Instructor: Kevin S. Baldwin, Office: 405 HT, Phone: (309) 457-2148, email: kbaldwin@monm.edu
Lecture: MWF 1-1:50pm 423 HT
Lab: Section 1: Th 3-5pm; Section 2: Th 6-8pm 409 HT
Website: http://www.monmsci.net/~kbaldwin
Office Hours: TBA & by appointment
Teaching Assistants: Megan Pros & Om Shrestha, Lab Manager: Kathy Mainz, 401 HT


Week of	Topics	Readings	Lab Topic


14 Jan	Biology, Science, & Ethics	Ch. 1	No Lab

21 Jan	DNA, Human Genetics	Ch. 2 & 3	Measurement, Accuracy, & Precision

28 Jan	Genetic Engineering & Genomics	Ch. 4	DNA Models

4 Feb	Evolution	Ch. 5	Natural Selection

11 Feb	Classifying Nature	Ch. 6	Classification: Caminalcules

18 Feb	Human Variation	Ch. 7	Organismal Diversity

25 Feb	Sociobiology	Ch. 8	Evolutionary Psychology

3 March	Population Growth	Ch. 9	Ecobeaker

10 March	Spring Break	Review	Spring Break

17 March	Nutrition & Health	Ch. 10	Easter: No Lab

24 March	Agriculture	Ch. 11	Movie: King Corn

31 March	Development & Cancer	Ch. 12	CDC Exercise

7 April	Nervous System, Drugs, & Addiction	Ch. 13 & 14	Project

14 April	Mind, Body, HIV, & AIDS	Ch. 15 & 16	Project

21 April	New Infectious Threats	Ch. 17	Project

28 April	Biodiversity, The Biosphere	Ch. 18 & 19	Project Presentations

5 May	Final Thoughts

12 May	Final Exam: Tues 13 May, 1 pm

Text: Eli C. Minkoff & Pamela J. Baker. 2004. Biology Today: An Issues Approach, 3rd ed. Garland Science.

Course Description: This course is intended to be an introduction to the biological sciences for non-majors.

Exams: There will be three midterm exams (100 pts. each) spaced about 4 weeks apart, and one cumulative final exam (200 pts.). There will be no make-up exams given except for cases of extreme illness, which must be documented by a physician, or family emergencies, which must be documented in some way.

Labs: Many labs will have small exercises associated with them collectively worth 150 points. Readings for the labs will be made available one week prior to the lab as PDF (Adobe Acrobat) files at the course website.

Group Project: As part of practicing the scientific method, you will conceive and execute a small project (in groups of up to 4) in the latter half of the class. You will present your results in front of the rest of your lab section. The proposal, execution, & presentation will be worth 100 points.

Grades: Marks will be assigned on the basis of a curve such that: greater than 90% of the highest score in the class = A; 80-89% = B; 70-79% = C; 60-69% = D; and less than 60%= F.

Your Responsibilities: You are expected to attend lectures & labs and do the associated readings. I strongly suggest that you get to know a few people in the class, so that you can cover for one another, and study together. The best way to learn something is to have to explain it to somebody else.

The syllabus is not written in stone. Additional readings may be assigned as they become available. Documents available on the internet may be added as well. Depending on class interest, topics may be changed or moved. Exam days may change. It is your responsibility to be aware of these changes.

Academic Honesty: As responsible adults, you are expected to do your own work on assignments and exams and make sure that your classmates do likewise. Violations of the above are contrary to the pledge you took at Matriculation and will be reported to the Dean.