Syllabus

Catalog Description:

Coverage of the principles of heredity. Topics include transmission genetics, population genetics, and molecular genetics. Laboratory provides opportunities for students to apply a range of experimental approaches to ask and answer genetic questions in a variety of model organisms. Lecture, discussion, and laboratory. Prerequisites: Chemistry 1a or 51.

Staff:

Course Logistics:

Lecture: MWF 10:00, Hahn 108
Lab: Thursday 1:15, Seaver Biology 121/122
Mentor Session: Sunday 7:00-9:00 pm, Seaver Biology 101 (Biology Lounge)

Textbooks:

• iGenetics, a Mendelian Approach, Peter Russell, 2006. Available at Huntley Bookstore.
• Biology 40: Introductory Genetics Laboratory Manual, Clarissa Cheney et al., 2009. The lab manual will be distributed in class at no charge.

• A Short Guide to Writing About Biology, 6^th ed., Jan Pechenik, 2006. A great resource for writing lab reports. Not at Huntley Bookstore, but can be ordered online. An older edition (which will be less expensive) is fine.

• iGenetics Study Guide and Solutions Manual: A Mendelian Approach, Peter Russell and Bruce Chase, 2006. Not at Huntley Bookstore, but can be ordered online.

Goals:

By the end of the semester, we expect that Biology 40 students will:

• Understand the basic principles of transmission (Mendelian), molecular, and population genetics
• Know key experiments that form the basis for our current genetic knowledge
• Understand how to approach genetic problems and analysis
• Be able to state a testable scientific hypothesis
• Be familiar with common genetic laboratory techniques
• Understand what constitutes primary and secondary scientific literature, know the sections of a scientific paper, and be able to write scientifc findings in a journal article format

Lectures:

Lectures are MWF, 10:00-10:50 am. We will cover the principles and applications of genetics as well as key experiments that provide the basis of our current understanding of genetics. You are responsible for all material covered in lecture, including announcements, handouts, and material that may not be in the textbook. You are encouraged to ask questions in lecture, but please refrain from chatting with your neighbors.

Homework Problems:

Solving problems is the most important thing you can do to master genetics, and problem sets will be regularly assigned. They will not be graded, but you are strongly urged to do the problems to apply what you’ve learned in lecture and to test your understanding. Student mentors (see below) will hold regular sessions to help you with the problem sets.

Mentors:

Each Bio 40 section has two student mentors, who have two main functions: (1) to help students solve the problems in the assigned problem sets, and (2) to help students understand course material. Though mentors will attend lecture and be proficient in all course material, problem-solving sessions will not be lecture review sessions; instead they will focus on students’ questions about problem sets. Students must work on the problems on their own before attending problem set sessions. Our experience suggests that students who come to mentor sessions to learn the problems without first trying to work them on their own do poorly in exams. Given that problems represent a significant portion of exam material, attendance at mentor sessions is strongly suggested, even for students with a solid grasp of lecture material. Regular mentor sessions will be held Sundays at 3:00 pm in Seaver Biology 38. Mentors can also be seen by appointment.

Exams:

Please note that each section of Bio40 will have its own exams. There will be no make-up exams. If you do not take an hour exam and you do not have an excused absence, you will receive a grade of zero for that exam. You may be excused from an exam if you are hospitalized or if there has been a health emergency in your immediate family. Either circumstance will have to be verified before you may be excused. In other words, do not plan to miss an exam. All students must take the final exam. Those who are excused from the regularly scheduled final exam, due to hospitalization or a family emergency, may take a written or oral makeup exam or no exam, at the discretion of the course instructor.

Lab Projects and Lab Reports:

The lab portion of the course consists of four multi-week projects. Even though each project is made up of more than one experiment, the experiments are related to one another, and they are written up as one continuous project. Lab assignments are due on the dates specified below at the beginning of your lab period (except the yeast report which is due Wednesday, March 12, at 5 pm for all sections). Lab reports follow the format of a scientific paper (read and follow the instructions in “Writing a Scientific Paper” in the lab manual). Specific directions will be provided for each report. You are required to submit both a paper copy and an electronic copy (via Sakai). (Lab reports are worth a total of 220 points.)

Please Note: Late papers will lose 10% of the total available points for each day (weekends included) that they are late beyond the designated deadline. To pass this class students must complete all required written work.

Writing Workshops:

During the week before the lab reports are due, Writing Fellows will be leading workshops specifically focused on writing Bio 40 lab reports. Attendance is strongly encouraged.

Lab Quizzes:

To insure students are prepared for lab, short quizzes focusing on relevant background and procedures will be given prior to each lab. Quizzes will begin promptly at 1:15 pm. (50 points)

Lab Conduct:

At the end of the course you will be assigned a grade based on your conduct and attendance in lab. Being prepared, focused, conscientious, and diligent will contribute to a good conduct grade. Unexcused absences and behavior or practices that are incompatible with the safety or efficient running of a lab or are distracting to other students will result in loss of points. (30 points.)

Grading:

This course is not graded on a curve — the following grading scale is guaranteed. If necessary, the grades may be curved upward at the end of the semester, but they will not be curved downward. Please note that you are not in competition with one another for grades, and we strongly encourage you to work with one another to learn the course material.

Extra Credit:

You can earn up to a total of 20 points extra credit if you attend two biology seminars on the Claremont Colleges campus and write a one-page summary of each seminar. Each seminar summary is worth 10 points. A maximum of two seminar summaries can be submitted for extra credit. To receive full credit your summary must include the following: a statement of the hypothesis the investigator was addressing, a brief description of the methods used to address that hypothesis, and a summary of the results obtained. Submit these summaries on Sakai no later than 2 weeks following a seminar.

Sakai:

You will submit your extra credit summaries and electronic versions of your lab reports in the “Assignments” section of the course Sakai site. Copies of exam materials, PowerPoint slides from lectures, and other useful materials will be posted in the “Resources” section of our Sakai site: https://sakai.claremont.edu:8443/portal/site/CX_mtg_38725