Syllabus

General Botany - BOT. 105

Spring 2005

 

Instructor: Terry W. Henkel, Ph.D.

Office: Science Building B, Room 123

Telephone: 826-4841

Email: twh5@humboldt.edu

Office Hours: 2-3:30 pm Tues. & 1-2:30 pm Thurs., or by appointment

 

Laboratory Instructors:        Section 11 – Lance Woolley, Sci D 147

                                                Section 12 – Ben Crain, Sci D 151

                                                Section 13 – Jennifer Millard, Sci D 147

Section 14 – David Loya, Sci D 151

                                                                                               

Introduction: The student in General Botany will gain an understanding of the diversity of plant, fungal, protistan, and prokaryotic life on Earth. In the process the student will develop a working vocabulary of botanical terminology, and acquire basic concepts of anatomy, morphology, reproduction, and ecology of these organismal groups. Thus the student will develop a fundamental botanical awareness and be prepared for further study in specialized fields of biology and natural resources management.

 

Botany 105 helps fulfill degree requirements for many majors in biology and resource management; additionally, Botany 105 qualifies as a general education course. As a result it is necessary to maintain rigor in the course material to provide a foundation in plant biology for the programs in the College of Natural Resources and Science.

 

Organization: The course begins with study of the basic cellular organization, growth, and modes of reproduction common to all organisms, followed by comparative patterns of growth, development, and reproduction typical of the major prokaryote, fungal, protistan, and plant groups. As a result the student will be able to recognize the distinguishing characteristics of these organismal groups, and understand their relationships to the environment and human affairs.

 

Blackboard: Regular use of Blackboard is REQUIRED of all students in BOT. 105. Blackboard is an indispensable tool for sharing information and documents between the instructor and students. Lecture notes, powerpoint presentations, lab manuals, handouts, announcements, grade summaries, and other items will be available (sometimes exclusively) through blackboard.

 

Accessing Blackboard via the Web: 1) HSU home page 2) “Blackboard” (http://blackboard.humboldt.edu) 4) “Login” - enter your Username (the first part of your HSU email address; e.g. twh5) 5) Enter you Password 6) After entering your Password you will arrive at the “My institution” homepage. Click on one of your courses listed under “My courses”.

 

Required Textbooks:

 

1.     Raven P., Evert R. & Eichhorn S. 1999. Biology of Plants (6th ed.) Worth Publishers.

 

Recommended books:

 

            -Van De Graff, et al. 1998. A Photographic Atlas for the Botany Laboratory. 3^rd             Edition.

 

Required Laboratory Materials: Probe, blunt forceps, single-edged razor blades, glass microscope slides, coverslips, drawing pencils, colored pencils, 10.0 cm ruler, small "write-in-the-rain" notebook for field notes

 

Class Meetings:

 

Lecture section 1 (Henkel) Tuesday & Thursday, 9:00-9:50 AM, SB 135

Laboratory Section 11 (Woolley) Tuesday & Thursday, 11:00 AM-1:50 PM, SD 147

Laboratory Section 12 (Crain) Tuesday & Thursday, 11:00 AM-1:50 PM, SD 151

Laboratory Section 13 (Millard) Tuesday & Thursday, 2:00 pm-4:50 PM, SD 147

Laboratory Section 14 (Loya) Tuesday & Thursday, 2:00 PM-4:50 PM, SD 151

 

Weekly Schedule for Botany 105, Spring 2005 (Henkel)

 

