Course Synopsis BME 201: Analysis of Molecules and Cells Spring Semester, 2022 Class Time: 3:35-4:25 MWF Location: 101 Thomas Building Instructors: Professor Will Hancock, Justin Pritchard. Office hours Monday 4:30-5:30 after class. Dr. Hancock: [email protected] (best communication mode) Phone: 863-0492 Dr. Pritchard: [email protected] (best communication mode) OH are in Dr. Pritchard's office in 212 Wartik Phone: 865-7906 Course Assistants: TAs are Ali Kazemi ([email protected]) and Nicholas (Nick) Pusloskie ([email protected]). TA Office hours: Ali • Tuesdays 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. --- 335 CBEB • Thursdays 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. --- 335 CBEB Nick • Tuesdays 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. --- 107 CBEB • Wednesdays 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. --- 535 CBEB • Thursdays 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. --- 107 CBEB Course Grader: Mengde Liu ([email protected]) Mengde • Wednesdays 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. --- 107 CBEB • Thursdays 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. --- 535 CBEB Course Text: Essential Cell Biology 3rd or 4th Edition by Alberts et al, with supplementary reading to be loaded on the course website. Under the first day's slides in Modules is a table that gives 3rd and 4th edition page numbers together, so you can convert from syllabus.Course Web Site: Lecture notes, homework assignments and other course material will be available for download from the course website on CANVAS. This will be the primary source of material for this course. Lecture slides are under "Modules". Lectures: There are 15 weeks of class with 44 lectures total. The first segment (four weeks) will focus on biochemistry, proteins, and tools for studying cells. The second segment (three weeks) will focus on molecular biology and genomics. The third segment (four weeks) will cover the cytoskeleton, cell motility and signal transduction. The final segment (three weeks) will cover using basic biological principles to “build for biomedicine”. Class attendance, asking questions, and participation in class discussions is expected. Exams: There will be four exams that will be timed, open note. You are allowed to use any resources online, course notes, etc. However, you are not allowed to talk to or consult with other students or other humans to help you on the exam. This includes all forms of electronic communication like texting, etc. YOU MUST WORK ALONE. Consulting with other students during the testing period is a breach of Academic Integrity. The specific format and timing will be announced closer to exam times. Exams will be on material presented in class and reinforced in the book. Material in the readings that is not covered in class will generally not be on the exams unless specified. Best way to prepare is attend lectures, take notes, and study lecture notes and slides using book as secondary resource material. Taking written notes when you study is a good way to organize and internalize material. The fourth exam will be given during finals week and will focus half on the last quarter of the course and half on important topics that you should have learned and internalized from the rest of the course (i.e. it is cumulative). Homework: Roughly 8-10 homework assignments will be assigned during the semester, due approximately 1 week after being uploaded on Canvas. These will include problem sets, readings, and questions for in class discussions. Homework needs to be uploaded on Canvas by 11:59pm on the night they are due. Homework will be graded 3 ways. Correct answers and correct work will receive a 100%, Mostly correct answers and work will receive a 75%, Relevant attempts with major flaws will receive 50%, submissions without clear evidence of an earnest attempt to complete the problem will receive 0%. Top Hat “Clicker” Questions:During lectures, quick polls will be conducted with zoom. These are intended to be like clicker questions, with the purpose of pausing and pondering the material, switching to active learning for the students, and shutting up the professor. Students are expected to attend lectures and participate in clicker polls. Participation in clicker polls will be recorded and graded, but right and wrong answers will not be recorded, the goal is active learning and personal assessment of whether you understand the material. To account for all possible reasons for missing class, every student gets to miss four clicker days before participation points are deducted. If you miss class, you don’t need to explain reasons. If you have university excused absenses, send form to the professor. If you have a long term illness that causes you to miss multiple classes, let the instructors know and we will account for that. Clickers don’t count in the first week of class. Clicker grade is roughly equivalent to one homework assignment. Science topic discussion: Assignment details TBA. Due 4/16/2021 Policies: Academic integrity is taken very seriously. Examples of breaches of academic integrity can be found at http://www.engr.psu.edu/undergrad/acad_int/docs/precedent_faculty.pdf (Links to an external site.)and for policies see http://www.engr.psu.edu/undergrad/acad_int/docs/policies.pdf (Links to an external site.). If you work together with a friend on homework, at the top of the page under your name, write the name the person(s) you collaborated with. Simply copying homework is not allowed. If you must miss an exam, you must notify the instructor one week before. In the case of an unforeseen emergency, contact the instructor as soon as possible. If the instructor is notified after the exam is scheduled, make up is conditional on instructors approval. Requests based on false claims may be considered violations of the academic integrity policy (policy 49-20). Bringing another students clicker to class and entering answers for them is considered a breach of academic integrity and will be dealt with the same as cheating on exams and homework. Grading: Exams (first three 15% each, final 25%) 70% Homework 30% The class will be graded on a curve. This will help students receive a higher grade than the numerical grade on exams.Lecture Schedule for BME 201: Analysis of Molecules and Cells Lecture Date Topic Reading (Alberts Essentials 3rd Ed.) 1 M 1/10/22 Introduction Chap 1:1-6, ,13,16-26 (some is background), 2:51-58 2 W 1/12/22 Chemistry Fundamentals I 2:39-50, 58-63,