Biological Sciences 2A

Syllabus Summer 2014

Dr. Erin Easlon/Dr. Chris Pagliarulo
Introduction
Welcome to Biological Sciences 2A. BIS 2A is a 5-unit course with three ~2 hr lectures per week and two
2 hr discussions. The three lectures take place on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 12:10.

BIS 2A is the first course in the Biological Sciences lower division core sequence. This sequence provides
a foundation in modern biology for a broad range of majors. In BIS2A we introduce you to the
fundamental chemical, molecular, genetic, and cellular building blocks of living organisms. In BIS 2B you
will examine ecological and evolutionary processes that shape biological diversity. Finally in BIS 2C you
will examine biological diversity in detail. BIS2A is intended to provide you with foundational knowledge
that you will build on in 2B and 2C and carry with you throughout your subsequent courses. We will
stress important concepts but will also expect you to learn some of the vocabulary of Biology. This
should be fun!

Staff
Instructor: Dr. Erin Easlon: eeaslon@ucdavis.edu
Office Hours: TBA – Room 2089 SLB
Instructor: Dr. Chris Pagz: chris.pagliarulo@iamstem.ucdavis.edu

Lecture TA/ Discussion Coordinator:

Soraya Foutouhi: shfoutouhi@ucdavis.edu
Enrollment issues should be directed to bis2a@ucdavis.edu.

Discussion TAs:
Michelle mrhall@ucdavis.edu
Morteza mroodgar@ucdavis.edu
Ted stepaamorndech@ucdavis.edu

Class Meetings and Discussions

IMPORTANT!!!!
YOU MUST ATTEND YOUR FIRST DISCUSSION SECTION. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL
GET YOU DROPPED FROM THE COURSE!!

The first week of discussion starts off with graded discussion activity #1. You must attend.
If you miss your discussion for any reason, you will not be able to make it up. If you miss one discussion,
it will become the “dropped score” from your discussion grade (see below and the lab manual for more
details).

The Bis 2A Learning Center

The Bis 2A Learning Center (BLC) is in Room 2089 SLB. TAs hold office hours here, and additional
reference material is available. This room is a student resource where individual help is available from
instructors, and from displays and books. It is a good place to study, meet other students, and keep up
with class. Hours are posted on the course web page at smartsite.ucdavis.edu.
Examinations and Grading
Come to class with a pencil, pen, eraser, and student ID (photo ID).

Your grade will be based upon the following:

2 midterm exams (75 points each) 150 points
Final cumulative exam 127 points
Class Notes Summary 10 points
Exam Practice questions 50 points
Reading quizzes (On Learn Smart) 50 points
iClickers/in-lecture Work 13 points
Discussion 100 points

Lecture midterms will consist of multiple choice questions. They will be based upon the material
covered in the lecture, the study questions, assigned readings, and other supporting material covered in
the lecture. With each exam will be an “explanation sheet”, the last page of the exam which is to be
used for questions you think are ambiguous. For such questions write your response and why you
responded the way you did. In other words why was the question ambiguous and why did you answer
the question the way you did.

Final Examinations:
The final examination for this course will be held on the last day of class, September 12th.

Discussions:
There are 10 discussions, each worth 15 points. We drop the lowest discussion score. An additional 20
points for participation will be given at the discretion of your discussion TA – so participate!
IMPORTANT!!!!
YOU MUST ATTEND YOUR FIRST DISCUSSION SECTION. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL
GET YOU DROPPED FROM THE COURSE!!

Textbooks and Reading:

The text book is all online for SS2 2014. The online book is available at no cost, the access code is
available on our class smartsite. If you wish to purchase a physical copy of this textbook you can do so
online but please note that for Bis2B and Bis2C you will need to purchase Life: 10th edition by Sadava.

At times, we will cover detail that does not exist in the text, so you must use the supplemental materials
if they are provided. Use your textbook as a reference to help you learn concepts, terms and ideas
introduced in other portions of the course. Focus on assigned material that is covered in class meetings
and discussions. A reading list is included with the lecture schedule.

You also must buy the Biology Discussion Manual for Biological Sciences 2A.

