Principles of Biology I

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

• Explain how the deliberate process of scientific inquiry (i.e., the scientific method) informs us about the world around us,

• Interpret data presented in graphs and tables and draw conclusions based the data presented,

• List the major groups of biologically important macromolecules, describe their structure, and explain their functions in a cell,

• Describe the basic structure and function of cells and the structures within many cells called organelles,

• Describe the structure of biological membranes and explain how they control the movement of substances into and out of cells,

• Describe the flow of energy through living systems and explain how cells harvest, store, and use energy,

• Explain what a gene is and how a cell uses the information stored in the DNA of its genes to maintain itself and carry out its specific functions,

• Describe the processes by which cells reproduce and explain how genetic information is passed from one generation to the next.

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
Quizzes	20%
Tests	64%
Homework	12%
Iclicker polling responses and group assignments	4%

Grading Scale

Percentage	Letter Grade
>90%	A
88-89.99%	A-
85-87.9%	B+
80-84.9%	B
78-79.9%	B-
75-77.9%	C+
70-74.9%	C
68-69.9%	C-
60-67.9%	D
<59.9%	F

Attendance/Participation:

Class attendance and punctuality is required for your success.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

This course is part of the campus’ course material delivery program, First Day Complete. All required materials for this course have been integrated with Canvas and can be found in the MacMillan Learning tab in the lefthand navigation on Canvas. Please sign into Canvas to access your course and course materials.