Biology Level I, First Semester Course Overview The study of biology is the study of life. This study of living things encompasses much more than plants and animals. It also includes, at one end of the scale, the study of cells— how they produce and use energy; how they form tissues, organs, and organ systems; and how they reproduce and pass along genetic information. At the other end of the scale, biology includes the study of ecosystems made up of diverse life forms and their environment. It is important for you to be biologically literate so that you can live a responsible life with respect to other people and to the environment. Hopefully, throughout the course you will gain information that will help you look at your surroundings in a new way and evaluate your current living practices. I also hope that you will have a greater appreciation of the complexity of life in one of the few machines that can operate for over a 100 years: your human body. The two semesters of biology divide the study of life into four different areas of study: cells, genetics, evolution, and ecology. The first semester of biology, which is covered in this course, looks at cells and genetics; the second semester will cover evolution and ecology. Each semester will include eight lessons plus a midterm exam and final exam. Here is a brief summary of this semester's lessons and exams:

Lesson 1: Biology in the 21st Century Biologists study of life in all its forms. Unifying themes connect concepts from many fields of biology. Science is a way to thinking, questioning, and gathering evidence. Technology continually changes the way biologists work. Understanding biology can help you make informed decisions.

Lesson 2: Chemistry of Life All living things are based on atoms and their interactions. Water's unique properties allow life to exist on Earth. Carbon-based molecules are the foundations of life. Life depends on chemical reactions. Enzymes are catalysts for chemical reactions in living things.

Lesson 3: Cell Structure and Function Cells are the basic unit of life. Eukaryotic cells share may similarities. The cell membrane is a barrier that separates a cell from the external environment. Materials move across membranes because of concentration differences. Cells use energy to transport materials that cannot diffuse across a membrane.

Lesson 4: Cells and Energy All cells need chemical energy. The overall process of photosynthesis produces sugars that store chemical energy. Photosynthesis requires a series of chemical reactions. The overall process of cellular respiration converts sugar into ATP using oxygen. Cellular respiration is an aerobic process with two main stages. Fermentation allows the production of a small amount of ATP without oxygen.

Lesson 5: Midterm Exam The midterm exam covers material from chapters 1 through 4. This lesson provides information about the midterm exam and tips for studying for the exam.

Lesson 6: Cell Growth and Division Cells have distinct phases of growth, reproduction, and normal functions. Cells divide during mitosis and cytokinesis. Cell cycle regulation is necessary for healthy growth. Many organisms reproduce by cell division. Cells work together to carry out complex functions.

Lesson 7: Meiosis and Mendel Gametes have half the number of chromosomes that body cells have. During meiosis, diploid cells undergo two cell divisions that result in haploid cells. Mendel's research showed that traits are inherited as discrete units. Genes encode proteins that produce a diverse range of traits. The inheritance of traits follows the rules of probability. Independent assortment and crossing over during meiosis result in genetic diversity.

Lesson 8: Extending Mendelian Genetics The chromosomes on which genes are located can affect the expression of traits. Phenotype is affected by many different factors. Genes can be mapped to specific locations on chromosomes. A combination of methods is used to study human genetics.

Lesson 9: From DNA to Proteins DNA was identified as the genetic material through a series of experiments. DNA structure is the same in all organisms. DNA replication copies the genetic information of

a cell. Transcription converts the gene into a single-stranded RNA molecule. Translation converts the mRNA message into a polypeptide, or protein. Gene expression is carefully regulated in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Mutations are changes in DNA that may or may not affect phenotype.

Lesson 10: Final Exam The final exam covers material from chapters 5 through 8. This lesson provides information about the final exam and tips for studying for the exam.

Required Materials The following textbook and CD-ROM are required for this course: Nowicki, Stephen. Holt McDougal Biology. Indiana edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. ISBN 978-0-547-41443-0 Science: Biology Virtual Investigations CD-ROM. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. ISBN 978-0-03-093244-1

Lesson Design Altogether, there are eight lessons with content for you to study and two lessons providing tips for the exams. Each study lesson is divided into five to seven sections that follow the sections in the textbook. You should complete the lessons, and the sections within them, in the order given. The course is cumulative, so information from previous lessons provide the building blocks for later ones. Here's how to complete each lesson: 1. Before you begin a lesson, open the lesson's study guide by clicking the appropriate link on the syllabus. After the study guide opens, save it to your computer. (Hint: Save it somewhere you can find it.) The study guide will help you take notes and organize what you are learning. You will turn in the completed study guide as part of your lesson assignment. Using word-processing software (such as Word, Google Docs, or OpenWriter), follow directions in the the appropriate section of the study guide to complete it as you work through each textbook section. An especially effective way to use the study guide is to first do the reading, then try to answer the study guide questions from memory, and finally go back to the textbook and online lesson to check your work. This will help you make sure that you understand and remember the content as well as you think you do!

