BIOL 213
Principles of Biology
Spring, 2008
Course Description
Prerequisites: BIOL 211, 212
Class meeting times: Lectures MW 12:00-1:50am, Badgley Hall Room 148
Lab M 2:00-4:50pm, W 2:00-4:50
Learning Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete the course will develop the following knowledge and skills:
- Basic level of understanding of how each of the following systems functions in humans: respiratory, circulation and gas exchange, renal, digestive, endocrine, skeletal, and reproductive. Students will have opportunities in lab to examine models of structures and conduct experiments in osmosis and diffusion, blood pressure, and muscle stimulation with electrical impulses. Student mastery of the topics will be evaluated by means of two multiple choice and short essay exams.
- Through a series of field trips, students will develop a basic level of knowledge of many of the important features of the ecology of three different ecosystems, Palouse Prairie, riparian and floodplain wetland, and mixed coniferous forest.
- Students will develop skills in plant population field sampling techniques.
- Students will develop skills in recognition of many bird, mammal and plant
species found in eastern
- Students will develop writing skills related to field biology by completing written assignments in field journals on the field trips.
Required texts:
Purves, William K., David Sadava, Gordon H. Orians and H. Craig Heller. 2001.
Life: The Science of Biology, 7th Edition; Sinauer Associates, Inc.
Field Journal: the style you choose is optional, but it must be larger than 3 X 5 inches. Journals with hard covers will hold up better under field conditions. You won't need your journal the first week of class, so you may want to wait to see examples before you purchase your journal.
Recommended text:
Peterson Field Guides to Western Birds, 1990. Houghton Mifflin Company or
another suitable field guide to birds of
Course Requirements and Means of Assessment:
Students must complete two midterm exams, a field journal, and two quizzes. The
two midterm exams will be mixed format (mostly multiple choice and
short-answer) and will cover approximately four chapters each. These exams will
assess mastery of the information covered in the human physiology unit. The
field journal will be completed by students on the four ecology field trips.
Journals will be evaluated at the end of the term based on several criteria
described below. Students also will be given two quizzes, one on bird
identification and one on information contained within their journals during
the last week of class..
Exam I: 40 pts.
Exam II: 40 pts.
Journals: 50 pts.
Quizzes: 30 pts.
Total: 160 pts.
A = 90-100 %; B = 80-89 %; C = 70-79 %; D = 60-69 %; F = below 60 %
Field Journals:
Each student will be required to develop a field journal documenting her/his
experiences on the four ecology field trips. Students must purchase a suitable
journal, but no particular style is required. Instruction will be given about
how the journals should be organized. Journals will be evaluated based on the
quality of completion of each assignment.
Field trips:
The ecology unit will be covered in the second half of the course. Most of the
ecology instruction will take place in the field instead of the classroom. A
series of four field trips, one each week throughout the month of May will be
required. There is a lab fee of $40.00 for the course, which pays for the
busses and vans that we will use for the field trips, and for some food.
Students must attend all field trips unless they have specific permission to miss a trip. Students will be assessed a 20 point penalty for missing any trip without prior permission from the instructor. Students must attend the trip section which they have signed up for, or they will not receive credit for the trip.
Academic Integrity:
Americans with Disabilities Act:
If you have a documented disability or suspect that you have a learning problem
and need reasonable accommodations, please contact the Disability Services
Program in Loso Hall 234. Telephone: 962-3081. Students with disabilities
should make their need for reasonable accomodation known to the instructor
within the first two weeks of the term.
Disclaimer: Class schedules and assignments may be altered during the course of the term as needed.
Field
trip dates and destinations
Ladd Marsh Field trip photos, 2001!
Dr. Karen Antell
Associate Professor of Biology
Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, Oregon, U.S.A.
Page updated March 2007