Blog

SPRING 2022 BIO 201: PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: CELLS DR. JOSEPH COVI Page 1 of 8 COURSE DESCRIPTION BIO 201: Principles of Biology: Cells (3 credit lecture and 1 credit laboratory) Location/time: This is a 100% online course with synchronous lecture (TR 3:30-4:45). Description: Principles of Biology: Cells is an introductory biology course. Students taking this course will be introduced to the fundamentals of cell and molecular biology. This course focuses primarily on the intricate workings of the cell, the fundamental unit of life. Like all living things, cells maintain an organized structure, metabolize (that is, transform and use energy), respond to their environment, and grow, reproduce, and die. To understand how cells do these myriad of different things, this course will explore the basic chemistry of cells, the structure of cells, the energetics of cells, and the mechanisms regulating cell growth, reproduction, and death. In other words, you will learn the basis of life that you can’t see. This can be a challenge, but the end goal is worth it. This course will lay the foundation for all of your advanced biology classes. INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION Dr. Joseph Covi (only available by email, Canvas, and Zoom because course 100% online) Canvas: Used for class discussions and all course materials except for labs. McGraw Hill Connect: Recorded lectures and weekly homework are located here. Pearson Mastering Biology: Additional homework is located here. Zoom Office Hours: T 10:30AM – 12:30PM and R 9:30AM-12:30PM A zoom link is when you request a meeting. Please request a meeting by emailing Dr. Covi. Email: I communicate with students via email regularly, so check your email daily. Follow the email instructions below, because I can respond to you faster! 1. Type “BIO201 Topic” in the subject box 2. In the body, address the email to “Dr. Covi”, so I know this was intended for me. 3. On the second line of the body, Use full sentences to state questions or information. 4. At the end, type your full name (first and last as it appears with the registrar). 5. If you use a different name, then please add that so I use the name you prefer. 6. Lastly, you type in my email address: covij@uncw.edu REQUIRED MATERIALS (AVAILABLE IN BOOKSTORE OR DIRECTLY FROM PUBLISHER ONLINE) BIO201 Custom Brooker’s Biology 5th ed. textbook with “Connect” online access: This course uses a customized textbook from McGraw-Hill Education. You will need access to “Connect” for this course, which will include the custom electronic textbook. Recorded lectures and electronic homework assignments are posted on the Connect website, so you must get access on the first day of class! See instructions posted on Canvas for 1 week of free access and payment methods. A loose-leaf paper version of the textbook is not required, but is available for purchase through the bookstore and Connect. If you already paid for access to Connect for your previous BIO202 course, please contact Dr. Covi, because you do not need to purchase a second license. Lab: The lab is worth 25% of your grade in this course, because it is worth 1 of 4 credit hours. While lecture is 100% online, your lab may be face to face. See separate lab syllabus sent by Dr. Miller for details. Things you learn in lab are NOT tested on lecture exams. Likewise, lecture material is NOT needed for lab if you complete the required lab reading and prelab assignments! The topic in lab may not be the same as lecture each week, because the lab covers fewer topics. Additional course materials: Required course materials will be posted using Canvas and email. You are responsible for checking Canvas and your university email daily. Version last updated on 4-5-2022 SPRING 2022 BIO 201: PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: CELLS DR. JOSEPH COVI Page 2 of 8 EVALUATION (AKA GRADING) Final grade: Your final letter grade for the course is determined as follows. A 100 – 90% B+ 89.5 – 87% B 86.5 – 80% C+ 79.5 – 77% C 76.5 – 70% D 69.5 – 60% F <60% Summary of total possible points in course (Color coded detailed descriptions provided below): Cumulative Exam 1 100 pts Cumulative Exam 2 100 pts Cumulative Exam 3 100 pts Cumulative Exam 4 140 pts Lab 200 pts (Just multiply your % grade from lab by 2 to get your lab points) Connect Homework 100 pts (10 pts for each of 10 online assignments in Connect) Additional Homework 60 pts (from Pearson Mastering and other assignments) Course Feedback 8 pts (Extra Credit for course feedback assignments) Course Total 800 pts (maximum grade is capped at 800 pts) Exams: There are four online exams. The exams test you over material covered in the online lectures, handouts and homework (listed in order of importance). Each topic builds on the previous topics we covered, so don’t skip things that feel difficult. The course schedule is color coded to show you what material is covered on each exam. Midterm Exam 1: Links chemistry, biological