Syllabus:))Biosc)0805,)The)Human)Body!!
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BIOSC 0805: THE HUMAN BODY
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Pittsburgh
Faculty
Zuzana Swigonova, Ph.D.
Office: 356 Langley Hall (Third floor, the bridge between Clapp and Langley halls)
tel.: 412-624-3288;
email: [email protected]
Office hours
Office hours: Mondays 10:00 – 11:30 AM, 356 Langley Hall
Wednesdays 1:00 – 2:30 PM, 356 Langley Hall
Office hours by appointment can be arranged by email.
Lecture Time
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2:30 – 3:45 PM, 169 Crawford Hall
Course objectives
This is a course in human biology and physiology for students not majoring in
biology. The goal is to provide students with an understanding of fundamental
principles of life with an emphasis on the human body. We will start by covering
basic biochemistry and cell biology and then move on to the structure and function of
human organ systems. An essential part of the course is a discussion of health issues
of general interest, such as infectious, autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases;
asthma and allergy; nutrition and health; stem cells research and cloning; and
methods of contraception and reproductive technologies.
Textbook
• Biology. A guide to the natural world, by David Krogh. Pearson, Benjamin
Cummings Publishing Company. (ISBN#:0-558-65495-9). This is custom made
textbook that includes only the parts of the original edition that are covered in the
course. It is available in the Pitt bookstore.
• You can also use the full 4
th
or 3
rd
edition, however, be aware that the chapters in
earlier editions are rearranged in a different order and may be lacking some parts
included in the later edition. One copy of the 4
th
edition will be available on reserve
in the Langley Library throughout the semester.
Office hours
I hold my office hours in my office, 356 Langley Hall. During office hours I am
present and available to you to help you with the course material and other course
related issues. I also have open door policy, meaning that if my door is open, you can
come and give it a try. If I cannot give you my full attention, I will tell you and we
can arrange another time to meet. Appointments can also be arranged by email. I do
provide more office hours the week prior to exams for potential reviews – make sure
to check CourseWeb for the time announcements.
UTAs
University teaching assistants usually help in this course. They hold office hours,
help students with the covered material, and may teach brief workshops under the
direction of the instructor. UTAs are biology major students that passed Biosc150:
Biology Foundations with letter A and represent additional resource to students in
need of additional reviews.
CourseWeb
I will be using CourseWeb to post lecture notes, announcements, sample exams,
answer keys, and other additional material: http://courseweb.pitt.edu. After log in on
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the main page you will have access to your “My CourseWeb” page where you find
the link to the class. If you need help contact computer help desk at 412-624-HELP.
Weekly
assignments
Weekly assignments include reading of background chapters as indicated in the
course schedule. There will be additional readings based on the topics covered, which
will be announced in class and posted on CourseWeb.
Papers/projects
Three homework assignments are scheduled as indicated on the course schedule.
These will target the application of basic concepts to the understanding of human
health and diseases. They also represent reviews of the covered material.
In the second half of the course you will work on an independent investigation of a
selected human disease. The assessment is based on evaluation of the application of
background knowledge to the description of the disease and its underlying causes,
evaluation of potential treatment, and prediction of the outcome.
Exams
There will be three midterm exams and a final exam. Please note the dates on the
accompanying schedule below. The midterm exams will include material covered in
the preceding lectures while the final will be cumulative.
There are no make up exams or extra credit opportunities in this class!
Please note that you are expected to show up to each exam on time. Late arrivals will
be given the exam during the time that remains for the designated examination
period. If you commute to the campus, please allow sufficient time to ensure that you
arrive by the time the exam begins.
Other
Assignments
Classes are run in the format of lectures and short workshops. During workshops
students may be required to finish work and hand it in during the same class period
for grading. Sometimes homework may be given when extra time is required to
complete the work. Only some of the assignments (randomly selected) will be graded
(while others will not).
Grading
The final grade will consist of the three homework assignments and additional graded
work (25%), the three mid-term examinations (40%), the report on human disease
(10%), and the final examination (25%).
