Choose to read (click on subject):




• Lecture notes
• Syllabus -- Time table of lectures
• Exam and grades information
• Newsline -- the latest about the course on the web
• Instructor's web site
• Information on FIU Biscayne Bay Campus

General Course Information

Lecture times: Tuesday, Thursday; 14:00 – 15:15
Lecture location: BBC HM135 (Hospitality Management, large lecture hall)

Office hours: Tuesday, Thursday, 15:30 – 16:30; preferably by appointment via email Office hours are strictly for academic issues only. Office hours will not offer private review sessions for missed classes!

Required textbook: Raven, Johnson, Losos, Singer: Biology; 7th or 8th edition; McGraw-Hill Publishers, © 2005, 2007; ISBN 0072437316 (7th ed.) or ISBN 0073227390 (8th ed.)

Reading assignments as listed in the syllabus are essential to the comprehension of the course material. It is expected and mandatory that students read the assigned chapters prior to class.
Learning facilitation: Thorough study of reading assignment prior and after classes are expected. The book offers online resources for independent learning at http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/ sites/0072437316/student_view0/index.html. These online resources are very helpful for your studies; they provide quizzes and case studies to deepen your learning; they provide outside web links to deepen your reading on certain topics. It is expected that students use actively and intensely these online resources to facilitate learning.

Course description and learning outcome: BSC 1011 is a mandatory lower-division course for majors in Biology and Marine Biology and to be taken with BSC 1011L General Biology II Lab. BSC 1011 will provide a comprehensive overview of the diversity of life on Earth, from bacteria and viruses to mammals and higher plants, the dynamics of biodiversity and evolution and their shaping factors, the interaction of living organisms with their environment (ecology of species, populations, and communities), and the structure and biology of plant and animal phyla. Students will gain a working knowledge of scientific thought and an appreciation of biological diversity.

Course expectations: Regular class attendance is mandatory as is appearance on time. No cell phones or beepers are tolerated during class. Students are expected to have finished their reading assignment prior to each class and also are expected to utilize the online learning facilities provided by the textbook publisher. The course will provide two mid-term exams, each counting for 25% towards the final grade, and one final exam counting for 50% towards the final grade. Missed exams will count as zero points. The second mid-term will cover materials discussed after the first mid-term exam. The final exam will be cumulative over the whole course material. All exams will be multiple-choice questions to be answered on scantron forms. There will be absolutely no make-up exams or any other extra credits! Exams will not be curved. So don’t even think about asking. Grade scale: A: >85%, B: 75-84%, C: 65-74%, D: 55-64%, F: <55%. Last day to drop class with a DR grade is November 2, 2007, 17:00 hrs. Be aware that the permanent grade “F-“ is implemented since fall 2004.