BISC162Webpage

Professors:
Dr. Glenn Parsons, Office #120 Shoemaker - phone 915-7479 (bygrp@olemiss.edu)
   office hours: ************, or by appointment
Dr. Lucile McCook, Office #406 Shoemaker - phone 915-5488 (bymccook@olemiss.edu)
   office hours: 1-4 pm Mondays and Wednesdays, or by appointment

Course website - http://www.olemiss.edu/courses/bisc162/     This is the first place you should look for any information regarding the course during the semester. Includes this syllabus, instructions for how to study and analyze your exams, and other information useful to science majors.

Textbook: Biology, 8th edition, Solomon, Berg and Martin. Many changes have been made to this new edition, and it is highly recommended that students get the new book.

Team Teaching: The first half of the semester will be taught by Dr. Parsons and the second half by Dr. McCook.

Attendance & Etiquette: Your regular attendance is expected and attendance will be taken randomly. All cell phones should be turned off before class begins.

Corequisite Lab = BISC 163: Lab Book: Biological Sciences II, BISC163, Dr. Gail Stratton
Prerequisites for BISC 162: Grade of A, B or C in BISC 160.

Biology Majors and Minors: The Department of Biology requires a final grade of C or better in all Biology Courses used to satisfy requirements for your degree.

Daily study sessions are led by a Biology Graduate Student (Matt Pearson). They occur every Monday thru Thursday evening from 6-7:30 pm in the Stockard-Martin lobby (except when Dr. Lago or Dr. McCook lead study sessions, which they will do periodically).

Testing: There will be three regular semester exams (50 questions each) and a final exam (100 questions), for a semester total of 250 questions.
The final exam will contain 50 questions from the final quarter of the semester, and 50 questions will be comprehensive (over the entire semester).
You can estimate your grade at any time by averaging all your exam scores and using the grading scale below.
Example: If you score 38 questions out of 50 (76%) on Exam 1, then 42 out of 50 (84%) on Exam 2, you can average those two grades to get 80%= B average.

Grading Scale: 90-100% = A; 80-89% = B; 70-79% = C; 60-69% = D; < 60% = F.

EXAMS: See lecture schedule for exam dates.
Bring your student ID, #2 pencil and the correct scantron form to every exam.
Exam 1: Scantron form # F-1712 (full page, hot pink print)
Exams 2 & 3 and final: Scantron form #F-289 (half page, red print)
Scantrons can be purchased at Bookstore in Student Union.
No electronic devices are allowed during an exam.

Due to the size of this class and university regulations, exam dates are not negotiable. For example, do not schedule a family vacation to begin on the 7th of May if you have an exam on the 8th!!
Makeup exams will be given to those students who must miss a test because of an official University activity or because of illness. In all cases, arrangements for a makeup test must be made with the instructor prior to the absence.


Lecture Schedule:   DR. Glenn Parsons, LECTURER

Date       Topic                           Chapter(s)
21 Jan       Introduction to embryology               50 (Read: 1081-1089)
23 Jan       Integument & Bones                    39 (Review Ch. 38)
26 Jan       Muscles                       39
28 Jan       Digestive System                   46
30 Jan       Digestive System                   46
2 Feb       Internal Transport (Blood)               43
4 Feb       Circulatory System                   43
6 Feb       Circulation                         43
9 Feb       Lymphatic System and Immunity           44
11 Feb    Lymphatic System and Immunity           44
13 Feb       TEST I               BRING SCANTRON Form F-1712
16 Feb       Respiratory System                   45
18 Feb       Respiration                        45
20 Feb       Excretory System                   47
23 Feb       Excretion                       47
25 Feb       Neurons                        40
27 Feb       Nervous System                   41
2 Mar       Endocrine System                   48
        (3 Mar=Deadline for Course Withdrawal)
4 Mar       Reproductive System                   49
6 Mar       Reproduction                       49
9 Mar       TEST II           BRING SCANTRON Form F-289

DR. LUCILE McCOOK, LECTURER

11 Mar   Origin & Evolution of Life               21
13 Mar   Systematics and Taxonomy               23
16-20 Mar   SPRING BREAK
23 Mar   Viruses                       24
25 Mar   Prokaryotes                       24
27 Mar   Protists                        25
30 Mar   Protists                        25
1 Apr       Fungi                           26
3 Apr       Seedless Plants                   27
6 Apr       Seed Plants-Angiosperm reproduction           28 & 36
8 Apr       TEST III    BRING SCANTRON Form F-289
10 Apr       Good Friday Holiday
13 Apr       Plant Structure & Leaves               32 & 33
15 Apr       Stems and Roots                   34 & 35
17 Apr       Intro. to Animals                   29
20 Apr       Protostomes                       30
22 Apr       Protostomes & Deuterostomes           30 & 31
24 Apr       Deuterostomes                   31
27 Apr       Population Ecology                   52
29 Apr       Ecosystems Ecology                   54
1 May       Global Ecology                   55 & 56

FINAL EXAM - 9:00 am class, Section I:   FRIDAY, 8 MAY - 8:00 am.
        10:00 am class, Section II: WEDNESDAY, 6 MAY - 8:00 am.

Remember to bring your scantron, #2 pencil and Student ID to Final Exam!

The final in this class will have 100 questions: 50 questions over new material (last quarter of the class) and 50 comprehensive questions covering the entire semester (twelve or thirteen questions from each quarter, for a total of 25 questions from each professor).
The comprehensive questions will be more "BIG PICTURE" kinds of questions, meaning they will cover major concepts---not tiny details. Your best way to study for the final is to use your old exams, studying the information around each question, and using the summary in the back of each chapter. Go to your notes when you need to reinforce those major topics, but do not focus on tiny details!

Here's what Dr. Parsons says about his comprehensive questions:
"Tell the students that for my questions I am trying to test for general knowledge of the material. I am trying, as much as possible, 
to stay away from asking lots of questions about vocabulary (however some vocabulary is needed just to ask the question).

For example, I consider knowing the parts of the digestive system and their general functions as important. I would not ask them to 
memorize all the different enzymes and what each one of them does.

Another example; I consider the general function and structure of hemoglobin important. But being able to describe the details of the 
Bohr Shift as more of a detail."

University rules allow a student to change the time of a final exam if that student has three tests on one day.
The regulations read: Any student having three or more examinations scheduled for the same day will arrange with the instructor to take the 12:00 noon examination or the 7:30 p.m. examination on some other mutually satisfactory date.
Since our exams are at 8:00 am, no one in this class is affected.