This course is designed to introduce you to the study of living things

                Your Bio101 instructors and teaching assistants welcome you to your weekly laboratory.  The Biology 101 lab is designed to give you the best possible opportunity to experience the scientific process and the living world in a direct, hands-on environment.  We hope you find the lab interesting and thought-provoking; possibly affecting how you view the world around you and your place in it.  As biologists, the work we've planned for this lab is fun as well as informative, and we hope that our excitement for biology will be contagious!
Because the labs are made up of a mix of students from all of the lectures, it is unlikely that your lab topics will be synchronous with your lectures.  In other words, do not rely on your lecture to be adequate preparation for the lab assignment in any given week.  Because the lab meeting is short (only two hours), it is vitally important that you prepare for the lab to the best of your ability

To prepare for each lab

1. Read the lab exercise in this manual before coming to lab
2. Read relevant textbook pages.
3. Consult relevant lecture notes
4. Consult biology 101 page - (this website)
5. Check TA Blackboard (if applicable).

What to Bring to Class

      1.   Laboratory Manual
      2.   Drawing and notebook paper for recording notes and your observations.
      3.   Standard graph paper for plotting results (as directed by your TA)
      4.   Pencil or pen (ballpoint pen, rather than felt-tip, is preferred) 
      5.   Please use a 3-ring binder to house your lab manual, handouts and other papers. 

You will not need dissecting kits.  Any other materials required will be supplied.  Food or drink is NOT allowed in the lab.  Please place or consume such items outside the door.

Lab Exercises

             Each lab exercise section is followed by a list of objectives and an introduction that highlights the opportunities for skill and knowledge building provided by your participation in the lab activities.  Where applicable, a list of materials and detailed methods are included, followed by a results section or data sheet on which to record your findings.  Each exercise includes an Analysis and Post-lab Assignment section, which you will complete for grading, and for you to use in preparation for success on weekly lab quizzes.  A glossary may also be included in the exercise.

Evaluation

            Your lab grade will be reported to your lecture professor as a percentage of the total number of points possible for the quarter.  Your lab grade is worth 25% of your course grade. 

Quizzes:  Quizzes are worth 7 points and will comprise 28% of your lab grade.  It is important that you attend the lab section in which you are enrolled, because the quiz questions written and graded by any particular TA will reflect material they presented/emphasized in lab.

            Lab synthesis questions will make up the majority of the quiz.  These questions will relate to the previous week’s laboratory and will test your understanding of lab results and concepts.  A well-kept lab manual will make review for the quizzes much easier.
            Lab preparedness questions will make up the remainder of the weekly quiz.  These questions will relate to the readings and preparation you should have done for that day’s lab.  In other words, you will be rewarded for having come prepared for lab.

Post-Lab Assignments and Class Participation - (45% of your lab grade):  In order to succeed in the Bio101 lab, you will need to keep a detailed record of your laboratory experiences – a kind of scientific journal.  This will include drawings, graphs, diagrams, post-lab assignments and reports, notes, and any other form of information that will help you learn about the science of biology.  Your lab TA may have some helpful suggestions or requirements for compiling and organizing laboratory information.  A three-ring binder containing both your lab manual and your lab notes is one way to keep things all in order.

            Post-lab assignments and lab reports are due at the beginning of the next lab period.  You will be assigned points based on the evidence of preparation and understanding presented in the completed assignment.  The quality and quantity of your recorded observations and answers to the post-lab questions will be evaluated.  Answer these post-lab questions in complete sentences and check your spelling!  You must turn in only your own work, even if you work on a post-lab assignment with your lab partner(s).  (Please see the policy on Cheating, below.)  Late assignments are penalized 10% for each day late, and will not be accepted after one week.

            Cheating: You must turn in only your own work, even if you work on a post-lab assignment with your lab partner(s).  If there is any indication of cheating during a quiz, or if you misrepresent another's work as your own, you will receive at least a LOUD verbal warning and clarification of the expectations for student work.  However, upon any indication of cheating, your quiz may be taken away and/or you may receive a 0 for the assignment.   Please see the University policy on Academic Dishonesty in the Bulletin.

Absences:  Attendance in every lab is mandatory.  Changes in schedule or absences are not easily accommodated as each lab is set-up for only one week.   If you know you must miss a lab for a good reason you must get written permission from both TA's to attend another lab section.  To do this, you must submit a written request in advance of your absence, the earlier the better, stating your registered section and TA, when you must be absent, why you’ll be absent, and what alternate section you would like to attend.  Your registered TA must first sign, giving you permission to seek-out the alternate section/TA.  Then you must ask the TA of your proposed alternate section to sign the request, meaning that he or she agrees to let you participate.  Return the request to your registered TA.  Quizzes vary by TA.  In attending another section, you agree to take the alternate TA’s quiz.