Course Syllabus

BIOL 1615 Biology I Laboratory

Course Description

The Biology I laboratory component allows for student application of the principles learned in Biology I lecture with an emphasis on investigative learning and collaboration. (Lab fee required) It is recommended that the student will have successfully completed high school biology and chemistry.

Justification

The Biology I laboratory (BIOL 1615) and Biology I lecture course (BIOL 1610) have been designed as the first semester courses in a year-long exposure to biology as recommended by the State Biology Group. Biology II lecture (BIOL 1620) and Biology II laboratory (BIOL 1625) will constitute the second semester courses for the majors biology sequence. For the natural sciences, science is the systematic inquiry into natural phenomena organizing and condensing those observations into testable models and hypotheses, theories or laws. The success and credibility of science is anchored in the willingness of scientists to: 1) expose their ideas and results to independent testing and replication by other scientists which requires the complete and open exchange of data, procedures, and materials; 2) abandon or modify accepted conclusions when confronted with more complete or reliable experimental evidence. Adherence to these principles provides a mechanism for self-correction that is the foundation of the credibility of science. (Adapted from a statement by the Panel on Public Affairs of the American Physical Society which was endorsed by the Executive Board of the American Association of Physics Teachers in 1999.)

General Education Knowledge Area Outcomes

1. As students complete laboratory reports, set up experiments, collect data, complete quizzes, participate in lab discussions, and complete the final exam, they will gain a deeper understanding of applicable biological processes. They will be evaluated based on the lab reports, quizzes, and final exam. As students complete laboratory reports, set up experiments, collect data, complete quizzes, participate in lab discussions, and complete the final exam, they will gain a deeper understanding of applicable biological processes. They will be evaluated based on the lab reports, quizzes, and final exam.

Course Content

Laboratory topics include but are not limited to the following laboratory exercises (labs): Scientific Method; Simple Organic Chemistry; Microscopy; Cell Membrane; Enzyme Kinetics; Photosynthesis; Cellular Respiration; Mitosis/Meiosis; Genetics: Mendelian and Molecular; Biotechnology; and Systematics of Living Organisms. Content will be covered by reading these labs in context with pertinent lecture course content, conducting actual experiments and writing up those experiments and answering questions in the labs and on quizzes, and the final exam. Lab content will include historical context of experiments that were instrumental to develop the theories behind the lab topics. Scientists from any background may be highlighted as to their role in these historical experiments. Including the various perspectives of historical and modern scientists as well as from the students in this course, are invaluable in aiding accessibility for all students to understand the complexities of life and organismal interactions.