structure and membrane function. That includes the structure and function of both viruses and cells. Available at 6AM on Tuesday 2/15 (A 1.5 hour clock starts when you open it.) Unavailable after 11:59PM on Monday 2/15 (must submit by this time) Midterm Exam 2: Links chemistry and cell structure by going into detail on how and why molecules are built and broken-down using enzymes and the laws of energetics. Available at 6AM on Tuesday 3/22 (A 1.5 hour clock starts when you open it.) Unavailable after 11:59PM on Monday 3/22 (must submit by this time) Midterm Exam 3: Links chemistry, metabolism and energy with a focus on how information is stored, replicated, transferred and read by molecules (DNA, RNA and protein). Available at 6AM on Tuesday 4/19 (A 1.5 hour clock starts when you open it.) Unavailable after 11:59PM on Monday 4/19 (must submit by this time) Cumulative Exam 4: Links all of the topics of the previous exams by going into detail on how cells replicate. That includes cancer, which is uncontrolled cell replication. Variants of the questions from exams 1-3 will also be included. Available at 6AM on Thursday, May 5th (A 2 hour clock starts when you open it.) Unavailable after 11:59PM on May 5th (must submit by this time) This scale is not negotiable. Grades will be rounded to the nearest whole percent. For example, a score 89.5% after the extra credit is added in is a B+ while an 89.501% is an A, because standard rounding rules require the fraction to be greater than of a percent. The cutoff must be made somewhere. Be sure to complete the extra credit assignments, because that is the only grade “bump”! SPRING 2022 BIO 201: PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: CELLS DR. JOSEPH COVI Page 3 of 8 Recorded Lectures on McGraw Hill Connect: I prerecorded lectures on all topics we will cover this semester. We will use them in what is called a flipped design where you watch lecture on your own time and then work with the lecture material in class with Dr. Covi. You must log into McGraw Hill Connect first. To do this, click on the McGraw Hill link on our Canvas page. That will take you to our Connect website. On the Connect website, click on the “Recorded Lectures” link in the lower left-hand corner of the left side menu (see image below). That will take you to a site called Tegrity. Tegrity is a powerful site that allows you to select individual topics and slides in a lecture, so you can quickly go back to a specific part of a lecture for review or while doing homework! All of the lectures are numbered, but their website doesn’t show them in order. You have to select “View” then “sort” then by “Title” to see them in order by lecture number. Summary: Canvas → McGraw Hill Connect → Recorded lectures link → Tegrity → View → sort by title → select recorded lecture number you want. McGraw Hill Connect Homework: We learn best by having to use information as we learn it. That is the purpose of the homework assignments, and you can redo them until you are satisfied with your understanding of the topic. Here are the important facts to remember about the homework. 1. You have a McGraw Hill assignment due every Tuesday unless we have an exam or holiday! 2. You access the McGraw Hill Connect homework through a link in Canvas. 3. Plan for each homework assignment to take 1 to 2 hours, because you are supposed to read the textbook and refer to lecture notes as you answer the questions. 4. The Connect homework is due before the due date for the recorded lectures on a topic because it is designed to help you get more out of the lectures. You may watch the recorded lectures early if that works better for you, though. 5. Homework for Chapters 2 and 3 (first two assignments) is accepted late without penalty. 6. Starting with Chapter 4, all late homework will lose 25% per day (i.e. 2.5 pts lost per day). That is the equivalent of losing 2.5% on an exam per day. If you are four days late, then it is the equivalent of losing a letter grade on an exam, so be sure to finish by the due date!!! Additional Homework: I will post additional assignments under the assignments tab in Canvas throughout the semester. Some will take you to the Pearson Mastering website. You will need your free access code to enter the site. Do NOT pay! The instructions and code will be posted on our Canvas site. Extra Credit: You can earn up to 8 points of Extra Credit (1% of the total possible points) in the course by completing course feedback assignments posted by Dr. Covi. Dates for these assignments will be provided in lecture with at least one week provided for completion. The final official course assessment is not part of this extra credit! SPRING 2022 BIO 201: PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: CELLS DR. JOSEPH COVI Page 4 of 8 Tentative Course Schedule (This schedule may change.) Be sure to enter due dates into your personal calendar. There are no automatic reminders. This course will take you approximately 6 hours per week (mandatory study time): 2 hours taking notes on recorded lectures outside of class each week (see schedule below). 