Syllabus
General Genetics Lab (GB 426)
Fall 2008

instructor: Dwight Moore, Ph.D.
office - Science Hall 144
phone - 620-341-5611
email - dmoore@emporia.edu    (put "genetics" in the subject line)
http://www.emporia.edu/biosci/moorbiol.htm
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office hours:   Tuesday 9:00 - 11:00, Wednesday and Friday 9:00 - 10:00, and by appointment. In addition, I am usually on campus by 7:30 am and do not leave until after 5:30 pm.    my schedule
section:GB 426, Monday 2:00 - 3:50, Science Hall 158
text:Virtual FlyLab (required)

Lab handouts that I will give you plus your lecture textbook, Pierce, B. A. 2008. Genetics: A conceptual approach. 3rd edition. W. H. Freeman and Company.
I. course description:

Genetics lab is a course designed for biology majors. The objectives of the course are to allow hands on work that will illustrate principles that are presented in the lecture course (GB 425) and to provide an opportunity for the presentation of scientific results and theories.

II. prerequisites:

You must have completed a general or introductory biology course and a college algebra course with a C or better in both. The biology course will have given you the basics of the terminology and major theories in biology. The college algebra course will have given you the tools to manipulate mathematical equations that you need to understand genetics.

III. course organization:

Material will be presented in the form of lectures, reading assignments and handouts. The class will require that you come to lab or work on a computer outside of the regularly scheduled class periods to complete experiments.

IV. grading:

Your grade will be based 35% on your study questions over the lab work, 25% on the one paper from your class project, and 40% on the examinations. There will be lab questions to be turned in for most labs, 3 examinations during the semester, and one paper from the class project.
A  = 92.0% to 100%
A-  = 89.0% to 91.9%
B+  = 86.0% to 88.9%
B  = 83.0% to 85.9%
B-  = 79.0% to 82.9%
C+  = 76.0% to 78.9%
C  = 70.0% to 75.9%
D  = 60.0% to 69.9%
F < 60.0%

Your lab work will be graded based upon your answers to the questions at the end of the lab exercises and your interpretation of your data. Study questions are due at the beginning of the next lab period, unless stated otherwise, and will NOT be accepted late.

The paper will be a collarborative project that involves two or three students per group. The paper that results from this project will be due during finals week. Each group will turn in one paper and each student within a group will receive the essentially the same grade with some minor flexibility. Plagiarizing your paper from some other source or collaborative efforts with other students outside your group will be considered cheating and will result in a grade of zero for your efforts. See the information on plagiarism and quotes in the "Instructions for Review Papers in Genetics". The paper must be in the form of a scientific paper. The purpose is to introduce you to the style and format followed by scientists in reporting research. In addition, a written report helps to crystallize your thoughts on a particular subject. The lab write-up is expected to have a clear introduction to the exercise, a presentation of the methods and results, and a complete discussion that shows that you understand the lab exercise and its implications to genetics. See the handout on lab write-ups in the lab manual. It must be typewritten and double-spaced, and include five citations, which are cited in the text and listed in the literature cited. The lab write-up will also be graded on grammar, clarity, and freedom from typographical errors.

Papers are due in my mailbox by 4:00 pm on 17 December 2008. A 5-POINT PENALTY WILL BE ASSESSED IF IT IS TURNED IN LATE. In addition, another 5-point penalty will be assessed for every day that the paper is late, and of course days during holidays and weekends count as days late.

There will be three lab exams scheduled during the semester, see the lab schedule. The exams will be given at the beginning of lab and they may vary in points-possible on each exam. The exams will only cover the material covered since the previous test.

V. academic dishonesty:

Plagiarism, which was mentioned above and is described in more detail in the "Instructions for Review Papers in Genetics" will result in a zero on your term paper. Any copying or other forms of cheating during a test will result in a zero on that exam. The Chair of the Division of Biological Sciences will be informed of all acts of academic dishonesty and the action taken against the offender. Be sure to review the Policies on Academic Dishonesty of the Department of Biological Sciences and of Emporia State University.

VI. accommodations for disabilities:

Emporia State University will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Students need to contact the Director of Disability Services (lower leevl of the Memorial Union, 341-6637) and the professor as early in the semester as possible to ensure that classroom and academic accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. All communication between students, the Office of Disability Services, and the professor will be strictly confidential.

VII. important and useful information from the registrar.

TENTATIVE LAB SCHEDULE

In general, material in lab will have already been covered in lecture. I will expect you to have learned the relevant material from lecture before coming to lab. I will not cover this material again in lab. I will, however, often present new material in lab. Thus, it is important that you attend all labs.

25 Aug a) introduction
b) organization of a scientific paper
c) mitosis, meiosis (slides)
1 SepNo Class, Labor Day
8 Sepa) monohybrid cross using corn
b) dihybrid cross using corn
c) crosses using the The Virtual FlyLab
15 Sep a) statistics, chi-square analysis
b) crosses using the The Virtual FlyLab
22 Sep a) exam #1 (organization of a scientific paper, monohybrid cross, mitosis, meiosis, chi-square labs)

 b) genes linked on a chromosome in corn (two point cross)
29 Sep a) X-chromosome inactivation (Barr bodies)
b) crosses using the The Virtual FlyLab
6 Octa) karyology, examination of human chromosomes
b) technique for obtaining chromosome preparations
13 Octa) Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
20 Octa) genome organization, TIGR Database
27 Octa) exam #2 (dihybrid cross, Barr bodies, karyology, linkage in corn, Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium)
3 Nova) genome organization, TIGR Database
10 Nova) computer simulations of models in population genetics
17 Nova) electrophoresis
24 Nova) no formal class, but work on student projects
1 DecTBA
8 Deca) exam #3 (Hardy-Weinberg, gel electrophoresis, computer simulations, TIGR database)
17 Deca) lab paper due in my mailbox by 4:00 pm, topic to be announced
Last updated on 24 August 2008.
Provide comments to Dwight Moore at mooredwi@emporia.edu.
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