Clickers: You must purchase <Iclicker 2, which will be used for class participation. These can be obtained
at the book store.
Assignments:
1. Class Notes Summaries:
Each Friday by 5pm you will need to submit a class note summary on the lecture SmartSite. This should
clearly state three important concepts introduced at each class (bullet point or numbered list is fine!),
along with a short summary of your thoughts on each bullet point. This assignment is worth 2 points
each week (no assignment the final week).
2. Practice Exam questions
There will be practice exam questions available to download and print out from the class smartsite. They
will be made available after class each Wednesday and are due at class on Friday. This can be done as a
group BUT each student needs to submit their own sheet with their own answers in their own words.
Answers should not be identical, even if you work in a group you will need to submit the answer in your
own words (no assignment the final week).
Each set of questions is worth 9 points. Questions will be peer graded at the beginning of lecture on
Friday. Grading will follow a provided rubric. 1 point will be given for quality of peer grading.
3. Reading quizzes
Due before each lecture, available at the CONNECT website. There are 13 lectures and each lecture has
at least 1 associated quiz. Each quiz (or quizzes for 1 lecture) is/are worth a total of 5 points, up to a
total of 50 points. Note: we allow you to miss up to 3 quizzes with no penalty.

Class Meetings:
We expect you to have prepared for the class meetings and to be able interact regarding the material
for that day. Your preparation consists of the assigned reading in the textbook and supplemental
reading, if given. Your preparation will allow you to participate in ad hoc discussions with your peers and
readily answer clicker questions. You will have podcasts of the lectures for review. These will be
available on Smartsite.
Review the pages on academic misconduct available on line or in the ADMINISTRATIVE folder on the
SmartSite. Be sure you understand what constitutes misconduct—we send all cases to Student Judicial
Affairs.
 TOPICAL SYLLABUS
Chapter
Date Lecture # Topic Reading
8/4 M lecture 1 What is Life?
Discussion 1
8/6 W lecture 2 Chemistry: carbohydrates to enzymes 2, 3, 6.4
Discussion 2
8/8 F lecture 3 REDOX chemistry 6
8/11 M lecture 4 Lipids and Membranes: What is everybody eating? I 5, 7.5
Discussion 3
8/13 W lecture 5 What is everybody eating? II 7
Discussion 4
8/15 F lecture 6 Photosynthesis 8
8/18 M lecture Exam I (1-6)
Discussion MT1
8/20 W lecture 7 Cell Structure 4
Discussion 5
8/22 F lecture 8 DNA and Friends: Structure and Function 3.3, 14
8/25 M lecture 9 Central Dogma I 15
Discussion 7
8/27 W lecture 10 Central Dogma II 15
Discussion 8
8/29 F lecture 11 Mutations and Genomics 18

9/1 M HOLIDAY
Discussion 9
9/3 W lecture EXAM 2 (Lectures 7-11)
Discussion MT2
9/5 F lecture 12 Cell Division and Recombination 11
9/8 M lecture 13 Regulation of gene expression I 16
Discussion 6
9/10 W lecture 14 Regulation of gene expression II 16
Discussion 10
9/12 F lecture Final exam*

*A single exam will be given, 100 pts will be composed of comprehensive and integrative questions designed to
cover the entire course.
Lecture 1 Discussion: Lecture 2 Discussion: Lecture 3
activity What is life? Chemistry Intro Chemistry REDOX
Carbohydrates Chemistry
Proteins/Enzymes

Lecture 4 Discussion: Lecture 5 Discussion: ATP Lecture 6

Lipids/Membranes REDOX Respiration II synthesis Photosynthesis
Respiration I chemistry Review
Exam 1 Discussion MT1 Lecture 7 Discussion: Cell Lecture 8
Cell Structure Membranes DNA structure
and Function

Lecture 9 Discussion: Lecture 10 Discussion: Lecture 11

Central Dogma: DNA Central Dogma: Central Dogma Mutations
Transcription Replication Translation II Review
Mutations
HOLIDAY Discussion: Exam 2 Discussion MT2 Lecture 12
Protein Folding Cell Division and
Recombination

Lecture 13 Discussion: Lecture 14 Discussion: FINAL

Recombination Mitosis vs Gene Regulation Gene
and Gene Meiosis Regulation
Regulation