Bio 002Lab Spring 2010

BIO 002L: INTRO MOLECULAR BIOLOGY LAB

Spring 2010 Syllabus

LECTURE: Biology 002Labs (All Sections)

PLACE: SE 167
TIME: See Schedule

LAB MANUAL: Downloadable PDF Protocols

OTHER: Downloadable handouts as posted on CROPS

INSTRUCTOR: PROF. DAVID ARDELL

Phone: (209) 228 2953
Email: dardell@ucmerced.edu
Office: SE228
Office Hours: MW 1:30pm-2:30pm. Also by appointment

POLICIES & PROCEDURES

Please carefully familiarize yourself with the policies below. It shall be assumed that you have read and
understood them.

SCORES & GRADES

Course Scoring:
Assignment Point Allocation Total Points % of Total Points
Pre-lab Questions 5 points each x 13 65 12%
Lab Reports 35 points each x 13 455 88%
Total 520 100%

Letter Grades: The final distribution of grades in BIO 2 is given below. Sorry, no exceptions shall be made!
Course Point Score Letter Grade Course Point Score Letter Grade
88.00% to 100.00% A 68.00% to 70.99% C
85.00% to 87.99% A- 65.00% to 67.99% C-
81.00% to 84.99% B+ 61.00% to 64.99% D+
78.00% to 80.99% B 58.00% to 60.99% D
75.00% to 77.99% B- 55.00% to 57.99% D-
71.00% to 74.99% C+ 0.00% to 54.99% F

Information on grade appeals, incompletes, etc. can be found in the UC Merced Grading Policy available from
the Registrar.

LAB SECTIONS

Laboratory Sections:
NOTE: Laboratory sections are mandatory for all students. Missing laboratory meetings will result in
a failing grade.
As noted in the timetable, labs sections begin the second week of term. Each lab period shall begin with a
quiz. Please ensure you arrive on time. Students arriving late shall not be afforded additional time on quizzes.
BEWARE: If you must miss a lab section for an acceptable reason, let your TA know ahead of time. If you do

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not inform your TA in advance, you will receive a zero for the quiz and possibly the other aspects of the lab.
If you do inform your TA ahead of time and have an acceptable reason for missing class, you will not be
allowed to make up the quiz, rather, you will be given a quiz score equal to the average of your other quiz
scores at the end of the semester. Space in labs is very limited – these limits are set by the fire marshal - for
this reason you must attend your own section.

A) Pre-Lab Questions:
Each lab assignment is preceded by a set of questions, the answers to which must be completed PRIOR to
your arrival for that lab. These questions can usually be found at the beginning of the lab protocol. Submit
these at the beginning of lab.
Students who arrive after the collection of the prelab by the TA, will not be permitted to submit these
questions, and the student shall receive a grade of zero for them.

Each student must answer these questions themselves. Please read the section below on academic integrity.
Answers which are copied, based on answers found on the Internet, or generated in a fashion which suggest
plagiarism, will be referred to the instructor and will be subject to a failing grade for the entire lab.

B) Lab Participation:
Direct assessment of your having read the lab and understood its purpose before coming to lab will be carried
out by observation and discussion with the TA.

C) Lab Reports:
Lab reports impart a particular communication skill that shall benefit you well beyond these labs. Each student
will be guided by the instructors towards attaining a level of competence in this area. Thus, each student must
write his or her own lab report. Plagiarism of lab reports is a very series offense and will not be tolerated.
Students who engage in such activity shall fail the class, and would be in breach of the academic code. The
writing of lab reports as a joint exercise
Lab reports are due the next lab meeting, or as specified by the instructor. Late labs shall incur a late penalty
of 10 points. Those labs submitted later than 7 days after the due date will not be grades and your score will
be zero. It is up to the student to make arrangements to ensure proper delivery of the lab report.

Missed Labs:
Students who miss a lab will receive a zero for the entire exercise unless they provide documentation, within
7 days, for one of two acceptable excuses:
1. Incapacitating illness or accident--requires a note from student’s physician (not a family member) or
from UC Merced Health Services.
2. Death or serious illness of an immediate family member—requires proper documentation.
Students with a documented excuse (see above) shall be required to complete the lab based on
data supplied by the TA. Students who have a documented reason, such as a religious observance or an
academic or professional activity (e.g. graduate school interview) may request to miss a lab before the
scheduled lab time. Appropriate proof must be supplied to the instructor. Students taking an assessment early
may not discuss any aspect of the assessment with other students in the class; to do so is a serious breach of
academic integrity (see below). Students seeking to reschedule an assessment should contact the instructor
as early as possible, ideally during the first two weeks of the semester.
Attendance at all labs is mandatory. They are designed to teach you very important aspects
of practical and theoretical biology. A student who misses any labs for undocumented reasons (see
above) shall either fail the course with a failing grade, or under very exceptional circumstances be
awarded an incomplete grade.

GENERAL

Course Participation:
Participation in this course is strongly encouraged. It helps students and teaching staff clarify material, and
promotes scientific dialogue. For students whose final scores fall right on the border of a grade change (ex. A-
/B+), active engagement and participation in the course may increase your chances of receiving the higher
score. This would be exclusively at the discretion of the instructor.

Course Materials and Handouts:

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These shall be posted on the CROPS website associated with this course. It is the responsibility of the
student to download and print these at the appropriate times.

Regrade policy:
Regrade requests will only be accepted within one week (7 days) from the date a scored assessment is
returned. For each question requiring attention, you must submit a written explanation describing why you
believe your response should be reevaluated. Please know we reserve the right to regrade your entire
assessment. As a result, your score could either increase or decrease.
BEWARE: A random sample of all assessments may be photocopied after initial grading. If a comparison of
the photocopy to the exam submitted for regarding indicates any alteration, the case will be forwarded to the
Office of Judicial Affairs. Never alter any exam material returned to you.

