FUNDAMENTALS OF BIOLOGY 1 LABORATORY SYLLABUS

FUNDAMENTALS OF BIOLOGY 1 LABORATORY
Fall 2008

DR. SUSAN PETRO, Laboratory Coordinator for all sections

This syllabus is not set in stone, I may need to add or delete material as necessary. Keep the syllabus bookmarked on your computer so you have the most current information always available.

OFFICE G322 TELEPHONE 201-684-7038
E-MAIL spetro@ramapo.edu WEB ADDRESS http://phobos.ramapo.edu/~spetro
OFFICE HRS : MONDAY 2:30-3:30, TUESDAY 1:30-2:30 and THURSDAY 2:30-3:30 AND BY APPOINTMENT

SCHEDULE / GRADING / LAB POLICIES

Required Materials

Dolphin's Biological Investigations Lab Manual by Warren D. Dolphin, 8th edition. ISBN # 978-0-07-299287-8 CAUTION: If you buy a used lab manual be sure you check Lab Topics 2, 4, 5, and 7 to be sure the previous owner did not rip those pages out of the lab manual.
A Guide to Biology Lab by Thomas G. Rust. ISBN # 0-937029-01-7 Bring to class beginning with Lab Topic 16: Investigating Plant Phylogeny: Seedless Plants.
Dissecting kit. Bring to class beginning with Lab Topic 20 Animal Phylogeny: Investigating Animal Body Plans.
Folders with a horizontal pocket in which to submit your lab assignments.
Calculator - any brand

Writing Intensive Course

Fundamentals of Biology I fulfills one of your lower level writing intensive course requirements and as such you are required to do a substantial number of writing assignments. As this is a science course these assignments will be laboratory reports and lab assignments.
Value of a Writing Intensive Course

Grading

The laboratory grade is 50% of the final grade. It will be determined by:

Two laboratory tests = 40%
Five prelab quizzes and one video quiz = 5%
Laboratory assignments/reports = 45%
Assignment on trip to the American Museum of Natural History = 10%. This assignment is to be handed in at the last lab the week of December 8^th. You may go to the Museum of Natural History at your convenience anytime during the semester however the assignment will make more sense to you after the lecture on phylogeny the week of October 27. This fulfills the college's experiential learning component requirement for this course.

Important information on lab assignments/reports

Every laboratory assignment/report is an individual writing assignment, not a group effort. All questions must be answered and all reports written in your own words. Excel graphs are also individual efforts. Copying between lab partners or directly out of the lab manual or textbook without proper citations will be considered cheating.

Laboratory assignments/reports are due at the beginning of lab the week following completion of the laboratory. LATE LABS ARE NOT ACCEPTED - NO EXCUSES. If you are absent on the day a lab should be handed in you must turn the lab in at the next lecture you attend. If Dr. Petro is not your lab instructor she will put it in your instructor's mailbox and email your instructor that it has been received. Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not. Thomas Henry Huxley

How often have you said or heard someone else say, "I have a lab report to write for my instructor." or "I have 10 pages to read for my professor." ? Nothing could be further from the truth. You do a lot of work in college, but none of it is done for the teacher. You are working to educate not the teacher but yourself.

Lab Policies

Bring your lab syllabus, lab manual and appropriate handouts printed from the lab syllabus web page to every class. Printing out of lab handouts is not to be done in the lab, but before you come to class.

Students are responsible for reading both the week’s assigned lab exercise in the lab manual and the handouts prior to class.

Eating and drinking are not permitted in the lab for safety reasons.

Cell phones are to be turned off and stored in a pocket, backpack or purse during lab.

Earphones are to be removed from your ears and put away until after class

There are links to other web sites from the lab syllabus web page. These links will give you additional information that will be helpful for that day's lab.

If you know you will miss your regularly scheduled lab (funeral, job interview, religious holiday, etc.) you must notify your instructor and make up that lab in another section that week or get a zero for that lab. The lab is dismantled each week on Friday evening so labs cannot be made up the following week. The six laboratory sections for Fundamentals I are: Wednesday 8:00-11:15 and 3:00-6:15, Thursday 9:45-1:00 and 2:00-5:15 and 6:00-9:15 and Friday 2:00-5:15. All labs are held in G308.