2.5 hours per week working with Dr. Covi in synchronous zoom “lecture” time. 1 to 2 hours per week working on additional homework assignments (on textbook websites) Must complete item by this date Brooker Biology 5th ed. Chapter Lecture & Discussion Topics Length of recorded lectures you MUST watch outside of class (hours:minutes) Recorded Lecture numbers (L__-__) “Connect” Homework (due by 11:59PM on listed date) Additional Homework (due by 11:59PM on listed date) Exams (see exam section for details) R 1/13 none Introduction to Cells (0:21, L1) T 1/18 2 Chemistry: Part I (1:00, L2-5) Connect Chpt. 2 R 1/20 Chemistry: Part I (0:52, L5-9) T 1/25 3 Chemistry: Part II (0:56, L10-11) Connect Chpt. 3 R 1/27 Chemistry: Part II (1:08, L12-15) Pearson Intro T 2/1 4 General Features of Cells (0:44, L16-17) Connect Chpt. 4 R 2/3 General Features of Cells (0:39, L18-19) DNA→RNA→Protein (0:10, L20) Pearson 2 T 2/8 5 Membranes (0:47, L21-22) Connect Chpt. 5 R 2/10 Membranes (0:58, L23-24) Pearson 3 + Viruses & Cell T 2/15 Exam on all topics covered so far! Exam 1 R 2/17 6 Energy & Enzymes (1:05, L25-26) T 2/22 Energy & Enzymes (0:56, L28) Connect Chpt. 6 R 2/24 7 Metabolism: Catabolic (0:48, L29-30; stop at slide 15 of lecture 30) Pearson 4 T 3/1 Metabolism: Catabolic (0:52, finish L30) Connect Chpt. 7 R 3/3 Metabolism: Catabolic (0:36, L31) Metabolism: Anabolic (0:22, L32-33) T 3/8 --Spring Break-- R 3/10 --Spring Break-- T 3/15 8 Metabolism: Anabolic (1:01, L34-35) Connect Chpt. 8 R 3/17 Metabolic cycle (no recorded lectures) Pearson 5 T 3/22 Exam on all topics covered since exam 1! Exam 2 R 3/24 17 Simple Inheritance (1:02, L36-38) T 3/29 11 Reading and Writing DNA & RNA (0:17, L39) DNA Structure (0:51, L40) Connect Chpt. 11 R 3/31 DNA Replication (0:54, L41) Pearson 6 T 4/5 12 Gene Expression: Transcription (0:50, L42) Connect Chpt. 12 R 4/7 Gene Expression: Translation (0:57, L43) T 4/12 15.1 Gene Expression: Mutations (0:20, L44) R 4/14 --University Holiday-- Pearson 7 T 4/19 Exam on all topics covered since exam 2! Exam 3 R 4/21 16 Mitosis and Meiosis (0:46, L45) T 4/26 Mitosis and Meiosis (0:47, L46) Connect Chpt. 16 R 4/28 15.4 Cell Cycle and Cancer (1:20, L47-50) 6:00AM 5/5 – 11:59PM 5/5; 2 h clock starts when opened; Cumulative final exam on all course topics! Exam 4* SPRING 2022 BIO 201: PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: CELLS DR. JOSEPH COVI Page 5 of 8 *FINAL EXAM WILL CONTAIN QUESTIONS LIKE THOSE ON PREVIOUS EXAMS. TO DO WELL, YOU SHOULD CONSIDER ALL EXAMS CUMULATIVE, BECAUSE EVERY TOPIC YOU STUDY BUILDS ON THE PREVIOUS TOPICS IN A CUMULATIVE WAY. COURSE POLICIES Study time: We will use a flipped design for this class. Flipped means that you will take notes from recorded lectures at home and you will do practice work during synchronous online lectures with Dr. Covi. You MUST budget at least 6 hours per week for the lecture portion of this course and another 4 hours for the lab (10 hours in total, including both in-class and at home study time). If you want to do your best, then I recommend budgeting more than 10 hours of distraction free time (cell phone face down and on silent). Time won’t make the grade, though. It is what you do with time that matters. The problem is that normal humans, like you and me, resist that much focus. We must help our brains with breaks. Breaks are IMPORTANT for your brain! Take 30 second breaks every 10 minutes to stretch or check your cell phone. Take 5 minute breaks every 30 minutes to eat, drink, etc. Take 10 minute breaks every hour to go for a walk, do yoga, play with the dog, etc. Take 1 hour breaks every 4 hours to exercise or eat a meal on big study days. Classroom environment: Open-minded respect. That is what you are expected to have for 100% of your peers, the class environment, and your own learning. Please follow UNCW rules of behavior in class (uncw.edu/diversity/documents/ApprovedSeahawkRespectCompact8x10.08.09.pdf). Creating a supportive and inclusive environment is a core goal for all of the Biology and Marine Biology Department (https://uncw.edu/bio/). It should also be your goal when interacting in this course. Missed exams, online assignments, or exercises: There are NO make-ups for any assignment, exam or laboratory exercise unless there are serious extenuating circumstances. Please contact the instructor as soon as possible if serious extenuating circumstances affect your ability to complete any assignment/exam! FYI: Serious extenuating circumstances include things like illness requiring professional medical attention, a car accident, court date, etc. Something with clear evidence. Students with disabilities: Contact Dr. Covi outside of class with university documentation. Academic dishonesty: University protocol (http://uncw.edu/odos/documents/cosl-current.pdf) will be strictly followed. Please, don’t cheat. UNCW policy leaves me no choice but to file a report. Copyright: