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Bio 201:  Syllabus and Course Information

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Biology 201 - Botany:  5 units

Instructor:  Sue Kloss

Office:  D-100, Next to the biology lab

Office Hours:  Monday 10-11 am;  Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9 – 10 am; Tuesday 3 - 4 pm and by appointment

Email: kloss@ltcc.edu

Course Website: http://www.ltcconline.net/kloss/bio201/

Phone:  530-541-4660 x-244

Course Information:  This course will cover the basic principles of botany.  We will examine the structure and function of plants.  Topics covered will include major plant groups, anatomy, reproduction and taxonomy and field identification of local taxa. 

Course Meeting Times: Tuesday, Thursday 1:00 - 3:00 pm for lecture. One Saturday field trip will be held on April 14.  Six additional labs will be held Thursay afternoons from 3:00pm -6:00 pm. If you miss one of the Saturday field trips, you will be required to do a comparable written report.   You MUST make at least one of the weekend field trips.  Please see the course schedule for specific details. 

Final Exam:  June 21, 1-3 pm  

Text:  Plant Biology.  by Rost, Barbour, Stocking and Murphy, Wadsworth Publishing Company.  2 ed.

Lab Text:  Plants of the Tahoe Basin by Graf, California Native Plant Society Press, and additional lab exercises. 

Course Requirements for Botany Lecture: 

            Quizzes:  There will be 3 or 4 field quizzes each time we are in the field.  Your 3 lowest  quiz            
|            grades will be dropped.  Quiz grade for the course are worth 100 pts. total, or 10%. There are
             no makeups for any quizzes. 

            Exams:  There will be three exams in this course.  The first midterm is worth 150 points (15%)
            of your grade, the second midterm is worth 200 points (20%), and the final is worth 200 points 
          (20%) of your grade for the course.  You are responsible for all material covered in lectures, labs,
          discussions and readings.  Examinations reflecting course material are worth a total of 55% of the course grade.

 

Course Requirements for Botany Lab:    

            Lab Reports:  Lab exercises   Lab reports are worth 20% of your grade.   Lab reports must be submitted at the end of each lab.
            Attendance/Participation:  Being on time, participating, for the whole time, (and awake!) gets
            you 150 pts (15%).  If you have excessive absences from class (4 or more for lecture, 3 or more for labs)  you will be dropped
            from the course.

Grading summary:                                                        Grading Scale:

100 pts. - Quizzes

150 pts. - Midterm I                                                         A = 90 -100

200 pts. - Midterm 2                                                        B = 80 - 89

200 pts. - Final Exam                                                       C = 70 - 79

200 pts. - Lab Reports                                                      D = 60 - 69                                                     

150 pts. - Participation                                                      F = below 60                       

1000 pts. total 

Attendance Policy:  Make every effort to attend! It is very important to me that students come to class, on time, for the entire time scheduled. Please make sure to turn off your cell phones, and please make every effort to arrive on time for class. People who come in after class has started can be very disruptive to other students.  If you do miss class, you are responsible to find out what was covered.  You may not make up quizzes.  Attendance will be monitored on a spot check basis. 

Exam Reschedules: You may reschedule an exam only by discussing it with me in advance.  (Emails and phone messages do not satisfy this requirement).  You will be subject to a 10 – 30% loss of points for any rescheduled exams.  No final exams will be given early.  

Other Info:  PLEASE turn off your cell phones before coming to class!  No extensions will be given on due dates for assignments.  If you turn an assignment within a week of the due date, you will lose 30% of the points for the assignment.  No work will be accepted more than a week after the due date.  All work must be submitted in hard copy; no electronic submissions, please.  No replicate handouts will be available.  Please keep track of your course materials.   

Study Buddies: Choose 2 or 3 people for your study buddies.  These are the people who will pick up handouts for you if you are absent, and who will share notes with you for the class you missed. With your study buddies, you can ask about material you don’t understand, divvy up study chores, prepare for exams, etc.  Learning cooperatively is wonderful, but it doesn’t work if every one doesn’t do an equal share of the work.  Take good care of your buddies!  Do not take advantage of them! You may always discuss course information and assignments together (except on exams), but all answers must be your own.  Do not use the same wording as anyone else on any assignment.  When you use someone else’s idea, be sure to provide a citation. Cheating will not be tolerated.  This class will abide by the student honor code.   

If you require accommodations for a disability, please let me know.  

Student Outcomes 

After completing this course, the successful student will: 

1.      place a plant in a major category based on physical features

2.      describe the structure and function of major plant tissues

3.      describe how plants grow and reproduce

4.      describe pollination as a specialized type of reproduction

5.      describe alternation of generations in plant and plant like organisms

6.      describe life cycles of major plant groups

7.      describe the evolutionary relationships of major plant groups to physical and geologic changes on earth

8.       identify the major plants in our local ecosystems