The write-up for the last lab is optional. If you do this write-up it will replace your lowest lab report/assignment grade. So for instance, if you miss a lab one week and cannot attend one of the other sections you may use this optional write-up to replace the zero on the missed lab.

Class starts promptly at the scheduled time. If you are late you will receive a zero on that day's quiz or if there is no quiz that day you will be penalized 10 points on that lab assignment/report as you will have missed the introductory comments and will not be prepared to properly assist your lab partners.

DATE

SUBJECT

Week of September 3^rd

Lab Topic 2	Techniques in Microscopy Appendix A (page 443)
Handouts	Metric Conversion Handout - to be given out in class Visualizing Resolution Handout Metric Conversion Worksheet Hints on Significant Figures Significant Figures Worksheet Mathematical Computations in Scientific Notation
Assignment due next week	Answer questions and fill in all tables in lab manual on pgs. 13-18. Once you have calibrated your ocular micrometer do not forget to measure a red blood cell. Answer lab summary questions 1 and 2 on page 21. Complete metric conversion worksheet using the handout to assist you. Complete significant figures worksheet using the above web site and Appendix A to help you. Prepare for quiz on next week's lab procedure. Directions for pre-lab quizzes.
Web sites to assist you	An excellent MANDATORY tutorial on significant figures. Note: There is one error in the tutorial. I also strongly recommend you do these quizzes to be sure you understand significant figures. Note: If you click on 'Take another randomly generated quiz' and you get the same quiz again then click on the Reload button at the top of your computer screen. Under Scientific Notation on this website click on multiply or divide to see how it's done

Week of
September 10^th

Lab Topic 5	Using Quantitative Techniques and Statistics. Also Appendix C up to Comparing Count Data on p. 449
Assignment due next week	Complete all the questions and fill in all the blanks and tables on pages 43-50 of the lab manual (Omit questions 11 and 12 on page 50 and all the graphing which will be done next week.) Summary questions 1 (explain how you would make your standard curve first) and 2 on page 50 Critical Thinking question 1 on page 51 Use Appendices A and C to help you.

Week of
September 17^th
^{You may
want
to bring a USB flash drive to this class to save your work - no
other method of saving your work can be used in the computer lab.
reserved for this week}

Handouts	The computers in E233 and in G308 have Office 2007 installed so use Excel 2007 directions below for those labs. If your own computer or computers elsewhere on campus have Office 2003 then use the Excel 2003 directions below. "Using Excel 2007 to do Linear Regression and Graphing" "Using Excel 2003 to do Linear Regression and Graphing" Sample problems to do in class with instructor
Assignment due next week	Using Excel calculate the mean and standard deviation for Table 5.2 in Lab Topic 5 of your lab manual. Do linear regression graphs for Tables 5.3 and 5.4 and determine the concentration of the unknown dye solution. Do the histogram for the class data of water volumes. Make sure to include the mean/standard deviation line over the bars. (See Excel handout) Prepare for quiz on next week's lab procedure
Web sites	A great visual aide to explain correlation coefficient

Week of
September 24^thYou may want to bring a USB flash drive to this class to save your work.

Lab Topic 7	Determining the Properties of Enzymes Preparing an Extract on page 75 will be done in class, not by the instructor as stated.
Handouts	Corrections, Clarifications and Helpful Hints for this lab Sample journal article from BIOS, a student research journal The sections of a lab report are organized just like a journal article so use this article as an example.
Assignment due next week	a) Write Lab Report according to grading criteria below and the directions in Appendix D - Writing Lab Reports - p.453-455. Grading criteria for lab report b) If you have difficulty writing well make use of Ramapo College's Center for Academic Success c) Prepare for quiz on next lab procedure
Web site	Important information about quoting and paraphrasing that you should know for writing your lab report.

Week of October 1^st

Lab Topic 4

Determining How Materials Enter Cells (Omit osmosis p.36, diffusion in gases p.37, and osmoregulation in the paramecium p.38-40.) Diffusion in gels will be done as a demonstration by the instructor.

