Biology is the study of life. Many of you will choose a major in biology or biochemistry to explore life in a more intense way. Upon receiving a BS degree many of you will enter health profession programs (medicine, dentistry, allied health, etc.). Some of you will want to teach biology and some of you will seek research or industrial use of your knowledge. Whatever your choice, the biology you will learn will provide an overview of the basic principles that constitute the life sciences. In Biology 150, four such principles will be offered. In Unit I you will learn about the gene as the basis of life. In Unit II you will learn about the biology of sexuality (especially human sexuality). Unit III will discuss the molecular basis of life. Unit IV will discuss the evolution of life.
Units I and II will be presented by Dr. Carlson and units III and IV by Dr. Wojtas.
College courses differ from high school courses in several ways. In college your instructors treat you as responsible adults and thus do not take attendance in larger classes. College instructors are also very knowledgeable about their field and know a lot. They often do not teach from a text book. They teach from a lifetime of learning through reading scientific journals, attending scientific meetings, and doing research. As much as possible we will refer you to chapters in the text but please remember that our purpose in Biology 150 is to present biology in a way that is interesting because it goes beyond learning facts and makes us think about the meaning of life. College instructors try to avoid "spoon feeding" of information. They expect students to attend lectures, read assignments, and review their lecture notes in preparation for examinations.
There will be a web site for Biology 150. Practice examination questions will be made available and outlines of some of the lectures will be placed there, too. The web site will be accessible from campus sync sites. The web site will give you information on all aspects of the course including examination dates, up-coming events, assignments, and review sessions.
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