Molecular
Biology 1 Description
(v1
as of 9/11/08)
Biology
110631, 2008, 10th-12th grade BCA
with Dr.
Don DeWitt in room 227
M, Th: Mods 22-24
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Course
Overview:
This
course is an ELECTIVE course for any BCA student and may be taken
during
the sophomore through senior year. This course is usually taken as
three
consecutive trimester independent courses during the same year (Tri. 1:
Mol.
Bio. 1; Tri. 2: Mol. Bio. 2; and Tri.
3: Mol.
Bio. 3). Mol. Bio 4 (a.k.a., Immunology 2)
is offered during Tri. 1 and Mol. Bio 5 is
offered during Tri. 2. Each course will be shown on the student
transcript
as a separate course. Please visit the Molecular
Biology Experience webpage for more details.
Warning:
This is a very demanding course and should be
taken by students
who are very serious about the following topics. The material
presented
in this course is explored at a level of sophistication equal to that
found
in college. It is advisable that all pre-pre-med / vet /
dental / pharmacy
students take this course to enable them to be comfortable with the
topics
when they are required to study them in college. In addition, any
student who is interested in cellular or molecular biology,
biochemistry
or genetic engineering should take this course.
Pre-requisites:
In order to successfully participate in Mol. Bio. 1, a
student must:
- be at least
concurrently enrolled in 10th grade Biology (AAST / AEDT
students) or
- have
satisfactorily completed a one year 9th grade biology
course (ABF / ACAHA / ATCS / AMST / AVAGC).
Mol. Bio.
1-3 are NOT open to GLE students because their core Biochemistry course
is equivalent. Mol. Bio. 4 and 5 ARE open to GLE students
however. The
completion of at
least one year of chemistry is recommended.
Students
who wish take Mol. Bio. 3, 4 or 5 and skip Mol. Bio. 1 and 2, may do so
if they have taken or are taking Anatomy and Physiology.
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Finding
Information about Mol. Bio. A massive website has been
developed
for the Molecular Biology Experience. Each trimester as you explore the
course, you will use the website extensively.
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At
any Mol. Bio. website, you will find a symbol for the SiteMAP which if clicked will take you to a very useful index for
all of the
Mol.
Bio. courses and any part within each course. Try it, use it, be
happy!
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You
are
currently in the Mol. Bio. 1 website. However the Main Menu for the
entire
series of courses can be found at: http://users.bergen.org/dondew/bio/molbiology.html.
Mol. Bio. 1 was first taught in the
fall of 1993. The
most valuable aspect of the Mol. Bio. Experience, according to BCA
alumni,
has been the comfort level that it gives the student when they meet the
material again. Instead of panicking, these students relate that the
college
course has been much easier to withstand. Many of them have
become
teachers for their clueless fellow students.
Pre-requisites:
at least concurrent enrollment in 10th grade Biology (AAST / AEDT
students) or satisfactory completion of a one year 9th grade biology
course (ABF / ACAHA / ATCS / AMST / AVAGC). The
completion of at
least one year of chemistry is recommended.
Students who wish take Mol. Bio. 3, 4
or 5 and skip Mol. Bio. 1 and 2, may do so if they have taken or are
taking Anatomy and Physiology I.
Molecular Bio 1 Specifics:
Through
the course of study about carbohydrates and proteins, each student
becomes
acquainted with the chemistry and functions of these two important
molecules
of life. This material is found in class notes and chapters 2-5 in the Biology text as well as chapters 1-4 in a digital
textbook written and distributed by the instructor. Each student
then
uses these information sources to answer a series of Questions For Your
Consideration (QFYC) that helps prepare them for take-home and in-class
assessments. An important part of this course are the research
papers A
Useful Carbohydrate and One of Life's Great Proteins.
Objectives:
Upon
the successful completion of the study of Molecular Biology 1 during
trimester
1, the student will be able to:
- describe
the structure of bacterial, animal and plant cells including the
following
components: actin filament, cardiac muscle, cell wall, chlorplast,
chromatin,
chromosome, cilium, cytoplasm, cytoskeleton, cytosol, eukaryote,
flagellum,
Golgi apparatus, intermediate filament, lysosome, microtubule,
mitchondrion,
nuclear membrane, nuclear pore, nucleolus, nucleus, organelle,
peroxisome,
plasma membrane, prokaryote, proteosome, ribosome, rough endoplasmic
reticulum
(RER),
skeletal muscle, smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER), smooth muscle,
vacuole
and vesicle. NOTE: These are useful for the first assignment
listed below.
- describe
the structure of an atom including electron, neutron, nucleus, and
proton
- describe
how atoms bond to each other including: covalent bond, hydrogen bond,
and
ionic bond
- describe
the structure of water and the reason why it is polar
- describe
how the carbon atom can be used to form simple to complex organic
molecules.
