BIOL 3100 Syllabus
BIOL 3100 - Genetics
3 Credit Hours
This course covers the basic principles of traditional transmission genetics as well as modern molecular genetics. Students will apply these principles in problem solving areas. This course is designed for secondary education teachers who are seeking an endorsement in Biology. Check with your advisor or department chair to determine whether or not this course is acceptable as a substitute for a required genetics course in the Biological Sciences or related curricula.
The primary objectives for this course are as follows:
- To understand Mendel's Laws and to be able to apply them to solve basic problems in genetics.
- To understand the concept of linkage and the process of meiosis, to understand the meaning of Mendel's Laws in terms of the events of meiosis. To understand basic rules for combining probabilities and to be able to use them to solve problems.
- To understand the basics of sex determination in various species of eukaryotes. To understand the concepts of sex linkage, incomplete dominance and lethal genes and to be able to solve problems applying these concepts.
- To understand the concepts of multiple allelism, gene interaction and quantitative genetics and to be able to solve problems applying these concepts.
- To understand the basic concepts of chromosome mapping using linkage data. To understand the basic concepts of population genetics, including the Hardy-Weinberg Law. To be able to apply these concepts in problem solving.
- To understand the structure of DNA, the process of DNA replication, the concept of metabolic pathways and the process of protein synthesis.
- To understand the concept of operons, the basic nature of the process of mutation and basic concepts of human genetics.
- To understand some of the applications of human genetics, including mass screening for genetic disease, pre-natal diagnosis of genetic disease, and methods for treating infertility. To understand the procedures involved in producing recombinant DNA and applications of such procedures.
Completion of BIOL 1110 and BIOL 1120 (or their equivalents) to have a working knowledge of basic biological concepts.
The topics to be covered in the PowerPoint presentations are as follows:
Presentation No. 1: Introduction
Presentation No. 2: Mendelian Genetics I
Presentation No. 3: Mendelian Genetics II
Presentation No. 4: The Branching Process
Presentation No. 5: Linkage
Presentation No. 6: Meiosis and Mendel's Laws
Presentation No. 7: Sex Determination
Presentation No. 8; Sex Linkage
Presentation No. 9; Incomplete Dominance/Codominance and Lethal Genes
Presentation No. 10: Multiple Allelism
Presentation No. 11: Gene Interaction
Presentation No. 12: Quantitative Genetics
Presentation No. 13: Crossing Over and Chromosome Mapping
Presentation No. 14: Three-Point Testcross
Presentation No. 15: Population Genetics
Presentation No. 16: DNA Structure and Replication
Presentation No. 17: Metabolic Pathways
Presentation No. 18: Protein Synthesis
Presentation No. 19: Operons
Presentation No. 20: Mutation
Presentation No. 21: Human Genetics
Presentation No. 22: Applications of Human Genetics
Presentation No. 23: Recombinant DNA
Presentation No. 24: Applications of Recombinant DNA
Access to an up-to-date computer.
Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements
Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course. Move your cursor over the "Books" link in the navigation bar and select "Textbooks & Course Materials." Select your Program, Term, Department, and Course; then select "Submit."
Minimum hardware requirements can be found here.
Minimum software requirements can be found here.
Common applications you might need:
Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab (for APA, MLA, or Chicago style)
The Writing Center Online Writer's Handbook
- Technical support information can be found on the TN eCampus Help Desk page.
- Smarthinking virtual tutoring is available FREE of charge. to access Smarthinking, visit the course homepage and select Smarthinking under Course Resources. You also view sample sessions to see what Smarthinking offers and how it works.
- Information on other student issues or concerns can be located on the TN eCampus Student Resources page.
Please see "Instructor Information" in the Getting Started Module for instructor contact information, virtual office hours, and other communication information. You can expect to receive a response from the instructor within 24-48 hours unless notified of extenuating circumstances.
Participation, Assessments, & Grading
All work for this course can be done online. Evaluation will be based upon problem sets, submission of news items, quizzes, term paper, mid-term exam and final exam.