Student Services:
If any student with any form of learning disability wishes or has registered for this course they should contact
the instructor as soon as possible so rapid arrangements can be made to address those needs. UC Merced
and this instructor are committed to making our courses accessible to all students, including students with
limited mobility, impaired hearing or vision, and learning disabilities. Students who may need academic
accommodation(s) services should aslo contact Brad Neily, Disability Services Coordinator
(bneily@ucmerced.edu) or Becky Dugger, Disability Services Administrative Assistant
(rdugger@ucmerced.edu) at the UCM Disability Services office (228-6996) located at the Kolligan Library,
Suite 113 or email disabilityservices@ucmerced.edu as early as possible in the semester so that appropriate
arrangements can be made.

Group and independent assignments in BIO 002L:

Many activities in BIO 002L involve group work and we encourage you to discuss any of the materials in the
labs or computer exercises with the instructors and other students, but the work you submit must be your
own for all of the following:
• Quizzes
• Assessments
• Lab Reports

That is, each student must generate their own answers written in their own words to all written questions.
At the first instance of copied answers on assignments, no credit will be given to all students with duplicate
answers and the assignments will be forwarded to the Vice-Chancellor for Undergraduate Affairs and the
Office for Judicial Affairs. Subsequent copied assignments could lead to dismissal from course or university
(see section on Academic Integrity below).

Academic integrity:
Academic integrity is the foundation of an academic community and without it none of the educational or
research goals of the university can be achieved. All members of the university community are responsible for
its academic integrity. Existing policies forbid cheating on examinations, plagiarism and other forms of
academic dishonesty. The current policies for UC Merced are described in the UC Merced Academic Honesty
Policy and Adjudication Procedures available from your instructor. The following general guidelines are
adapted from UC Merced Academic Honesty Policy (http://studentlife.ucmerced.edu/):

Examples of academic dishonesty include:

• receiving or providing unauthorized assistance on examinations
• using unauthorized materials during an examination
• plagiarism – using materials from sources without citations
• altering an exam and submitting it for re-grading
• fabricating data or references
• using false excuses to obtain extensions of time or to skip coursework

The ultimate success of a code of academic conduct depends largely on the degree to which the students
fulfill their responsibilities supporting academic integrity.

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These responsibilities include:

• Be honest at all times.
• Act fairly toward others. For example, do not disrupt or seek an unfair advantage over others by
cheating, or by talking or allowing eyes to wander during exams.
• Take group as well as individual responsibility for honorable behavior. Collectively, as well as
individually, make every effort to prevent and avoid academic misconduct, and report acts of
misconduct that you witness.
• Do not submit the same work in more than one class. Unless otherwise specified by the instructor,
all work submitted to fulfill course requirements must be work done by the student specifically for
that course. This means that work submitted for one course cannot be used to satisfy requirements
of another course unless the student obtains permission from the instructor.
• Unless permitted by the instructor, do not work with others on graded coursework, including in
class and take-home tests, papers, or homework assignments. When an instructor specifically
informs students that they may collaborate on work required for a course, the extent of the
collaboration must not exceed the limits set by the instructor.
• Know what plagiarism is and take steps to avoid it. When using the words or ideas of another, even
if paraphrased in your own words, you must cite your source. Students who are confused about
whether a particular act constitutes plagiarism should consult the instructor who gave the
assignment.
• Know the rules – ignorance is no defense. Those who violate campus rules regarding academic
misconduct are subject to disciplinary sanctions, including suspension and dismissal.

Flexibility Clause:
Circumstances may arise during the course which may prevent the instructor from fulfilling each and every
component of this syllabus. Therefore, the syllabus should be viewed as a guide and is subject to change.
Students will be notified prior to any changes, if possible.

Welcome & Great Learning!

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Bio 002 Spring 2010 Laboratory Timetable:

This schedule is preliminary and subject to change.

Week Lab # Lab Title Obj*

1 - No Lab

2 1 Health and Safety & Microscope Techniques 1 to 7

3 2 Cell Morphology Lab

4 3 Diffusion & Osmosis Lab 1 to 7

5 - No Lab 1 to 7

6 4 Protein Kmax Lab 1 to 7

7 5 Cell Organelles (Part 1) 1 to 7

8 6 Cell Organelles (Part 2) 1 to 7

9 7 Human DNA Isolation & PCR analysis (part I) 1 to 7

10 - No Lab 1 to 7

11 8 Human DNA Isolation & PCR analysis (part II) 1 to 7

12 9 Lac operon

13 10 Bacterial Growth Characteristics (part1) 1 to 7

pGlo Bacterial Transformation

14 11 Bacterial Growth Characteristics (part2)

pGlo Restriction Digest (part 1)

15 12 pGlo Restriction Digest (part 2) 1 to 7

pGlo Protein isolation (part 1)

16 13 BLAST DNA Sequence Analysis 1 to 7

Learning Outcomes for Bio 002 Labs (*numbers referenced in timetable above)
1. Understand health and safety in the laboratory environment.
2. Use appropriate laboratory equipment in a basic biological setting.
3. Read, evaluate, and interpret laboratory instructions.
4. Demonstrate ability to appropriately graph and tabulate biological data with proper syntax.
5. Demonstrate appropriate employment of computational tools.
6. Apply biological principles learnt in lectures to actual biological problems in a laboratory
setting.
7. Understanding of the nature of scientific enquiry, hypotheses testing, and scientific writing.
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