About the Course...

General Biology 2, BIO 171, is the second-semester introductory course for students preparing for academic majors in the sciences or other technical fields. In most universities and many colleges, a large proportion of students taking this course would consider themselves pre-med. The course will cover basic foundation aspects of the biological sciences, concentrating on those most relevant to today’s scientists and technicians. The basic subject matter will resemble that of many high school biology courses, but the depth and slant will probably be different. Basic facts and terminology will be important, but the most successful students will be able to apply scientific reasoning, critical thinking, and analysis of written material.  The broad basics of the first semester will be focused on molecular and cellular processes.  Assignments for credit toward a final mark include lecture exams, lab tests, and written abstracts of print articles and major science websites.  Here is the FMCC Catalog Description.  This course fulfills the SUNY Education Guidelines for Natural Sciences.

For this COVID-19-influenced semester, the intent if to make this as close to a “normal” experience as possible.  There will be lectures that you will be expected to take notes from;  instead of 3 per week at particular times, they will be posted on Blackboard “tagged” to the days when they would have been delivered.  Quizzes and exams will be remote, so will not match the formats of previous years.
 

The Book:   Biology - Molecules and Cells
                    

Important Dates:

               Lecture Exams...... Feb 22nd, March 17th, April 12th, May 6^th.
               Lab Quizzes........... In Labs: March 25th, April 8th, April 29th.
               Abstracts .............In Labs: Feb 25th, March 11th, April 1st, April 22nd.
               Lab Reports........... Due by end of following lab period.

Course Objectives:

This is a somewhat intensive introduction to the science of biology, laying a foundation necessary for later courses in this and related sciences.  This will focus on foundation knowledge, such as scientific method as it applies to biology, basic biochemistry, and basic life processes at the cell level. This course should give you the foundation knowledge to go on to more specific biological coursework, including human-oriented courses, and the academic preparation to deal with the requirements of most upper-level courses as well.

Outcomes include these as well as the SUNY General Education Learning Outcomes.

 *Given if, at semester’s end, all due work has been handed in.

Notice that the course grades add up to 1000 total Points, so each 10 Points gained (or lost) is the equivalent of 1% of your final grade, which will be figured this way:

"D" is considered passing, but often only "C" or higher are accepted as transfer credits!
Grades may also be severely affected for students violating FMCC's Academic Integrity Policy.

Attendance & Make-Up Policies:

Laboratory classes all have associated marked reports, so missing them may lead to lost points.  Make-ups are possible using the remote materials posted on Blackboard.  All marked assignments and exams are scheduled in advance and those dates are posted on Blackboard – check regularly and/or mark your personal calendar. 

Due materials (lab reports, proposals, papers) may be handed in past the due date, (by email if no longer accessible on Blackboard) but will lose 5% per day, down to 25% for a complete and appropriately done but really late assignment.  However, proposals will not be accepted on or after the due date of the paper they are for, and NO MATERIALS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER MAY 5^th.

Spring 2021 Schedule

Wed Jan 27 -  Introduction

      LAB JAN 28 - Introduction,

Fri Jan 29 -      Chapter 1-1, Atoms & Molecules

Mon Feb 1 -  Chapter 1-2, Bonds

Wed Feb 3 -  Chapter 1-3, Water Properties

      LAB Feb 4 -  More Intro.

Fri Feb 5 -  Chapter 1-4, Intro to Organic Chemistry

Mon Feb 8 -   Chapter 1-5, Major Organic Molecules

Wed Feb 10 -  

   LAB FEB 11 -  Abstracts.  (1)

Fri Feb 12 -

Mon Feb 15 -     NO "CLASSES" (Presidents' Day)

Wed Feb 17 -    Chapter 1-6, Dynamic Processes   

  LAB Feb 18 -   Organic Chemistry.   (2)  
                 First Abstract Due.

Fri Feb 19 - 

Mon Feb 17 -  FIRST EXAM.

============================================

Wed Feb 19 -  Chapter 1-7, Energy Systems

     LAB Feb 20 -  Classification (4)
 

Fri Feb 21 - 

Mon Feb 24 -

Wed Feb 26 -  Chapter 2-1, Life Processes

     LAB Mar 4 -  Enzymes. (5)
 

Fri Mar 5 -  Chapter 2-2, Taxonomy

Mon Mar 8  -

Wed Mar 10 -  Chapter 2-3, Research Methods

     LAB Mar 11 -  Measurement. (5)   *Calculator Needed!*
                 Second Abstract Due.    

