1 LS4: Introduction to Genetics Summer 2008 Session C: August 4-September 12 Instructor: Amy L. McWhorter Lecture: MWF 10am-11:50am (MS 4000) Office Hours: MW 8:30-9:30am in MS 4000 Email: [email protected] (or by appointment) Course Objective: In this course, we cover a variety of topics relevant to the study of genetics, ranging from classical to nontraditional Mendelian genetics, from bacterial and viral genetics to human genetics, and include studies on molecular techniques and their applications. General Information: Course Materials  Required Text: GENETICS: From Genes to Genomes, Third Edition by Hartwell, Hood, Goldberg, Reynolds, Silver and Veres (2008). The purchase of the book also allows you to access supplementary online material.  Optional Materials: Study Guide/Solutions Manual for use with GENETICS: From Genes to Genomes, Third Edition by Debra Nero and Interactive Genetics CDROM and Handbook, UCLA, L. Johnson & J. Merriam. Lectures Lectures cover all of the primary course material. They should focus your reading and studying. Copies of lecture slides will be posted on BlackboardTM. If slides are not posted the day before lecture (Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday) by 10:00 pm, copies of the lecture slides will be handed out during class. Specific pages and assigned questions for each chapter will be listed on the lecture slides. Course website (Blackboard) The main course website is http://www.lsic.ucla.edu. Login and click on the link to the course. Course information such as the syllabus, class announcements, office hours, additional problem sets and answer keys will be posted on the site. PowerPoint lectures will also be posted in PDF format. Discussion sections  Discussion sections meet twice a week.  Teaching assistants (TAs) lead the discussion sections. They are responsible for clarifying important points from the lectures/readings and for answering any questions you may have about the course material. In addition TAs will help solve assigned problems.  You must attend your assigned discussion section unless you have made other arrangements in advance with your TA and the TA of the session you would like to attend. This is a fast-paced course that covers a lot of material in a very short time. It is the responsibility of the student to keep up with the pace by doing all the readings and solving all assigned problems.2  Be active and participate in class discussions. Ask questions if a point is unclear. It helps to work together to help each other solve the problem sets.  Quizzes will be given during your second discussion section of the week (W or Th). They will be based upon the questions assigned for that week. No quiz will be given during week 6. No make-up quizzes will be given.  Each TA will have two hours of Office Hours per week. You are welcome to go to the office hours of any of the TAs, but note that TAs will give priority to students from their own sections. Times and locations for TA’s office hours TBA. Instructor Contact Information and Office Hours E-mail: [email protected] Please put “LS4 STUDENT” in the subject heading of all e-mails. E-mails without this subject heading will be deleted. NOTE: E-mail is not an appropriate medium for long, technical questions—save those types of questions for discussion section or office hours. Office hours will be held on MW: 8:30-9:30am (MS 4000A) TA Contact Information and Discussion Sections Please put “LS4 STUDENT” in the subject heading of all e-mails. Oluwadara Oluwadayo (Dayo): [email protected], Sections: 1B, 1D, 1E, and 1F Anshu Shrestha: [email protected], Sections: 1A and 1C Reading Assignments & Exams Reading assignments are listed on the lecture slides. You must take exams on the scheduled dates. Please check your calendars NOW to make sure that you don’t have conflicts. Check exam room assignments. Administrative Issues For enrollment, scheduling, etc., please contact Lily Yanez ([email protected]) or Mark Katayama ([email protected]) in the Life Sciences Core Curriculum Office (Life Science Building, Room 2305). Phone # for LS Core Office is 310-825-6614. Grading: Your grade in this course will be determined as follows: Points from Discussion Section: With the exception of the LAST week, quizzes will be given each week during discussion section and are worth 10 points each, for a total of 50 points. Each quiz will consist of problems taken directly from the problem set assigned for that week. Quizzes (Weeks 1-5) = 50 points Points from Lecture portion: Midterm 1 (TBA) = 100 points Midterm 2 (TBA) = 100 points Final Exam (TBA) = 250 points TOTAL = 500 points3 Letter grades are established from a normal curve of total points following standard UCLA guidelines. The distribution varies from year to year, but in general at least the top 15% have received A+, A, or A-, and next 30% received B+, B, or B-. Regrading Policy: Regrades will only be considered if the exam is written in permanent ink. Presumed grading errors may not be discussed with teaching assistants.  If you feel that there has been a simple addition error during the grading of your exam: 1. Write a note on a separate piece of paper explaining the error. Attach that note to the front of the exam. 2. Turn in your exam with the note to the LS core office within one week of the date the graded exams were returned. 3. Keep a photocopy of the exam for your own records and for studying. 4. These exams will be re-graded ASAP. During this process the entire exam will be reevaluated to look for errors. Thus, your score may increase or decrease. Please note that when exams are graded, they are photocopied. Every year we have one or two students who add to their answer before turning in their exam for regarding. Thus, every year we have one or two students who get to meet the Dean and then leave UCLA. Class Expectations: Be courteous and on time. Silence cell phones and other electronic devices. Do not answer the phone during class. Class participation. Other Helpful Information:  Complete the assigned readings prior to each class meeting. Class meetings are designed to clarify and/or expand on your assigned readings.  The reading and work for this class should be taken seriously. All readings and problems assigned are your