Handouts

Assignment
due
next week

1. Answer questions in lab manual on following sections:

	a) Simultaneous Osmosis and Diffusion (make sure to include Table 4.1)
	b) Diffusion in Gels Click here for questions for this section Converting from a fraction to a decimal
	c) Elodea Plasmolysis. There is a nice video of this process on the website for your lecture textbook. Go to Chapter 7 Concept 7.3 and click on Video: Plasmolysis

2. Answer Critical Thinking Questions 1, 4 and 6 in the lab
manual.
3. Determination of Osmotic Concentration of Potato
Parenchyma Handout

	a) Type up the two tables with the values - handwritten tables will not be accepted
	b) Plot a two-line Excel graph with your lab table's data and the class data
	c) Type up the answers to questions 1 and 2
	d) Answer problems at end of handout showing your work

4. Prepare for quiz on next week's lab procedure

Answers to lab manual critical thinking questions - to be linked after lab assignments have been handed in.

Week of
October 8^th

Handout

"Fermentation in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae"

Assignment
due next week

Lab Report on the fermentation handout.

Grading criteria for lab report

Revise your turnip peroxidase lab report. Print and hand in one copy of the revised turnip peroxidase lab report to your instructor.

Week of October 15^th
You may want to bring red and yellow colored pencils, markers or crayons to class for the Biobead drawing

Lab Topic 9	Determining Chromosome Number in Mitotic Cells (Omit procedures for Staining Chromosomes in Dividing Cells on page 99. Students will use prepared slides for this section.)
Video	"Mitosis and Meiosis"
Web sites	Whitefish blastula slides As you look at the onion (Allium cepa) root tip slides it might be helpful to go to this web site or this one (brief) for clear photomicrographs of the stages of mitosis. Simple animated interactive quiz on mitosis and meiosis
Handout	Using Chromosomes to Classify Plant Species "Mitosis and Meiosis Simulation Using Biobeads" Form for critiquing another student's fermentation report
Assignment due next week	Labeled drawings of the five stages of the cell cycle in the whitefish blastula All questions on pages 97-103 of the lab manual except the first question on page 98. Also you do not need to draw the stages of the cell cycle in the onion, but you must measure a chromosome. Also answer lab summary questions 1, 2, 3 and 4 and critical thinking questions 1 and 3 on page 103-4. Summary question 4 involves making a frequency histogram, which is a bar graph, so carefully follow the steps in your Excel handout for making a bar graph. In addition, do the drawings and answer the questions on the Biobead handout. Filled in form for critiquing another student's fermentation lab report stapled to the student's report. (Grading for critiquing form will be part of the Fungus lab assignment grade.) Prepare for quiz on next week's lab procedure Grading for this assignment

Week of October 22^nd

Handouts	"Introduction to Genetics Using Tobacco Seedlings" Check out the sample journal article from Lab Topic 7 above to see Chi square test in use "Blood Typing Cases" Print out additional blood typing handouts from your WebCT account - icon right on home page
Computer program	Virtual Fly Lab - Drosophila genetics Click on Programs on the lab computer then click on Biology Apps then click on Biolab Fly
Websites	Blood transfusion computer game See WebCT for additional helpful handouts for this lab
Assignment due in two weeks	NOTE: This assignment will be handed in in two weeks so you can concentrate on studying for the midterm next week. Hand in typed tables and answers to questions on tobacco handout Answers (include your toothpick worksheets) to blood typing questions. Send a copy of your revised turnip peroxidase lab report as an attachment to spetro@ramapo.edu. Do not send the report and the graphs as separate documents. The entire report must be sent as one Word document. See Excel handout for embedding graphs in a Word document if you don't know how to do this. This copy will become part of your permanent Biology portfolio. If you don't send a copy 10 points will be taken off your grade for this report. Revise your fermentation lab report using the critique from the student who corrected your report. You will hand in your original fermentation lab report with the correction sheet attached along with your revised report.

