Biological Concepts Laboratory (Evol Div Ecol) 
Syllabus - Staff (Tentative Syllabus)
Biology Departmental Office: 745-3696
Meetings: in TCNW 127

Biological Concepts Laboratory (Biol 123) 1 HOUR. GEN ED D-1 (DL) - Corequisite: BIOL 122. Introductory laboratory in biology for science majors which focuses on experimental aspects of biological concepts. The laboratory manual is required and available at the University Bookstore or University Textbook and Supply Company. Students will need the laboratory manual for the first lab exercise.

There will be a 5-point quiz administered at the start of each lab session (starting with the second lab meeting). The questions will be taken from the lab you will be performing THAT DAY. If anyone has handed in the quiz before you arrive to lab you WILL NOT be allowed to take the quiz and you will receive a score of 0. Your 8 highest quiz scores (out of 9) will be counted toward your final grade.

Grades: Grades are based on your performance on Homework, Laboratory Quizzes, Mid-Term Exam, Final Exam, Scientific Paper, and your overall Participation in lab.

Points:
Lab 1 Homework 20 points
Lab Quizzes (nine 5-point quizzes with your lowest quiz score dropped) 40 points
Mid-Term 100 points
Scientific Paper 25 points
Final Exam 100 points
Participation 40 points
Total 325 points

Grading Scale:
100 - 90% A
89 - 80% B
79 - 70% C
69 - 60% D
59% – or lower F

Laboratory attendance policy: Attendance at laboratories is mandatory. If a student misses or knows that they will miss their regularly scheduled lab, they may get permission to attend another lab section from their original instructor. THIS WILL ONLY BE ALLOWED for University-accepted excusals (such as athletic events, sickness with Dr.’s note, family member death, etc.). The lab materials are only available for the week of that laboratory, so labs can only be made up during the week of the missed lab.

Academic Integrity: It is expected that each student will do his/her own work at all times. Therefore, cheating/academic dishonesty in any form (plagiarism, altering exams, crib sheets, etc.) will result in dismissal from the course with a grade of ‘F’, and this policy will be strongly enforced.

Students with disabilities: Students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this course must contact the Office for Student Disability Services, DUC A 201. The OFSDS telephone number is (270) 745-5004 V/TDD. Please DO NOT request accommodations directly from the professor or instructor without a letter of accommodation from the Office for Student Disability Services.

Gen Ed Requirement: This course fulfills the D.1. (Science/Mathematics) general education requirement. It will help you attain this general education goal and its corresponding objectives: An understanding of the scientific method and knowledge of natural science and its relevance in our lives, including 1) how scientific knowledge is created, developed, and changed through experimentation and reasoning, 2) demonstration of knowledge in one or more of the sciences, including theories, concepts, and principles that explain observations and make predictions, 3) how to locate and evaluate reliable resources to acquire information about scientific developments, and 4) the outlining of the reciprocal relationship between humans and the rest of the ecosystem.

As part of this course, you will be required to get online and attempt the Scientific Method module located at:

http://bioweb.wku.edu/courses/Biol115/Wyatt/Sci_method/Sci_method1.asp

This is our method of assessing your mastery of the above objectives. You will not be graded on your attempt nor will it affect your overall grade in the course, however it is required.

Bioweb