Biology 151L -- General Biology II Laboratory  -- Spring 2006

Last Updated:  2/8/2008 (the course currently uses a different student-information site, but this site still routinely and frequently is referenced [gets "hits"] from the wider internet audience, so it is being left online and is occasionally updated)

Either scroll down or choose one of the following sections:

 

(For archive of scores from previous semesters, click here.)

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Links --

To accompany the first, introductory lab: the infamous exploding whale! (including video of the story!)

 

for previews/reviews of dissections, before and after the relevant labs, or for review before skill demonstrations:

Invertebrate Anatomy

Vertebrate Structure (and subsequent skill demonstrations):

Heart/ECG links:

In addition to the few links posted here, you can find many more by doing searches on the various relevant topics (recommend using Google). Also, see the interactive CD etc. that comes with your text.

 

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Score statistics ~~ Current Semester

(For archive of scores from previous semesters, click here.)

Statistics to date: 5-11-2006 FINAL SCORE AND GRADE POSTING

... see information in sections below for explanations of grading and weighting procedures ...

Notes: Lab reports are incomplete because of some missing scores. The "grade" associated with individual exam scores only provides a rough sense of where you stand relative to the curve for just this component at this time. The final grade for the course is based on weighted total points (NOT an average of component "grades") as explained in the lab manual.

The cutoff points are indicated in blue. Note: weighted totals that are within 1-2 points below the border are automatically reviewed on a case by case basis, you do not have to request it. (Whether or not each border-line case stays below the border, or gets bumped to the next higher grade, depends on performance and progress during the semester, with several aspects taken into consideration.)

            "A" via:   "B"...   "C"...   "D"...  
  n min max mean=m sd 90% m+1.5sd 80% m+0.5sd 70% m-0.5sd 60% m-1.5sd
Total for Q's &
Lab hand-ins
(Labs 1-12)		 190 (0) 91.1 (78.9) (15.3) (too many missing scores for useful stats)  
Skills 179 7 20 16.19 2.72 (incor porated into the weighted total)      
Exam 1 183 6 34 20.99 5.53 30.6 29.3 27.2 23.8 23.8 18.23 20.4 12.69
Exam 2 179 9 34 25.34 5.34 %'s as above; for the other calcs.: YOU do the math!
Exam 3 172 7 31.5 20.56 5.76 (as above for exams 1 and 2)        
Weighted
Total*		 163 49 94.2 74.94 9.60 90 89.34 80 79.74 70 70.14 60 60.54

*for weighting (= % of Total): exam total x 0.5 (= 50%), lab report total x 0.3 (= 30%), skills x 1.0 (= 20%)
(Note: The weighted total score statistics are based only on cases with complete scores, that is, excluding those with missing scores, for statistical and curve purposes.)

 

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Syllabus --

 

Instructors:

 

Course description:

This laboratory accompanies the General Biology II lecture course (Biol 151), focusing on the organismal level of biology (diversity, structure, and function). The labs are intended to provide a sampling of hands-on experience over a wide range of organismal biology topics. They will be fairly intensive and involve a lot of hard work, but they should also be fun!

For further information, see the lab manual.

 

Course objectives: to

  1. provide a variety of hands-on, interactive, experiences with real (often living) organisms, from a diversity of biological groups and at several levels of organization (tissue and organs, whole organism, and ecological),
  2. encourage critical and creative thinking,
  3. develop personal skills working with the material,
  4. include quantitative thinking, measurements, and data analyses,
  5. (Gen. Ed.) comprehend concepts and methods of inquiry in science and technology, and their applications to society,
  6. (Gen. Ed.) integrate knowledge and ideas in a coherent and meaningful manner, and
  7. have fun!

 

Required student resources:

  1. Textbook (the same as for Biol 151--lecture): Biology by P. H. Raven et al., 7th ed.
  2. Lab manual: General Biology II Lab by J. W. Grier, 4th edition, prepared for this course
  3. Calculator, pens, paper, and ring-binder or organize materials.

 

 

Schedule of topics: (Spring 2005)

Date:  Month
Days		 Lab
Jan 10-12 Introduction and Hands-on
  17-19 Invertebrate Animals
  24-26 Vertebrate (and other Chordate) Diversity
(with group essay on vertebrates vs invertebrates -- instructions in class)
Jan/Feb 31/-2 Vertebrate Structure
  7-9 EXAM I (plus personal demonstration of skills)
  14-16 Physiology of the Vertebrate heart and Skeletal Muscles
  21-23 Biology as Science: the Art of Asking Questions
Feb/Mar 28-2 Vertebrate Reproduction and Development
  7-9 The Functional Live Animal (behavior)
  [14-16] [no labs -- spring break]
  21-23 EXAM II (plus personal demonstration of skills)
  28-30 Microscopic Safari and Some Ecology
Apr 4-6 Diversity of Fungi and Plants
  11-13 Flowering Plant Structure
  [18-20] [no labs -- buffer and to synchronize lect.-lab and semester schedule]
  25-27 Flowering Plant Reproduction and Development
May 2-4 EXAM III (plus personal demonstration of skills)

 

Evaluation procedures and determination of grade:

Evaluation is based on three components: practical exams over content, weekly lab hand-ins, and personal demonstration of acquired skills (such as working with microscopes etc). For further details and weighting of the different components, see the lab manual.

