BIOLOGY 200 - FUNDAMENTALS OF CELL BIOLOGY
2024W Term 1 (Sept.-Dec. 2024), Lecture Section 104 (MWF)
COURSE GOALS FOR BIOL200:
It is the goal of this course to teach you the basic principles of cell biology, experimental design, scientific logic, and problem solving. More specifically, we hope that by the end of the course you will be able to:
• Demonstrate understanding of the relationship between structure and function, at every level of cell biology (from individual macromolecules, to the cellular level).
• Recognize that all aspects of protein function (expression, regulation, modification, transport, activation, destruction) are ultimately encoded in its sequence, which itself is encoded in the DNA of the organism.
• Describe and interpret experimental data based on conceptual knowledge of cell biology.
• Formulate a scientific argument and defend it using logical reasoning and experimental evidence.
• Interpret current primary literature in cell biology and communicate key findings in writing.
• Articulate the importance of cell biology within the context of the 'bigger picture' of everyday life.
PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH
This course follows what is known at UBC as a Blended Learning Model. This means that...
• Students attend ‘live’ lectures with their instructor, and...
• Students are also expected to
extensively use the Canvas websites for pre-readings and post-lecture activities that will help them engage and succeed.
You should expect to do a fair amount of work on your own. The blended-learning model recognizes and emphasizes the role of the student in their own learning. We can guide you and help you, but ultimately the only one who can learn this material is you. It is the work that you do that will be the key factor in how well you do in this course.
COURSE MATERIALS
Course Website: URLhttp://www.canvas.ubc.ca. For Canvas help, please see:
https://students.canvas.ubc.ca/help/. Be advised that you are expected to check Canvas regularly. BIOL200 may make use of several features in Canvas that can push notifications to your inbox or mobile device. Turning these off may result in you missing important information. This will not be an acceptable excuse for missing important course communications.
eBook: BIOL200 has a set of free online course notes which are available to you . You can find these as part of the BIOL200 Canvas site. These notes are sufficient for your success in BIOL200 . If you wish, you may purchase an optional recommended textbook (below) to supplement your readings .
Reference Textbook: Alberts, Bray, Hopkins, Johnson, Lewis, Raff, Roberts & Walter –ESSENTIAL CELL BIOLOGY, 6th ed., W. W. Norton (OR 5th ed.).
There are several options available to you for accessing this textbook. You may wish to purchase them second- hand directly from the UBC bookstore. If you do purchase the e-version, note that we have an exclusive deal with Norton Publishing to subscription for an extended 2 year access. After you complete your purchase, you will receive an email with an access code and a link to where to activate it.
Link here:https://www.campusebookstore.com/link/?id=1556ae21-7325-4c91-ba6a-f8c3adc8ecc5
iClicker Cloud: You will need to set up an iClicker Cloud account (free!) to help you participate in in-lecture questions. For more information visit:https://lthub.ubc.ca/guides/iclicker-cloud-student-guide/
COURSE EVALUATION
The breakdown of your BIOL200 grade will be as follows:
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Examination Component*
(Students must achieve 50% = 35/70 on this component to pass the course)
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Midterm 20%
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(90 min)
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Final 50%
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2.5h during final exam period in December (to be announced)
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Other Learning Activities
(These scores will only be applied to
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the final grade once a 50% is achieved on the examination component)
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Pre-Readings (6 x 0.5%) 3%
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Online quizzes for each unit, due before class, based on re-readings. Best 6 of 9. See schedule (below) of due dates (also on Canvas).
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Post-Unit Worksheets 5%
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Worksheets due at the end of each unit. Best 6 of 9.
See schedule (below) of due dates (also available on Canvas).
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Tutorial Component 22%
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See Tutorial Canvas Page for details
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*IMPORTANT NOTES REGARDING FINAL GRADE CALCULATIONS:
• In order to pass this course, you must achieve a passing grade on the Examination Component of the course. If you do not, your Other Learning Activity scores will not be applied to your final grade.
• No final grades between 45 and 50% will be awarded. The highest failing grade will be 45%.
• 'Hard work pays off' Policy:
o If the student receives a grade on the final exam that is 20% higher than that which they received on their midterm, then the final exam will count for 60% of their final grade, and the midterm will only be worth 10%.
o You must write the midterm exam to apply this clause to your final mark.
o This alternate weighting only applies to exams that are written with academic integrity. We will not be applying this to any ‘0’s as received as penalty for academic dishonesty.
COURSE AND EXAMINATION POLICIES
1. IN-CLASS POLICIES
Lectures will be conducted in-class.
• During lecture time, students are expected to be prepared and take notes. Personal recordings of any kind (audio OR video, including photographs or videos on your phone) are not allowed, unless you
have express permission beforehand from your instructor.
• Lectures will be recorded and posted to the Canvas course site. However we encourage that you attend and participate in the live lectures to help you stay on top of the BIOL 200 material.
• Your instructor may ask you to participate in various in-lecture activities, such as worksheets, iClicker questions, and discussion questions.
• We encourage you to register for iClicker Cloud (free!) to answer in-class questions.
2. EXAMINATION POLICIES
EXAM FORMAT
• The exams are common to all sections, and are written in person. The midterm and final exam will contain a combination of data analysis, short answer and synthesis questions.
• The final exam is cumulative, but there will be a strong emphasis on previously untested material and the remaining units of the course.
EXAM GUIDELINES
• You may bring a single, double-sided page information sheet to the midterm and to the final. These sheets will be handed in with the exam. Please include your student name and number on these sheets.
• This memory aid must be 100% handwritten in your own handwriting, on a US letter-sized paper (8.5 X 11 inches). It cannot be a computer image or print-out of any sort, including scans or printouts of your own handwritten work. You may write on both sides of your information sheet, but you may not increase the surface area by adding post-its or other additional notes/pages.
• Students caught with memory aids that do not conform. to these criteria will have their memory aid
taken away during the exam and may not have it returned to them after the exam. Depending on the severity of the infringement, there may be further penalties.
MISSING AN EXAM
• Students should make every effort to attend the midterm and final exam at the scheduled exam times.
• The midterm exam is an evening exam. Students with course conflicts or childcare concerns should identify themselves to their lecturer as soon as possible, in order to plan for exam rescheduling.
• The final exam is held during the official exam period at the end of term. Students who miss the final
exam must apply to their faculty for astanding deferral, and will write their final exam with the students taking the course in the following term.
• Note: Exam Hardship is when students have 3 exams that start AND end in a 24h period. An exam clash is when a student has 2 or more exams scheduled at the exact same time. In both of these cases, the student should first contact their lecturer to try and resolve the issue. For more informationplease see the following link.