- describe
the nature of isomers including: 1) structural, 2) geometric, 3)
stereoisomers
(enantiomers and diastereomers), and alpha- and beta.
- explain
how hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur are combined with carbon to
make
biologically important molecules.
- describe
the biologically important functional groups including: 1) hydroxyl, 2)
amino, 3) carboxyl, 4) ester, 5) carbonyl, 6) methyl, 7) phosphate and
8) sulfhydryl.
- explain
how polymers, oligomers and dimers are made using condensation
reactions
and how they are broken apart using hydrolysis reactions.
- describe
the structure and function of monosaccharides including: 1) trioses
(glyceraldehyde
and dihydroxyacetone), 2) pentoses (ribose and deoxyribose), and 3)
hexoses
(glucose, fructose, and galactose).
- describe
the structure and function of oligosaccharides including: 1)
cellobiose,
2) lactose, 3) maltose, 4) raffinose, and 5) sucrose.
- describe
the structure and function of polysaccharides including: 1) the
starches,
2) glycogen, 3) cellulose and 4) chitin.
- describe
how molecules dissolve in water including the issues of: 1)
hydrophobicity
(water insoluble) and 2) hydrophilicity (water soluble) including the
characteristics
of polarity and electrical charge.
- describe
how amino acids are constructed and how their R-groups determine water
or lipid solubility.
- explain
how electrophoresis can be used to separate amino acids.
- explain
how dipeptides, oligopeptides and polypeptides and proteins are made
using
condensation reactions and how they are broken apart using hydrolysis
reactions.
- describe
the four levels of polypeptide organization including: 1) primary, 2)
secondary,
3) tertiary and 4) quaternary.
- describe
how protein structure determines function.
- describe
the functions of special amino acids and small polypeptides including:
1) synthesis of neurotransmitters, 2) growth factors, 3) hemoglobin,
and
4) hormones.
- describe
the functions of proteins including: 1) buffering, 2) defense, 3)
enzymes,
4) food, 5) hormones, 6) membrane components, 7) movement, 8)
protection,
9) transportation, 10) storage and 11) body structure.
- describe
how proteins are degraded in cells in Lysosomes
and Proteasomes
Assignments:
During
the study of carbohydrate and protein biochemistry, students will be
given
the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of concepts by:
- describing
the structure
of cells as a basis for understanding the functions of the
molecules
of life: carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. Use Chapter
1 as your major reference and the terms listed in the first Student
Objective above.
Use the Formating Rules to create your
10-page
maximum paper including graphics. Refer to the DETAILS
for clarification.
- answering ten Questions
For Your Consideration (QFYC) regarding various carbohydrate and
protein
topics. (QFYC #1 and QFYC
#2 each have 5 questions.)
- answering one Vocabulary Quiz (VOCAB
#1. Those people
who have claimed
success in biology courses
will often admit that they approached biology in a similar fashion as
their
foreign language courses. In other words, to understand biology,
you must be able to communicate with others whether it be via input or
output mode. Therefore, vocabulary prowess is essential. This
homework
project will help you to tackle this challenge. This homework
project is
actually a study /
quiz combination project. Essentially I am providing you with 30
terms and you will be given a 20-minute quiz in which you are given ONE
of the three columns of ten words. I expect one or two sentences
with
a quick graphic showing what you are talking about. Different
columns
will be given to students within each class.
- writing
two 10-page
research papers:
- completing
one
in-class exam on carbohydrates
chemistry and function (click on the link to access exam
information.)
Please
note: Our study of proteins extends into trimester 2. We
begin
in trimester 1 with lecture material and the protein research
paper.
In trimester 2 (Mol. Bio. 2) there will be an examination on proteins.
There is no requirement for a student
to continue with Mol. Bio. 2. However, these are the reasons that
no student may enroll in Mol. Bio. 2 without successful completion of
Mol.
Bio. 1. To view the details of the protein related activities in
Mol. Bio. 2, click on MOL BIO 2.
The
percentage value of each assignment and its due date may be determined
by clicking on: Assignment Values
&
Due Dates. Formatting Rules are
available also.
Additional
Information:
Attendance:
Please
refer to the Attendance
Policy for Mol. Bio.
Paper Textbook:
We
are using BIOLOGY, 5th
ed. by
Neil Campbell, 1999. This
book
is an older edition of a standard freshman biology college textbook. We
only use one chapter in the book. Most of the resources for
assessments comes from in class notes known as "panels".
Internet
resources: click HERE to
move
to the internet resources page and then click on any of the names
listed
for information useful in this course:
Questions
about this course should be directed to my BCA dondew email
account.
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