Note: there are no extra-credit items and no additional outside lab study times. The best strategy is to use lab time to your maximum ability, study, and learn the material (which should come as no surprise!), then do your best on the hand-ins, skill demonstrations, and lab exams.

Grade cut-offs will be determined from final total weighted scores, by either the normal distribution of scores (for the entire class, all sections [NOT section by section] ) or by the standard "university" curve, whichever is lowest for a particular grade boundary ...

   grade
   boundary

if by normal curve

   if by standard
  "university" curve
A mean + 1.5 s.d. 90%
B mean + 0.5 s.d. 80%
C mean - 0.5 s.d. 70%
D mean - 1.5 s.d. 60%
F     (below the above boundaries)

Borderline cases (those falling 1 or 2 points below the grade cut-offs) will be considered on a case by case basis. Note: borderline cases are reviewed automatically; you do not have to request it.

Academic Responsibility:

All work in this course must be completed in a manner consistent with NDSU University Senate Policy, Section 335: Code of Academic Responsibility and Conduct:

http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/policy/335.htm

Special needs:

Any students with disabilities or other special needs, who need special accommodations in this course are invited to share these concerns or requests with the instructor as soon as possible.

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General course information
(from the Lab Manual -- excerpts only, see manual for complete information)

Prior to lab each week look at the relevant material in this manual. Also be sure to check the text reference / readings (see Syllabus). Read the purpose(s) for doing that lab, skim through the lab material and think about the material before coming to lab. The instructors will give further brief information and instructions at the start of the lab. Bring this lab manual to lab each week. You will need it for reference and for pulling some of the pages out for use during the lab. (Alternatively, if you want, you can pull each week’s materials out of this manual, bring only that to lab, then return it to a file or looseleaf binder.) To avoid the risk of accidentally losing your lab manual, put your name in it and carefully keep track of it in lab (or just bring the stuff you need for each particular lab). Similarly, during labs where it is recommended that you bring your main textbook, be careful to keep track of it.

It is to your advantage for later study and review to keep good notes of all you hear, see and do. Use your text as a reference. Learn and be able to identify all points in this lab manual. Carefully consider all questions asked. The manual is a concentrated outline of everything you are responsible for. Some of this will involve plain old hard miserable memorizing -- but you can do it; it can be fun; and the job has to be done as a first step toward understanding the more interesting aspects of the subject. NOTE (based on past experience): When it comes time for exams that include material from the labs, most students do well on questions over material from notes, the books and diagrams; but they do poorly when faced with the actual items. Get to know the real thing!

Sequence of Labs

This lab course, Biology 151L, is matched as closely as possible to its counterpart lecture course, Biology 151. The sequence of topics in lecture may vary from instructor to instructor and semester to semester. Thus, the labs are presented as modules, with the sequence of modules for any given semester determined by that semester's sequence of lecture topics. The instructors for the lecture and lab courses will attempt to synchronize the material as well as possible.

Labs cannot and do not cover every item covered in lecture. Rather, the labs are designed to give students hands-on experience with samples of some of the topics that are also covered one way or another in lecture. Because of this, and also because both the lecture and lab topics come in discrete packages, there is not a perfect overlap in subject matter sequencing between the two courses. Material that is covered in lab will sometimes follow and sometimes precede the related topics in lecture.

 Group/Team Work

You will be working in groups or teams of four, for several reasons: (1) it provides additional interactions with others involving the subject, (2) it provides experience and practice for working in groups -- an important skill in most aspects of life, including most contemporary jobs, and a university-wide assignment for courses, and (3) it helps reduce costs of specimens (ultimately paid by students), conserve natural resources, and reduces the numbers of plants and animals that have to be killed for these purposes.

Important note: Although you will be working in groups and handing in items at the end of each lab as a group, it is VERY important that you do not just sit back and let someone else in your group do all of the work. Each person is responsible for knowing the material for lab exams and for personally demonstrating particular skills, as described below. So everyone participate, take turns, share in the work, give each other opportunities to acquire the skills and understanding, and work together -- including pointing out and showing other group members what you are learning, and asking and answering questions of each other. You can help each other, but each student is ultimately responsible for what they know and can do.