2. To access a lesson, click on the lesson link on the syllabus. The lesson will open in a new tab or window, just like this introduction did, and you will navigate through the lesson using the menu along the left side of that screen. Each lesson is divided into five to seven sections. You should complete each section in the order given before moving to the next section. 3. Each section has the following parts; you should complete each part in the order given. 1. Objectives tell you what you should be able to do upon completion of the section. Read the objectives to get a quick idea of what the section is about and of what you need to learn. 2. The introduction gives you an overview of the section's content. It will help prepare you to read and understand what's in your textbook. 3. The reading assignment tells you which pages to read in your textbook. 4. The presentation summarizes and expands the section content. It combines audio with text and graphics. 4. After you've finished the lesson, go back to the syllabus and click the lesson's ClassZone links, which take you to Animated Biology simulations. I strongly urge you to take advantage of the fun and helpful resources on the textbook's ClassZone website! The interactive vocabulary and chatper reviews, practice quizzes and tests, and other virtual demonstrations will reinforce—and help you remember—chapter content. Note: The first time you go to the biology animations or the main ClassZone website, you may need to select the subject area, state, and/or book. Select the following: High School Science, Indiana, and Biology 2012 Indiana. Once you've completed a lesson, you're ready to do the lesson's assignments. We'll talk about those in the next section.

Assignments Each lesson has three graded assignments: a multiple-choice quiz, the lesson's study guide, and a virtual lab assignment. You'll take the quiz in the Oncourse Tests & Surveys tool. You'll submit the other two assignments by uploading them at the Oncourse Assignments tool. Assignments will count for 70 percent of your course grade, so it's worthwhile to give them your time and attention.

Multiple-Choice Quiz Each lesson quiz consists of 25 to 35 multiple-choice questions. You may spend as much time as you need to complete the quizzes, and you may use your notes, textbook, and other resources. However, you may take each quiz only once.

To complete a quiz, click the lesson quiz link in the syllabus or the Tests & Surveys link in the Oncourse menu, then select the quiz you want to take. When you submit the quiz, Oncourse will grade it immediately and send your grade to the gradebook. Be sure to review any questions you missed. If you aren't sure why you missed a question, please ask your instructor!

Study Guide and Virtual Lab Assignments For each lesson, you'll submit two documents to be graded: 1. the completed lesson study guide, and 2. your answers to a set of questions based on a virtual lab activity on the CD-ROM. The lesson study guide is the same study guide that you saved to your computer and completed as you worked through the textbook sections. The virtual lab involves completing an online lab simulation on the CD-ROM and then answering questions about it. To complete a virtual lab, click on the Assignments link on the syllabus or go to Assignments in the Oncourse menu. Fnd the lesson's lab activity, open the document, and save it to your computer. Follow the instructions for selecting the lab activity, work through the activity on the CD-ROM, and then answer the questions in the lab document. Once you've completed both the study guide and virtual lab, submit them by opening the appropriate assignment in the Oncourse Assignments tool and following the directions you find there. You will need to attach the document files and submit them. In grading your study guides and lab write-ups, I will attempt to minimize the turnaround time, but there are always possible situations that may delay your receipt of feedback. It is wise for you to await feedback on your assignments before submitting your work for the next lesson.

Examinations Your midterm and final exams account for 30 percent of your course grade. The midterm exam will cover lessons 1 through 4; the final exam will cover lessons 5 through 8. Each exam contains 100 multiple-choice questions. You will have a maximum of two hours to complete each exam. When taking an exam, you may not use your textbook, course guide, study notes, electronic devices (e.g., cell phone, PDA, BlackBerry, etc.) or other materials. Remember that even though the exams comprise only 30 percent of your grade, to pass the course you must earn an average of at least a D– (60 percent) on the examinations.

Grades Your course grade will be based on your performance on assignments and exams. In calculating the course grade, the lab assignments are worth 10 percent, the quizzes are worth 20 percent, the study guides are worth 40 percent, and the exams are worth 30 percent. The grading scale is as follows: Percentage Grade

76.5–79.4

C+

96.5–100

A+

72.5–76.4

C

92.5–96.4

A

69.5–72.4

C–

89.5–92.4

A–

66.5–69.4

D+

86.5–89.4

B+

62.5–66.4

D

82.5–86.4

B

59.5–62.4

D–

79.5–82.4

B–

0.0–59.4

F

Note: For you to pass the course, the average of your two exam grades must be at least a D− (60 percent). Even if your assignment grades are excellent, you will not pass the course unless you fulfill this requirement.