genetics)
Both due before Lab
Exam #2