Syllabus
General Genetics Lecture (GB 425)
Fall 2009

instructor: Dwight Moore, Ph.D.
office - Science Hall 144
phone - 620-341-5611
email - dmoore@emporia.edu    (put "genetics" in the subject line)
http://www.emporia.edu/biosci/moorbiol.htm
office hours:   Monday 11:00 - 12:00, Tuesday 2:00 - 3:00, Wednesday 11:00 - 12:00, Thursday 1:00 - 3:00, and by appointment. In addition, I am usually on campus by 7:30 am and do not leave until after 5:30 pm.    my schedule
section:GB 425, MWF 10:00 - 10:50, Science Hall 156
text:Pierce, B. A. 2008. Genetics: A conceptual approach, 3rd edition. W. H. Freeman and Company. (required)

Day, R. A. 1992. Scientific English: A Guide for Scientists and other Professionals. Oryx Press. (recommended)

I. course description:

Genetics is a course designed for biology majors and is part of the core curriculum that all biology or biochemistry & molecular biology majors must complete who are working towards a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Science in Education. The objective of the course is to introduce the principles of Mendelian, molecular, and population genetics. In addition to the body of facts associated with genetics, you will be introduced to the methods that various scientists have used to solve different problems in genetics and the methodology that was used to test competing theories.

II. pre-requisites:

You must have completed a general or introductory biology course and a college algebra course with a C or better in both. The biology course will have given you the basics of the terminology and major theories in biology. The college algebra course will have given you the tools to manipulate mathematical equations that you need to understand genetics.

III. course organization:

Your first introduction to the course material will be via the genetics home page. I have placed lecture notes for each chapter that will be covered in this course on ESU's internet server. These notes are cross-referenced with figures and tables from your textbook. Before each class, you should review the lecture notes and the textbook. I will not formally lecture over all of this material, but will lecture over most of the topics. I will use the beginning of each class to answer your questions about the material. In general, students who study the material before class and come to class with prepared questions will do much better than those who do not. The lecture notes will cover the points to be learned and will direct your study from the text. You can not expect to pass genetics without intensive study outside of lecture (2 hours of study for every hour in class). Be sure to read the section on how to study. The material covered in the latter part of the course will be based on material covered in the first part of the course, therefore you will have to commit the material to long term memory. In addition, the final exam is comprehensive.

IV. grading:

Your grade will be determined based upon the total points earned on examinations, a term paper, and homework assignments from the biography. There is no provision for doing extra or outside work to improve your grade.

A  = 92.0% to 100%
A-  = 89.0% to 91.9%
B+  = 86.0% to 88.9%
B  = 83.0% to 85.9%
B-  = 79.0% to 82.9%
C+  = 76.0% to 78.9%
C  = 70.0% to 75.9%
D  = 60.0% to 69.9%
F < 60.0%

examinations: Three tests plus a final exam are scheduled for the semester (see class schedule). The final exam is comprehensive. Each test is worth 100 points. The final exam is worth 200 points, 100 points over material since the last test and 100 points over material from the previous three examinations. This yields 500 possible points on the exams. The exams will be part multiple-choice and part essay. It will be important that you have practiced working many problems before you come to the test, otherwise you will be too slow and not have time to finish the test.
If you have to miss an exam for whatever reason, I would appreciate it if you would make arrangements before hand to take the exam. If you have several other tests scheduled for the day of an exam or some other catastrophe befalls you, you may postpone the test a day or two. HAVING POSTPONED THE TEST, IF, BEFORE YOU TAKE THE EXAM, YOU DISCUSS THE EXAM WITH ANY CLASSMATE(S) FOR ANY REASON, YOU AND THE CLASSMATE(S) WITH WHOM YOU TALKED WILL RECEIVE AN AUTOMATIC ZERO!! The make up exam may not be the same test as that taken by the rest of the class.

term paper: The paper is worth about 20% of your grade (140 points). The term paper must be a review article about a topic in genetics, that is an in-depth summary and discussion about the topic. This assignment is in three parts.

