Lecture: 4 hours/week
and
Lab: 3 hours/week
Classroom time may include a mixture of lecture, group discussions, and in-class activities. The course content is integrated with laboratory experiments, problem sets, and textbook readings.
1. Evolution and Diversity of Life
- Theory of evolution
- Hierarchical organization of life: cells to biosphere
- Classification of life: taxonomy, systematics, and phylogenetic analysis
- Survey of the living world: viruses, prokaryotes, protists, fungi, plants, and animals
2. Ecology
- Population dynamics
- Trophic interactions and energy flow
- Community ecology
- Ecosystems and global ecology
- Biological diversity
- Impacts of human activity
3. Form and function in plants and animals
- The plant body
- Resource acquisition and transport in plants
- The animal body
- Animal support and movement
- Animal nutrition and digestion
- Animal respiration and circulation
- Excretion
- Nervous systems
4. Laboratory skills
- Experimental methods
- Common laboratory equipment
- Compound and stereomicroscopes
- Plant and animal dissections
- Dichotomous keys
- Analysis and presentation of experimental results
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- discuss the relationships between the biotic and abiotic components of the biosphere, their interactions, and the impact of human activities on the biosphere;
- discuss the diversity of life through phylogeny and evolutionary histories of the major lineages;
- discuss the factors that affect the size and growth of populations;
- discuss interactions between species, including trophic interactions;
- discuss the energy flow through food chains and the global energy budget;
- discuss ecological disturbances and succession;
- describe global climate patterns and the distribution of biomes;
- describe biogeochemical cycles and how they are impacted by human activities;
- discuss global warming and climate change;
- discuss the global ramifications of biological diversity and biological processes;
- examine the relationship between form and function in plants and animals;
- describe, compare, and contrast the anatomy and physiology of major body systems in plants and animals;
- identify and describe plant, animal, and microbial species, as well as cells and tissues through the use of dichotomous keys and other biological methods such as dissections;
- use common laboratory equipment;
- use compound and stereomicroscopes to examine cells, tissues, and organisms, including the preparation of wet mounts;
- interpret and present observations and results from lab experiments;
- critically analyze scientific data and observations.
Assessment will be in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. The instructor will present a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria at the beginning of the semester. Evaluation will be based on the following:
| Quizzes and assignments | 15-25% |
| Laboratory assignments | 5-15% |
| Laboratory examination | 10-15% |
| Term test(s) | 20-35% |
| Final examination | 20-35% |
| Total | 100% |
A minimum of 70% of the laboratory assignments must be completed to receive a final grade of D or higher in the course.
Consult the Douglas College Bookstore for the latest required textbooks and materials. Example textbooks and materials may include:
Urry, L.A. et al. Current Edition. Campbell Biology, Pearson.
Douglas College Biology 1110 Course Manual. Current edition.
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BIOL 2300, 2301, 2302, 2321, 2400, 2421, 3205, 3305, 3500, 3600 and 3700