Plant Physiology - BIO 340
Course Syllabus 2007
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Required Books
Textbook: Introduction to Plant Physiology by W. G. Hopkins, Wiley and Sons,
Inc., 3rd Ed. 2003
Lab handouts will be provided as needed. All lab write-ups go in a student lab
journal.
Course Grade
Lecture = 70%
Lab = 30%
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The Laboratory
There will be several structured laboratory sessions according to the lab schedule.
During these lab sessions, basic techniques used to demonstrate processes in
plant physiology will be introduced. The various exercises will be investigative
and they will demonstrate and explore certain concepts covered in lecture. These lab
exercises will also provide you with techniques and ideas to help you to develop
your own independent investigation for this course and possibly for independent
research projects.
For each lab exercise students will be provided with handouts that contain
procedures, materials, graphs, tables, etc.. However, you are expected to write
up in your student lab journal the following components for each lab exercise:
Purpose, Procedure, Data (Results), Summary and Conclusions. The student lab
journal will be collected and evaluated after the third week of class, at
mid-term and at the end of the course. Write-ups for each of the lab sessions
will be worth 4 pts. for a total of 48 pts.
Before the end of the semester, each student is required to complete a
independent investigation that tests some problem in the field of plant
physiology. The research plan for the independent investigation is due on or
before Oct. 22, 2007. The research plan must be approved by the instructor
before the student begins work on the project.
The write-up for the independent investigation should be similar to a typical
biological journal article in that the entire paper is organized into
Introduction, Methods and Materials, Results, Conclusions and Discussion and
Literature Cited sections. (A minimum of 5 scientific journal articles should be
cited.) The paper is due on or before December 6, 2007. The Independent
Investigation is worth a maximum of 50 pts.
Lab Journal
*The following Components for each lab exercise (or experiment) should be written into your lab
journal:
I. Purpose - A statement of the main objectives of the lab. What are you testing
and
measuring?
II. Procedures (Protocol) - This information is usually given on the handout
each week.
Instructions about procedures are also provided by the
instructor.
III. Data - Results should be organized into tables, graphs, etc.
IV. Summary and Conclusions - Questions from the lab handout should be answered
here.
Research Proposal - Due October 22 or sooner.
I. Statement of the Problem - What question or questions are you attempting to answer? What is known about your questions at the present time? (Site at least two research journals.) Also, what is your hypothesis? This part can later be modified and added to for the Introduction of your final paper.
II. Protocol - Describe your procedures and the time line that you will use. Be very specific about the equipment that you will need and when you will need it. This part can be modified into the Methods and Materials part of your final paper.
III. Citations - There must be a minimum of two (2) journal citations in your research proposal. (A minimum of five (5) citations will be required in your final paper.)
Quizzes
There will be (4) lab quizzes (10 pts. each) covering the material in the ten
lab sessions. Therefore, the maximum number of quiz pts. is 40. (The
final quiz will be a presentation about your research project at the very last
lab session.)
The highest number of lab pts. that can be earned is 138 pts. = Student Lab
Journal (48) + Independent Investigation (50) + Lab Quizzes (40).
Evaluation Procedure
Lecture: Regularly scheduled lecture exams will consist of objective-type
(multiple choice, matching, fill-in, etc.) questions and essay questions. There
will be (2) hour exams plus (1) two-hour final exam. Part of the
final exam will be the last hour exam, plus there will be a comprehensive part.
Y
Each of the first two hour exams will count as 1/5th of the total lecture grade, and the final exam will count as 2/5ths. Your lecture quiz average will count as 1/5th of your lecture grade.
our grade on each of these exams will be determined on a
percentage basis as follows:
90 - 100% = A
80 - 89% = B
70 - 79% = C
60 - 69% = D
0 - 59% = F
Class Attendance
Regular class attendance is essential for success in Plant Physiology, Bio
340, and it is the responsibility of the student to attend each class meeting.
To encourage good attendance, as well as to help you to review important
concepts, a minimum of six unannounced quizzes will be given throughout the
semester in lecture. The lowest lecture quiz score will be eliminated but no
make-up quizzes will be allowed for any reason. The quiz average will be
equivalent to one lecture exam.
If you miss a class, inform your instructor about your reason for missing and
get the notes from a classmate. If you miss an exam, you will take a make-up
exam on the day that you return to Bio 340 class. Missed labs may be made up by
having the instructor arrange for another time for you to do the work. (Dr. John
Rushin's office phones: Science and Math Bldg. = 271-4552, Conservation Bldg. =
271-3110.)