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Principles of Biology II - Biol 2108 - Syllabus - Spring 2015 - S. Brito
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Principles of Biology II – Biology 2108 – Section 260 (CRN 30400)
Syllabus - Spring 2015
Lecture Instructor:
Simone Brito, M.S.
Office: NE 2224*, Dunwoody Campus
Phone: (770) 274-5274
E-mail: simone.brito@gpc.edu
Website: www.sim1.me
* For my office: go to the top floor of the E building and follow the arrows to the Life and Earth Sciences Department.
Tutorial and Advisement Hours and Locations: Mondays: 12:00-5:00pm. Tuesdays: 3:45-5:00pm.
Wednesdays: 3:30-5:00pm and 9:45-10:30pm. Thursdays: 3:30-5:00pm. Although not necessary,
appointments are preferred. If this does not fit your schedule, please e-mail me for an appointment.
Attention: Any changes in office hours during the semester will be announced in the classroom and
iCollege (news tab).
Lecture Meeting Time and Location: MW 5:30-6:45pm, room NE-0130, Dunwoody Campus.
Laboratory Location: Dunwoody Campus in room NE-1300.
Lecture Required Materials/Texts:
1. Reece, J. B., L. A. Urry, M. L.Cain, S. A. Wassermann, P. V. Minorsky, and R. B. Jackson.
2011. Campbell Biology. 10th Ed. Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company.
2. 4 Red scantrons and #2 pencils (required for exams and these will NOT be provided)
3. Access to iCollege (for assignments, grades, etc)
Course Description: This course includes a survey of the animal kingdom with emphasis on diversity;
evolutionary theory, mechanisms, and relationships; selected topics in vertebrate anatomy and
physiology with emphasis on the human; and an introduction to ecology.
This course is for students whose program of study is science.
Expected Educational Results: As a result of completing this course, the student will be able to:
1. Describe the development of the theory of evolution, explain some of the mechanisms which
are involved in the process of evolutionary change, and evaluate evidences of these processes
in action.
2. Demonstrate the unity and diversity of life that exists among animals and use this information
to describe and discuss the evidence supporting currently accepted phylogenetic relationships
among the major animal taxa. Such evidence should include various internal and external
anatomical features and physiological adaptations.
3. Explain the strategy for maintaining life processes by comparing structure and function of
organ systems in selected animals.
4. Identify the control mechanisms which regulate the development and function of selected
animals.
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Principles of Biology II - Biol 2108 - Syllabus - Spring 2015 - S. Brito
5. Use models to explain energy flow and material cycling in ecosystems and to relate these and
other ecological principles to the role humans play in their environment.
Pre-requisites: Grade of “C” or better in BIOL 2107 lecture and lab.
Corequisite: BIOL 2108 Lab, preferably on same campus and in same time frame.
(NOTE: Withdrawal from either lecture or lab will result in automatic withdrawal from both).
Credits: This is a four-credit course (lecture = 3 credits, laboratory = 1 credit).
Methods of Instruction: PowerPoint lectures and board notes. These will vary according to student
learning needs. All lectures require that students actively participate. Lecture presentations will be
available on iCollege either prior to or the end of the week of the presented lecture. Any extra material
provided in class is a privilege for those students that attend class and it will not be available during
any other time. Any video shown in class will not be available in the library or outside of class and its
content is considered exam material.
Exam Contents: Principles of Biology II is a demanding course and requires extensive work outside
of the classroom. Any extra content required by the instructor that was not covered in class will be
announced during lecture at the end of each chapter. All knowledge you obtain during the laboratory
can be used in lecture exams without prior notice. Answers will require much more than just memory
skills, I will ask critical thinking questions that require the students to fully understand the material and
be able to organize and correlate the information given. Each test will include several questions from
previous material.