Week	Date	Lecture	Laboratory
1	Jan 18	Introduction	Introduction
1	Jan 20	Biological Chemistry	Greenhouse tour; forest walk
2	Jan 25	Cells	Microscopy
2	Jan 27	Cells (cont.); mitosis	Cells & mitosis
3	Feb 1	Sex, meiosis & life cycles	Quiz; Diversity I. Laboratory
3	Feb 3	Intro to botanical diversity	Diversity II. Community forest
4	Feb 8	Prokaryotes	Quiz; Bacteria and cyanobacteria
4	Feb 10	Fungi I - Chytridiomycota & Zygomycota	Zygomycota; molds & chytrids
5	Feb 15	Fungi II - Ascomycota	Quiz; Ascomycota, Lichens
5	Feb 17	Fungi III - Basidiomycota	Basidiomycota; rust fungi
6	Feb 22	TBA	Laboratory Practical #1
6	Feb 24	Lecture Examination #1	Identification and ecology of fungi – community forest
7	Mar 1	Protista I - red algae; slime molds	Quiz; Red algae; slime molds
7	Mar 3	Protista II - brown algae; oomycetes	Brown algae; oomycetes
8	Mar 8	Green Algae	Quiz; Green algae
8	Mar 10	Bryophytes	Bryophytes
9	Mar 14-18	Spring Break	--
10	Mar 22	Cells and Tissues	Quiz; Forest walk – bryophytes
10	Mar 24	Root Growth	Cells and Tissues
11	Mar 29	Stem Primary Growth	Quiz; Root primary growth
11	Mar 31	Stem Secondary Growth	Root secondary growth; root types
12	Apr 5	Leaves	Quiz; Stem primary growth
12	Apr 7	Seedless Vascular Plants	Stem secondary growth
13	Apr 12	TBA	Laboratory Practical #2
13	Apr 14	Lecture Examination #2	Leaves
14	Apr 19	Gymnosperms I	Quiz; Seedless vascular plants
14	Apr 21	Gymnosperms II	Gymnosperms
15	Apr 26	Gymnosperms III	Quiz; Field identification: ferns and conifers – community forest
15	Apr 28	Angiosperms I	Flowers, inflorescences
16	May 3	Angiosperms II	Quiz; Angiosperm life cycle
16	May 5	Angiosperms III	Fruit types; dispersal

 

 

Point Distribution:

 

	Points
Lecture Examination #1	100
Lecture Examination #2	100
Laboratory Practical #1	100
Laboratory Practical #2	100
Laboratory quizzes (11 ×10 points each)	110
Final Lecture Examination	100
Final Laboratory Practical	100
Total possible points =	710

 

Course Grades:

 

% of highest score	Grade	% total points	Grade
100-93	A	77.9-73	C
92.9-90	A-	72.9-70	C-
89.9-88	B+	69.9-68	D+
87.9-83	B	67.9-60	D
82.9-80	B-	59.9- 0	F
79.9-78	C+

Curve: Grades will be scaled at the end of the semester based on the highest score achieved in the class (i.e. the highest score will form the 100% mark).

 

Quiz / Exam Formats:

 

Lab: The eleven laboratory quizzes are given in order to keep you up on the material. They will occur during the first 25 minutes of a laboratory period and there will be 5 - 10 questions. They add up to 110 points, which is a significant portion of the course total. Short answer questions and labeled drawings may be asked. About half of the questions will have a ‘find & show’ format. Laboratory practicals are expanded versions of the quizzes. These exams cover more material so there will be more questions on them.

           

Lecture: Lecture exams will contain a variety of types of questions dealing with material covered both in lecture, lab, and reading assignments from the textbook. Questions may refer to material covered more thoroughly in the book than in lecture. Short and medium-length written answers, multiple-choice, true/false, matching, and other types of questions are expected, as well as diagram labeling and interpretation.

 

Additional Grading Policy: A consistent positive attitude can bump up your grade if you are on the borderline between two grades. This is the prerogative of your lab and lecture instructors if they feel that you have been making a consistent positive effort in learning the material.

           

Attendance: You must attend every class meeting during the first five days of the term. By University policy, your place in the class may be assigned to another student if you are absent during the first week without notifying the instructor in charge (T. Henkel, Room SB 123, tel. 826-4841) or the Biology Department office (Room SB 223, tel. 826-3245). The roll call will be discontinued after the first week, and attendance will not be used as a factor in the calculation of final grades. However, the subject matter of class meetings is the basis for examinations. Therefore, students are encouraged to attend and actively participate in all activities of the class.