Your final letter grade will be determined by a curve based on the class mean of the
point totals collected in the course. After the final exam, class average will be
calculated as arithmetic mean of points collected per each student. The distance of
the class average and the 75% of the maximum possible points earned will be used to
adjust the class average to meet the 75% of the total. Therefore, it is impossible to
predict which letter grade a student will earn until the curve has been calculated.
Final grade will be determined according to the grading scale as follows: point rage
of 90-100% will be A- or better, 80-89% will be B- or better, 70-79% will be C- or
better, 60-69% will be D- or better, and less then 59% will be F.
Policy on late
work and make-
ups
Attendance is expected. Late work will be accepted without penalty when adequate
documentation is provided (see below). Arrangements to make up the work should be
made within one week. Unexcused late work will receive a 5% penalty for each day
late.
You need to look at the scheduled exams below and make arrangements to prevent
schedule conflicts. There are no make-up exams!
Only if you miss an exam due to an emergency (such as illness, serious injury or a
death in your immediate family) and your absence is properly excused you may be
given a make-up exam outside of lecture time. A proper excuse of your absence is a
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written request for excused absence that must be given directly to Dr. Swigonova no
later then one week after the missed exam. Verbal communication with the instructor
is not sufficient. Your written request for excused absence must contain: your full
name, detailed description of the nature of your emergency, and the date of absence.
The request must be typed and signed by you. Supporting material must be provided
with your request: those include signed letter from your physician in the case of
medical emergency or a copy of the obituary with a signature of a family member in
the case of death in your immediate family. Failure to comply with these guidelines
will result in zero points recorded for the missed exam. No one will be excused from
more than one examination. If you miss more than one examination you should
discuss possible options available to you with your advisor or the CAS Dean’s
Office. Students who miss the final exam due to an emergency should pursue the G
grade option as detailed below.
Exam Regrades
You may request a regrade of any portion of an exam by submitting your request in
writing and explaining why you think the grading was in error. You must include a
detailed justification for the correctness of your answer, including references to either
the lecture notes (by date) or to the text used in the course (page, paragraph). This
request must be submitted to me within one week after the date the exam results are
posted. Unless the regrade is due to an additional error, please be aware that your
entire exam may be reevaluated and any question that was graded incorrectly (in your
favor) may also be regarded resulting in points deducted from your total.
G grade
If you wish to petition for a G grade, you must submit a request for this change in
writing and you must document your reason(s). You will be required to make
arrangements, in person, for the specific tasks you must complete in order to remove
the G grade. You will be expected to sign documentation describing the work that has
to be completed and the due date. All required work must be completed by the
specified date otherwise a zero will be assigned for the work and final grade will be
determined using this score. Remember that G grades, according to CAS guidelines,
are to be given only when students who have been attending a course and have been
making regular progress are prevented by circumstances beyond their control from
completing the course after it is too late to withdraw. If you miss the final exam, you
may receive a G grade if the above conditions are met.
Academic
Integrity
Students in this course will be expected to comply with the University of Pittsburgh's
Policy on Academic Integrity Code
(http://www.as.pitt.edu/faculty/policy/integrity.html).
Any student suspected of violating this obligation for any reason during the semester
will be required to participate in the procedural process, initiated at the instructor
level, as outlined in the University Guidelines on Academic Integrity. This may
include, but is not limited to, the confiscation of the examination of any individual
suspected of violating the code and a zero score for the quiz, exam or paper will be
imposed. Furthermore, no student may use any unauthorized materials during an
exam, including notes, dictionaries, pagers, telephones, PEDs, programmable
calculators, any devices that can connect to the internet..
Cheating/plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students suspected of violating the
University of Pittsburgh Policy on Academic Integrity, will be required to participate
in the outlined procedural process as initiated by the instructor.
Special
Accommodations
If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation,
you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and the Office of Disability
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Resources and Services, 216 William Pitt Union, 412–648–7890/412–383–7355
(FTY), as early as possible in the term. Disability Resources and Services will verify
your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.
