BISC110/S12
Spring 2012
Lecture Sections:
BISC110 Section 1 M/Th 8:30-9:50 Kim O'Donnell
BISC110 Section 2 T/F 11:10-12:20 Jennifer Hood-DeGrenier
BISC112 Section 1 T 8:30-9:50 Michelle LaBonte
BISC112 Section 2 T 11:10-12:20 Michelle LaBonte
Laboratory Instructors: Vachik Hacopian, Martina Koniger, Jocelyne Dolce, Gary Harris
Lab Prep:Sherly Veeraragavan and Mbaira Maorongarti
Labs: M 1:30-5 Koniger; T 12:30-4 Dolce; T 6:30-10 Harris; W 2:15-5:45 Hacopian ; Th 1-4:30 Dolce; Th 6:30-10 Hacopian;
Welcome to BISC 110/112 LAB
Please complete a brief exit survey found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YGBC2V3.
Click on the link to take this survey.
The survey will be open through 2/1/2012.
The labs for BISC 110/112 are designed to familiarize you with how experimental science is designed, performed and how it is communicated. Over the course of the semester, you will be designing and performing experiments that reinforce concepts covered in the lecture portion of the class. Your job will be to think like scientists when designing experiments to answer hypothesize driven questions about basic cellular processes. You will learn to perform the experiments properly, to keep good records of your results, and to communicate the results and conclusions of your work, both orally and in written reports.
These are ambitious goals for an introductory class such as BISC 110/112. Many of you will be starting this class with a strong background in biology and in lab work, but just as many of you will have had little previous training in biology and in performing experiments. The labs for this class are designed to bring everyone in the class to a working level of expertise and then to build from there.
The laboratory part of the course can be divided into sections of several labs each.
Schedule of Experiments
| Section | Lab # | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-5 | Boot Camp: Metric Measurement; Using Basic Lab Equipment; Making Solutions and Dilutions; Microscopy; Scientific Investigation; Designing & Executing Experiments; Data Analysis & Display; Statistical parameters; Scientific Writing |
| 2 | 6-8 | Genetics: DNA extraction, Separation of DNA fragments & Visualization in agarose gel electrophoresis; Genotype/phenotype via Taster SNP data collection and analysis |
| 3 | 8-11 | Photosynthesis: Spectrophotometry: Beer-Lambert Law, Linear regression analysis; Hill Reaction: Self-designed investigation of factors affecting photosystems |
| Lab Practical | 12 | Hands-on skills assessment: |
Lab attendance is MANDATORY. Some experiments take more than one lab to complete; therefore, it is very disruptive to miss lab, particularly for your partner.Severe illness or serious family crisis, are the only permissible excuses for missing lab. Your lab instructor must be notified IN ADVANCE if you must miss lab. There are NO lab "make-ups". Do not schedule interviews, doctor appointments or other activities during lab time. For all wet lab work, you will be working with a partner. Your instructor may rotate partners during the semester to give you an opportunity to work with several people in the class.
There will be assignments for you to complete after most lab periods. Assignments are to be turned in at the beginning of the lab on the due date. It is your responsibility to turn in your assignment on time. “I forgot to give it to you” is not a valid excuse for handing in an assignment late. Assignments will be graded by your lab instructor, and will be penalized at least 5% a day for each day they are late. Work that is one week late or later will not be given any point credit.
To pass BISC110/112 you will have to pass both the lecture and the lab component of the class. You are strongly encouraged to turn in all your lab assignments.
You are expected to keep a lab notebook in which you keep track of your experimental procedures, record all your data, and perform calculations. These notebooks will be collected twice and graded once at the end of the semester.
We sincerely hope that you will find your introduction to cell biology an interesting and rewarding experience. As always, we would appreciate your comments and suggestions as to how to improve the program.
Welcome to the lab!
Your BISC 110/112 Instructors