First, a literature search plus a 2-page summary of two of the articles from the primary literature is due at the beginning of class on 30 September 2009 (late penalty points apply, see below). You must include 1) evidence (print-out of a couple of pages from the computer) of having done an online computer search for citations in either Medline, BioOne, or Biological Abstracts, 2) a complete copy of the two articles, and 3) your summary of the two articles. This summary must be at least 2.0 full pages exclusive of the literature cited, but not more than 3.0. The summary must be typed in exactly the style of the term paper that is due later in the semester and statements that you make in the summary must be supported with appropriate citations that are then listed in the "literature cited" section at the end of the paper. The two articles must address the same topic and your summary must indicate the relationships between the two papers. For example, one paper builds on the work of a previous paper, or the two papers present opposite views of the same topic, or the two papers reach the same conclusions but use different methods. The summary should include why the authors performed the research, how they did the research, what they found, and a discussion of the results. Also, include a paragraph discussing why you chose your particular topic. This summary is worth 20 points. The summary will be graded based upon its grammatical correctness and upon your ability to summarize the findings. Be sure to read the "Instructions for Review Papers in Genetics" and pay particular attention to the sections on citing literature and plagiarism.

The second part is an annotated bibliography, which is worth 20 points and is due on 30 October 2009. The purpose of the annotated bibliography is to ensure that you have completed a large part of your literature search a few weeks before the paper is due, that you have at least skimmed the sources for information, and that you have a pool of sources from which you can choose the ones that address the topic of your paper. The bibliography must contain a minimum of 20 entries, at least half of which are from the primary literature. Each entry must contain 1) the citation in exactly the format specified in the "Instructions for Review Papers in Genetics", 2) a statement as to wether the citation is from the primary literature or not, and 3) three or four sentences that briefly describe the content of the paper that is relevant to your topic. The citations must be in alphabetical order just as they would be in the literature cited section of your paper. The title of your bibliography must be a working title for your paper.

The third part is the paper itself, which is worth 100 points. There is no upper limit to the number of citations that would be appropriate. You should use as many as is appropriate concerning your topic. Minimally, the literature cited section must contain at least 10 citations, with at least 7 of these from the primary scientific literature. Your paper must follow exactly the format described in the "Instructions for Review Papers in Genetics" and must be at least 8.0 pages of text, exclusive of the literature cited, and with margins that are less than or equal to one inch on all sides on every page. Papers that do not meet these very minimum requirements can expect a grade no higher than 70 out of 100 points (a "low C"). Your paper will be graded on its scientific content and the coverage of the topic, in addition, the paper will be graded on grammar, clarity, and freedom from typographical and spelling errors. Papers are due at the beginning of class on 4 December 2009. A 5-point penalty will be assessed for every day that the paper is late, and of course, days during holidays and weekends count as days late. Plagiarizing your paper from some other source or collaborative efforts with other students will be considered cheating and will result in a grade of zero for your efforts. Be sure to carefully read the section on plagiarizing and quoting from other sources in "Instructions for Review Papers in Genetics". Finally, if you are repeating genetics your paper must be over a different topic than the paper of the previous semester in which you took genetics. In addition, if you turn-in essentially this same paper for a different class, I will consider it cheating and give you a zero on the paper. Be sure to review the Policies on Academic Dishonesty of Emporia State University and the Department of Biological Sciences.

