1 Biology 2960, Principles of Biology I, Spring, 2006 General Course ...

Biology 2960, Principles of Biology I, Spring, 2006
General Course Information.
This handout contains important information about this course; please read it carefully.
The Bio 2960 website= http://www.nslc.wustl.edu/courses/Bio2960/bio2960.html
Every MWF: Section 1 lectures (10-11AM) are in Lab Science 300 and section 2 lectures
(noon-1pm) are in Room 458, Louderman Hall (Office hrs for lecturers are 11-12 in
Louderman Hall, room 458 every Wednesday)
I. Instructor Office/Phone/ e-Mail
Robert Kranz Monsanto Hall 306A 935-4278 kranz@biology.wustl.edu
Eric Richards Monsanto Hall 511A 935- 7196 richards@biology.wustl.edu
Kathy Hafer (Lab) Life Science 102 935-4424 hafer@biology2.wustl.edu
April Bednarski (Lab) Rebstock 131A 935-4782 aprilb@biology2.wustl.edu
Wil Cruz (Lab) Rebstock 130 935-5436 cruzws@biology.wustl.edu
(see "TAs and tutors" below in section VI)
II. Required Materials: (available in the campus bookstore; the two textbooks are
used for all three of the biology core courses)
1. Berg, Tymoczko, and Stryer, Biochemistry, 5th Edition
2. Griffiths et al, An Introduction to Genetic Analysis, 8 th Edition
3. Fourth Edition. Laboratory Manual, Bio 2960 (2006)
If you need help with the web page contact David Heyse, Natural Science Learning
Center (LS 115) or heyse@biology.wustl.edu.
III. Exams and Grading (Note: no exam grades will be dropped and no make-up
exams given)
Lab: 2 hrs / week, with weekly lab reports, will count for 20% of grade.
Three In-term Exams and a Final Exam count 80% as defined below : (Please mark your
calendar now with these evening dates! Note: You will be notified as to which room to
report for these exams; all exams are on Thursdays!)
First: Feb 2, Thursday, 6:30-8:30 (covers lectures 1- 6 material) 10% of grade
Second: March 2, Thursday, 6:30-8:30 (covers lecture 7 through 17) 20 % of grade
Third: Aprill 6, Thursday, 6:30-8:30 (covers lecture 18 through 30 ) 20% of grade
Final examination (covers lectures 31-41 and some comprehensive aspects): Thursday, May 4,
10:30-12:30 30% of grade
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In-term Exams: Reserve the exam evenings noted above (If you are
participating in varsity sports notify your coach now of these dates, and
have the coaches contact the professors immediately, at the beginning of the
semester. No requests will be considered that are submitted less than two weeks prior to
an exam. No allowances will be made for students participating in
student-run or student-sponsored events, regardless of the purpose) NO
MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN AND NO EXAM GRADES WILL BE
DROPPED. THEREFORE, DO NOT SCHEDULE ANY CONFLICTS FOR THE
EVENINGS OF EXAMS.
Grading and Regrades: Exams are graded by separate PhD students that are not TAs
for the course, with each grading the same question(s) for all students, thus assuring
consistency. Any tabulation errors for exams should be brought to the attention of Dr.
Hafer by the regrade deadline (see below). For reevaluation of one of your answers from
any exam, the following procedure must be undertaken:
If you have a clear-cut request, you must return the entire exam with a thorough,
typed regrade request that includes the rationale and justification for your request (with a
citation/page number from the text, if appropriate). This written request is returned to Dr.
Hafer stapled to the exam by the Friday (4pm) after your exam is returned. We will keep
this on file until the end of the semester and if such a regrade might impact your
letter grade, it will be reevaluated at that time (the whole exam will be regraded ).
Remember to make a copy of your exam for yourself as a study tool for the final exam.
This regrade procedure is printed on the cover page of each exam.
IV.Discussion/Problem sessions:
Problem Sets: Problem sets will generally be posted on the web the week before each set
of sessions. Lecture topics specifically relevant to each problem set will be so indicated.
These are an important study tool, providing problems similar to some of those that you
will see on the exams. You should be prepared to discuss the problem set in discussion
sessions.
Discussion / problem sessions, all 7-9pm (All sessions are in Rebstock Hall room
215), (Note: each of the back-to-back sessions will be the same and the purpose is to take
questions and cover the problem sets ).
Jan 30, Jan 31, Feb 1 (Mon, Tues, Wed): each identical covering lecture topics 1-6.
Feb 13, Feb 14 (Mon, Tues): each identical covering lecture topics 7-11.
Feb 28, March 1 ( Tues, Wed): each identical covering lecture topics 12-17.
March 23, March 26 (Thur, Sun): each identical covering lecture topics 18-23.