Tests and Grading: In the lecture portion of this course there will be 3 tests (multiple choice
questions and a mix of fill-in-the blanks, drawings, short-answer questions and/ or essay questions)
each worth 100 points and a comprehensive final exam worth 100 points (multiple choice questions
only). There will be 90 points available as homework assignments of various types. There will be a
few bonus questions available on each exam. Your total points possible for this lecture course are 500
points.
The availability of points and grading scale for lecture are as follows:
3 Exams (100 pts each)
3 X 100
Rotting Log Presentation
Presentation - "Did you know"
Class Assignments
1 Final exam
Sapelo trip/Book review
Pass/Fail
TOTAL LECTURE
Grade
A
B
C
D
F
Percentage (%)
90-100
80-89.99
70-79.99
60-69.99
0-59.99
Point Range
450-500
400-449
350-399
300-349
< 300
= 300 points (60%)
= 50 points (10%)
= 10 points (2%)
= 40 points (8%)
= 100 points (20%)
= 0 or 100%
= 500 points (100%)
Principles of Biology II - Biol 2108 - Syllabus - Spring 2015 - S. Brito
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Make-up exam: A student who misses an exam must contact the instructor before the exam or within
24 hours of missing the exam to be allowed to take a make-up test. The student will be allowed a
make-up exam only if a reasonable documented excuse is provided (Jury duty, doctor's note etc.,
family trip is not an excuse). A student who misses more than one exam will be given a zero for that
test except in the case of a successful petition for an incomplete grade. No test grades will be dropped.
Final exam: The final exam is mandatory and must be taken in order to receive a passing grade. The
final exam is cumulative and will include material from the entire semester. The exam will be similar
in composition to the regular lecture exams; however, there may be some departmental assessment
questions. These may be different in appearance and wording from my normal questions but are
equally important. The final exam will be held on Wednesday, May 06, from 5:30-7:30 pm. There
will not be a make-up for the final exam and there will be no early finals given for this class, so mark
the final exam date on your calendars!!!
Exam Day: All materials must be put away. You are allowed to have on your desk only your pencil,
eraser and a red scantron. No hats are allowed during the exam. Cell phone use is prohibited and
MUST be turned off during exams and left in your bag or on the instructor's table. Failure to follow
this rule will result in an automatic zero on the exam. Any student who enters an exam or quiz late will
not be given extra time to take it. After the first student completes the exam, no student that enters after
will be allowed to take the exam and there will be no make-up for it. You MUST bring your own “red”
scantron which must be filled in using pencil. Once you start taking an exam you will not be allowed to
leave the room under any circumstances. You will have no more than one hour and 15 minutes to take
the exam.
Exam Grades: Exam scores will be posted on iCollege usually within a week of taking the exam. I do
not provide class averages for the exams or any exam grades that are not your own. You should be
concerned only for knowing your own grade since there is no curve. According to the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) your grade will be handed to you personally and/or
posted in iCollege, I will not provide grades by e-mail, phone, or provide to anyone other than you.
Note: Grades are no longer mailed to students' home addresses. Due to FERPA regulations, final
grades cannot be posted in public settings. After grades have been entered into the system, students can
access their grades via the Student Information Systems (SIS). The system is available 24 hours a day.
Rotting Log: We will have a class project on the study of rotting logs. The lecture portion of the
project will include a literature search, project design, and oral presentation (must use PowerPoint).
Class Assignments: You can earn 40 points in the form of class assignments. Assignments may
include in class quizzes, PASS quizzes, class activities and/or homework assignments. Directions and
due dates for the assignments will be given during lecture hours and will NOT be available in iCollege. If
you miss class, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for obtaining the directions for the assignment. There will
NOT be make-up for missed quizzes and/or in-class activity. If you do not turn in your homework by the
due date, I will not accept it at a later time! There will be no extra days given, NO EXCEPTIONS! Some
extra assignments will be given that can be used to replace missed points or be used as bonus points
(maximum of 4 points).
Performance Alert for Student Success (PASS): Academic success is a top priority at GPC.
