METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
BIOL 100 INTRODUCTION TO CELL BIOLOGY
(#44952 on campus or #45648 on cable TV)

INSTRUCTOR: Steven Lewis
This class will be broadcast live over Missouri Time-Warner channel 17 and Comcast channel 20 during the fall 2009 semester from 3:30-4:45 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. You can enroll in the live classroom section (44952) or the distance education section (45648). There is an additional $36 fee for viewing the class from home. Home viewers are welcome to time-shift the class but you should view the class within 24 hours of its live broadcast. The class can also be viewed online via Blackboard from your home computer. The streaming telecast is usually available the day after its live broadcast.

Students enrolled in the on-campus section are expected to be in attendance in LR304 on the Penn Valley campus. Home viewers need come to the Penn Valley campus only 4 times during the semester to take the exams. You can test with the class during regular class time or you can schedule your exam at a more convenient time in the Penn Valley testing center. The syllabus will be posted to the Blackboard course site and be available two weeks before class begins in August. The first class will be Wednesday, Aug. 19. Email me if you have questions about this class. Please note that I do not enroll students nor am I informed of day-to-day changes in enrollment. If a position opens because a student drops the class or is dropped for non-payment, Metrolink will note the opening. Fees are due from early enrollees on July 20 so there may be openings in the class after that date.

This course description is designed to help you decide if this class is for you. Introduction to Cell Biology will be taught to students in a Penn Valley classroom (LR304) and broadcast live over Time-Warner and Comcast cable systems in Missouri. We will also use a Blackboard course site to promote communication among students and the teacher and you will turn in assignments using the Blackboard Discussion Forum. If you are enrolled in the classroom section of this class you will need to sign an attendance sheet each class period. If you are enrolled in the cable TV section you will need to log into Blackboard twice each week to confirm you have watched the week's broadcasts. If I do not hear from you by the end of August I will drop you from the class for non-attendance. If you are unable to log in to Blackboard, you should contact the distance education office for instructions.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
BIOL 100 is intended to give you the math, chemical and biological foundations to prepare you for more advanced classes at MCC, including physiology, microbiology and our career health programs. If you are planning to transfer to another college you should take CHEM 105 instead. We will have four exams during the semester and everyone will need to come to Penn Valley to take the exams either in the classroom during class time or in the Penn Valley testing center when it is more convenient. If you do plan to use the testing center you will need to inform me in advance and make an appointment with the testing center. The testing center is open in the evenings. In an emergency you can test with my 7 p.m. anatomy-physiology lab class Monday through Thursday in ST325. There is a deadline to take each exam. At the same time a bonus project will be due, which you will post to the Blackboard discussion board.

TEXTBOOK:
The required text is Chemistry by Karen Timberlake, 10th edition, Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2009, ISBN-13: 978-0-13-601970-1. The book is available for rent or purchase from MCC bookstores. The cell unit in this class will make use of free internet resources so you do not have to buy an additional text.

COURSE GRADE:
Four hundred points are possible in this class -- 400 from exams and 40 bonus points from projects. Your final grade will be based on this schedule:

  • 90% of total points = 360 points = A
  • 80% of total points = 320 points = B
  • 70% of total points = 280 points = C
  • 60% of total points = 240 points = D
  • Less than 60% of total points = F

    OBJECTIVES:
    By the end of BIOL 100 a student should be able to:

  • Describe the significance of scientific methods of evaluation.
  • Solve problems involving conversion of English to metric units.
  • Outline the levels of organization characteristic of living things.
  • Describe the 7 major chemical groups that compose organisms and the significance of each.
  • Describe the structure, function and reproduction of cells.

    • SCHEDULE: The class will be divided into 4 units.
    Unit 1: Science, Metrics and Measurement (Prologue, Chapter 1)
    Unit 2: Chemical Foundations of Biology (Chapters 2-5)
    Unit 3: Biological Chemistry (Chapters 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
    Unit 4: Cell Structure, Function and Reproduction (website and text)

    This page was developed and is maintained by Steven Lewis.