Any dissemination of lecture slides, recordings, handouts, or any other derivative work without permission of the instructor is prohibited by UNCW policy. UNCW Copyright Use and Ownership Policy (http://www.uncw.edu/policies/documents/01210.copyrightpolicy.pdf) specifies that class notes are considered derivative of original intellectual property of the course instructor. As such, the course instructor (not the student) retains copyright ownership and must provide specific permission to distribute and/or reuse their intellectual property for anything other than personal scholarship by the student. Commercial use, display, or dissemination of such notes or recordings, will generally constitute an infringement of the content creator’s copyright. Materials that qualify as student-owned are listed in the policy. SPRING 2022 BIO 201: PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: CELLS DR. JOSEPH COVI Page 6 of 8 Campus Support Resources BIO 201 Tutoring: Are you preparing for an exam or lab Would you like to discuss class concepts or ideas Tutors can assist you with any questions or concerns you have about your class. The University Learning Center (ULC) offers free online tutoring (both individual or small- group). Schedule a tutoring appointment online: https://uncw.edu/ulc/appointments/index.html Unable to schedule a ULC tutoring session Please, contact the ULC at email: ulc@uncw.edu UNCW Office Resource Upperman African American Cultural Center “supports UNCW’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, and its mission to offer ‘powerful academic experiences’ through the successful execution of three primary goals”: Support, Education, and Advocacy Centro Hispano “We promote opportunities that broaden understanding and appreciation of diverse Hispanic cultures, offer resources that maximize the success of each student, and, most importantly, provide a place where every student feels at home while striving for success” LGBTQIA Resource Office “works to create a safe and inclusive environment for the LGBTQIA+ community and contribute to a culturally rich campus. Additionally, the office works both to raise awareness and inclusion of sexual and gender minorities and to provide information, referral, support, and programming to the UNCW Community” Gender Studies and Resource Center “provides students, faculty, staff, and those in the greater Wilmington community with opportunities to experience the diverse facets of women’s lives, hopes and concerns from artistic, historical, and other perspectives” Counseling Center “a broad range of psychological, counseling, and educational services that facilitate the personal and academic success of students enrolled at UNCW” CARE CARE: “a confidential resource for students, faculty, and staff recovering from sexual assault, relationship violence, or stalking” Title IX and Clery Compliance Harassment, Discrimination (Including Sexual Misconduct), and Retaliation On-line Complaint Form UNCW Unlawful Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct Policy UNCW Student Gender-Based/Sexual Misconduct Policy Office of the Dean of Students Code of Student Life SPRING 2022 BIO 201: PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: CELLS DR. JOSEPH COVI Page 7 of 8 HOW YOU WILL SUCCEED IN BIO201 (NOTICE THAT THESE THINGS YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE!): 1. Make a calendar with alarms for 1. due dates, 2. times to start grade assignments to finish them on- time with time to ask for tech support help, and 3. times when you must study with focus. 2. Set a schedule for online lectures as if they were face-to-face. Never miss a lecture time! 3. Exercise, because it improves cognitive function. 4. Sleep, because it improves cognitive function. 5. Take breaks, because they improve cognitive function. 6. Disconnect from devices until breaks, because more focus = better grades. 7. Meditate, because it improves focus. Just 3 minutes of focusing your attention on breathing or the pressure of the chair on your legs is enough to refocus the mind. Don’t think you need to be a monk for an hour every day! Just allow your mind to focus on one simple sense for a few minutes. 8. Smile and Laugh by watching a funny movie at night instead of a zombie flick. It settles the mind. OTHER WAYS TO ENSURE SUCCESS IN BIO 201: Don’t waste your time. 1. Study some every day. Don’t cram everything into one or two days to avoid studying on other days. 2. Study your old notes for 15 minutes just before each lecture you watch. 3. Study your new notes for 15 minutes right after you watch each lecture. 4. Ask questions based on your 15 minute study sessions! 