Biology 65 – Molecular Cell Biology Dr.

Ho’s section

For section 01 (lecture) and 301 (lab) – Dr. Ho is your lecturer and laboratory instructor.
Lectures take place in Rm T4-101 on Mondays, and Rm T2-67 on Tuesdays
Laboratory sessions take place in Rm S114

Dr. Ho’s office: S-118

Office Tel: (718) 368-4997
Email: ivan.ho@kbcc.cuny.edu

We have 1 laboratory session per week each lasting 3hrs 20min – Your lab coat, gloves and goggles
are MANDATORY.
We have 2 lecture sessions per week totaling 3 hours – you do not need to bring your textbook.

The course is dense and moves fast; I need your complete and undivided attention for 12 weeks with no
excuses. A good thing to do is to read relevant chapters and materials before coming to class.
I give lectures, not dictations, so learn to take good notes and write fast. You should develop a system of
shorthand. You may and should record lectures.

The most important things for you to do right at the beginning:

Buy the textbook if you have not already. [Essential Cell Biology, 4th edition by Alberts et. al. 2013]
There is no laboratory manual. You are required to bring a 3-ring binder with you to the first lab where you
will be given laboratory handouts.
Buy a lab coat, a box of nitrile gloves, a pair of goggles, and bring them to all laboratory sessions. If you
don’t have your lab coat with you, you can’t enter the lab (and therefore you will not be able
to take a quiz, which will lead to a zero).

Classroom Policies
1. Place cell phones on vibrate, or turn them off preferably any time you are in this course.
2. Do NOT text during lecture or laboratory session.
3. No eating or drinking is allowed at any time within the laboratory; you will be asked to leave if you start
to do either.
4. Always have functional No. 2 pencils, erasers, and a calculator (not your cell phone) ready for any
exams and quizzes.
5. You should be on time to lectures and laboratory sessions. Quizzes are given at the beginning of lab
sessions.
6. During exams/quizzes, your cell phones and electronic devices (tablets, laptops) must be put inside
your bag. Your exam/quiz will be terminated immediately at the first sighting of your phone/electronic
devices.
7. Work that is to be turned in must be turned in within the first 15 minutes of class/lab. Assignments
turned in late will receive a 0. There is no make-up assignment.
8. Assignments/lab reports should be done prior to the due date. If you are caught doing your
assignments due or copying from other people’s during the lab, you and the person who lends you the
assignment will receive a 0.
9. Plagiarism is not tolerated in any college or workplace. If extreme similarities are found between the
same assignments from two different students, both will receive a 0.
10. If you miss a quiz, your next quiz grade will count twice to cover for that quiz. If you miss a second
quiz, you will get a zero for it.
11. If you miss a lecture exam for whatever reason, the final exam grade will count twice to cover for that
exam. If you miss a second lecture exam, you get a zero for that exam. No make-up exam or quiz will
be given. Final exam is accumulative.
12. If you miss a lecture/lab session, you should ask your classmates for what you have missed and borrow
their notes.
13. Laboratory coat, gloves, and goggles are required of all students of all lab sessions; failure to wear lab
coat will prevent you from entering the laboratory. That means you cannot take a quiz and will receive
a zero for it.
14. Lab coat should be knee-length. Avoid wearing extremely short shorts or skirts while in the lab.
15. No open-toe shoes in lab sessions; if you have those on, you cannot enter the laboratory.
16. Expect no break from the laboratory sessions as there is too much to do.
17. Be on time so you do not disturb the professor or the class. Perfect attendance is recommended.
18. You must be on time for laboratory sessions. Your teammates depend on you to help with experiments.
Other groups wait on you to continue with the experiments. Do not be that guy/girl!!!
19. It is imperative that you check your Kingsborough/CUNY email daily as announcements and update to
the course and course content will be sent to you as an alert email from Blackboard. You should also
check Blackboard on a regular basis.
20. No extra credit, no dropping of quiz/exam, and no curving of grades, no pity points, no extra credit for
“the most effort I have ever put in a class” or “working the hardest in my entire life”; you get what you
earn.
Laboratory Notebook Requirements

1. Lab notebook may be examined randomly and periodically, so you must keep up with your notes in it.
It must be legible or credits will not be assigned.
2. Notebook must contain table of contents on the first page, with page numbers listed for each
experiment.
3. Read relevant experiment package before the day of the particular lab exercise, and write down within
your notebook:
a. What is/are the objective(s) of the experiment(s);
b. What experiment(s) is/are to be performed and the materials necessary;
c. Write down abbreviated steps of the experiment(s) so that you can rely on these to perform the
experiment(s) properly and efficiently during lab sessions; simple diagrams drawn to represent
the steps are highly recommended;
d. What are the results expected.
4. Item listed above in your notebook will be checked in the beginning of every lab for credit.
5. After finishing the experiment(s) and receiving the data and results:
a. Record the actual raw data in the notebook: graphs, data table, pictures of gels with appropriate
labels;
b. Compare expected results vs experimental data;
c. Discuss the similarity and differences between the two, and (speculate/hypothesize) why if
there’s any difference.

Grading: Lecture and lab are 50% each of your final grade. Point distribution is as follows:
Lecture Lab
Exams (3) 30% Quizzes (5) 20%
Final Exam 20% Notebook & Exercises 10%
50% Research project 15%
Techniques 5%
50%

Exam Dates (tentative)

Lecture exams Lab quizzes
October 16th September 26th
November 13th October 17th
December 4th October 31st
November 14th
November 28th

Research project due date: November 21st

Research project presentation: December 5th

***Other important dates***

No classes Tues & Wed, September 18th – 19th
Monday, October 8th
Thurs – Sunday, November 22nd – 25th
Last day of class December 11th
Course withdrawal deadline Sunday, November 11th
Final Exam TBA: College website