NS 1021A Syllabus Calendar

Dr. Cindy Tolman, Instructor
Office: FAB 417, phone ext. 1640
Class meets Monday through Friday, 9 am - 12 pm, FAB 408
Office Hours: 8:00 - 9:00 am and 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, or as time permits, FAB 408.
Evening science/math support with Carolyn Fairchild: Sunday - Thursday, 6-10 pm, EAB 108.

Text: The Living World: Basic Concepts, George B. Johnson, McGraw-Hill, 2006.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
6/30 Introduction "Powers of Observation" What is Science? Case Study: "Death in a Viennese Maternity Ward" Induction vs. deduction	7/1 Lab: The Scientific Process: Hypothesis formation Hypothesis testing: "Quattro variegatus Predation"	7/2 Characteristics of Science What is life? Debate: Are viruses alive? Levels of Organization Life's Unity Life's Diversity Reading scientific textbooks, learning scientific vocabulary	7/3 Lab: The Scientific Process: Designing experiments Office hour	7/4 NO CLASS: Independence Day
7/7 DNA Structure and function Transcription and translation Mutation Control and manipulation of genes	7/8 Cell Division Why Cells Divide Lab: Mitosis Cell Cycle Role Play	7/9 Meiosis	7/10 Genetics Intro to Genetics Activity Continuous variation, multiple alleles Lab: Blood Typing	7/11 Genetics problems Lab: Human Variation Review
7/14 Test 1, in-class portion Ethics Assign Position Paper	7/15 Evolution Science and Religion Darwin Natural selection Lab: "Mussel Beach" Assign Evolution Time Line	7/16 Finish Mussel Beach Evidence for evolution Video	7/17 Assign Evolution Case Studies Microevolution: allele frequency changes Hardy-Weinberg rules Types of Selection Species formation Time Lines Due	7/18 Lab: Human Evolution Case Study: "As the Worm Turns" Position Paper Due
7/21 Present case studies Test 2, in-class portion.	7/22 Ecology Population dynamics Communities and competition	7/23 Coevolution Community stability Lab: Succession	7/24 Ecosystems: Energy flow Material Cycles Assign Food Webs	7/25 Finish material cycles Lab: Biodiversity
7/28 The Biosphere: Climate Biomes (video) Human population growth: "Tragedy of the Commons" Food Webs Due	7/29 Lab: Pond	7/30 Finish Pond lab Test 3, in-class portion Global environmental problems Start work on environment case studies	7/31 Movie: "An Inconvenient Truth"	8/1 Present Environment Case Studies

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