Fri Mar 12 - 

Mon Mar 15 -  Chapter 2-4, Evolution

Wed Mar 17 -     SECOND EXAM .
                    MIDTERM POINT 

==================================================== 

    LAB Mar 12 - Epidemiology. (6)  *Calculator Needed!*

Fri Mar 19 -

Mon Mar 22 - Chapter 3-1, Microscopes

Wed Mar 24 - Chapter 3-2, Cell Basics
   LAB Mar 25 -  Disease Organisms.   (7) 
           First Lab Quiz.
 Fri Mar 26 -   Chapter 3-3, Cell Structures

Mon Mar 29 - 

Wed Mar 31 -      Chapter 3-4, Cell Functions

      LAB Apr 1 -   Ethics  (8)
                     Third Abstract Due

Fri Apr 2 -  NO "CLASS," Good Friday

Mon Apr 5 - 

Wed Apr 7 -     Chapter 3-5, Cell Interactions

   LAB Apr 8 -  Diffusion.  (9)
               Second Lab Quiz.
                Genetics PreLab Given

Fri Apr 9 -  

Mon Apr 12 -  THIRD EXAM.
 

====================================================

Wed Apr 15 -   Chapter 4-1, Inheritance

    LAB Apr 15 -    Histology. (10)

Fri Apr 16  -

Mon Apr 20 -   Chapter 4-2, Protein Production

Wed Apr 22 - Chapter 4-3, Life Origins

     LAB Apr 23 -  Genetics.  (11)
                 Genetics Prelab Due
                 Fourth Abstract Due. 

Fri Apr 23 -  Chapter 4-4, Cancer

Mon Apr 26 - 

Wed Apr 28 -   Chapter 5-1, Careers

     LAB April 29 -  Reproduction  (12)
                 Third Lab Quiz.

Fri Apr 30 -  Chapter 5-2, Protein Analysis

Mon May 3 -

Wed May 5 -  Chapter 5-3, DNA Analysis
                   Final Deadline for all late materials.

Fri, May 6 - FOURTH EXAM.
         (Date Somewhat Tentative).

=======================================================

BIO 171 - General Biology 2

Written Assignment - Abstracts

Your writing assignments for this course are abstracts, which are paragraphs that summarize things - in this case, either print articles or major internet websites. Abstracts are routinely written for science journal articles - that way, someone searching for particular material can quickly tell from the abstract if an article is something they need to read. Your abstracts will give the overall theme and "high points" of a print article or entire website without the details. You are going to abstract two biology-oriented print articles and two biology-oriented internet websites, summarizing as briefly as possible while still covering all of the sources’ subjects.

You will read an article or check out a website concerning some aspect of the biological sciences (pick something you can understand!), then reduce it to a single paragraph of information. The trick here is to be brief - try to keep your abstract under 100 words, and definitely hold it under 200 words.

For a printed magazine/newspaper article: The article you pick must fit the following FOUR CRITERIA: 1) it must be about some aspect of biology; 2) it must be from a reputable source - hard news or science magazine or newspaper - if you’re not sure about a source, ASK!!!; 3) in its original printed form, the article must be more than one full page of text (or half a page of text for newspaper articles); 4) it must have been published this year.

For a website: When you pick a website, it must fit criteria 1 & 2 above (check the source to determine reliability); for 3, it must consist of more than ten subsidiary web pages (that is, it needs to have subsites with their own separate internet addresses); and for 4, it must have been updated sometime this year.  You'll be basically summarizing what the site is, and what is available at the site's home page.

The format of your abstract will consist of: 1) your name; 2) the title of the article/ website you’re abstracting, written as stated in the next paragraph; 3) the actual written part of your abstract (one paragraph, typed, double spaced!), checked for spelling and grammar; 4) a photocopy of the entire print article, or the entire magazine it came from - torn-out pages are not acceptable! For websites, printouts are not necessary - instead, the address must be absolutely perfect.  For details, see below.

THE TITLE:

For the article abstracts will be written in a format like those found in science journals - make sure you follow these directions! Use the following order: 1) the author(s), last name(s) first - all authors must be listed; 2) the year that the article was published (that should be this year); 3) the title of the article, capitalized like a regular sentence would be;  4) the title of the magazine or newspaper the article was in; 5) the volume and issue numbers of the magazine (dates are all right only for newspapers); 6) the pages that the article was on;  7) if you accessed the article through a library database, the name of the database.