 

Make-ups and withdrawals: Make-up exams are not given. Illness and family emergencies, both of which must be verified, are legitimate reasons for missing exams. In the event that you miss a deadline for a legitimate reason, you and I will discuss whether an Incomplete is appropriate. You are responsible for completing the necessary paperwork. A grade of 0.0 is given for deadlines missed without a legitimate reason or in the absence of communication. Students who stop attending and do not drop the class will not get an Incomplete. The latter will receive a grade of Unofficial Withdrawal. For the purposes of grade point average, a grade of “U” is equivalent to an “F”. In fact, a “U” may be worse than an “F” for those students who wish to repeat the course later. Petitions to replace a grade earned in this course with a better grade may be denied if the student has withdrawn from this course unofficially.

           

Additional Information:

 

Credit/No Credit: Students who intend to be graded on a CREDIT/NO CREDIT basis must file the required form at the Registration Office in Siemens Hall within the first four weeks of the semester. No student will be allowed to choose the C/NC grading option after the fourth week. C/NC grades are not used in grade point calculations.

 

Wait-Listing for Bot. 105: Web registration does not allow you to enter on to a wait list. The limiting factor for getting into Bot. 105 is the number of seats available in each laboratory section. If you can get into a laboratory section, you can also get into the lecture section, and you must take both. Instructors for Bot 105 will create a wait list for each laboratory section. Some students usually get into the course this way depending upon how many other students drop Bot. 105. Getting into the course via this route is usually first-come, first-serve.

 

Adding Bot. 105 (HSU Spring 2005 Schedule):

 

1.     January 24: Deadline to add an OPEN class via the Web without instructor approval.

 

2.     Jan. 25 - Feb. 1: Students may add a class to their current schedule with instructor approval, and without paying a $2.00 fee. A “Magic Number” from the instructor is required and the student may add the class via the Web. February 4 is not the last day you can add a course, but it is the last day you can add a course without a $2.00 fee.

 

3.     Feb. 2 - Feb 14: You can add the course during this time, but you will be charged a $2.00 fee. Classes cannot be added after Sept. 22.                               

 

Dropping Bot. 105 (HSU Spring 2005 Schedule):

 

1.     August 29: Deadline to drop a class via the Web without obtaining instructor and/or Department Chair approval and without a $2.00 fee. No notation of withdrawal will be recorded on the student’s academic record.

 

2.     Feb. 1: Deadline to drop a course without a $2.00 fee. No instructor & Department Chair approval is needed.

 

            3. Feb. 14: Deadline to drop a course with a $2.00 fee. No instructor & Department Chair                     approval is needed.

 

            4. Feb. 15 – Apr. 15: Dropping a course will require the approval of the instructor and                            Departmental Chair as well as a “serious and compelling reason is required” from the student. A             Schedule Adjustment form must be filled out; this cannot be done via the Web. A grade of             “Withdrawal” (W) will appear on the student’s transcript and a $10.00 fee will be assessed.             Submit the form to the Academic Support Center, Siemens Hall 210.

 

Magic Numbers: Magic Numbers are a part of Web-based registration. Each instructor has a set of magic numbers and they are used in place of instructor approval signatures and each student receives a unique number. They are entered in place of a CRN number on the Register or Add/Drop classes page in Web Registration (but only if you are adding a class after the beginning of the semester – see above dates). With respect to Bot.105, Magic Numbers can be used to enter a student into a closed laboratory section but this is a decision made by the instructor.

 

Interested in extra help for Bot. 105? An option for extra help is the Tutorial Center (http://www.humboldt.edu/~learning/tutorialservices.htm). The T.C. can arrange for you to receive small group or one-to-one instruction from a former General Botany student. There may be an hourly fee for the latter type of instruction.