Biosc 1850 Microbiology Spring Term 2003 (03-2) BIOSC 1850 03-2 Syllabus Part I: Course goals and policies p. 1 Syllabus for Biosc 1850 Microbiology Spring term 2003 Instructor Dr. Susan Godfrey A359 langley Hall phone 624-4254 email [email protected] Office hours T 4:30 to 5:50 p.m, W 4:30 to 5:00 TEACHING METHODS: The class, scheduled for M, W, F 9:00-9:50 am 169 Crawford Hall, will consist primarily of lectures but include a variety of other classroom activities when suitable for specific topics, and will often include an interlude for working one or more practice problems such as questions from old exams. TEXTBOOK (REQUIRED): Microbial Life (2002), J. J. Perry, J. T. Staley, and S. Lory, Sinauer Associates, Publishers. OTHER COURSE MATERIALS & STUDY SUPPORTS: A copy of the course textbook will be on reserve at Langley Library. An additional text, Principles of Microbiology, 2nd edition, by R. M. Atlas, will also be on reserve at Langley library to serve as a supplemental resource for your reading and studying. Course handouts, lecture notes, exam preparation materials, and other study materials will be provided via the CourseInfo website at http://courseweb.pitt.edu. After the first week of class, lecture illustrations with some notes will be posted on the course web site at least 24 hours prior to each lecture. Students are encouraged to keep up with the text reading assignments for each lecture, and to complete the questions for thought and review at the end of each text chapter. If vocabulary lists, concept lists, or practice questions are supplied for a particular lecture, you should acquire facility with those as well. Doing so will help you to master the course material, and will inform your study strategies. I welcome office hours visits, phone or e-mail questions, or visits by individual appointment, whether to answer questions about the course materials, look over your practice work to give you feedback, or to get to know you individually. COURSE RATIONALE: Students who have successfully completed the prerequisite courses Foundations in Biology I & II (Biosci 0151 & 0160) will be familiar with the eukaryotic life style of macrošrganisms (plants & animals). To understand the basic biology of microšrganisms, then, it is necessary to consider how prokaryotes and viruses are different from eukaryotes, and how eukaryotic microorganisms differ from macrošrganisms in their life strategies and levels of diversity. COURSE GOALS:Biosc 1850 Microbiology Spring Term 2003 (03-2) BIOSC 1850 03-2 Syllabus Part I: Course goals and policies p. 2 This course aims to familiarize students with the basic biology of, diversity in types of, and survival strategies of, microorganisms, especially bacteria. We will study basic topics including microbial growth, metabolism, nutrition, and genetics, as well as the relevance of microorganisms to human disease, biotechnology, and environmental science. In particular, we wish to make sure you are aware of many of the options that provide employment for biologists or chemists interested in microbiology. This is a broad introductory survey course in microbiology intended to prepare students for advanced study in microbiology or as a basis for graduate or professional training in various biomedical sciences. GRADING: There will be three hour exams during the term, given during regularly scheduled class periods (see attached schedule). Each of these exams is mandatory, but in figuring the course grade for each of you we will drop the lowest score from among these three. In order to understand each new topic, you will need the foundation built by the study of each previous topic. Thus each exam after the first one will be cumulative. So, if you should have to miss an exam for some reason, you must still study that material in order to do well on subsequent exams. In addition, there will be a 2 hour final examination given during the final examination period, as set by the registrar: Thursday April 24, 12 noon- 1:50 pm in 169 Crawford Hall. The final exam score is not one that will be dropped. One hundred points of the final exam will cover lecture topics presented after the third hour exam, and an additional 34 points will integrate materials more broadly from different parts of the term. The exams will consist primarily of multiple choice questions, but may occasionally include some short-answer questions, problems and/or definitions. Final Grade: Your final letter grade will be based on the two hour exams on which you achieve highest scores and your final exam score, as shown below. Your final grade will be based on the total points earned during the semester (334 points available), and not on averaged letter grades for any single exam. Intermediate exam grades will be registered as numerical scores only. Since each exam is created new for this term, so that results are somewhat unpredictable, the course will be graded on a curve. Examination % of Final Grade Hour exam 30 % (100 points) Hour exam 30 % (100 points) Final Exam 40 % (134 points) DISABILITIES: If you have a disability or other difficulty that requires special testing accommodations or other classroom modifications, you need to notify both the instructor and the Office of Disability Resources and Services. To notify Disability Resources and Services, call 648-7890 (Voice and TDD) to schedule an appointment. If you are uncertain whether your need qualifies for such modifications, please discuss your situation with me: I am eager to help each student achieve her/his maximum level of performance in this class. MISSED EXAMINATIONS: There will be no make-ups for examinations that occur during the term. If you miss one of the hour examinations, that will count as the lowest score that is dropped. If you miss more than one exam, you should discuss the options available to you with your advisor or the CAS Dean’s office. If you must miss the final exam due to an emergency (illness, serious injury or death in your immediate family)Biosc 1850 Microbiology Spring Term 2003 (03-2) BIOSC 1850 03-2 Syllabus Part I: Course goals and policies p. 3 you must submit, in writing, your documentation to obtain an excused absence for that exam, and you must also fulfill the conditions required for the awarding of a G grade (please see below). Bad weather or a car breakdown are not accepted excuses for missing an examination: please make sure you have reliable transportation