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/group work	4%

In keeping with UNCG policy, I will post a midterm grade for you in UNCGenie. That grade will not appear on your transcript or in your GPA calculations. Instead, it is intended to help you and your academic advisor understand how you are doing in the course up to that point. If you review your midterm grade and find it to be lower than you hoped, I encourage you to talk to me so we can plan together for your success.

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:

Attendance does not directly count toward your course grade. However, in-class activities do count, and persons who are not present during class activities will not earn those points. An unexcused absence on the day of an exam or quiz will result in a grade of 0 (zero) for the test or quiz. Valid excuses for missing a test or a quiz are limited to participation in university-sponsored events, serious personal illness, or a family emergency. Please contact me within 24 hrs of missing a test to discuss makeup opportunities if you are ill and have documentation. If you do not have documentation, I need to hear from you before noon the day of the test.

Regular class attendance is a responsibility and a privilege of university education. It is fundamental to the orderly acquisition of knowledge. Students should recognize the advantages of regular class attendance, accept it as a personal responsibility, and apprise themselves of the consequences of poor attendance.

You have many opportunities to earn grades based on lots of large and small individual assignments and group assignments. For this reason, there is no extra credit, so please do not ask!

If you know ahead of time that you are going to miss a test, please let me know ASAP so we can make arrangements for you to take it early. Tests can only be made up in person, and only if you communicate with me within 24 hrs of missing a test or quiz with documentation. With no documentation I need to hear from you by noon at the latest on the day of the test. All makeup quizzes and tests are in short answer format. There are no online makeup tests.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

This course is part of the campus’ course material delivery program. 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.

Textbook (no access code needed) | How Life Works (4th edition). James Morris, Daniel Hartl, Andrew Knoll, Robert Lue, Melissa Michael. 2023. Access through the McMillan Learning tab in Canvas

Achieve homework site | Access through the McMillan Learning tab in Canvas

A physical iclicker remote | Follow this link to create your student account