Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 3 sessions / week, 1 hour / session

Recitations: 2 sessions / week, 1 hour / session

Prerequisites

There are no formal prerequisites for this course, but we do presuppose high school-level biology and chemistry (especially familiarity with the fundamental aspects of chemical structure).

Text

The class text is: Purves, Orians, Heller, and Sadava. Life: The Science of Biology. 7th ed. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates; Gordonsville, VA: W.H. Freeman and Co., 2003. ISBN: 9780716798569.

There is an accompanying book Web site: The LifeWire.

Recitations

Regular weekly attendance is expected. Each recitation section meets twice per week for 50 minutes. Recitation problems and solutions from the Spring 2005 version are available in the recitations section.

Tutors

Tutors are available at no charge for all students who wish to have extra help with the course material, either on a one-time or on a regular basis.

Assignments

There are seven problem sets for this course. Of the six problem sets which are graded, the lowest grade is dropped in calculating your final grade. The last problem set, problem set 7, will not be graded; however, the material on this problem set will be covered on the final exam.

Although you may engage in general discussions of problems, sharing of answers is a violation of the trust placed in all students in the class, each of whom is entrusted with producing her/his own set of answers. Students who copy problem set answers or allow their problem sets to be copied may receive a 0 for all the problem sets (and thus lose 20% of the grade).

Exams

There will be four examinations: three during the term, during class time, and a comprehensive final (worth 2 quizzes), given during finals week.

Term quizzes will take place simultaneously in two locations on the quiz dates. Which room you will be in will be announced prior to each quiz. Quiz Review Sessions will be held prior to each quiz. Tutorial sessions will also be announced during the term.

The Final Exam will be a 3 hour, cumulative exam, covering the entirety of the course, with emphasis on the material not previously covered on a quiz. The score will be divided in two and count as two quizzes in calculating your grade. Since the final counts as two quizzes in making up your grade, it must be taken, or you will lose 20% of your grade. The date, time, and location of the final will be announced as soon as this information is available. A conflict final exam may be scheduled by the registrar for students with legitimate conflicts.

Academic dishonesty concerning quizzes is not acceptable and will result in severe consequences.

Grading

The lowest letter grade score of the "five" quizzes (3 during the term plus the final which is worth 2 quizzes) will be dropped when calculating your overall grade. Because we drop the lowest quiz score, if you miss a term quiz, it will be the quiz score that is dropped, and thus... there will be no make-up quizzes and no conflict quizzes given for any reason!!!