BIOL 315: BIOMECHANICS
| Grading |
Laboratory Schedule |
Lecture Schedule |
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Biomechanics
is the study of the physical design of biological organisms. This
course
examines the diversity of form in members of all kingdoms of life in
the
context of function in the physical world. Physics and materials
analysis
concepts relevant to biomechanics will be explored. Several specific
areas will
be examined in detail, such as locomotion at low Reynolds number, the
mechanics
of flight, biomechanical design of
trees, lift-based versus drag-based swimming and the arthropod
exoskeleton.
BOOK
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Almost weekly
homework will be assigned based
on lecture work and textbook reading. A midterm and final exam
will be given based
on material presented in lecture. Students will make a lecture
presentation on
a current topic in biomechanics, as researched in the literature. Laboratory reports will be due weekly during
the first half of the semester. Summary
report (both oral and written) will be given on the team laboratory
projects
carried out in the second half of the semester.
LABORATORY
The first half of the
laboratory
(7 weeks) will consist of laboratory exercises that introduce the
student to
materials analysis and the measurement of biomechanical data, such as
the
properties of fluid and solids, drag and lift of objects in flow.
The second half of the semester will consist
of solo or team laboratory projects in some area of biomechanics, such
as analysis of
tensile properties of mammalian connective tissues, experimental
measurement of
lift and drag of organisms that live in flow, biomechanical design and
human
locomotion, and design of novel morphologies based on evolutionary
change of
existing biological organisms
| Point Value |
|
| Midterm Exam |
150 |
| Final Exam |
200 |
| Homework (Lecture and Lab) |
~330 |
| Laboratory Project - Individual
Papers |
100 |
| Laboratory Project - Group (or
Individual) Presentations |
50 |
| Lecture Presentation |
50 |
| Class Participation |
20 |
| Total: |
~900 |
The grades for the semester will follow >90% = A, >80% = B, >70% = C, >60% = D, and < 60% = F. In addition, a plus/minus grades will be used for the final grade. Please note that academic honesty is expected at all times. The Science Division strictly enforces the University’s policy on cheating and other forms of academic fraud. The student handbook contains a detailed section on the definitions and consequences of academic fraud (Section G of the chapter on Academic Policy). For missed exams, a make-up will only be given for extenuating circumstances that are properly documented by the Assistant Provost. Attendance of both laboratory and lecture are required. Five or more un-excused absences during the semester (total for both lab and lecture) will result a drop in the final grade by one letter grade. More un-excused absences will result in further letter grade drops. Details of the Science Division grievance procedure can be obtained in the Science Division Office.
LABORATORY
SCHEDULE (subject to change)
Jan 13 Tu |
A Simple Biomechanics Study |
| Jan
20 Tu |
Center
of Gravity and
Locomotion (read
Vogel pages 81-84) |
| Jan
27 Tu |
Temperature and Locomotory Performance |
Feb 3-10
|
Reynolds Number, Drag Coefficient, Flow Visualization |
| Feb
17 |
Levers in Action: Simple Levers and Four-Bar Linkage Systems in Fish Heads |
Feb 24
|
Properties of Materials: Tensile and Compressive Strengths |
| Spring Break |
|
| March
- April |
Group Research Projects. Topics to be discussed in class. |
Apr 27
|
Group Presentations for Research Projects |
| Date | Topic
|
Vogel Chapter | |
| Jan 12 M |
Introduction to Biomechanics |
1 |
|
| 14 W |
Newtonian Physics |
2 |
|
| 16 F |
and Biomechanical Variables | ||
| 19 M |
Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Federal Holiday - No Class Please Participate in Community Service (5 extra credit points) |
||
| 21 W |
Dimensional Analysis, Rates and Gradients | 4 |
|
| 23 F |
Properties of Fluids: Air and Water | 5 |
|
| 26 M |
cont'd | ||
| 28 W |
Viscosity, Flow and Reynolds Number | 6 |
|
| 30 F |
cont'd |
||
| Feb 2 M |
Flow, Pressure and Bernoulli |
7 |
|
| 4 W | cont'd | ||
| 6 F |
Life at Low Re | 8 (pgs. 165-175), 11 | |
| 9 M |
Pipe Flow and Circulatory Systems | 9-10 | |
| 11 W |
cont'd | ||
| 13 F |
Lift and Flight |
12 |
|
| 16 M |
cont'd | ||
| 18 W |
Solid Materials and Their
Properties |
15 |
|
| 20 F |
cont'd |
||
| 23 M |
Review |
||
| 25 W |
Midterm
Part I: The Essays |
||
| 27 F |
Midterm
Part II: The Math |
||
| Mar 1-5 |
Spring
Break - No Class |
||
| Mar 8 M |
Material Properties and
Biological Applications, Including Various Composites |
16, Handout |
|
| 10 W |
cont'd |
||
| 12 F | cont'd |
||
| 15 M |
Viscoelasticity |
17 | |
| 17 W |
Allometry, Isometry and the
Implications of Size |
3 | |
| 19 F |
cont'd | ||
| 22 M |
Beams, Columns and Arranging Material for Biological Structures | 18-19 | |
| 24 W |
cont'd |
||
| 26 F |
cont'd | ||
| 29 M |
Student Talks
|
||
| 31 W | Student
Talks |
||
| Apr 2 F |
Student Talks |
||
| 5 M |
Hydrostatic Organs | 20 |
|
| 7 W |
Putting Together Whole Organisms | 21 | |
| 9 F |
Spring
Holiday - No Class |
||
| 12 M |
Lot's about locomotion - Thrust, Flying and Swimming | 13 (maybe some 14) | |
| 14 W |
con'td |
||
| 16 F |
Projects
Day - No Class |
||
| 19 M |
Muscle Use in Locomotion | 22 |
|
| 21 W |
Putting it Together - Fishes Swimming and Birds Flying | Handout | |
| 23 F |
Getting Around on Land | 24 |
|
| 26 M |
Muscle Use in Running Mammals | Handout |
|
| 28 W |
Review |
||
| TBA |
FINAL
EXAM |