Instructor: Alan M. Richmond Office hours: by appointmentRoom 457 Morrill IV S Ph. 545 -5386 [email protected]: (Class #63862) Monday, Wednesday and Friday 12:20 PM – 1:10 PM in Rm. 20 Hasbrook Lab. Required text : Zimmer and Emlen 2016. Evolution: Making Sense of Life. 2nd ed. Roberts andCo., Greenwood Village CO. xxxvi + 707 pp.Course ObjectivesWe will investigate the process of biological evolution and the evolutionary history of life on Earth. It is designed for people who have already had a year on introductory biology but have notyet taken a course about evolution. The primary goal of the course is to help you understand moreabout the mechanisms and outcomes of evolution. Topics to be covered include natural selection, speciation (the formation of new species), and other causes of evolutionary change; the methods that evolutionary biologists use to investigate evolutionary processes and history; and an overview of life's history, focusing on major evolutionary innovations and transitions.Course StructureThe in-class component of the course will consist of lectures three times per week (Mon., Wed and Fri., 12:20 – 1:10 in Hasbrook Lab, Room 20.). You are expected to attend the lectures. Outside of class, your work will consist of assigned reading in the Zimmer and Emlen text. This is a new text book and we will, for the most part, stick to the material as presented in the book. Even though much of the material covered will be from the text, I expect you to take notes in class. There will be 11 quizzes given on Moodle. Each quiz will be posted by Monday morning and the responses must be submitted by noon on Wednesday (no late submissions will be accepted). These quizzes will account for 10% of your grade. Quizzes will start the 3rd week of classes.GradesYour grade will be based on the following components:1. Exams. The bulk of your grade will come from three multiple-choice/fill in the blanks exams. Two mid-term exams will be given during the semester (during the class period), and one during the final exam period. The final exam will be longer than the other two. It will primarily focus on the last third of the course, but it will contain material from the entire semester. The dates of the exams will be announced in class. The three exams together will account for 90% of your grade. I do not offer makeup exams. In order to be excused from a midterm exam (i.e., to not have it calculated into your grade for the course), you must present a valid, documented conflict to me at least three days BEFORE the exam. 2. Quizzes. Your scores on the weekly online reading quizzes will together account for 10% of your grade. I expect you to work on the quizzes alone (i.e., no collaboration on the quizzes, please). Your lowest score will be dropped. (There are no "excused" misses; the dropped score will account for illness and other emergencies that might cause you to fail to complete a quiz).There is no mechanism for receiving extra credit in this course. The grade you earn is based on the total number of points you earn on the lecture exams and quizzes. Remember, I don’t give grades, you earn them. Evol. 280 spring 2016Grading will be:Midterm Exam 1 200 Midterm Exam 2 200Final Exam 500Weekly Quizzes 100Total 1000pts.Below is an estimate as to how grades will be allotted. These cutoffs are approximate.900-1000 A880-900 A-860-879 B+830-859 B800-829 B-770-799 C+700-769 C670-699 D+600-669 D< 600 FEvol. 280 spring