BIOLOGY 1500: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Lecture and Lab Syllabus, Winter 2014

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1 BIOLOGY 1500: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Lecture and Lab Syllabus, Winter 2014 Instructor: Jameel Al- Haddad Office Hours: Study Lounge at 3 rd floor, Southfield Campus, 1:00-2:00 PM Tuesdays and Thursdays (or by appointment) Phone: (517) (Voic only) Lecture Text: Environmental Science (Fourteenth Edition). G. Tyler Miller and Scott Spoolman Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. Lab Manual: Bio 1500 Lab Manual for Environmental Science. Richard Vince Lamb Oakland Community College. Primary course- related material and assignment dropbox: Class Time and Location: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:00-3:25 pm. Southfield B, Room B208 Lab Location: Southfield B, Room B302 Lab Hours: Section S1591 meets Tuesdays from 3:30 PM to 5:25 PM Section S1592 meets Thursdays from 3:30 PM to 5:25 PM. Satisfies: Goals: General Education Objectives: Global Awareness and Scientific Literacy. To increase the students awareness of their local and global environment and how they connect to it, as well as improving their environmental literacy. Description: A laboratory science course which will focus through an interdisciplinary investigation on (a) developing an awareness of one's total environment (social, physical, and biological), (b) identifying the cause and perspective of our environmental concerns and, (c) exploring the possible and preferred solutions and strategies to those environmental issues. Course/lab fees. Study Time: In addition to the hours you will spend in class each week, you are expected to spend at least eight hours study time each week. You will need to use this to complete lab assignments and read chapters for lecture and pages for lab. Call or me if you need help. Also, remember that the ASC has free tutors and student access seminars. ADA Notification: Students requiring special assistance (including those affected by the Americans with Disabilities Act) should contact the ACCESS (Room A211, ) and inform the instructor of any special conditions pertaining to their learning. 1

2 Grading: Your final grade will be based on the following assignments. Four lecture exams, each worth 100 points 400 Fourteen lab assignments, each worth 10 points 140 Two lab exams, each worth 30 points 60 Student presentation on research project/community learning 100 Total points 700 PRESENTATIONS ASSIGNMENT POINTS DEADLINE Formation of Groups (#4) January 16 Subject of talk 10 January 23 (Online Dropbox) (One sentence with name) References 10 February 6 (Online Dropbox) (List of three to five, at least one not from Internet) Summary 10 February 20 (Online Dropbox) (One paragraph) Draft of talk 20 March 7 (Online Dropbox) (One to two page outline) Presentation 50 total April (8 th, 10 th and 15 th ) (Revised handout) (10) (visual aid) (10) (speech itself- - (30) Content, organization, and presentation) TOTAL 100 2

3 Letter grades will be assigned based on the points you have earned by the end of the course based on the scale below, which is based on a maximum of 700 points. Grade Percent Points A = A- = B+ = B = B- = C+ = C = C- = D+ = D = F = COURSE LOGISTICS 1. Read all assignments (especially labs) before class! 2. Consult your syllabus first to answer any scheduling questions. 3. Do not miss any exams or lab tests. None of the test scores will be dropped. 4. All labs are due the next week. 5. If you miss class, please get the notes from a classmate. If you miss an exam or lab test, me or call me. If you have a provable emergency, you may qualify for a makeup exam (usually essay). 6. The questions for the four lecture exams may be either objective or subjective. You will need to supply your own Scantron form (882E) and number 2 pencils. 7. The questions for the two lab exams will mostly be objective in nature. 3

4 8. Lab Assignments: We will be performing a total of 14 lab exercises. If you are present for each lab, participate, answer all the problems assigned for the lab, and turn the answers in the next week, you will receive the maximum listed in the schedule for each exercise. For each week you are late turning in the assignment, you will lose 10% of the value of each assignment up to a maximum of 50%. You must complete no less than ten labs to pass this class, no matter how many other points you accumulate! 9. Bonus Points: You may wish to give yourself a cushion by doing extra assignments for bonus points. Here are the possibilities: A. A review of a television or radio program about the environment or environmental problems is worth 4 points. The time, date, and station of the program must be included with the review (20 points maximum from 5 reviews). B. Optional field trips: a one- page report on a trip to a site of environmental interest (nature center, museum, or other site approved in advance by the instructor a demonstration farm, for example will earn you 10 points. Proof of attendance (a brochure or admission) or a photograph of you at the site is required (40 points maximum from 4 trips). C. Internet/news portfolio: Turning in an article about the environment or environmental problems from the Internet or a printed news source will earn you one point. Turning in an article with a paragraph summary that you wrote will earn you four points (20 points maximum from 5 summaries). 10. Withdrawal Policy: This class has the same withdrawal policy as the college as a whole. Check your class schedule for details. The last day to drop this class is Friday, April 4, The lecture and lab schedules are tentative and subject to reasonable change with instructor notice. 12. In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), I cannot discuss personal concerns on the phone or by or release information about you to a third party without your prior written consent. This includes grades, which I cannot release to you, either by or over the phone. You must be physically present in my office to engage in personal communication. This is college policy. 4

5 LECTURE SCHEDULE Week Topic Chapters 1 (1/7) Course Introduction/Logistics Syllabus 2 (1/9 & 1/14) Environmental Problems/Sustainability 1 Environmental Economics and Politics 17 3 (1/16 & 1/21) Environmental Economics and Politics 17 Science, Matter, and Energy 2 4 (1/23 & 1/28) Science, Matter, and Energy 2 EXAM January , 2, 17 5 (1/30 & 2/4) Ecosystems 3 6 (2/6 & 2/11) Evolution and Biodiversity 4 7 (2/13 & 2/18) Communities and Populations 5 8 (2/20 & 3/4) Climate and Biodiversity 7 EXAM March , 7 9 (3/6 & 3/11) The Human Population 6 10 (3/13 & 3/18) Food, Soil, and Pest Management (3/20 & 3/25) Food, Soil, and Pest Management 10 Water and Water Pollution (3/27 & 4/1) Water and Water Pollution 11 EXAM April , (4/3 & 4/8) Geology and Nonrenewable Minerals 12 Presentations (Group Projects) 14 (4/10 & 4/15) Presentations continue Energy (4/17 & 4/22) Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Ozone Loss (4/24 Thursday) EXAM 4 (FINAL) 80% new material Chapters 12, 13 and 15 20% previous material 5

6 BIOLOGY 1500 WINTER 2014 LAB SCHEDULE Week Exercise/Topic Points (1/7 & 1/9) Lab Safety and Metric System 20 (double lab) (1/14 & 1/16) Scientific Method 10 (1/21 & 1/23) Hidden Energy 10 (1/28 & 1/30) Species Interactions 10 (2/4 & 2/6) Owl Pellet Dissection 10 (2/11 & 2/13) Analysis of a food diary 10 (2/18 & 2/20) Food, Inc. 10 (2/25 & 2/27) NO Lab (3/4 & 3/6) Recycling 10 (3/11 & 3/13) LAB EXAM 1 30 Student Involvement in Environmental Issues 10 (3/18 & 3/20) Water Quality Analysis 10 (3/25 & 3/27) Movie: End of Suburbia 10 (4/1 & 4/3) Air Pollution 10 (4/8 & 4/10) An Inconvenient Truth 10 (4/15 & 4/17) LAB EXAM 2 30 (4/22 & 4/24) NO Lab 6

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