5. NEVER plan to cram… this won’t work well for this course. (9.9 out of 10 students agree) 6. Don’t read a chapter like it’s an assignment to get done. You won’t remember much, and you’ll be able to use even less. Find a topic to look up, and then read about that topic. Once you understand it, read about another topic. If you are reading a chapter all at once, you won’t remember the details! Use additional resources. Ask Dr. Covi and your peers questions. Web Resources – Utilize online resources (videos, tutorials, and flashcards) available through McGraw Hill and other websites. Find your motivation!!!! To succeed in this class and any other endeavor, you need to make decisions about your priorities, your time, and your resources. Figure out why this class is important to you, and make those reasons your learning goals. Review these goals often to stay motivated. This is one of the reasons we have real-world application assignments during the first half of the semester. College is your primary job. Study like each class is a part-time job. Only count focused study time! Identify challenges ahead of time. List your academic strengths and weaknesses. Fix: Make a plan to overcome the weaknesses! Everyone has them! Do you have exams back-to-back this semester How about personal/family event conflicts Fix: Schedule study time now to prevent overlapping study needs! Attend class and make this time count. Read your hand-written notes for 15 minutes before each new lecture. Now relate those notes to the new topics that day or ask a question in class. This is “active” learning. If you aren’t using the information, then you probably aren’t learning it… and that spells trouble! Read the text…but not like you would a novel at the beach. Take time to first survey the material. Pay special attention to tables, figures, and diagrams, because they highlight and summarize especially important material. You should be able to draw diagrams and graphs from memory. Stop after every concept (mini-section) in the textbook, and have a friend/classmate quiz you remotely. Summarize the text using your own notes and diagrams. (As a last resort. This is time consuming.) Be a scientist and experiment with your study skills. Like any skill, studying requires practice and you will need to develop techniques that work for you. FACT: If you don’t pay attention to how you study, you can’t improve! SPRING 2022 BIO 201: PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: CELLS DR. JOSEPH COVI Page 8 of 8 UNIVERSITY STUDIES WARNING Although this class is offered as a University Studies option in ‘Scientific Approaches to the Natural World’ category [SAN], it is primarily designed for pre-majors in biology, marine biology, applied health and chemistry subjects. We do NOT recommend taking this course to fulfill University Studies requirements. An alternate biology class that fulfills the University Studies requirement is BIO 105. If you are in any doubt about your choice/options discuss it with your undergraduate advisor. This class is also part of the ‘Foundations in Systems Thinking’ [FST] and ‘Modeling’ [MOD] clusters. LEARNING OUTCOMES This is a list of core concepts you will learn in this class. The list does not include concept details. After successfully completing this lecture and laboratory course you should be able to: 1) Describe the 4 major groups of macromolecules including. The fundamental chemical principles underlying their structure The cellular roles of each type of macromolecule How protein structure relates to function and catalysis 2) Recognize basic cellular structures and define the functional significance of these structures in cells. Describe the major organelles, cell structures and their primary function Be able to tell the difference between prokaryote and eukaryote cells 3) Describe how cells transport of ions and solutes and large molecules between compartments and throughout the cell. Transport processes Membrane structure function Cell compartmentalization and trafficking (vesicles, exo- and endocytosis) Membrane transport 4) Understand how organisms transform energy into a form that can be used to do cellular work. Understand the principles of energy transformation and metabolism Describe the two major metabolic pathways related to energy transformation Respiration & Photosynthesis Describe what it means to be autotrophic and heterotrophic 5) Explain how hereditary information is encoded, expressed, replicated and transferred between cellular generations. Structure of DNA and replication Nucleus and chromosomes The cell cycle and cell division and how this relates to growth and reproduction Mitosis and meiosis – genetic recombination & diversity of organisms Gene expression, transcription and translation 6) Solve problems requiring information retrieval, use, and analysis while participating productively in a working group. Acquire and document quantitative and qualitative data in laboratory experiments Present data in graphical and table formats Explain and critically evaluate the meaning of your data with peers 7) Collect data from lab experiments and present in a scientific paper format. University Abbreviation Jargon for the Learning Outcomes Above: 1) SAN1, MOD1-3 2) SAN1, FST1, MOD1-3 3) SAN1, FST1, MOD1-3 4) SAN1, FST1,2, MOD1-3 5) SAN1, FST1,2, MOD1-3 6) SAN2,3 7) SAN2,3