Course Syllabus

Course Description:

This course offers a detailed study of eukaryotic cell anatomy, metabolism, and division, including the study of Mendelian genetics and the molecular genetics of eukaryotes. Prokaryotic cellular structure (eubacteria and archea), microbial genetics, and viruses are also studied. We will discuss the scientific method in lecture and you will implement various components of it in the lab. This course is one of three courses in the biology series designed for biology majors, including those of you planning to pursue a career in medicine, dentistry, or other life sciences.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course you will be able to:

  • understand and apply principles of the scientific method; recognizing an idea based on reproducible evidence. 
  • use the compound and dissecting microscope to observe cells and microorganisms. 
  • describe key activities in cell replication.

Course Content:

  • See the course schedule posted on Canvas in the important class info module.  

Textbooks:

Great news: your lecture textbook for this class is available for free online!
Biology 2e from OpenStax, ISBN 978-1-947172-51-7

You have several options to obtain this book:

You can use whichever formats you want. Web view is recommended -- the responsive design works seamlessly on any device.

Lab Textbook

Biology Laboratory Manual, Custom edition, by Vodopitch and Moore. ISBN: 9781307999198.  This is an electronic custom edition. Click here to order this text from the ECC bookstore. 

Grades:

Your grade will be based on the total points you accumulate in lecture and lab over the semester. The point distribution for the semester is listed below. All assignment grades for this class will be available on the Canvas site, so you will always know where you stand in the class. A 90-100% B 80-89% C 67-80% D 55-66% F below 55%.  Your percentage will be rounded up if it is at least .45 (so 89.45% is an A).  

Assignment Points
Lecture Exams (3 x 80 points each) 240
Lab Exams (2 x 80 points each) 160 
Lab Project 50
Homework 50 
Total 500

Course Format and Organization:

  • Bio 110 is a very high demand class and you have many colleagues trying to add either from the waitlist or by crashing this course. So that I can serve as many students as possible, I need to make sure that everyone in the course is actively engaged and intends to participate. For this reason, you must attend the first lab on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at 5:40 pm in LS 105.  Failure to do so will result in your being dropped from the course. If an emergency comes up and you are not able to attend class February 19, please send me an email so that I know to hold your spot.

  • This class is taught in a hybrid format, which means that you will need to watch the lecture videos and complete the work for the lecture portion of the course on your own each week.  I will plan time each class to go over the most important lecture points for the week, answer any questions you may have, and do some activities to prepare you for lecture exams, however, you must do work on your own outside of class to be successful.  

  • This course has been organized into weekly modules and the materials for each week (lectures, video/reading links, and case studies) are available on the Canvas site.  Please come see me ASAP if there is anything you have questions about or aren’t sure you understand.

  • Because the lab environment is a hands-on, interactive one, there is no substitute for actually doing the lab. For this reason, I cannot help you make up a lab after you miss it. Please get the information you missed from someone in your lab group and come see me in office hours or after class if you have questions.  Because lab is experiential learning, California Education Code requires you to attend and participate in lab in order to remain enrolled in the course.  So, if something comes up that prevents you from attending lab, please let me know so that I can work with you to keep your spot in the course.  Please wear closed toed shoes to lab and pull your hair back if it is long. Also, there is no food or drink allowed in the lab (we work with bacteria, and I am sure you don’t want it getting in your snacks and drinks).

Assignments for this Class

  • All of my lecture exams are made up of multiple choice (taken on your own during a 2 day period we agree on as a class) and short answer questions (taken in class on the day indicated on the course schedule). Though you may prefer all multiple choice, many of you will need to be able to write about science in your future careers, and thus I must help you further develop this skill.  Some of the exam material will be straight from your homework questions, so do your homework because it will help you. We will go over what to expect from the free response portion in class before exam 1.  You will be allowed one page, front and back, of notes for the exam.  These can be handwritten or typed, but everything must be in your own words.  It is a violation of the class and campus academic integrity policy to copy and paste any materials directly from the lectures, other course materials, or other sources onto your notes page so please make this yourself.  If an emergency comes up and you are not able to make one of the lecture exams, please speak with me about a makeup.  
  • You will have two lab exams during the semester.  These exams are multiple-choice and will be given in class.  You will need a scantron and a pencil to take the lab exams, and notes sheets are not allowed for the lab exams.  We will discuss what to expect for these exams in class closer to the date of lab exam 1.  I do not give makeup exams for lab, so please plan to be in class on these dates.  

  • In order to help you focus on the most important concepts from each lecture, I will post a set of multiple-choice homework problems on Canvas for you to complete each week. Homework will be due by the due date shown on the Canvas site. I try to make homework assignments fairly concise, and only make questions about things I REALLY want you to know. Doing your homework well and on time will definitely put you on the right track toward a good grade in this class!

  • During the last month of the semester, we will work on analyzing a research talk/paper and you will submit an assignment summarizing the research question, hypothesis, and major conclusions of the study as well as the data presented in each of the figures in the paper.  This type of analytical thinking will be critical to your success in your future career, so it is important to me that you are introduced to it now, early in your educational experience.  We will spend time in class preparing for this assignment so that you are ready to submit your best work.  

Other Helpful Notes 

  • If you are an SRC student who will be requesting accommodations during the semester, please speak with me during the first week of the term and I will make all possible efforts to work with you.

 

  • You should know that if you reveal gender-based or sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking or intimate partner violence to any instructor, we are required by law to report the problem to the Office of Staff and Student Diversity. However, psychologists are not required to report to the Office of Staff and Student Diversity. You can call the Student Health Center at 310.660.3643 or visit their website:http://www.elcamino.edu/studentservices/health.

 

A Word on Academic Integrity

I am trusting you to take the exams on your own using only the page of notes I allow you to bring and not cheat.  For the lab project, I am trusting you to do your own research, cite appropriately, and write everything in your own words without plagiarizing or using AI based programs for your writing.  If you have questions about exam material or project directions, please come to me and I’ll be happy to clarify. Collaboration with another student or anyone outside the class is not allowed on exams and I will explain what level of collaboration is allowed for the project. While I encourage you to seek help from classmates on labs if you need it, please do not copy others’ work, but do your thinking and writing independently. This not only prevents you from plagiarizing, it also helps you to learn the information for yourself.  Please consult the Student Handbook, Catalog, or Schedule of Classes for the college’s policy on Academic Integrity. I will adhere to the policy. If I catch you cheating or plagiarizing, you will get a 0 on the assignment and I may have to turn you in to the College, which I don’t want to have to do;).