BIO 101. Introduction to Biology for Non-Majors.

classes meet: Sections C & D - MWF 2:00-2:50, K210.
course web page: http://www.science.widener.edu/~grant/courses/bio101.html

Dr. Bruce W. Grant
Department of Biology, Widener University
Chester, PA, 19013, office Kirk.200, 610-499-4017
email: grant@pop1.science.widener.edu

• Current Assignments.
• Course Description.
• Course Requirements.
• Course Assessment.
• Comments on the Lab Portion of the Course.
• Lecture Schedule.
• Please Read This Comment.

Current Assignments.

• Assignment #1: Send Me an Email!
  1. task:
     • email me a one-line message to my email account ( grant@pop1.science.widener.edu ) containing: your name, last 4 digits of your social security number, and your email address.
  2. comments:
            If you do not have an email account, now is good time to GET ONE! To do this, access the on-line service provided by the Information and Technology Services of Widener University by pressing the highlighted text here ---> Widener - ITS and follow the links to the page on how to apply for a Widener University email account. Note: The use of email and the creation of email accounts constitutes a service provided by Widener University at no cost to students, faculty, and staff.
  3. assessment:
     • +10 points if completed by 20 September 1999,
     • +5 points if completed 21 September - 1 December 1999,
     • Note: to get credit, please follow the format requested.
  
  
• Assignment #2: Survey of the Textbook.
  1. task: see handout from class
  2. comments: see handout from class
  3. assessment: +10 points due Monday 13 September 1999 - all or none
  
  

Course Description.

There are two main objectives of this course:

• (1) To improve your biological literacy. This means that you will have an understanding of the physical, chemical, and evolutionary principles that determine how living beings acquire energy and raw materials, assimilate these resources, maintain their bodies, grow, and produce progeny. Biological literacy also includes an understanding of the ecological interrelationships of life on earth. Biological literacy also includes a sense of responsibility for the use of biological knowledge in society.



• (2) To improve your understanding of the process of biological inquiry which is the scientific method by which natural phenomena are observed, interpreted, and reported. It is through this process that one gains an understanding of our natural world and the effects of human activities upon it.

       Over the past half century biology has seen an explosion in academic, social and political activity. Technological advances in biology (especially molecular biology), chemistry, engineering, and computer science, have lead to breakthroughs in our understanding of how our bodies work, how and why we resemble our ancestors, and how we can modify and use other living organisms (e.g. bacteria, plants and animals) to improve our lives.

       Yet despite this proliferation of knowledge about living organisms, each new discovery reveals dozens of new questions without answers. Some new questions are purely scientific, such as “how does the brain work?”, or “what are the causes and cures for cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and a host of other diseases?”

       But other questions are of a very different nature and can only be answered by an examination of our deeply held personal and ethical beliefs, such as “what is life and when is it not worth technologically prolonging it?” “What rights do non-human life forms possess?” Or, “who should have access to our personal medical records that will soon include information about hidden genetic predispositions to expensive diseases that each of us may have?” Thus, like it or not biologists and their applied cousins in the biomedical industry are at the fore-front of major social changes in the next century due to the revolution in biology that has occurred in the latter half of this one. It is your responsibility as students in this course to absorb enough understanding of the discipline of biology to become engaged as constructive participants in this debate.

       I hope that your experiences in lab this semester will show you first-hand how biological knowledge is constructed from observation and interpretation. It is hoped that you will understand and appreciate the profound and often overwhelming complexity of the living processes within a single organism. I also hope that you will realize the limitations of our present day methods of inquiry. We do not understand from first principles in the vast majority of cases why a living system (cell, tissue, individual, etc.) responds the way it does to any specific environmental factor (e.g. a toxin or disease pathogen). Instead, our knowledge base about biological function, e.g. disease pathology, is almost entirely based upon empirical record-keeping of what worked and what didn't (also known as fishing around in the dark).

       This profound level of biological ignorance could not come at a worse time in human history. Due to the unconstrained industries of a few hundred million people in the developed world, and the marginal contribution of 5 billion others in the developing world, we now face a planet-wide crisis of environmental degradation. Human caused perturbation of our air, land, and water ...


