Course

Principles of Biology: the Biosphere

Faculty
Science & Technology
Department
Biology
Course Code
BIOL 1110
Credits
5.00
Semester Length
15 weeks
Max Class Size
35
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Lab
Course Designation
None
Industry Designation
None
Typically Offered
To be determined

Overview

Course Description
This course is an introduction to the biosphere, the diversity of life and biotic interactions. The anatomy and physiology of organisms is also studied. With BIOL 1210, this course fulfills the requirements of a first-year university Biology course.
Course Content

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 
Learning Activities

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.

Means of Assessment

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 - final 10-15%
Term examination(s) 20-35%
Final examination 20-35%
TOTAL 100%

Laboratory assignments are a compulsory component of this course. A minimum of 50% of the laboratory assignments must be completed to receive a letter grade D or higher in the course.

 

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Discuss the relationships between the biotic and abiotic components of the biosphere, their interactions, and the impact of human activities on the biosphere;
  2. Discuss the diversity of life through phylogeny and evolutionary histories of the major lineages;
  3. Discuss the factors that affect the size and growth of populations;
  4. Discuss interactions between species, including trophic interactions;
  5. Discuss the energy flow through food chains and the global energy budget;
  6. Discuss ecological disturbances and succession;
  7. Describe global climate patterns and the distribution of biomes;
  8. Describe biogeochemical cycles and how they are impacted by human activities;
  9. Discuss global warming and climate change;
  10. Discuss the global ramifications of biological diversity and biological processes;
  11. Examine the relationship between form and function in plants and animals;
  12. Describe, compare, and contrast the anatomy and physiology of major body systems in plants and animals;
  13. 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;
  14. Use common laboratory equipment;
  15. Use compound and stereomicroscopes to examine cells, tissues, and organisms, including the preparation of wet mounts;
  16. Interpret and present observations and results from lab experiments;
  17. Critically analyze scientific data and observations.
Textbook Materials

Consult the Douglas College Bookstore for the latest required textbooks and materials. Example textbooks and materials may include:

Reece, J.B. et al., Campbell Biology, Pearson (current edition)         

Douglas College Biology 1110 Course Manual (current edition)

Requisites

Prerequisites

No prerequisite courses.

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for BIOL 1110
Alexander College (ALEX) DOUG BIOL 1110 (5) & DOUG BIOL 1210 (5) = ALEX BIOL 101 (4) & ALEX BIOL 102 (4)
Alexander College (ALEX) ALEX BIOL 1XX (4)
Athabasca University (AU) AU BIOL 2XX (3)
Camosun College (CAMO) CAMO BIOL 1XX (4)
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU BIOL 111 (4)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU BIOL 1110 (4)
Langara College (LANG) DOUG BIOL 1110 (5) & DOUG BIOL 1210 (5) = LANG BIOL 1115 (4) & LANG BIOL 1215 (4)
Langara College (LANG) LANG BIOL 1XXX (4)
North Island College (NIC) DOUG BIOL 1110 (3) & DOUG BIOL 1210 (3) = NIC BIO 102 (3) & NIC BIO 103 (3)
Okanagan College (OC) OC BIOL 111 (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU BISC 1XX (4)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) DOUG BIOL 1110 (5) & DOUG BIOL 1210 (5) = SFU BISC 101 (4) & SFU BISC 102 (4)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) DOUG BIOL 1110 (3) & DOUG BIOL 1210 (3) = TRU BIOL 1113 (3) & TRU BIOL 1115 (0) & TRU BIOL 1213 (3) & TRU BIOL 1215 (0)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) DOUG BIOL 1110 (5) & DOUG BIOL 1210 (5) = TRU BIOL 1110 (3) & TRU BIOL 1210 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU BIOL 1210 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) DOUG BIOL 1110 (3) & DOUG BIOL 1210 (3) = TRU BIOL 1113 (3) & TRU BIOL 1115 (0) & TRU BIOL 1213 (3) & TRU BIOL 1215 (0)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU BIOL 1XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU BIOL 113 (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) DOUG BIOL 1110 (5) & DOUG BIOL 1210 (5) = UBCO BIOL_O 116 (3) & UBCO BIOL_O 125 (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) DOUG BIOL 1110 (5) & DOUG BIOL 1210 (5) = UBCV BIOL_V 1st (8)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV BIOL_V 1st (4)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC BIOL 104 (3) & UNBC BIOL 124 (1)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV BIO 112 (5)
University of Victoria (UVIC) DOUG BIOL 1110 (5) & DOUG BIOL 1210 (5) = UVIC BIOL 184 (1.5) & UVIC BIOL 186 (1.5)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC BIOL 1XX (1.5)
Vancouver Community College (VCC) VCC BIOL 1XXX (4)
Vancouver Community College (VCC) DOUG BIOL 1110 (5) & DOUG BIOL 1210 (5) = VCC BIOL 1100 (4) & VCC BIOL 1200 (4)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU BIOL 1st (3)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) DOUG BIOL 1110 (5) & DOUG BIOL 1210 (5) = VIU BIOL 121 (4) & VIU BIOL 123 (4)

Course Offerings

Summer 2024

CRN
Days
Dates
Start Date
End Date
Instructor
Status
CRN
22152
Tue Thu
Start Date
-
End Date
Start Date
End Date
Instructor Last Name
Faurie
Instructor First Name
Alida
Course Status
Open
Section Notes

BIOL 1110 001 students must also register in one of L01-L06 for the required 2-hour lab component.

Max
Enrolled
Remaining
Waitlist
Max Seats Count
35
Actual Seats Count
15
20
Actual Wait Count
0
Days
Building
Room
Time
Tue Thu
Building
New Westminster - South Bldg.
Room
S0640
Start Time
12:30
-
End Time
14:20
CRN
Days
Dates
Start Date
End Date
Instructor
Status
CRN
22153
Wed Fri
Start Date
-
End Date
Start Date
End Date
Instructor Last Name
Faurie
Instructor First Name
Alida
Course Status
Open
Section Notes

BIOL 1110 002 students must also register in one of L01-L06 for the required 2-hour lab component.

Max
Enrolled
Remaining
Waitlist
Max Seats Count
35
Actual Seats Count
22
13
Actual Wait Count
0
Days
Building
Room
Time
Wed Fri
Building
New Westminster - South Bldg.
Room
S1814
Start Time
10:30
-
End Time
12:20
CRN
Days
Dates
Start Date
End Date
Instructor
Status
CRN
22193
Tue Thu
Start Date
-
End Date
Start Date
End Date
Instructor Last Name
Faurie
Instructor First Name
Alida
Course Status
Open
Section Notes

BIOL 1110 003 students must also register in one of L01-L06 for the required 2-hour lab component.

Max
Enrolled
Remaining
Waitlist
Max Seats Count
35
Actual Seats Count
15
20
Actual Wait Count
0
Days
Building
Room
Time
Tue Thu
Building
New Westminster - South Bldg.
Room
S1814
Start Time
8:30
-
End Time
10:20