Research has shown that early notification of poor academic performance in a course tends to improve
a student’s likelihood of successfully completing the course. Specific short activities or quizzes will be
given periodically throughout the semester to measure your understanding of certain core concepts. If
Principles of Biology II - Biol 2108 - Syllabus - Spring 2015 - S. Brito
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you score below 70% on a core concept activity or quiz, you will receive a Performance Alert for
Student Success (PASS) notification by email and text message. If you receive a PASS notification,
you should contact your instructor to discuss your performance in the course and discuss ways to
improve it.
PASS Quizzes: We will have 3 in class quizzes and there is no make-up for them, NO EXCEPTIONS.
If you are late or leave early you might miss the quizzes. Each quiz will cover material before the quiz
and they will not be returned to you.
Student Presentations - "Did you Know": Each student will find a peer reviewed article in a
recognized source that gives some interesting new finding that expands on one of the topics we are
studying this semester (it must be an interesting fact that is not present in your book or presented in
class). You will prepare a 3-5 minutes summary of the findings presented in the article and present it in
class using a visual aid (powerpoint). You will also have to write a summary of your article and post it
along with the citation for the article, and a web link, if possible, on the iCollege discussion board prior
to your presentation (go to communications, discussions, did you know link). The PPT presentation
should be uploaded in dropbox (go to iCollege, assessments, dropbox). All materials, PPT, summary
and link to article are due the night before your presentation. You will be graded on: presentation,
verbal skills, research level, references and timing (see iCollege for presentation rubric). You must be
ready to present at the beginning of the class assigned to you and have your powerpoint already
uploaded.
Pass/Fail Assignments:
Fielf Trip: A class trip to the Sapelo Island (University of Georgia Marine Institute
Laboratory) is planned for March 20-22, 2015. There is space for about 14 students (within
two lecture sections) with space allocated on a first pay, first reservation basis. The cost is
$95.00 for the trip, which covers food and lodging for the weekend (see also packing list,
itinerary and menu on iCollege). It should be paid by check (to me) or cash by March 4. A
waiting list will be kept for those who wish to go, but for whom there is no space. Should
someone find they cannot go, the money will be refunded up to one week before the trip.
Those on the waiting list will be allowed to sign up and pay as vacancies appear.
Book Report: For anyone unable to be a part of the trip, an acceptable book report is required
in order to receive a passing grade You can select one of the following books: 1) Teal, J and M.
Teal. Life and death of a salt marsh. 2) Carson, R. Edge of the Sea. Both books can be found at
the GPC library (although very few copies are available). The report should be about 8 pages
long (minimum of 6). It is due the last class meeting - April 29 (not final) and must be done at
a passing level to pass the course (directions in iCollege).
Attendance and Participation: The schedule provided on page 9 gives the chapters of the text which
are to be covered. These should be read before each lecture. In addition, at least two hours of careful
study should follow for each hour of lecture. Students should be prepared for class discussions.
Regular attendance is the student's responsibility. Failure to attend class regularly severely hinders
your chance of passing this course. Students are expected to attend every class and are responsible for
all announcements made in class.
Principles of Biology II - Biol 2108 - Syllabus - Spring 2015 - S. Brito
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Extra Credit Assignments: With the exception of bonus questions on exams, the only extra points
available during the semester are 4 bonus points available in the form of class assignments. There will
be no exception to this rule!
Final Grade: The final grade you receive for the course depends on you. I will NOT provide any extra
assignment or change your final course grade. Any mistakes found on my grading and/or calculations
MUST be reported until the last day of classes on April 30. After the final exam grade and final course
grades are posted, I will NOT review or change any homework, attendance points or exam grades
previously graded. Any dispute you might have must be discussed with me before the final exam!
Class Policies: The exam will not be returned to you, but you will have access to them during office
hours. You can check any exam during the whole semester until the last day of classes (April 30). You
are not allowed to take notes while looking at your exam. Please turn phone, pagers, etc. off prior to
class, if you forget, either turn the phone off when it rings or leave the room to take the call. The use of
cell phones is not permitted during exams. Due to college maintenance requirements, neither food nor
drinks are allowed in carpeted areas.