Problem Sets: Each problem set will consist of several practice problems, for which answers will be supplied. There will also be a problem included with each set for which answers must be submitted for a grade. Each problem set will be worth 5 points, for a total of 30 points.
Quizzes: Each quiz will cover the assigned presentations and problem sets and each will be worth 20 points, for a total of 160 points.
Reviews: The website http://www2.edc.org/weblabs/WebLabDirectory1.html contains a number of lab exercises in genetics. Each student shall complete each of the assigned exercises and then submit a brief (1 to 2 paragraphs) review of it. These are exercises that may be appropriate for high school classes and should also be of value in studying for this course. Each review will be worth 5 points, for a total of 60 points.
News Items: Each student is required to submit one current news item taken from the internet each week on a subject directly related to the content of the course. In the event that the submitted item is determined not to be sufficiently related to the course content or is out-of-date, the student may be requested to submit a substitute item. Each item will be worth 5 points, for a total of 40 points.
Mid-term Exam: The mid-term exam will cover the first four sections and will be worth 100 points.
Term Paper: Each student shall select a human genetic disease and prepare a paper describing the manifestations of the disease, the genetic basis for the disease, available treatments for the disease, and other relevant information about the disease. The paper will be due during the last week of class and will be worth 60 points.
Final Exam: The final exam will cover the entire course and will be worth 150 points.
The total point value for the course is 600 points.
90 to 100 percent --- A
80 to 89 percent --- B
70 to 79 percent --- C
60 to 69 percent --- D
Below 60 percent --- F
See Course Content section. A schedule is posted for each module.
Students are expected to submit all work in a timely manner
Course Ground Rules
The following two statements (1., 2.) were derived from the TBR System-wide Student Rules document, released January 2012:
RULES OF THE TENNESSEE BOARD OF REGENTS STATE UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM OF TENNESSEE SYSTEMWIDE STUDENT RULES CHAPTER 0240-02-03 STUDENT CONDUCT AND DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS
1. Standards of Conduct:
- Students are required to adhere to the same professional, legal and ethical standards of conduct online as on campus. In addition, students should conform to generally accepted standards of "netiquette" while sending e-mail, posting comments to the discussion board, and while participating in other means of communicating online. Specifically, students should refrain from inappropriate and/or offensive language, comments and actions.
- In their academic activities, students are expected to maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. Academic dishonesty is prohibited.
Such conduct includes, but is not limited to:
- an attempt by one or more students to use unauthorized information in the taking of an exam
- to submit as one's own work, themes, reports, drawings, laboratory notes, computer programs, or other products prepared by another person,
- or to knowingly assist another student in obtaining or using unauthorized materials.
Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited.
Students guilty of academic misconduct, either directly or indirectly through participation or assistance, are subject to disciplinary action through the regular procedures of the student’s home institution. Refer to the student handbook provided by your home institution to review the student conduct policy.
In addition to other possible disciplinary sanctions that may be imposed, the instructor has the authority to assign an "F" or zero for an activity or to assign an "F" for the course.
Other Course Rules:
Students are expected to:
- Participate in all aspects of the course
- Communicate with other students
- Learn how to navigate in Brightspace
- Keep abreast of course announcements
- Use the assigned course management (Brightspace) email address rather than a personal email address
- Address technical problems immediately:
- Observe course netiquette at all times.
Guidelines for Communications
- Always include a subject line.
- Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
- Use standard fonts.
- Do not send large attachments without permission.
- Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
- Respect the privacy of other class members
- Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
- Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
- Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
- Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
- Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
- Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
- Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.
The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in TN eCampus programs and courses. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading will be included within the course modules. To access the Virtual Library, go to the course homepage and select the Virtual Library link under Course Resources.
Students with Disabilities
Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.
The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.
The information contained in this syllabus is for general information purposes only. While we endeavor to keep this information up-to-date and accurate, there may be some discrepancies between this syllabus and the one found in your online course. The syllabus of record is the one found in your online course. Please make sure you read the syllabus in your course at the beginning of the semester. Questions regarding course content should be directed to your instructor.