BIOL& 211 - Majors Cellular

Credits: 6
Students will develop an understanding of the chemical basis of life, cell structure and function, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, cell division, mitosis/meiosis, principles of inheritance, molecular genetics, DNA technology, and natural selection; interpret and evaluate biological information; and understand science as a process. For students planning to take advanced biology courses and/or completing pre-professional programs. Stresses independent laboratory work. Successful students apply their understanding of the principles taught to new situations.

Enrollment Requirement: CHEM& 131 or CHEM& 163; and ENGL& 101 with grades of 2.0 or higher; or instructor consent.

Satisfies Requirement: Natural Science or Lab Science
Course Fee: $27.00

Course Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete this class will be able to:

List the steps in a generalized model of the scientific method and describe the limitations of science.
Perform experiments with understanding, record data accurately, and communicate results using the standard form for scientific literature.
Classify organisms using the five-kingdom approach.
Describe basic atomic structure and chemical bonding: ionic, covalent and hydrogen bonding.
Describe Darwin’s theory of natural selection as a mechanism of change over time.
Identify the structure, function, and monomers of the four major classes of macromolecules found in cells.
Describe and identify the structure and function of the plasma membrane and the major cell organelles.
Discuss the mechanisms of cellular respiration and photosynthesis and how these processes drive the production of ATP.
Compare and contrast the mechanisms of mitosis and meiosis and how meiosis generates genetic diversity.
Describe the mechanisms that govern the cells cycle and how cell cycle deregulation can lead to disease.
Describe the function of chromosomes and genes and their role in heredity.
Predict patterns of inheritance using Mendelian and non-Mendelian genetics.
Describe mechanisms of gene expression regulation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes including epigenetic regulation.
Summarize the general structure of viruses and how they impact cell physiology to replicate.
Examine and apply various forms of recombinant DNA technology and carry out various application in the laboratory.
Use a compound microscope to observe and identify basic cell structures.

Program Outcomes
Recognize how scientists use the Scientific Method to guide their inquiry, generate hypotheses, experimental design, reasoning, and draw conclusions based on empirical data.

College-wide Outcomes

Critical Thinking - Critical thinking finds expression in all disciplines and everyday life. It is characterized by an ability to reflect upon thinking patterns, including the role of emotions on thoughts, and to rigorously assess the quality of thought through its work products. Critical thinkers routinely evaluate thinking processes and alter them, as necessary, to facilitate an improvement in their thinking and potentially foster certain dispositions or intellectual traits over time.