Cell and Organismal Biology. BI:102
Lab schedule: Spring 2008
Back to COB 2008
Lab section L11 1:00 to 4:00PM, Tuesday. Fisher Hall 202. Dr. Dave Richard:
Tel 4206:email richard@susqu.edu
Lab section L12 1:00 to 4:00, Thursday. Fisher Hall 202. Dr. Margaret Peeler:
Tel. 4207:email mpeeler@susqu.edu
Lab section L13 1:00 to 4:00, Friday. Fisher Hall 202. Dr. Courtney Thomas: email thomasc@susqu.edu
The goals of the lab portion of the course are
The labs will include practical sessions on methods of analysis for DNA and proteins, enzyme activity, cellular respiration, and physiological measurements of respiration and circulation in humans. It will account for 35% of your final grade in this four-credit BI:102 course.
Attendance at labs is required absolutely. Any absences must be cleared with the instructor well in advance (athletes should discuss scheduling conflicts with the instructor as soon as they are known). Each unexcused absence will result in a penalty as detailed in the section of the syllabus on grading. Since all of the lab sections are full to capacity, you must talk to both lab instructors about any changes. No unauthorized changes are allowed. If in doubt, check with us ahead of time.
Preparation for labs/Quizzes. We expect you to read the appropriate chapters in the text and/or lab protocols and/or websites ahead of time. We will be posting on this website each week a multiple choice quiz that is to be completed before coming to lab. You will find the answers to the questions by reading the requisite materials (a pretty cunning way to ensure that you do the reading huh?) Please print out the quiz and hand it in at the start of lab. Work on these quizzes on your own.
Research Experience. The capstone, or culminating, experience in the biology major is the two semester student research project completed in the senior your. Each of you will be matched with a senior biology major as a research assistant for the coming semester. The goal of this experience is for you to gain a better understanding of the process of scientific research in general, and the characteristics of the senior research project at Susquehanna in specific. Your mentor will provide you with appropriate background information, including written material, about the project, and will supervise your work in the lab or the field, assisting him or her on the project, for a minimum of 6 hours. Following completion of this experience, you will submit a written analysis of the experience. Your mentor will evaluate your effort and participation (and you will be asked to evaluate your mentor).
Oral presentation. You will each give a 10 to 12 minute talk to the lab group on a molecular disease or condition. The choice of topic is yours within the guidelines of the questions outlined. Since the relevance of the topic is important to the grade you will receive for this talk, we suggest that you check your proposed topic with your instructor. You should choose a subject that is of interest to you since enthusiasm is important for the delivery of a good talk. Topics will be approved on a first-come first served basis to avoid redundancy. These talks will take place in the final two weeks of the semester.
Lab Write ups For each lab, you will submit written work that will include some or all of the sections of a formal lab report, and may also include answers to specific questions regarding the lab. We will utilize the same format as was followed in EEH lab. The writing guide and the grading rubric are available online.
Provisional Weekly Schedule
Week 1: Jan 14-18
Week 2: Jan 21-25
Week 3: Jan 28 -Feb 1
Week 4: Feb 4-8
Week 5: Feb 11-15
Week 6: Feb 18-22
Week 7: Feb 25-Feb 29
Spring Break Feb 30 to March 9. Have fun.....be good!
Week 8: March 10-14
Week 9: March 17-21
Week 10. March 24-28.
Week 11: March 31- April 4
Week 12: April 7-11
Week 13 : April 15-18
Week 14: April 21-25
Grading
| Quiz average | 20 points |
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| Transformation lab | Materials and methods and results | 25 points. | |
| DNA fingerprinting lab | Results and discussion | 25 points. | |
| Protein electrophoresis/bioinformatics lab | Introduction and results | 35 points | |
| Catalase lab | Experimental design* | 10 points |
|
| Full lab report# | 50 points | ||
| Cell respiration lab | Experimental design* | 10 points | |
| Poster* | 25 points | ||
| Photosynthesis lab | Results and discussion | 25 points | |
| Research Experience | Written assessment and mentor evaluation | 50 point | |
| Oral presentation | 50 points | ||
| Peer Review | 10 points talk review/15 points lab group review | 25 points | |
| Total | 350 points |
* Group grade- everything else is done individually
# Can be resubmitted for 75% of missed points
Penalty for each unexcused absence is 35 points (10% of your lab grade!) plus zeros for missed assignments.
Late work will be accepted within one week of the original due date, with a 10% penalty per day. Work is due at the start of the lab period. Work turned in later that day is considered late.