1. ...threatens our health and productive lifespan,
2. ...threatens the health and function of all life forms in the ecosystems on which we and our domesticated plants and animals depend,
3. ...is presently causing an historically unprecedented rate of global biological extinction, and
4. ...could lead to global climatic warming and the depletion of a thin layer of ozone that protects all surface life from ionizing ultraviolet radiation.

       Growing concern over these issues has pushed the science of biology to the forefront of public and political consciousness. Your developing an understanding of biological processes and biological inquiry will equip you with the skills to read global environmental signposts and understand these global threats to the health of ourselves, our children, of other people, of all other organisms as well. Because of the critical role that technology, especially biotechnology, will play in our future if we are to sustain ourselves, your understanding of biology is critical to your evaluating the courses of action we humans need to take in order to competently manage our world.

Course Requirements.

       Attendance is required and will benefit your grade. To encourage this, there will be numerous but brief in-class assignments of 10 points each beginning today. But, the bulk of you grade from the lecture portion of this course will be based on your pereformance in each of the 3 mid-term exams and the final exam (dates on the next page).

       There is a required lecture text: George B. Johnson. 1997. The Living World. 1st Edition, W. C. Brown. This text is well written and well illustrated. I recommend multiple readings of the summaries at the end of each assigned chapter. For lab we will use an in-house lab manual available for sale from us during the first week of class.

       Regardless of the text readings, you should know that YOUR IN-CLASS NOTES ARE AN IMPORTANT TEXT OF THIS COURSE, and most of your time outside of class should be spent on them using the text chapters as reference. Attached is a little activity that may help you to devise the means to get more out of your in-class notes.

Course Assessment.

       Each lecture exam is worth 100 points, thus there is the potential for 400 points from exams. Make up tests are strongly discouraged, however, if you are unable to take a test at the scheduled time AND NOTIFY ME ABOUT IT BEFORE THE SCHEDULED EXAM DATE AND TIME, you may set up an appointment to take an essay make-up test during final exam week.

       As mentioned above, there will also be numerous 10 point in-class and homework assignments as needed to improve my assessment of your effort and performance in this course. Most of these assignments will be unannounced, and therefore cannot be made up if you missed that class; thus, don’t miss class. These assignments will total 200 points.

       Your final grade will be based on your total number of accumulated points, and I will use a +/- grading system. Widener University's policy on cheating and other forms of academic fraud as described in the Student Handbook will be strictly enforced.

       I will be enforcing the University-wide class attendance policy as described in the Student Handbook. Students who are absent without a valid excuse (as defined in the Handbook) 4-6 times will receive a 2/3 letter grade reduction, 7-9 times yields a full letter grade, and more than 9 unexcused absences will result in an F. According to the Handbook, if you know you will be absent from class (e.g. due to a prior committment or lengthy illness) you should notify the Office of the Assistant Provost.

Comments on the Lab Portion of the Course.

       The objective of the lab is for you to learn to "do" biology. This means understanding the use of the scientific method in the explanation of biological phenomena.

       Your syllabus of lab activities will be handed out in lab. Each of the lab exercises has a set of clearly defined expectations and assignments for you to fulfill. In addition, your performance in lab will be assessed by a “portfolio” of evidence amassed by you over the course of the semester. This will be explained further in lab. In addition, there will be a comprehensive lab exam during the last lab period. The lab grade accounts for 40% of the total course grade (the exact components of lab assessment will be explained in lab).

       Attendance is required in lab. More than 2 unexcused absences results in failure. If you know that you must miss a particular lab, you must make prior arrangements to attend this lab in another section (there are numerous other choices).

Class Schedule (Fall 1999).

EXAM 3 and FINAL EXAM during exam week, TBA

Lecture Schedule, Spring 1999.

Lecture Schedule, Fall 1998.

Please Read This Comment.

      You are welcome to download some or all of the material I have posted at this site for your use in your non-majors' introductory biology course. This does not include commercial uses for profit. If you do use any lengthy exerpts (more than 2 lines) of the material above, I request that you formally acknowledge this site and/or sites I have acknowledged as the source(s). I also request that you reciprocate and send me a copy of your non-majors' intro. biology materials so that I may see what you have put together.

Please send comments to me: grant@pop1.science.widener.edu.

Copyright: Bruce W. Grant, 1999.