Welcome to Biology 1A UC Berkeley, summer 2000 Introduction: Hopefully you will find Biology 1A to be a fun and exciting class. It will be readily apparent to you that the lecturers, graduate students, and staff enjoy biology and teaching! Warning - the pace will be blistering fast. The class consists of four lectures, two labs and two discussions each week. Many students have contacted me about adding the class or switching lab and discussion times. There will be a limited number of additions and switches. Attendance: All students, including yourself, must fill out the separate page indicating you were at lecture and also use this form to select a password. Communication: Office hours are held in 2084 or 2088 VLSB. Messages for lecturers, Mike Meighan, and the GSI's may be left at 510-642-4110. Email addresses are on page 4. Lectures and Lecturers: The lecturers are Dr. Jim Baxter (6/19 - 7/13) and Dr. Jim Crothers (7/17 - 8/10). Lectures are held M. - Th. from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM in 155 Dwinelle. Office hours: Office hours will be held in 2084 (occassionally in 2088 VLSB). A list of office hours will be provided at a later time. We want students to come to office hours. Feel free to attend any office hour -- either those of the lecturers, the GSIs or Mike Meighan. GSI’s: The GSI’s will teach labs and discussion. Each will hold one office hour per week. A schedule of GSI office hours will be handed out in lecture on 6/26. Labs and Discussion: Labs and discussion meet twice a week and are required. To switch sections (or to add the class), you must fill out the "Request for Lab Time" form on page 5. Turn it in after lecture or place it in the mailbox outside of 2088 VLSB, by 5 PM TODAY. Further lab information is on the backside. Mike Meighan will handle section changes and adding. Repeating Students: Students repeating the class may not have to repeat the lab if they scored above the lab mean (when they took the class). If interested, you must fill out the form outside of 2088 VLSB. You must submit the form by 5 PM today (June 19). Eligible students will be contacted (by phone or email). Study Advice: Read the material before lecture-- at least read the first paragraph and the outline for each chapter before lecture. During lecture take notes and pay attention. Refer to the lab manual for further information on studying. The Student Learning Center will be offering study groups on MW 10-12 in 157 Chavez led by Marlowe Majoewsky. GRADING PROCEDURE: Letter grades will be determined from numerical scores as follows: Midterm Examinations (2 x 150) (each lecture is worth about 15 points) 300 pt’s Laboratory & Discussion: Lab Exam # 1, 7/19, in lecture (Labs 1-6) 90 pt’s Lab Exam # 2, 8/7 or 8/8, during your lab period (Labs 7-11) 75 pt’s Quizzes - In discussion or lab (11 labs x 3 pts minus the lowest quiz scores) 30 pt’s Final Exam (held on 8/10) 105 pt's Total 600 pt’s In general, grades are assigned on a non-competitive (non-curved) basis. However, if there are not enough students with A’s and B’s (between 40- 45% of the class), then the percentages required for a given grade will be lowered (as deemed necessary).Letter grades are guaranteed as follows: A (some form of an A) 100-90% D (some form of a D) 69-60% B (some form of a B) 89-80% F 59-00% C (some form of a C) 79-70% Note that the class is, in a sense, curved. But we would rather that you strive to reach the 90 percentile, instead of us having to lower the percentage cutoffs for given grades. Lecture: Lecture exams will be taken in class. The midterms are scheduled for July 10 (lectures 1-10 = 150 pts,) and July 31 (lectures 11-14 = 60 pts, lectures 15-20 = 90 pts). The final is scheduled for August 10 (lectures 21-27, 105 points). Exam Format: Exams will contain both multiple-choice questions and short answer, essay or fill in the blank questions. 150 point exams will have about 100 points multiple choice and 50 points that will be short answer, essay or fill in the blank. The final will be 70 points multiple choice and 35 points short answer, essay or fill in the blank. There will be NO make-up exams. If you miss one exam due to illness, you must present a written, verifiable medical excuse to the lecturer. Your grade for that exam will be calculated on a pro-rated score. Lab: There will be two lab exams (total of 165 points) and daily lab quizzes worth a total of 30 points. (There will be 11 lab quizzes, each worth 3 points, but the lowest quiz score will be dropped). Lab exams: July 19 (during lecture, 90 points) and August 7/8 (in lab, 75 points) Daily lab quizzes (30 points) (11 X 3 pts minus the lowest score) at the start of each lab. Pre-labs are required in order to do lab. Worksheets are also required. June 21/22 Cells/Microscope July 17/18 Invertebrates I June 26/27 Enzymes July 24/25 Invertebrates II June 28/29 Photosynthesis July 26/27 Vertebrate Anatomy July 5/6 GMB I July 31, Aug. 1 Vertebrate Diversity July 10/11 GMB II Aug. 2/3 Reproduction & Development July 12/13 GMB III Aug. 7/8 Lab Exam II (75 pt's) July 19 Lab Exam I (90 pt's) TEXTBOOKS AND LAB MANUAL Required Textbook: Biology, Campbell, 5th ed., by Benjamin Cummings. Required Lab Manual: The lab manual is available at surrounding bookstores. Recommended Lab Manual: A Guide to Biology Lab, T. G. Rust, 3rd ed., by Southwest Education Enterprise. Exam Reader: An exam reader will be available at Replica Copy, 2140 Oxford, which contains representative exams from previous semesters and summers. Our exam format has changed slightly. The exams in the reader should be used mainly as a study tool to determine your weak areas. The exam reader will not be available until June