Recording policy
To ensure the free and open discussion of ideas, students may not record classroom
lectures, discussion and/or activities.
E-mail
Communication
Policy:
Each student is issued a University e-mail address ([email protected]du) upon
admittance. This e-mail address may be used by the University for official
communication with students. Students are expected to read e-mail sent to this
account on a regular basis. Failure to read and react to University communications in
a timely manner does not absolve the student from knowing and complying with the
content of the communications. The University provides an e-mail forwarding service
that allows students to read their e-mail via other service providers (e.g., Hotmail,
AOL, Yahoo). Students that choose to forward their e-mail from their pitt.edu
address to another address do so at their own risk. If e-mail is lost as a result of
forwarding, it does not absolve the student from responding to official
communications sent to their University e-mail address. To forward e-mail sent to
your University account, go to http://accounts.pitt.edu, log into your account, click on
Edit Forwarding Addresses, and follow the instructions on the page. Be sure to log
out of your account when you have finished. (For the full E-mail Communication
Policy, go to www.bc.pitt.edu/policies/policy/09/09-10-01.html.)
Student Conduct
In keeping with the University of Pittsburgh Student Code of Conduct, all students
are expected to behave as respectful and civil members of the university community.
All students will act in a considerate manner in order to create and maintain a
classroom atmosphere that is conducive to learning. In addition to being
unacceptable on the grounds of common decency, disruptive and disrespectful
behavior contributes to unsafe working conditions. Disruptive and disrespectful
behavior will not be tolerated.
Examples of disruptive behavior include, but are not limited to, repeated tardiness,
texting in class, speaking or acting in any sexually, racially, or ethnically harassing
manner, cheating, misuse and abuse of class equipment and material, disregarding
any safety guidelines.
Disruptive students will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct for mediation,
discipline, or both.
I am looking forward to a successful and productive semester,
Dr. Swigonova
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Course Schedule
Fall Term 2012, Dr. Zuzana Swigonova
Lecture #
Date
Topic
Reading
8/28
T
Science and scientific inquiry
Ch. 1
8/30
Thr
Atoms and bonds
Ch. 2
9/4
T
Water
Ch. 2
9/6
Thr
Biological molecules I
(Friday 9/7- fall term add/drop period ends)
Ch. 3
9/11
T
Biological molecules II
Ch. 3.
9/13
Thr
The cell I: structure
Ch. 4
9/18
T
The cell II: function
Homework 1
Ch. 4
9/20
Thr
First midterm exam (chapters 1-4)
(Friday 9/21-Fall Term deadline for students to submit Grade
Option/Audit Request forms to dean‘s office)
9/25
T
Cell membranes
Ch. 5
9/27
Thr
Transport across membranes
Ch. 5
10/2
T
Energy
Ch. 6
10/4
Thr
Respiration
Ch. 7
10/9
T
No class – Monday’s schedule
10/11
Thr
Photosynthesis
Ch. 8
10/16
T
From cell to tissue to organs
Ch. 26
10/18
Thr
Musculo-skeletal system
Homework 2
Ch. 26
10/23
T
Second midterm exam
10/25
Thr
Nervous system
(Friday 10/26 -Fall Term deadline for students to submit
Monitored Withdrawal forms to dean‘s office)
Ch. 27
10/30
T
Brain and sensory reception
Ch. 27
11/1
Thr
The endocrine system
Ch. 27
11/6
T
Immune system I
Homework 3
Ch. 28
11/8
Thr
Immune System II
Ch. 28
11/13
T
Cardiovascular system
Ch. 29
11/15
Thr
The respiratory system
Ch. 29
11/20
T
The digestive system
Project “Report on human disease” due
Ch. 30
11/22
Thr
Happy Thanksgiving!
11/27
T
The urinary system
Ch. 30
11/29
Thr
Third midterm exam
12/4
T
Animal development
Ch. 31
12/6
Thr
Reproduction
Ch. 32
12/13
Thr
TBA
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