You can only attend the lecture and laboratory sections in which you are registered. The laboratory
policies, procedure and content will be provided to you by your laboratory instructor.
No Show Policy: Faculty must report those students who are on the class roll but have never attended
class. No shows up to January 18th will be reported.
Withdrawal Policy: Students may withdraw (“W”) from this course prior to the midpoint (March 5)
by going to the registrar’s office and completing all the appropriate paperwork. It is the responsibility
of the student to withdraw from a course. Failure to do so may result in an “F” in the course. I will not
withdraw you from the course at anytime. Note that you will not be withdrawn from the class merely
by not showing up to class.
Any student, who withdraws after the midpoint, will receive a WF unless approved as a hardship
withdrawal by the appropriate department head, division dean or campus administrative dean.
Hardship withdrawals are not allowed as an attempt to avoid an unsatisfactory grade and are not
possible after the end of the semester. Documentation of hardship must be presented. Withdrawal from
either lecture or lab will result in automatic withdrawal from the other. Remember, it is your
responsibility to complete withdrawal forms. They may be obtained in the registrar's office.
Withdrawal Option for Students with Increased Medical Risks: Students with special conditions
(such as wearing contact lenses, pregnancy, nursing mothers, allergies, depression of immune system
through such things as disease, chemotherapy, transplants, etc.) should be aware that science
laboratories contain materials which if handled improperly, may have a hazardous effect on them.
These students should contact their doctors for advice about continuing in the laboratory. Students
who wish to withdraw from a laboratory after consultation with their doctor will receive a full refund
for the laboratory, provided they submit a letter from the physician within the first two weeks of the
semester. The physician's letter must indicate that the student should not continue in the laboratory
due to a health risk. THE LABORATORY MUST BE COMPLETED BEFORE PROCEEDING TO
THE NEXT COURSE IN A SEQUENCE. Information about the chemical compounds used in science
laboratories is available from the department head.
Incomplete: A grade of incomplete is assigned only when the student, for nonacademic reasons
beyond his/her control, is unable to complete some specific part of the work required. The work
Principles of Biology II - Biol 2108 - Syllabus - Spring 2015 - S. Brito
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completed up to that point must be satisfactory (passing) in order to receive an incomplete. An
incomplete must be made up the following semester or will be converted to an F grade. A formal
petition for the incomplete, with documentation, must be filed with the Life and Earth Sciences
Department.
Academic Honesty: Acts of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and cheating will not be
tolerated and are considered serious offenses by GPC. Cheating includes any attempt to defraud,
deceive or mislead the instructor in arriving at an honest grade assessment. Plagiarism is a form of
cheating that involves presenting as one's own ideas the ideas or work of another. All portions of any
test, project or final exam submitted by you for a grade must be your own work unless you are
instructed to work collaboratively. Specific requirements will be described for collaborative projects,
but all work presented must be the work of members of that group. Research materials used must be
properly cited. Violation of the Academic Honesty Policy will result in a score of zero for that test,
project or exam. The second offense will result in a final course grade of F and a formal charge of
Academic Dishonesty will be lodged with the Campus Dean for Student Services. You are expected to
have read and understand the current issue of the student handbook regarding student responsibilities
and rights.
Students with Disabilities: If you are a student that is disabled as defined under the Americans with
Disabilities Act and require assistance or support services, please seek assistance through the Center
for Disability Services. A CDS counselor will coordinate those services for you (Dunwoody NA-2100,
phone 770-274-5236). If you have a documented disability (mental health, vision, learning, medical,
etc.) and will be requesting accommodations, please obtain a letter of accommodations from the
Disabilities Services Office as soon as possible and schedule a time to meet with me to discuss your
accommodations.
Equal Opportunity Statement: No person shall, on the basis of age, race, religion, color, gender,
sexual orientation, national origin or disability, be excluded from participation in, or be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of Georgia Perimeter
College.