April 4, April 5 (Tues, Wed): each identical covering lecture topics 24-29.
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April 18, April 19 (Tues, Wed): each identical covering lecture topics 30-35.
May 2, May 3 (Tues, Wed): each identical covering lecture topics 36-41.
V. Lab Sessions.
You should have already signed up for a Lab section. If you are wait-listed for the section
of your choice, you need to make another selection. Changes may be made on the
University computer system until 4 PM, Thursday, January 19. After that time, you must
see Dr. Hafer (Life Sciences 102) to change sections. The deadline for switching sections
is 4 pm Tuesday, Jan 31.
Attendance at Lab Sessions is Required. You are required to turn in lab reports
and cannot turn in a report for a lab session you missed. You must attend the session for
which you are registered; no credit will be given for lab work done in sessions other than
the one in which you are registered. NO MAKE-UP LABS ARE ALLOWED. All
students can drop one lab report grade, so there is no penalty for missing one lab session
during the semester.
VI. Lecture teaching assistants (TAs) and undergraduate tutors. A
number of resources are available for one-on-one help or as small
groups. The TAs will be running each of the Discussion/problem
sessions, assisting in the design of course materials, and in holding
office hours for assistance.
Lecture TA contact info.
Six graduate TAs ( contact info )
The following TAs will be leading discussion sessions and office hrs for the first half
of the course(Jan 18- March 3):
Pazolli Mira epazolli@artsci.wustl.edu
Flessner Lauren lbflessn@artsci.wustl.edu
Schepker Jessie jaschepk@artsci.wustl.edu
The following TAs will be leading discussion sessions and office hrs for the second
half of the course (March 6- May 4):
Nicholson Tracy tFnichoL@artsci.wustl.edu
Zhang Don zhangd@msnotes.wustl.edu
Campbell Jessea jacampb@artsci.wustl.edu
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Office hrs and location for each of the lecture TAs will be designated in a separate
document on the Bio 2960 website. Office hrs will be each week there is an exam and
by appointment.
Tutors (for individual and group tutoring) are available free of charge. If you need
an undergraduate tutor, who has already taken similar coursework, contact Dr.
Kathy Hafer in person or via email (hafer@biology2.wustl.edu). Students working
with tutors are expected to meet regularly with the tutor.
VII. Lectures and Assigned Readings: Lectures will parallel but typically not duplicate,
the treatment in the assigned readings in the texts. The lecturer will assume that you have
read the assigned material prior to class. Failure to do the reading in advance may lead to
difficulty in following the lectures. Some topics from the text readings will not be
covered in lectures but you are still responsible. All lectures will be videotaped and will
be available for review in the Biology Library and at http://eres.wustl.edu or via a link
from the Bio 2960 website; these tapes should be used for review, not in place of
attendance at live lectures.
Occasionally, outside readings will be selected to emphasize discovery- how we came to
know what we think we know. These readings will be available on the Bio 2960 web site.
Note that the web site is intended for use by the members of this class only, and is
password protected. Our permission to use these papers and other materials has been
granted on this condition; please respect this fact, and do not transfer material to an
unprotected site.
Classroom Handouts. There will be no classroom handouts. Key figures used in the
lectures will be available on the website before each lecture; therefore printing these
out prior to each lecture will aid in following each lecture.
VIII. Academic Integrity: We encourage you to form study groups, and to work
together in analyzing the text and readings, solving the problem sets, etc. However, the
work that you turn in (lab notebooks, exams) should be your work alone. For example,
while in lab you should discuss the questions with your lab partner(s), gather and share
your data, but then sit down and write your own lab report yourself. All lab reports and
exams, whether take-home or in class, should be your own work.
IX. REVIEWING BIOLOGY 2960 LECTURES
Problems with ERes and the streaming lectures should be reported to
eres@library.wustl.edu . Last year, they were typically fixed within hrs of reporting.
Recordings should be used for review in addition to attending lectures and not in the
place of lecture attendance. Experience has shown that students who rely on recorded
lectures may have suboptimal performance on exams. Also quality is not guaranteed;
each semester 1-2 lectures have some sound and/or video problems.
VHS videotapes are available in the Biology Library (usually late afternoon each lecture
day). Viewing while the library is open. First come/first served Sign out on log
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sheet/wait list at desk and use video players in library OR get 2-hour loan from desk and
use video players in NSLC or elsewhere .
Direct links thru the Bio 2960 website. On the web at http://eres.wustl.edu.
Username and password will be available from your instructor. IP protected - use a
workstation on W.U. campus or use the proxy server [see
http://library.wustl.edu/about/access.html]. Workstations available in Biology Library,
NSLC, and many campus computer labs. For plug-in information for your own
computers, see the online help pages.
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