BYS 119

Principles of Biology
Judy Cooper
judy.cooper@uah.edu
Office: SST 302J

Lecture meets Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:45 to 1:40 p.m. in SST 107
Text: BIOLOGY, 10th Edition
Authors: Campbell, Reese
A student response clicker device is required

Course Objectives:
This class is a 4-credit lecture and laboratory course for which you will receive a letter grade. I
expect it will take about 7 to 9 hours per week for study and homework. In this class we study
the chemical basis of life, the structure of the cell, and genetics. This class is designed to prepare
students for careers in the life sciences, and also to educate other students about the properties of
life. Success in this class requires as prerequisites good studying skills, and solid math and reading
skills. If you are enrolled in a basic math course or have not taken and passed a pre-algebra course
or higher, you should not be in this class.

Grade Distribution:
Lab
3 Lecture Exams
Recitation
Final Exam

25%
15.41%
10 %
18.75%

Letter Grade Distribution:

90.00+
80.00 - 89.99
70.00 - 79.99
60.00 - 69.99
below 60.00

A
B
C
D
F

Course Policies: Lecture slides are available on the Canvas Learning System. Various other
helpful course materials are also available on Canvas. Please take advantage of this study resource.
Exams: Three hourly exams will be given. It is your responsibility to make the time and effort
to take hourly exams. Each hourly exam counts for 15.41% of your total course grade. Dates for
these exams will not change. In the rare instance that a make-up exam is allowed, it will be an
essay exam. You must take the final exam to pass the class.
Laboratory Section: Attendance in the laboratory section is mandatory; you cannot pass this
class if you do not receive a passing grade (60) in the laboratory section. You are enrolled in a specific laboratory section; you must attend this section and meet the grading criteria of its instructor.
1

The laboratory grade counts for 25% of your total course grade.
Recitation: Attendance in recitation is mandatory. You are enrolled in a specific recitation section
which you must attend and meet the grading criteria of its instructor. The recitation grade counts
for 10% of your total course grade.
Clicker Points: Clicker questions will be presented in class. A correct response earns 1 point;
an incorrect response earns 0.5 points. These points will be accumulated during the semester and
added to your lowest of the first 3 exam grades at the end of the semester.
Cheating and Plagiarism: There is zero tolerance for any form of cheating, which includes
plagiarism - the submission of the work of someone else as your own with no attribution. Any
incidents will be reported to the Vice President for Students Affairs, whose office is responsible for
implementing university policies on academic misconduct as described on page 91 of the Student
Handbook.
Attendance: Your attendance in class has a direct cause-and-effect relationship with your grade
in class.
Cell Phones: Active cell phones are not allowed once class has begun.
Submission to Turnitin.com may be required in lecture or laboratory sections.
Complaint Procedures: If you have difficulties or complaints related to this course, your first
action usually should be to discuss them with me. If such a discussion would be uncomfortable for
you or fails to resolve your difficulties, you should contact Professor Debra Moriarty, Chair of the
Department of Biology. Professor Moriartys office is SC369Q. Her telephone number is 824-6045.
If you still are unsatisfied, you should discuss the matter with Emanuel Waddell, Associate Dean
of the College of Science. The Associate Deans office and telephone number are MSB C207 and
824-6844, e-mail adeancos@uah.edu.
Students with Disabilities: I would like to hear from anyone who has a disability that may
require some modification of seating, testing, or other class procedures. Please see me after class
to discuss appropriate modifications.
UAlert Emergency Notification System: UAH has implemented the UAlert emergency notification system. UAlert allows you to receive time-sensitive emergency messages in the form of
e-mail, voice mail, and text messages. Everyone who has a UAH e-mail address will receive emergency alerts to their campus e-mail address. In order to also receive text and voice message alerts,
you are asked to provide up-to-date phone contact information. Participation in UAlert text and
voice messaging is optional, but enrollment is strongly encouraged. You cannot be reached through
UAlert unless you participate. The information you supply is considered confidential and will not
be shared or used for purposes other than emergency notification.
To review your UAlert account, add or update phone and alternate e-mail addresses, and set the
priority for your contact methods, please visit the UAlert web site:http://ualert.uah.edu.

Tentative Course Outline:

The weekly coverage might change as it depends on the progress of the class. However, you must
keep up with the reading assignments.
Week

Content

Week 1

Classical Science and Exploring Life

Reading assignment: Chapter 1

Week 2

The Chemical Context of Life and Water and the Fitness of the Environment
Reading assignment: Chapters 2 and 3
Holiday January 18

Week 3

Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life

Reading assignment: Chapter 4

Week 4

The Structure and Function of Macromolecules

Reading assignment: Chapter 5
Exam 1 Friday, February 5

Week 5

A Tour of the Cell

Reading assignment: Chapter 6

Week 6

Membrane Structure and Function

Reading assignment: Chapter 7

Week 7

An Introduction to Metabolism
Reading assignment: Chapter 8

Week 8

Cellular Respiration: Harvesting Chemical Energy

Reading assignment: Chapter 9

Week 9

Photosynthesis
Reading assignment: Chapter 10
Exam 2 Friday, March 11

Week 10

The Cell Cycle

Reading assignment: Chapter 12

Week 11

Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles

Reading assignment: Chapter 13

Week 12

Mendel and the Gene Idea

Reading Chapter 14
Spring Break March 21-26

Week 13

The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance and The Molecular Basis of Inheritance

Reading assignment: Chapters 15 and 16

Week 14

From Gene to Protein

Chapter 17

Week 15

Exam 3 Monday, April 18

Week 16

Final Exam Friday, April 29, 11:30 - 2:00 p.m.