Affirmative Action Statement: Georgia Perimeter College adheres to affirmative action policies
designed to promote diversity and equal opportunity for all faculty and students.
Tutorial Services: GPC offers free tutoring through “Learning and Tutoring Center” which is on the
second floor of the library on the Dunwoody campus.
Safety: All safety information and emergency evacuation information is posted in each classroom.
Laboratory safety will be discussed during the first lab session.
Student Aids/resources: Principals of Biology is a demanding and difficult course. There are many
resources to help you succeed such as GPC Tutorial Services, instructor office hours and Mastering
Biology (included in your text and strongly recommended). You also have access to my powerpoints.
There are a lot of resources available to you, take advantage of them immediately!
School Closure: If the Dunwoody Campus is closed as indicated by the Atlanta TV and radio stations,
there will be no class. Upon resumption, we will proceed with whatever was scheduled for the missed
class. Later adjustments to the schedule may be made. If an exam is scheduled when face-to-face
meetings are suspended, the exam will be postponed until after classes resume. Information about the
Principles of Biology II - Biol 2108 - Syllabus - Spring 2015 - S. Brito
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status of assignments and other course work due during this period will be addressed on the course
iCollege site and by way of GPC email.
Flu Policies and Procedures: In compliance with Centers for Disease Control recommendations,
students should NOT attend class or any public gatherings while ill with influenza. Students with flu
symptoms should not come to campus and should remain at home during recovery. The illness and
self-isolation period will usually be about a week. It is very important that individuals avoid spreading
the flu to others. Students with the flu do not need to provide a physician's certification of illness.
However, ill students should inform their instructor by submitting the GPC Illness Notification Form
as soon as possible that they are absent because of the flu or flu-like symptoms:
http://www.gpc.edu/absence . Students who miss an exam or assignment because of the flu, will have
to submit the form within 24 hour of missing the exam/assignment.
Internet Access:
a) iCollege: You will need to login to iCollege (for information on how to access it, go to the GPC homepage,
quick links, iCollege) to have access to class grades, assignments and other materials. You are expected to login
frequently to keep track of any instructor announcements or course changes.
 iCollege login request:
https://idmgmt.gpc.edu/gml/

iCollege help request:
http://depts.gpc.edu/icollege/d2l/help.html
b) Students e-mail: Students are required to use the iCollege e-mail system or the GPC e-mail account for any
e-mail communication with your instructor. Any assignments that need to be turned by e-mail you MUST use
the iCollege e-mail system. For regular communication (questions, issues etc use my GPC e-mail). These are
given for you to use if you have a special need to contact me outside of office hours and class. Do not expect an
immediate response (I only check on M -F).
Student Conduct: Disrespectful and disruptive behaviors will not be tolerated in the classroom. You
will be warned once and asked to leave the second time you behave improperly. Such behaviors
include but are not restricted to:
1. Use of cell phones, pagers, beepers, text messaging machines or other electronic communication
devices in the classroom that can disrupt class,
2. Repeated side conversation in the classroom,
3. Argument that goes beyond the scope of the topic under discussion after having been instructed that
it is beyond the scope of the topic,
4. Sleep and/or work on assignments not related to the material being presented during class.
For a complete list of GPC policies refer to: Governance and Policy: Policy Manual
Important Dates:
No show attendance period
Midpoint
Last day to withdraw from class (grade “W”)
Last day to withdraw from class (grade “WF”)
Final Exam
GPC Resources (Dunwoody Campus):
Computer labs
Library
Learning and Tutoring Center
Bookstore
January 12-18
March 5
March 5
April 23
May 6 (5:30am-7:30pm)
NE building, room 0220 and 0490
NLTC building next to the NE building
2nd floor of the library
2nd floor of the NB building
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Principles of Biology II - Biol 2108 - Syllabus - Spring 2015 - S. Brito
The instructor reserves the right to alter the syllabus during the course of the
semester as needed. Any changes will be announced to the students during normal
lecture hours.
