Biology 40S Course Overview

1. Biology 40SCourse Overview Developed by Trevor Boehm Hutterian Interactive TV Prairie Rose School Division

2. About the Course • In Biology 30S, you took a detailed look at the structure and function of the human being. • In Biology 40S, we examine (somewhat more generally) all the other organisms we share the planet with. • We have a lot of territory to cover! • There are an estimated 40 million species of living organisms on earth. • Only about 1.5 million of these have been discovered. • Of those, only a few thousand have been studied in any real detail. • And we’ll be getting to know less than a hundred. • Still… a hundred is a lot!

3. Botany, Zoology, and Ecology (oh my!) • Biology 40S is a course in… • Botany (the study of plants) • Zoology (the study of animals) • Ecology (the study of living organisms and their environment) • Actually, we study cytology, mycology, and microbiology too, but I didn’t want to throw too many “ologies” at you on the first day.

4. Why Care About This Stuff? • Look around you. How many products can you see that involve plants and animals? • Ought we not to know a bit about the organisms which provide for many of our needs? • Apart from production of physical products, many animals are used to make our lives easier, though perhaps less so today than in the past. • We are stewards of the earth and all its creatures. Seems like a good idea for us to know what we have to look after, no? • A huge chunk of your livelihood is derived from production and sale of plants and animals.

5. Units of Study • Unit 1 – Classifying and Understanding Life • Unit 2 – The Lower Kingdoms • Unit 3 – The Plant Kingdom • Unit 4 – The Animal Kingdom • Unit 5 – Ecosystem Dynamics

6. Evaluation • Tests = 25% • Assignments = 25% • Major Research Project = 25% • Final Exam = 25% • The final deadline for all assignments for a unit is the day of the unit test. While I’m prepared to be a little understanding about deadlines, it is neither acceptable nor wise to hand work in weeks late.

7. The Research Project • In this course, you will be expected to complete a major research project on a member of the animal kingdom. • This project has two parts: • A PowerPoint slideshow. • An oral presentation to go along with your PowerPoint (I will have the PowerPoint up, you will narrate your slideshow).

8. About Tests and Quizzes • Everything done in a unit is fair game for tests. • This includes: • All assignments. • Everything in the notes. • Everything in the assigned textbook reading. • Everything discussed in class. • Normally I will go over the general structure of a test in class (types of questions, some hints about what to study, etc.). • Tests are closed book. No notes, textbook, etc. allowed.

9. Your Course CD • Our textbook for this course is Biology: The Study of Life by Prentice Hall. • You also have a printed package for each unit which includes a cover page with an outline and assignment list. • Finally, you have a course CD-ROM which includes: • All the printed materials for each unit. • The PowerPoint presentations for each unit. • Interactive multimedia we’ll be using as we work through the course. • Research information for your research project.

10. Expectations • Come to class on time, prepared, and often. • Put effort into your work. I have cut down on the quantity of work I expect from you, but when I do ask you to do something, I want quality work. • Do your own work. There is a difference between research (using ideas from a variety of sources to, giving credit, and using them as a small part of your own original work) and plagiarism (copying large parts of others work without giving credit). • Do not try to learn the material and complete all the assignments in the last few days of a unit – you will find this impossible. • Treat one another with respect and courtesy.

11. If Researchers Wrote Nursery Rhymes… You know all three of these. Any guesses? • A research team proceeded toward the apex of a natural geologic protuberance, the purpose of their expedition being the procurement of a sample of fluid hydride of oxygen in a large vessel, the exact size of which was unspecified. One member of the team precipitantly descended, sustaining severe fractural damage to the upper cranial portion of his anatomical structure. Subsequently, the second member of the team performed a self-rotational translation oriented in the direction taken by the first member. • A triumvirate of murine rodents totally devoid of ophthalmic acuity were observed in a state of rapid locomotion in pursuit of an agriculturalist's marital adjunct. Said adjunct then performed triple caudectomy utilizing an acutely honed bladed instrument generally used for the subdivision of edible tissue. • A female of the species homo sapiens was the possessor of a small immature ruminant of the genus ovis, the outer most covering of which reflected all wavelengths of visible light with a luminosity equal to that mass of naturally occurring microscopically crystalline water. Regardless of the translational pathway chosen by the homo sapien, the probability was 1 that the forementioned ruminant would select the same pathway.