This is the syllabus from Fall 2005.
Contact me (carenz@nebrwesleyan.edu) with any questions.
Biology of Animals (Bios 060)
Syllabus
Fall 2005
Instructor: Dr. Cody Arenz Office Hours : TBD
Office: Olin 206
Tel. #: x2448
email: carenz
Text: (1) Hickman et al. 2006. Integrated Principles of Zoology. 13th ed.
(2) Van De Graaff & Crawley. 1998. A Photographic Atlas for the Zoology
Laboratory, 5th ed.
(3) Arenz. 2005. Biology of Animals Laboratory Manual
(4) Arenz. 2005. Biology of Animals Lecture Notes. Optional
Class Meetings: MWF 9:00-9:50am in Olin LH-A
Course Goals:
Zoology is made up of many scientific disciplines and this course reflects it.
For example, do not expect to merely focus on mammals. In terms of diversity
and global presence, mammals are forgettable. In this course, you will learn
about a variety of topics, including: evolution, reproduction and development,
ecology, systematics and classification, and physiology. My lectures are designed
to illustrate the key points and explain particularly difficult material. In
other words, read your book and ask questions.
Course Requirements:
Exams: (400pts): these consist of three noncumulative lecture exams and a cumulative
final.
Quizzes: (~100pts) quizzes covering lecture material will be given at different
times in lecture. I may announce quizzes, but this is not required. In other
words, read over your notes prior to coming to class...just in case there is
a quiz. The number of lecture quizzes given often varies depending on the pace
of the class and scheduling issues; however, I usually have at least five quizzes.
I also commonly give relatively easy pop quizzes…these are designed to encourage
class attendance.
Journal Article Summaries (1 @ 20pts each): for these two assignments, you will
have to read an article from the scientific literature over a required topic.
You will then essentially summarize the information in that article in your own
words in a particular format that will be described on a handout.
Extra Credit: (20pts @ 5pts per hour event) you can gain extra credit points
by attending talks, lectures, and certain other events that I announce in class.
For extra credit events, I will usually be able to attend. Generally, by the
end of event, you must turn in a brief essay on what you learned.
The following is the tentative course schedule. I start each semester planning
to maintain this schedule, but often the course moves more slowly and this
will affect scheduling, i.e., the timing of exams and how much material we
cover in the semester. Exams occur after the listed material has been covered
in class and not on a particular listed date. If you are paying attention
in class, this should not be a problem.
Topic Chapter reading
Week 1 Introduction, Biological Principles, Chapter 1
Life Chapter 2
Week 2 The Cell as the Unit of Life Chapter 3
Thermodynamics & Enzymes Chapter 4
Labor Day
Week 3 Organic Evolution Chapter 6
Ecology and Distribution Chapter 37 & 38
Week 4 Animal Architecture Chapter 9
Support, Protection, etc Chapter 29
Homeostasis Chapter 30
Exam 1
Week 5 Circulation and Respiration Chapter 31
Digestion and Nutrition Chapter 32
Week 6 Nerves and Hormones Chapter 33 & 34
Animal Behavior Chapter 36
Week 7 Reproduction & Development Chapter 7 & 8
Classification & Phylogeny Chapter 10
Exam 2
Week 8 Mesozoa and Parazoa Chapter 12
Radiate animals Chapter 13
Fall Break
Week 9 Acoelomate animals Chapter 14
Pseudocoelomate animals Chapter 15
Week 10 Phylum Mollusca Chapter 16
Phylum Annelida Chapter 17
Week 11 Phylum Arthropoda Chapter 18-20
Exam 3
Phylum Echinodermata Chapter 22
Week 12 Vertebrate Beginnings Chapter 24
Fish Chapter 24
Week 13 Class Amphibia Chapter 25
Class Reptilia Chapter 26
Week 14 Class Aves Chapter 27
Week 15 Class Mammalia Chapter 28
Final Exam
Policies and Make-ups
Attendance Policy: your attendance is mandatory and applies most significantly
in the context of making up assignments (see below); however, frequent absences
will hurt your ability to perform as well. Talk to me at some point regarding
any emergency or planned absences.
