Florida Community College at Jacksonville, South campus

Fall term, 2000

 

BSC 1005L  Life in its Biological Environment laboratory

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  This course is the laboratory accompaniment for BSC 1005, 1 cr.

 

INSTRUCTOR:           Dr. Dianne M. Fair                   OFFICE:                      D-122

OFFICE HOURS:       TBA,or by appt.                       OFFICE PHONE:       646-2310

E-MAIL:                      dfair@fccj.org

 

REQUIRED TEXT:      None.  Laboratory worksheets will be provided, and you are to work in pairs or small groups as instructed.  Each student will take his or her own quizzes that cover the previous lab exercise each week.  We will establish a “reading area” in the laboratory, equipped with biology texts for your reference.  Biology references are also available in the LRC and LAC here at the college.  The Internet has many useful references as well.

 

Note:  Students must attend the section for which they are registered only.  Switching days during the term to accommodate your schedule is not permitted for any reason.

 

LAB WORKSHEETS:  We will conduct 13 different lab exercises during the term, covering a variety of topics in biological science.  There will be no makeups for missed labs and students will still be responsible for the missed material at the next weekly quiz.  The schedule for lab exercises and their quizzes is attached.  Mark your calendars.

 

GRADING:      The course grade will be based on the weekly quizzes and on your lab participation. The lab worksheets will have questions for you to answer which are directly related to the exercise material and will be useful in preparing for the quizzes.  Letter grades will be assigned as follows:

                                    A                     90-100%                     D                     60-69%

                                    B                      80-89%                       F                      below 60%

                                    C                     70-79%

 

IW Grade: You may be withdrawn from the course if you have attended fewer than 50% of the classes by the withdrawal date. A warning letter will be sent to you if you have missed 25% of the class meetings.  I Grade:  If you are unable to finish the course due to extenuating circumstances, you may request in writing that you receive an (I) incomplete for the course.  However, you must have a passing grade average at the time of your request.  Incompletes will not be awarded as a “substitute” for failing grades.  N/P Grades:  Not given.  This is a grade that is not recognized by many universities, and is often treated as an F on transfer.

 

LAB PARTICIPATION:  In order to encourage full participation in lab, you will earn up to 5 points per lab session.  This includes completing the exercise, contributing to the efforts of your lab group (no “secretarial staff”), and cleaning your work station at the end of the period.  Please follow all directions from the instructor;  they are for your safety and the safety of your classmates.  Our goal is to make the laboratory a safe, educational, and fun environment.

 

WEEKLY QUIZZES will be given beginning with the second lab period of the semester and will be based on the previous lab exercise.  Questions may be short answer, fill-in, true-false or some other format depending on the material.  Quizzes will be conducted during the first 20 minutes of each lab period and make-ups are not given.  The pre-lab briefing will begin in a timely manner after the quiz.  Chronic late-comers may be asked to re-think their schedules if they consistently disturb the quiz and pre-lab briefings.

 

 

LAB SAFETY

1.  No tobacco products, food or drinks are permitted in the laboratory.  Beverages must be left outside of the laboratory at all times.

2.  Horseplay of any kind will not be tolerated.  Disruptive students will be asked to leave the laboratory, and will receive a failing grade for the session.

3.  Do not taste or ingest any chemicals or other substances, unless specifically directed to do so by the instructor.  We will be working with potentially hazardous chemicals and reagents on several occasions.

4.  Use extreme caution when heating glassware (retrieve test tubes using test tube holders).  Be sure to direct the open end of a test tube away from yourself and others while heating it.

5.  Please wash and dry all glassware and equipment before returning it to the lab cart.  Your work station must be also cleaned and dried at the end of each period.

6.      Please wash your hands thoroughly before leaving the lab.

 

Summary of grading points:

13 lab quizzes @ 20 points each, drop lowest                                       240

14 sessions of lab participation and cleanup @ 5 points each                               70

TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS                                                                          310

 

Special note:  Beginning fall semester, 1997, according to guidelines established by Florida House Bill (HB) 1545, all students may enroll in a specific college credit course only twice at the regular tuition rate.  If the first two attempts are unsuccessful (all grades will count as an attempt including audit, IW, AW, W, and NP), the third time a student enrolls in a course, he/she must pay the full cost of instruction.  This cost is equivalent to the out-of-state tuition rate, approximately four times the cost of regular tuition or $157.40 per semester hour.  Only “drops” submitted by the advertised deadline date (during the first week of a term) will not count as being enrolled.