The title for the website abstracts will use this order: 1) the website name (this often will appear in the tab at the top of the screen at the "home" website, but it may just be on the screen at that site); 2) the year that the site was last updated (should be this year); 3) the author, if there is one (there rarely is an author given); 4) the support site, if this website is part of a yet larger site (this often won't be true for these abstracts - check with Mr. McDarby if you have a small site contained in a much larger one!); 5) the full web address ( this is in the long white box and starts "http..." - it's very important to get this exactly right!!); 6) the date that you accessed the site last.  Use ONLY sources that can be shown to be reliable!

THE BODY OF THE ABSTRACT:   Double spaced!

For the article, give a brief but comprehensive summary - briefly tell the basic theme of the article, then state all of the major points or features, including charts, tables, and sidebars. You do not need to go into much detail on anything except, occasionally, major unusual theories or conclusions.  Remember, these are read just to see if it's worth the trouble of reading the actual article - that is how the reader will get the details.

NOTE: You are either doing an abstract from a PRINTED ARTICLE from a paper source or a huge WEBSITE - NOT an article from a website!!!

For the website, start from the main website’s home page (NOTE: if there’s more than two slashes beyond the middle of the address, chances are that you’re not on a home page). Give the basic theme of the site (what is the site, what's it doing there?) and then all of the major points or features, including types of subsites and links. Even sites with many, many subsites can usually be summarized easily.  Link titles can be used (as quotes), but only if the title gives a clear idea of what the link would be going to.

ABSTRACTS - MARKING DEDUCTIONS:

                                                                                                        DEDUCTIONS

                                                                                     1st               2nd                3^rd                 4^th

ARTICLE OR WEBSITE TITLE:

               Format Errors, each . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .-1 . . . . . . . .  -1 . . . . . . . .  .-2 . . . . . . . .  .-2

               Format Completely Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . -8 . . . . . . . .  -8 . . . . . . . . -10 . . . . . . . . -12

CHOSEN ARTICLE / WEBSITE:

               Not on Biology Topic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -15 . . . . . . . . -20 . . . . . . . . -25 . . . . . . . . . -30

               Inappropriate Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -5 . . . . . . . . . -8 . . . . . . . .  -10 . . . . . . . . . -12

               Source TOO SHORT (just barely) . . . . -6 . . . . . . . .  -12 . . . . . . . .  -18 . . . . . . . . . -24

               Source MUCH too short . . . . . . . . . . . -8 to -10 . . . -12 to -20 . . . -22 to -30 . . . -30 to -40

ABSTRACT:

               Main Theme is Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -6 . . . . . . . . -10 . . . . . . . . -14 . . . . . . . . -18

               Points / Features not covered, each. . . -1 to -2 . . . . . -2 to -3 . . . . . -3 to -4 . . . -4 to -5

               It isn’t quite an abstract. . . . . . . . . . . . -2 to -6. . . . . -6 to -10 . . . . -8 to -12. . -10 to -14

               Not even close to being an abstract. . . . -10 . . . . . . . -20 . . . . . . .  -30 . . . . . . .  -40

               Almost Random Statements . . . . . . . . .  -12 . . . . . . . . -24 . . . . . . . . -36 . . . . . . -40

               Spelling and grammar errors, each. . . . -1 . . . . . . . .  -1 . . . . . . . .  -2 . . . . . . . .  -2

PHOTOCOPY / ACCURATE WEB ADDRESS:

               Missing or Incomplete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -5 . . . . . . . . -10 . . . . . . . . -15 . . . . . . . -20

               Pages Ripped from Source. . . . . . . . . . . . -5 . . . . . . . . -10 . . . . . . . . -15 . . . . . . . -20

OTHERS:

               Plagiarism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . -15 to all Points

               Falsified Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -10 to all Points

               Other Dishonesty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -10 to all Points

               Other Form Errors, Each. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -1 to -10

Questions and Helpful Hints:

Question - What sort of article, exactly, am I looking for?

First, make sure that you are looking in the right place. Science magazines are good sources, but may be much more technical than you're ready to handle. You want something that you'll be able to understand. "Hard news" magazines or newspapers can be good, too - anything that should be a reliable source for science information. Once you have a source, make sure that any article you might pick is long enough - it's got to have at least one full page of text - and that it is about biology in some way - in other words, it deals with the workings of living things.

Question - How do I know if I’ve got an appropriate website?

