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NS 1021A: Introduction to Biology: Organisms and the Environment

Summer '08 Syllabus: Day 3
July 2

In-Class:
 

  • Lecture/discussion: Characteristics of science;  what is life?
  • Web search and debate: Are viruses alive?
  • Thinking Map: Levels of organization.
  • Lecture/discussion: Unity and diversity of life.
  • Workshop: Reading scientific textbooks, learning scientific vocabulary

    • Homework:

    For Thursday, July 3
    Lab report for "Quattro variegatus Predation" due

    Test question 1 due:
    10 points, about one page.
    1. Many supposedly scientific claims are made in both the news and in advertising.  Using Michael Shermer's categories for evaluating claims, read the examples below and state whether you think each is science or "pseudoscience", and explain why.
      1. A doctor claims that she can cure a patient of arthritis by simply massaging the affected joints.  If she has the patient's complete trust, she can cure the arthritis within a year.  Several of her patients have testified that the doctor has cured their arthritis.
      2. An alternative health practitioner claims that a nuclear power plant releases radiation at a level so low that it cannot be measured, but that this radiation is harmful to the thyroid gland.  He sells a thyroid extract that he claims can fix the problem.
      3. A deadly livestock virus outbreak in Belgium and the Netherlands seems to have come from Africa rather than from southern Europe as scientists had previously thought.  Genetic testing shows the virus now in northern Europe is more similar to African strains, although it is unclear how it got to northern Europe from Africa.


    For Friday, July 4
    No class: Independence Day

    For Monday, July 7
    Read ch. 3.8, pages 61 - 62, ch. 8.5, pages 176 - 177, and ch. 9.1 - 9.6, pages 197 - 209.

    Answer the following questions (also available as a Word document in the class shared folder):
    1. What are the three parts of a nucleotide?
       
    2. What is the difference in the sugars found in DNA from those found in RNA?
       
    3. Which nitrogenous bases are found in DNA?  In RNA?
       
    4. Which bases pair with each other?
       
    5. What is the backbone of a DNA (or RNA) molecule?
       
    6. How does DNA carry information?
       
    7. Look at figure 9.5 on page 202.  Which of the three possible replication methods actually happens for DNA?
       
    8. What is messenger RNA?
       
    9. What codons code for phenylalanine?
       
    10. What is the role of tRNA?
       
    11. What structure holds all the pieces together for protein synthesis?

    Test question 1:

    Due Thursday, July 3
    10 points, about one page.
    Many supposedly scientific claims are made in both the news and in advertising.  Using Michael Shermer's categories for evaluating claims, read the examples below and state whether you think each is science or "pseudoscience", and explain why.
    1. A doctor claims that she can cure a patient of arthritis by simply massaging the affected joints.  If she has the patient's complete trust, she can cure the arthritis within a year.  Several of her patients have testified that the doctor has cured their arthritis.
    2. An alternative health practitioner claims that a nuclear power plant releases radiation at a level so low that it cannot be measured, but that this radiation is harmful to the thyroid gland.  He sells a thyroid extract that he claims can fix the problem.
    3. A deadly livestock virus outbreak in Belgium and the Netherlands seems to have come from Africa rather than from southern Europe as scientists had previously thought.  Genetic testing shows the virus now in northern Europe is more similar to African strains, although it is unclear how it got to northern Europe from Africa.

    Test question 2:

    Due Monday, July 7
    10 points, about one page.
  • Discuss the scientific process: 
    1. What are the steps?  Define or explain each. 
    2. Is each step required, or can one or more sometimes be skipped?  Explain.
    3. Do the steps always happen in the same order?  Explain.
    4. Can the scientific process be applied to all fields of study?  Give examples and/or explain.
     

    Vocabulary:

    *testable
    *reproducible
    *explanatory
    *predictive
    *tentative
    kingdom
    properties of life:
    • cellular organization
    • metabolism
    • homeostasis
    • reproduction
    • heredity
    biological themes:
    • evolution
    • flow of energy
    • cooperation
    • structure determines function
    • homeostasis

    *Indicates words used in class or lab, not from the textbook.

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