V. material On ESU's WWW Server:

The following materials have also been placed at http://www.emporia.edu/biosci/genetics/genetics.htm. These materials will supplement the lecture and will give some additional insights into the course material. I will expect you to review this material and some of it will find its way onto examinations in one form or another. This material can be accessed through any of several web browsers. There are several computer labs around campus that you can use to access the WWW server. These are located on the 2nd floor of the William Allen White Library, the basement of the Memorial Union, the first floor of Cremer Hall, and the first floor of Visser Hall. In all of these labs, there are assistants who can help you. Finally, if you wish to print this material, it is expected that you will do this at home. Specifically, the Richel Computer lab will not permit you to print this material in their lab.

review problems: I have written out complete answers with explanations to some problems. Some of these problems will likely be reworded into multiple-choice examination questions.

practice tests: On ESU's WWW server, there are practice multiple-choice tests that will serve as a measure of how you are doing with the material. You may see some of these questions on a test. For certain, you will see questions over the same material that is covered in these questions.

lecture notes: The notes from lecture have been placed on ESU's WWW server. Each day, you should have studied these notes and the textbook before coming to class paying particular attention to the tables and figures that have been referenced in the notes.

VI. attendance:

I will sometimes take attendance, even though I will not count lack of attendance against you. However, if you do not come to class, you will be unable to check if your understanding of the material is adequate. You should be committed enough to your education to come to class, otherwise you are just wasting your money.

VII. academic dishonesty:

Plagiarism, which was mentioned above and is described in more detail in the "Instructions for Review Papers in Genetics" will result in a zero on your term paper. In addition, any student who permits another student to use his/her work will get a zero on the assignment. Finally, any copying or other forms of cheating during a test will result in a zero on that exam. The Chair of the Division of Biological Sciences will be informed of all acts of academic dishonesty and the action taken against the offender. Be sure to review the Policies on Academic Dishonesty of Emporia State University and the Department of Biological Sciences.

VIII. accommodations for disabilities:

Emporia State University will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Students need to contact the Director of Disability Services (lower level of the Memorial Union, 341-6637) and the professor as early in the semester as possible to ensure that classroom and academic accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. All communication between students, the Office of Disability Services, and the professor will be strictly confidential.

IX. how to study for this class:

Genetics is a tough class. There is a lot of material to be learned, even though we will not cover all that is in the textbook. Genetics is also a problem-based course. While you will have to memorize many facts, you will also have to be able to organize information, draw conclusions, and work problems. Thus genetics will draw on your background in both biology and mathematics. You should plan on 2 hours of study for every hour in class. Some of you may be able to get by with less and some of you will need more. You might plan on 1 to 1.5 hours of study per day for five days per week. The following 5-day plan is one of many plans that will help you to organize your study time. However, to study and learn the material you will need to develop some sort of study plan that spreads out the work over several days, rather than trying to do it all the couple of days before the tests. Finally, as you study the material, you should be taking notes and writing down comments. The act of writing the material seems to greatly increase the retention of the material over that which is retained from simply reading. There are no short-cuts, genetics only comes to those who spend the time to learn it.

As you prepare to study for each chapter, the first thing that you should do is print the lecture notes for that chapter. On the first day, read through the notes to get a feel for the material. If you find any words that you do not know the meaning of, look these up in either the on-line glossary (words in blue in the lecture notes link to the on-line glossary for the course) or look them up in the glossary of the textbook. Next go back through the notes more carefully, making sure that you can follow the material. Do not try to memorize the material yet, just make sure that it makes sense. As you find yourself with questions, write them down. On the second day, read through the notes and cross-reference the notes with the textbook, paying particular attention to the figures and tables that are referenced in the notes. Look at your questions from the night before, do you still have questions? If you do be sure to ask me in class or read the appropriate sections in the textbook. On the third day, read through the notes and begin to memorize the material. You should begin to redraw the figures in the textbook making sure that you can label them correctly. For the chapter that you are studying, look at the problem set that is on the web site. First try working the problems, without looking at the answer. Then look at the answer to see if you got it right. As you work problems, look for patterns that are common to a set of problems. On the fourth day, continue working problems and read carefully all of the sections covered in the textbook. Continue to memorize the material from the lecture notes and the textbook. On the fifth day, carefully go through the notes to see if there are any areas of concern. If there are, be sure to ask me or restudy the material from the textbook. Take the on-line test at the web site and make sure that you can answer these questions or any that may be similar to them.