First, check the address - anything with a long address with a bunch of slashes in it is not a main site, but a subsite - find the main site by looking for a "HOME" link or by "peeling back" the address by deleting parts after a slash - work your way back slash by slash until you’ve hit what’s obviously a main website. Then, make sure that it’s biology-related and check - usually near the end somewhere - to see that it was updated this year.  Then you must figure out who put the site up - who wrote it?  Is there a good reason to think that the person or organization would be a reliable science resource?  If you can't find any real information about the writer(s), even if references are cited, don't use the site.

Question - So this is like, some sort of report?

No, it's not like anything you've probably written - the closest assignment to an abstract would be the first part of a book report, where you're very briefly telling what the book is about. An abstract is about article content and coverage, not a report about the subject of the article. You also don't get to editorialize - your opinions about the article are irrelevant in an abstract.

Question - How much do I need to tell?

Not much. It's as if someone looked over your shoulder as you were reading and asked, "What kind of article is that?" Your answer would be brief, but a good answer would let the person know the basic theme of the article and all of the major points it covers, so they could tell if it was something they might want to read. Keep it short - you don't need to really explain things, just mention the main theme and any well-covered subjects.

Question - Are there any "tricks" to writing a good abstract?

There are many different tricks. What you want to do is break the article down to "the bare bones," and that can be done by outlining, or by making notes on a photocopy, or by reading and then waiting before you write (that last one is tricky). One definite trick is to use the checklist on the first handout page - if you can check everything off, you'll get a good mark.

ABSTRACTS - EXAMPLES.

Couzin-Frankel, Jennifer.  2011.  A pitched battle over life span.  Science, Vol 333, Iss 6042, p 549-550.

This article is about how life expectancies may change in the future – will they rise, or level off?  The background of the two sides and major scientists involved are discussed, as well as what sorts of near-future results would support the sides.

Sachs, Jessica Snyder. 2011.  There’s a shot for that.  Discover, Vol 32, Iss 8, p 51-56.

This article discusses research on developing vaccines for several conditions.  There are sections on vaccines for cancer, allergies, heart disease, obesity, and addiction.  A sidebar supplies a glossary of vaccine-related terms.

Exploratorium.  The Museum of Science, Art, and Human Perception.  2011.  Palace of Fine Arts. www.exploratorium.edu  January 24, 2012.

This is the online site for a science museum in San Francisco.  There is some information about the actual museum, but the site is primarily online content:  “Hands-on activities, online exhibits, articles, videos, and more,” divided among several different types of science.  There is also special content for a number of demographic groups:  “Educators,”  “Teens,”  “Artists,”  “Scientists,” and “Geeks.”

Human Genome Sequencing Center. 2011. Baylor College of Medicine.   www.hgsc.bcm.tmc.edu January 24, 2012.

This website covers a wide range of human genetics research done in this medical college.  There are specific sites dealing with cancer genetics and the genetics of the bacteria that live on and inside humans, as well as many pages of general information covering basics and background for genetics research.

Small, Meredith F. 1997. Our babies, ourselves. Natural History, 106(9), pp 42-51.

This article is about how caregiving for infants varies among cultures. Many contrasts between hunter-gatherer cultures and western cultures are given. A brief retrospective of how anthropological studies in this area have changed in focus appears. All of this is integrated into the biology of newborns, in such areas as nutrition and bond development. The suggestion is made that western rearing techniques may be ignoring the cues that come from the babies themselves. Several sidebar articles by other authors accompany the main article - subjects in the sidebars: practices among the Gusii people of Kenya; the rest-centered approach of the Dutch; teaching pediatricians to deal nonjudgmentally with varied approaches in different ethnic groups; effects of different approaches on crying; how long to breast-feed; and effects of parents sleeping with babies.

Rome, Lawrence C. 1997. Testing a muscle's design. American Scientist, 85(4), pp 356-363.

This article reviews the research done by the author connecting the design of a muscle system with the system's particular function. After a brief introduction to muscle mechanics, examples from frog jumping, fish swimming, and toadfish vocalizing are examined in some detail.

MedHist. 2004.  http://medhist.ac.uk. No Author Given. Wellcome Trust. August 29, 2004.

This British site, put up by a major research organization allied with several other major sites that have links on the homepage, calls itself the "guide to history of medicine resources on the Internet." It has mainly a search function in this field, but it also offers a "Browse by Category" option with the categories "Diseases," "Electronic publications" (sic), regional breakdowns, miscellany, "Education & research," by periods of history, "Medical speciality & technique," "People," and "Science & technology." Each category offers major reference sources and many subcategories as well. There are many sources that are modern, rather than historical.