Dissections

If you have dissection equipment and want to bring it (when needed), feel free to do so. Otherwise, dissection equipment will be available as necessary (not for every lab) and does not have to be purchased. If you want plastic/rubber gloves to protect your hands during dissections, you will need to provide your own (available at Varsity Mart or local pharmacies, etc.). See the material for each lab, prior to the lab, to determine if dissections will be involved.

Exams

There will be 3 lab exams worth 34 points each (24 at stations around the room plus 10 items projected on a screen). Your total score from these exams will form a major component of your final lab letter grade. (See below for further comments and explanation on grading.)

Lab Reports and Quizzes

Each week there will be an item to hand in at the end of the lab period, either a lab report or a quiz (or a combination of the two). The syllabus will indicate the nature of each week's item to be handed in and TAs may give additional information or material (such as potential quiz questions) the week before.

For one of the labs before the first exam, a one page narrative report to be written by your group will be assigned rather than a standard form-style report or quiz. This assignment will be to provide experience and a sample of writing that can be critiqued for writing style, content, spelling, and grammar. Your TA will initially score this assignment, with double-checking by the course instructor, to give you feedback on written communication.

Each week's report/quiz will be worth up to 8 points. Depending on the item, it will be 8 points if everything is correct and complete or, for items with quality considerations, 6 points if correct and complete (but only covered minimally) with 1 or 2 additional points possible for better quality responses (quality counts!). Points will be lost for mistakes or incomplete/missing material.

These items, including the quizzes, will be group efforts, with one report or quiz handed in per group and all members of the group expected to work together on them. All members of the group will get the same score. Individuals may miss one lab with no questions asked or additional labs with valid excuses, and receive the same score as the rest of their group. Additional, unexcused absences, however, will receive scores of 0.

All discussion items are expected to be in complete sentences and correct spelling and grammar, unless indicated otherwise. Deficiencies will receive reduced scores on reports.

If you are asked to draw something, your drawings are to be based on actual specimens, NOT copied from figures in the text or this manual (or you will lose points).

 

Skills to be Demonstrated

Each student will need to demonstrate individually and in person/orally certain skills to the instructor. These include: (1) proper use of a microscope, (2) dissection of either (a) an animal (which has been killed for other purposes [reptile food] -- no animals will be killed just for demonstrating dissections; we recycle/gain maximum use from anything that's killed) or (b) a flower and other plant material, (3) a sample of writing, (4) drawing/labeling, and (5) doing calculations from a set of data as appropriate to what has been done in previous labs.

All of these skills are expected for completion of the course (that is, for any student who has "completed an introductory course in organismal biology").

Because the skills need to be assessed on a one-by-one (student and TA) basis, it will take time and be spread throughout the semester, with part of each exam period set aside for part of the class to demonstrate their skills. Opportunities will be available to learn these skills in class (which, incidentally, is what taking a class like this is all about in the first place!) before they are assessed. If, however, a student already possesses a particular skill from previous experience/background, there will be less need to work further on it before being assessed.

For further details on skill demonstrations, see the lab manual.

Final Letter Grade

The various parts of the lab contribute to the final grade as follows: lab exams approximately 50%, group reports and quizzes approximately 30% and skill tests 20%. Because the different components generate points differently from each other, each of their final totals are weighted before being added into the grand total. For the details, see the bottom of your manual's Owner Page, which also has space for recording all of your scores throughout the semester.

Grade cut-offs will be determined from final total weighted scores, by either the normal distribution of scores (mean + and - 0.5 and 1.5 standard deviations, for the entire class [NOT section by section] ) or by the standard "university" curve (90-80-70-60 percent of the scores), whichever is lowest for a particular grade boundary. Borderline cases (those falling 1 or 2 points below the grade cut-offs) will beconsidered on a case by case basis. Note: borderline cases are reviewed automatically, you do not have to request it.

As a final, somewhat editorial comment, we hope the main goal is to learn and have fun, not just get a grade. Learning should be the main outcome, with the grade as a by-product, not the other way around!

 

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Safety Considerations

  

No food or drinks in lab. If you want to take a break, please step out of room.

Use common sense.

Be careful with glass, sharp things, and live animals.

In case of problems:

  1. Don't panic / stay cool
  2. Alert the TA of the problem
  3. Use the 1st-aid kit on the wall if necessary
  4. Use the spill bucket for spilled things, and box for broken glass
  5. Use plastic gloves for any body fluids
  6. There is a phone down the hall by room 218
  7. For serious emergencies, also alert the department secretary in room 218 and/or the department chair person or anyone else in administration who may be handy

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James W Grier

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