Welcome to Principles of Biology,where we study that most fascinating of subjects - LIFE.  We will continue working toward our overall goals for this course sequence:

• Gain sufficient proficiency in the various sub-disciplines of biology to succeed in advanced courses in specialized areas of biology.
• Become sufficiently knowledgeable about biology to make informed decisions about important issues concerning biology that face society today.
• Develop an understanding of the enterprise of science, its scope and its limitations.
• Have fun!

• Acquire a foundation for understanding the intricacies of cell function based on knowledge of their structure and chemistry.
• Understand the nature and complexity of energy transformations performed by cells.
• Understand the cellular and genetic mechanisms responsible for the continuity of living things and the transmission of information to successive generations.
• Apply your knowledge of cell function and genetic principles to analysis of current scientific advances and their impact on society.
• Gain direct experience in the methods of science including developing questions, gathering data, analyzing data to derive conclusions, and communicating results in the form of a scientific paper.
• Develop skills of quantitative reasoning by applying mathematics to scientific questions and by using computers to analyze and graph data.

Who should not be taking this course?  We advise students majoring in arts, humanities, business, or social sciences to take Bi 101 and 102, or Bi 101 and 103 to fulfill natural science requirements.  These courses assume less prior knowledge of biology.  If you are unsure which sequence best suits your situation, see your advisor as soon as possible.

The laboratory supplements the lecture.  In lab, you will have the opportunity to study some topics in more detail and to gain hands-on experience in data collection, quantitative analysis, and other aspects of scientific method.  The topics covered in the lab generally parallel those in lecture.  Students will usually work collaboratively in groups during lab, but each student will maintain his or her own laboratory notebook.

Lab grades will include evaluations of your individual  lab notebooks.  Details can be found in the lab manual and will be discussed further by your lab instructor.  In addition to weekly laboratory exercises, the entire Bi 211 class will conduct an experiment on plant responses to light.  Students will work in groups to prepare a report on this experiment in the format of a scientific paper.  Details on this assignment will be provided in lab.  Refer to the required book, Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences, and to the appendix of the laboratory manual for explicit instructions on how this paper should be written.

The campus computer network is accessible to all students and we will make significant use of it this term.  We will post lab data, reading assignments, or other information pertinent to Bi 211.  Excel, the spreadsheet program we will use to analyze our data, is available on the network. Email is a very efficient way to contact your instructors.  If you have not already logged in, explored the campus web pages, and sent and received email, please go to the Computer Center very soon and do so.

Some suggestions for getting the most from this course.  Students often ask for suggestions that will help them do well in this course.  Although each person has to find the right combination of study techniques that work best for her or him, the suggestions listed at the link below have proven helpful to many students.  If it sounds like doing well requires a lot of effort, that is because it does.  Biology, and science in general, is an immense, complicated subject.  It is the nature of the natural world.  However, it is also endlessly fascinating, making learning about it fun and rewarding.

 Study Ideas

What if I miss a lab? The short answer is, DO NOT miss a lab.  You may attend another lab section later in the week, but only with permission of that lab instructor and only if there is room.  Make sure the lab instructor signs your notebook so you receive credit for the work in your notebook.  If you can not attend another lab section, you may be able to come into the lab and work on your own, but generally it is not possible to have available all of the materials needed to complete the lab.  All the needed materials are removed on Friday to make room for the next week's items.

What if I miss lecture? Once again, the best advice is, DO NOT miss lecture -- EVER.  If you do miss lecture, be sure to get notes from another student and find out about any announcements made in class.  You are still responsible for any and all information given out in class whether you were there or not.  If an assignment was given in class, you can not make it up.

What if I miss an exam? Only students who can document that they missed an exam due to serious extenuating circumstances beyond their control will be allowed to take a make-up exam.  This policy is in fairness to the majority of students who take the exams at the scheduled times, and to many students who do so in spite of difficult circumstances.  Check the schedule now to avoid making plans that will conflict with exams.  Contact your lecture instructor within 48 hours of the exam to determine if s/he will excuse your absence and allow you to take a make-up exam.  Examples of excused absences include: hospitalization, death in the family, or court subpoena.  Examples of non-excused absences include: having other exams the same day, over-sleeping, leaving campus early during finals week, being tired, or having a cold.  There will be ONE make-up exam given at ONE time (Tuesday, Dec 10, 12:00-1:00).  If you need to take a make-up exam, be sure to keep this time slot open.  The make-up will cover all material on the first and second midterms and may be short essay questions and/or multiple choice and/or other format.

Where can I get extra help if I want it?  The Student ACCESS Center (SU 134) provides a number of services designed to help students succeed.  In particular, Academic Resource Services offers tutoring and programs in study skills.  These services are for any student who wants to maintain or improve performance in school, regardless of whether s/he is earning an A or an F in a class.

If you are in need of academic support because of a documented disability (whether it be psychiatric, learning, mobility, health-related, or sensory) you may be eligible for academic accomodations through disability services for students. Contact Margaret Dibb, Director, Disabled Student Services, at 552-6213, or schedule an appointment in person at the Access Center, Stevenson Union, Lower Level.

There is NO extra credit. A few students generally ask if they can do "extra credit" to make up for poor performance on exams or other aspect of the course.  Although this is often done in highschool, we do not give extra credit in this course.  Out of fairness to all, a student's grade is based solely on performance on the required elements of Bi 211, not on what s/he might do outside of Bi 211.  Any "extra" effort a student may wish to invest would be better spent on studying lecture material and completing high-quality assignments in lab.

Miscellaneous University policies.  A grade of incomplete (I) will be assigned only if the quality of a student's work is satisfactory but the course is not completed for reasons acceptable to the instructor.  Students wishing to arrange an I should contact the instructor at the earliest possible date.  An I automatically changes to an F after 12 months unless incomplete course work is made up to the satisfaction of the instructor.

A grade of E will be assigned if a student misses the final exam.  The grade of E is converted to an F at the end of the next term unless the student makes up the final exam to the satisfaction of the instructor (see missed exam policy for examples of circumstances under which a student would be allowed to take a make-up exam).

It is assumed that all students exhibit the highest levels of academic integrity. Refer to the SOU Student Handbook for the University Policy on academic integrity.