As I answer questions in class, even if they are not your questions, you should take notes. As I lecture in class, you should also take notes. Even if you have the lecture notes from the web site, it is a good idea to take additional notes. You do not need to write down every word, but you should be able to follow the content of a lecture by reading your notes. Finally, make sure that you can work any problems that we work in class.

About five days before the test, you should have completed all of your study preparation for each chapter that will be on the test. Now is the time to really put all of the chapters together. Look for relationships between the chapters. By now you will also have the essay questions for the test. Study each question carefully and make sure that you understand what the question is asking. Write out the answer completely, then look up the answer to see that you got it right. Reread your answer out loud to yourself and decide if your answer makes sense? About three days before the test, you might form a study group of fellow students with whom you can go over the material. Keep your group on task, if you discuss non-genetics topics, you will be wasting your study time. On the day before the test, you should be ready for the test and you should be able to get a good night's sleep without worrying about the test. There will be TOO MUCH material to expect to do well on a test by cramming the night before the test.

X. important and useful information from the registrar.

TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE
GENETICS LECTURE GB 425

Topics are linked to the appropriate sections of the lecture notes. Even if we do not have class on a particular day, you are still responsible for studying the notes and material from the book. Each class day, you should come to class prepared to ask and answer questions over the material.

Indicates official school holidays
There are a few days that I will gone from lecture. You are still responsible for studying this material and asking questions if you do not understand. There is a good chance that I will not lecture over this material.
Days that papers are due or that tests will occur.

19 Aug Introduction. mitosis
21 AugElectronic Resources
mitosis, meiosis
24 Augmeiosis, Mendelian genetics
26 Aug Rule of segregation, Rule of independent assortment
28 Aug phenotypic ratios, epistasis
31 Aug chromosome theory of inheritance, sex determination
2 Sepsex determination, X-linked inheritance
4 Seppedigree analysis
7 SepNo Class, Labor Day
9 SepX-chromosome inactivation, probability
11 Sep binomial theorem, hypothesis testing
14 Sep chi-square analysis
16 Sep linkage analysis
18 Sep exam #1
21 Sep process of crossing over
23 Sep chromosome mapping using three point crosses
25 Sep lod scores, evaluation of risk
28 Sep bacterial genetics, transformation
30 Sep conjugation
summary for term paper due
2 Oct variation in chromosome number
5 Oct variation in chromosome structure
7 Oct quantitative inheritance
9 OctNo Class, Fall Break
12 Oct additive genetic variance
14 Oct additive genetic variance, heritability
16 Oct response to selection, twin studies
19 Oct exam #2
21 Oct Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
23 Oct non-random mating
26 Oct mutation, migration
28 Oct genetic drift, founder effects
last day for an automatic "W" on transcript
30 Oct natural selection
annotated bibliography due
2 Nov Darwin's theory
4 Nov DNA as the genetic material
6 Nov structure of DNA
9 Nov DNA replication
11 NovNo Class, Veteran's Day
13 Nov central dogma, transcription
16 Nov exam #3
18 Nov transcription
20 Novtranscription, translation
23 Nov genetic code
25 NovNo Class, Thanksgiving
27 NovNo Class, Thanksgiving
30 Nov gene regulation: lac operon
2 Dec lac operon
4 Decgene regulation: try operon
term paper due
7 Dec gene regulation in eukaryotes: embryonic development
9 Dec gene regulation in eukaryotes: embryonic development
11 Dec gene regulation in eukaryotes: cancer
15 Decfinal exam, 10:10 on Tuesday
(100 points from the first three exams, 100 points from new material since last exam)
Last updated on 13 August 2009.
Provide comments to Dwight Moore at dmoore@emporia.edu.
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