Academic Integrity: “Academic integrity is one of the basic principles
of a university community. It is your responsibility to educate yourself regarding
academic dishonesty. See the Student Code of Conduct. The two most common areas
are cheating and plagiarism. An example of plagiarism is working as a group
on a project that is meant to be completed alone and then turning in identical
or similar assignments.” [NWU Guidelines 2004]. Any act of academic dishonesty
can result in harsh punishment (e.g. failure in course or expulsion from NWU).
Cheating and plagiarism appear to be the more common forms of academic dishonesty
and will not be tolerated in my classes or laboratories. If you are unsure
what cheating and/or plagiarism are, then you would be wise to ask more about
one or the other…the punishment for such actions can be a failing grade
in the course and/or expulsion from the university. Professing ignorance after
committing plagiarism/cheating will not prevent action taken against you.
Disabilities Commitment: “Nebraska Wesleyan University seeks to maintain
a supportive academic environment for students with disabilities. To ensure
their equal access to all educational programs, activities and services, Federal
law requires that students with disabilities notify the University, provide
documentation, and request reasonable accommodations. If you need accommodations
in this course, please notify us so that we can verify that the required documentation
is filed with the Academic Affairs Office and that your accommodation plan
is in place. You should also meet with Prof. Sandy McBride, the Services for
Students with Disabilities Coordinator (Old Main 309, 465 2346, smcbride@nebrwesleyan.edu).” [NWU
Guidelines 2005]
Making up quizzes: there are no make-ups for quizzes. You are given the ability
to drop your lowest lab quiz and your lowest lecture quiz score. If you are
absent, for any reason, then that will be your lowest quiz score and you will
be allowed to drop it. If you feel there is a reason why this policy should
not apply to you, talk to me.
Making up Exams: there are no make-ups for exams, either. If you miss an exam
for a legitimate, defendable (=proof) reason (illness, athletics, death in
the family), then your score for the final exam will be counted twice (once
as the final and once as a replacement for the missed exam). If you miss an
exam for any other reason (overslept, did not feel like coming to class, had
the sniffles), then you missed 100 points. If you feel that this policy should
not apply to you, you are encouraged to come speak to me.
Handing in Late Work: you should always try to hand in assignments on time…there
are deadlines for a reason. For some assignments, late work will merely not
be accepted. For other assignments, a penalty of -1pt per day (including weekend
days) will be assessed. Because professors establish these deadlines and expect
you to follow them, I will usually not announce whether or not a particular
assignment can
be handed in late for credit. However, if you know that your assignment will
be late you can ask me.
Point Distribution
Lecture exams 4 @ 100pts 400pts
Lecture quizzes at least 5 @ 20pts 80pts (drop lowest quiz)
Journal summaries 1 @ 20 pts 10pts
Laboratory points 400pts 400pts
900pts
A = 90 – 100% ‘+’ and ‘-‘ designations are applied
to scores that fall in the
B = 80 – 89 % upper or lower 2% of each grade category. For
C = 70 – 79 % example, a B+ = 88 or 89%.
D = 60 – 69%
F = < 60%
Lecture Grade Diary
Exam 1 _____ 100pts
Exam 2 _____ 100pts
Exam 3 _____ 100pts
Final Exam _____ 100pts
Lquiz 1 _____ 20pts
Lquiz 2 _____ 20pts
Lquiz 3 _____ 20pts
Lquiz 4 _____ 20pts drop lowest (-20 from total)
Lquiz 5 _____ 20pts
Journal Summary 1 _____ 20pts
500 Lecture Points
How to do well in this course (and others):
- come to class.
- look over the chapter before class; you can then focus on difficult material
and ask questions.
- start studying now...two nights before the test is just not enough for most
people.
- your lecture and lab instructors are paid to teach you....ASK QUESTIONS!
- Take advantage of the Zoology Laboratory Website (http://biology.nebrwesleyan.
edu/Courses/) – Notice the ABSENCE of ‘www’ in the address!