October 27^th

Last Day to Withdraw

Week of October 29^th

Midterm Examination on Lab Topics 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, Excel lab and fermentation
Will have questions that will require using Excel on the computer.
Click here for an excellent quiz on stages of mitosis in onion and fish blastula.
Lab midterm review sheet

Week of
November 5^thNote: Bring A Guide to Biology Lab by Thomas Rust to class beginning with this lab and continuing for the rest of the semester

Lab Topic 16	Investigating Plant Phylogeny - Seedless Plants Bring your classmate's corrected fermentation report to class today
Handout	Drawings
Assignment due next week	Drawings - Students must observe and draw each slide on their own using their own microscopes. These drawings are not group efforts. Summary questions 2, 3, 6 Critical thinking questions 3 and 4 on p. 197. Grading for assignment
Reviews of Moss and Fern Life Cycles	Chapter 29 moss life cycle activity on textbook CD/website Chapter 29 fern life cycle activity on textbook CD/website

Week of
November 12^th

Lab Topic 18	Observing Fungal Diversity and Symbiotic Relationships
Handout	Drawings
Web site	Simple website for information on lichens
Assignment due next lab period	Answers to summary questions 1 (omit From the various protists?), 2 (change question to read five phyla studied, not four), 3, 4 and 7 Answers to critical thinking questions 1 and 3 in your lab manual. Drawings
Grading for this assignment

Week of
November 19^thBring your dissecting kit to class beginning this week
and continuing for the rest of the semester.

Lab Topic 20	Animal Phylogeny: Investigating Animal Body Plans - Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes. Omit Nematoda p. 256-259.
Handout	Drawings
Web site	A nice animated site on the Planaria (Dugesia)
Assignment due next week	Drawings Summary questions 1, 2 (omit nematode for these two), 4 and 6 Critical thinking question 2 on p. 260. Include why you think the sponge in the question may be green.

Grading for this assignment

Week of November 26^th

Thanksgiving break - no labs

Week of
December 3^rd

Lab Topic 21	Protostomes I: Lophotrochozoans and Developmint of Complexity - Annelids and Mollusks (Omit phylum Bryozoa)
Handouts	Drawings Dissection identification handout and checklist for clam Dissection identification handout and checklist for squid Dissection identification handout and checklist for earthworm Go to the course WebCT homepage and click on the squid icon for the handout containing diagrams of the squid dissection.
Web sites	An interactive review of the earthworm dissection A nice web site on the squid we dissect in class (Loligo sp.) An interactive quiz on the external anatomy of the squid - just click anywhere on the screen to begin.
Assignment due next week	Drawings Two questions in Column 1 on p. 265. Summary questions 1, 4, 7 and 8 (add and reading after the word observations in this question and omit comparisons to nematodes) Critical Thinking question #1 p. 277. Dissection identification handout and checklist for clam Dissection identification handout and checklist for squid Dissection identification handout and checklist for earthworm

Grading for this assignment

Week of
December 10^th

Assignment on Museum trip due this week

Lab Topic 22	Protosomes II: Ecdysozoa and Great Diversity (Omit horseshoe crab, barnacle, Daphnia and internal anatomy of an insect.)
Lab Topic 23	Deuterostomes: Investigating the Origins of the Vertebrates (Omit sections on subphyla Urochordata p.300 and Vertebrata p.304-307.)
Handouts	Drawings Print out cockroach handout from your WebCT account - icon right on home page Dissection identification handout and checklist for crayfish Echinoderm Buffet Handout
Assignment Lab Topic 22	Summary questions 1, 2, 4 p.293 Critical Thinking question 3 p. 293 Dissection identification handout and checklist for crayfish Drawings
Assignment Lab Topic 23	Echinoderm Buffet Handout Summary questions 1 (don't just list reasons, explain the reasons) and 5 p.308

Grading for this assignment
The write up for this lab is optional. If you choose to do it your lowest lab assignment/report grade will be replaced by the grade on this report if it is higher.

Week of December 17^{th

Lab exams will be held in
G308.}

Final Exam

Will cover those labs beginning with the week of October 22^th ( those not covered by the midterm exam).
The final will have both a practical section and a written section.
Lab final review checklist

Study aids for lab final exam

There are interactive CDs of dissections of the clam, squid and earthworm available to use on the computers in G310 for review for the final. Ask Dr. Petro or the lab technicians, Joe DeLibero or Kamil Starzak, for them.
G310 is a student study room. It contains a case of microscopes and in the drawer under the fish tank labeled Fundamentals of Biology I Study Slides there is a box of all the slides observed this semester. You may review these slides whenever the room is not in use for classes. If the room is locked ask Dr. Petro or any one of the lab technicians to open it for you.
Review of microscope slides - index of slides - to be linked after last lab assignment is handed in to your instructor.

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