BIOL 109L: Human Biology Lab
Fall 2005
Course Description and Schedule
Dr. Stan Eisen

Office S203B
Telephone #: 3447

BIOL 109 is a survey of the human organism designed for non-majors. Topics covered include cytology, cellular biology, genetics, anatomy and physiology, development, evolution and ecology. The laboratory supplements the material covered in lecture and will include experiential activities.

Required Lab Book: Human Biology Laboratory Manual, by Mader, 2003, ed. 9

Grading Protocol: Your grade will be based on the following:

1) A midterm exam. The test is comprehensive and will include multiple-choice, short answer, and essay questions. You will be allowed to take the entire period to complete the exam. This exam will be worth 1/6 of your final grade.

2) Weekly Quizzes: On each of the laboratory meetings where an exam is NOT scheduled, you will be given a quiz at the beginning of the laboratory period. If you miss a quiz due to illness, religious observance, or family emergency, a zero will be entered, and that will be one of your dropped scores. Collectively, these quizzes will be worth 2/6, or 1/3 of your final grade.

3) One Laboratory Report: You will be conducting several experiments where quantitative data will be collected. You will be asked to write a formal laboratory report, not to exceed 10 double-spaced pages. The laboratory report will be worth 1/6 of your final grade. Details of my expectations for how they should be written are attached to this course description;

4) A comprehensive final exam scheduled during the final exam week. It will consist solely of multiple-choice and short answer questions, and will be worth 2/6, or 1/3 of your final grade.

Grading Summary for the Lab

A = 3.5 to 4.0
B = 2.75 to 3.49
C = 2.00 to 2.74
D = 1.00 to 1.99
F < 1.00

Class Attendance Policy for the Lab: The class attendance policy pertaining to the lecture part was quoted earlier. Since labs meet only once per week, the attendance policy for lab has to be modified to the following: "Any student who has been absent, even for a legitimate cause, is under obligation to make up the work. Any student who has missed a total of three laboratory meetings may be dropped from the course, with a mark of 'F', at the discretion of the teacher."

Laboratory Schedule

Week	Date	Laboratory Topic(s)	Exercise(s)
1	8/25	Metric measurement and microscopy	2
2	9/1	Chemical Composition of cells Quiz 1	3
3	9/8	Cellular transport Quiz 2	pp. 33-42
4	9/15	Enzymes Quiz 3	pp. 43-46
5	9/22	Energy Requirements and Ideal Weight Quiz 4	10
6	9/29	Human Body Tissues Basic Mammalian Anatomy I Quiz 5	5 6
7	10/6	MIDTERM EXAM
8	10/13	Yom Kippur – No class
WEEK OF OCTOBER 20: FALL BREAK!!
9	10/27	Cardiovascular System; Features of the Cardiovascular System Some information about cardiac output http://btc.montana.edu/olympics/physiology/pb01.html	7 8
10	11/3	Basic Mammalian Anatomy II Homeostasis Quiz 6	11 12
11	11/10	Musculoskeletal system Quiz 7	13
12	11/17	Nervous system and senses Quiz 8	14
13	11/24	THANKSGIVING -- NO CLASS
14	12/1	Human Development Quiz 9	15
15	12/8	DNA and biotechnology Quiz 10	18

THE FINAL EXAM WILL BE GIVEN DURING FINAL EXAM WEEK

GUIDELINES FOR LABORATORY REPORTS

1. Please DOUBLE-SPACE your laboratory report, and use margin size to 1 inch.
2. Place a cover sheet at the front of your laboratory report. The cover sheet should have your name, the report title, the course and section numbers centered on the page. PLEASE DO NOT PLACE YOUR LABORATORY REPORT IN A PLASTIC OR OTHER BINDER.

The laboratory report should include the following sections:

1. An ABSTRACT section, in which you describe in briefest form, the purpose, primary results and conclusions of the research report. By convention, it is 200 words or 3% of the laboratory report, whichever is LESS;
2. An INTRODUCTION section, in which you provide information pertaining to the problem as it is recognized and in which you discuss background information which would be pertinent to the reader. The purpose, in which you specify the questions to be addressed in THIS lab report, should be in the LAST paragraph of the introduction section;
3. A MATERIALS AND METHODS section, in which you discuss the organism(s) under study and the experimental protocol in "text" form. PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE A MATERIALS LIST. If there are several parts to the experiment, each part should be described separately. If the procedure you followed is exactly like it is described in your laboratory book, it is sufficient to say something like, "The animals were treated in the manner as described in our laboratory book on pages - to -." If the procedure you followed is slightly changed, it is sufficient to say something like, "The procedure described in the book was modified so that we used 10% saline rather than 15% saline." If there are several parts to the experiment, each part should be described separately;
4. A RESULTS section, in which you discuss the data from each part of the study in the same sequence as the parts were described in the Materials and Methods section. Use a paragraph to tell the reader what the main point is, and at the end of the sentence, refer to a specific Table or Figure, as in the following: "Seedlings exposed to either .1% or .2% phosphate grew vigorously, but the controls did not (Figure 1)." It is essential to convert or present the data in an understandable format. CHARTS OF RAW DATA ARE NEITHER NECESSARY NOR DESIRABLE!;
5. A DISCUSSION section, in which you relate the results of your experiment to the general body of knowledge pertinent to this area of research;
6. A REFERENCES section, in which you list the references used for background information and/or protocol procedures, including your laboratory textbook.

CRITERIA FOR THE GRADING OF PAPERS AND EXPERIMENTAL REPORTS

The maximum grade is a 100 and is a composite of three grades based on spelling grammar, and content.

I. Spelling counts 10% of the total grade. Each different spelling or typographical error will usually result in a point deducted from the maximum. However, if one word is consistently misspelled, it will be deducted only once. Low grades in spelling can be avoided by keeping a dictionary on hand and proofreading your work before you submit it for review.

II. Grammar counts 15% of the total grade. Each grammar error (wrong tense, poor sentence of paragraph structure) will usually result in a point deducted from the maximum. Low grades in grammar can be avoided by proofreading your work before you submit it and by writing practice essays.

III. Content counts 75% of the total grade. The kinds of questions that are considered in evaluating content include the following:

1. Is your information accurate?
2. Is your discussion logical?
3. Did you transform the raw data into a more useful and appropriate format?
4. Do you adequately support your argument?
5. Do you adequately correlate and contrast your data to previous experience?
6. Do you support your conclusions with the appropriate statistical test(s)?

You should write your reports as if you were submitting them to the Transactions of the Tennessee Academy of Sciences. I, in turn, will review them as if I were an editor for the journal.

Name______________________

Grades

Spelling x 10% = .

Grammar x 15% = .

Content x 75% = .

COMPOSITE GRADE .