Closing Comments:
I hope you enjoy studying Principals of Biology II as much as I enjoy teaching it!!! As your instructor,
I will do my best to help you understand the material. I am a great resource to assist your success in
this course. Utilize my office hours and/or contact me by e-mail with questions. Please, don’t wait until
the end of the semester to seek help, start right now!! But remember, so I can better assist you, you
also must put in the effort and hours of quality studying required by this demanding course. Prepare
beforehand (by reading the chapters) and after each class.
You may agree or disagree with some course content, but you should understand them in order to
understand the content and objectives of the course.
Please contact me if you have questions!
Course Content
1. Evolution
A. Natural Selection and Adaptation
B. Microevolution
C. Macroevolution: Origin of Species
3. Ecology
A. Biosphere and Biomes
B. Ecosystems and Communities
C. Population Dynamics
D. The Human Impact
2. Diversity and Function: Animals
A. Invertebrates I
B. Invertebrates II
C. Chordates
D. Digestion and Nutrition
E. Respiration
F. Circulation
G. Excretion
H. Neural Control I: The Neuron
I. Neural Control II: Nervous Systems
J. Hormonal Control
K. The Immune System
L. Reproduction
M. Animal Development
Lecture Schedule: Below you will find a tentative lecture schedule. Content each day might change
and we might fall behind or get ahead of the schedule. The exam dates will not change. The content for
each exam will consist of all material covered in the previous lectures until the class before the exam.
Remember that each test will include several questions from previous materials and exams.
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Principles of Biology II - Biol 2108 - Syllabus - Spring 2015 - S. Brito
Tentative Lecture Schedule - Spring 2014 – Biol 2108 – T/R
Date
Jan - 12
Jan - 12
Jan - 19
Jan - 21
Jan - 26
Jan - 28
Feb - 02
Feb - 04
Feb - 09
Feb - 11
Feb - 16
Feb - 18
Feb - 23
Feb - 25
Mar - 02
Mar - 04
Mar - 05
Mar - 09
Mar - 11
Mar - 16
Mar - 18
Mar - 23
Mar - 25
Mar - 30
Apr - 01
Apr - 06
Apr - 08
Apr - 13
Apr - 15
Apr - 20
Apr - 22
Apr - 27
Apr - 29
May - 04
May - 06
Topic
Chapter
MODULE 1 - Introduction to Animal Evolution and Diversity
Class Introductions/ Course Introduction & Overview
1
Course Introduction & Overview / Phylogeny and Systematics
1, 26
No Class* (MLK Day) *college is closed
Animal Kingdom and Development
32, 47
Invertebrates
32, 33
Invertebrates - PASS 1
32, 33
Invertebrates/ Vertebrates
32, 33, 34
Vertebrates
34
Exam 1
Thru Feb 04
MODULE 2 - Ecology
Introduction to Ecology
52
Population Ecology
53
Community and Ecosystem Ecology - PASS 2
54, 55
MODULE 3 - Mechanisms of Evolution
Descent with Modification
22
Evolution of Populations
23
Origin of Species and History of Life
24 and 25
Catch up
MIDPOINT
No Class* (Spring Break)
*college is open
No Class* (Spring Break)
*college is open
Exam 2
Thru Mar 06
MODULE 4 - Animals: Form and Function
Animal Form and Function - PASS 3
Animal Nutrition
Circulation
Gas Exchange
Osmoregulation and Excretion
Neurons, Synapses, and Signaling
Nervous Systems
The Immune System
Exam 3
Animal Reproduction and Development
Hormones and the Endocrine System
Bioenergetics Presentation
Catch up
No Class* (Final's week)
*college is open
Comprehensive Final Exam (11:30am-1:30pm)
40
41
42
42
44
48
49
43
Thru Apr 15
46, 47
45
Cumulative
THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGES AS I SEE FIT!!!!!!!