Genetics  Syllabus Summer 2008

Instructor:  Heather E. Lorimer Ph.D. 
Youngstown State University, Biology 3721, 30223
(M, W. F 10:30-12:45) 3 s.h. Ward Beecher 4043
Instructor: Dr. Heather E. Lorimer   
Office hours:  M,W, 3:00-4:30,
Office: 3013 Ward Beecher    Phone: (330) 941-7179   
e-mail: helorime@cc.ysu.edu       web-page: http://www.cc.ysu.edu/~helorime/
Text:  “Genetics from Gene to Genome” Hartwell et al. 3rd Ed. 2004, McGraw Hill.

Prerequisites: Principles of Biology (2601 and 2602), or admission into NEOUCOM-YSU
About this course:  Biology majors are required to take a minimum of 2 core courses, one each from two of three groups (A,B, and C).  Genetics is a group A core course designed to cover both basic and advanced concepts in classical genetics.  This course is also designated as Critical Thinking Intensive, and therefor fulfills part of your GER requirements for critical thinking courses. This course is highly recommended, if not required, for the following career/higher education paths (among others): pre-med, cancer research, biotech, forensic science, biology education, genetic counseling. bioinformatics, population biology/ecology, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, zoology, and cellular or molecular biology.

Goals:  After completing this course you should have acquired a good understanding of Mendelian analysis, linkage analysis, gene mutation, genomics, cancer genetics, genetics of model organisms, and population genetics.  You will have gained experience in data analysis and experimental design.  Your understanding of the material will be measured primarily through problem solving.  Problem solving skills that you will develop and use in this course are applicable to many areas of endeavor outside of genetics.

How to Do Well in this Course:
First, learning genetics is usually very time consuming!
Genetics has earned a reputation as a stumbling block to some students at universities all over the world.  There are several reasons for this.  One of the most important reasons is that doing well in a Genetics class requires very different skills then doing well in an anatomy class or a microbiology class.  Analytical thinking is the most important skill necessary for understanding genetics.  Memorization skills will help you, but not anywhere near as much as in most science classes. 

A good understanding of genetics requires that you be able to sift through an  assortment of possibilities, determine which are likely and which aren’t and often to calculate probabilities of certain kinds of events happening.  The ability to integrate mathematical analysis with a firm understanding of biological events is essential to succeed in genetics.  The best way to gain this skill is to work lots of problems.  There are lots of problems at the end of each chapter.  Read the chapters, make sure that you understand the figures and diagrams.

You are better off listening and payihng attention in class, writing down only occasional notes, then trying to write down all the words on the slides or that Dr. Lorimer says.  Having written text is MUCH less helpful then trying to understand methods and concepts.  Always remember that Genetics is about living things, and if you always keep in mind organisms, cells, and chromosomes, the concepts will make much more sense.

This course has been designed to encourage and reward lots of problem solving. Work on the practice problems at the end of the chapters.  See Dr. Lorimer in office hours or e-mail her if you have questions!  Dr. Lorimer wants you to succeed!

Ultimately, learning the material and how to solve problems is your responsibility, but Dr. Lorimer will do what she can to help you develop this mastery.

Grading:      500 points total,
                       300 from 3 exams,
                       150 from 3 quizzes,
                         50 from 5 homework assignments.

Homework: There will be 5 homework assignments worth 10 points each.  Feel free to work with your classmates in solving these problems, but complete each assignment yourself.  Students who rely on other students to actually work the problems, copying the work in time to hand it in, often do very badly on quizzes and exams. 

Note:  Due to class size one or two homework problems will be chosen at random for grading.  If by chance those chosen are the ones you did well on - you are in luck, if they are ones you did badly on - you are out of luck.  Do all problems as well as possible to avoid relying on chance!

All homeworks are due at the beginning of class on day due.  Late homeworks will not be accepted! (early ones are though)

Quizzes:  There will be 3 quizzes. They are worth 50 points each.  They, like the homework, will concentrate on problem solving. You will be given 30 minutes to complete a quiz.

Tests:  There will be 3 tests  worth 100 points each.  Tests typically have some vocabulary/matching questions, some multiple choice, and some short-answer problems solving questions. You will be given 1 hour to complete a test.

Makeup quizzes and exams will only be given under the following circumstances.
1.  Medical reason with report from doctor or nurse, containing legible name of both patient and health care professional, and a contact number for verification. 
2.  Death in the immediate family, with funeral notice or obituary for confirmation.
3.  Accident or other issue involving the police with police report for verification.

Any Makeup quizzes or exams may be quite different then those taken by the rest of the class, makeup exams are usually completely  essay style/problem solving.

Points: Answers to test, quiz, and homework problems are awarded points for both the correct answer and the calculations etc required to get there.  Students who give correct answers to problems without showing their work will receive only partial credit.

Final grades are based on a modified standard curve.  Total points are added up, the average is determined, and grades are based on an individual’s placement relative to the average.  However, the curve is modified as follows; if all students do well then all can get good grades.  Any student with over 90% will definitely have an A, over 80% at least a B, over 70% at least a C.  In reality, due to the point distributions, in most terms the A cutoff has averaged around 82%.

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Course Schedule

Week    Date        Topic                            Chapter

I      Mon.     May 19    About Genetics, Mendelian Genetics,          1, 2,
       Wed.     May 21    Homework 1 due
                Extensions to Mendel, chromosome theory,         3,
       Fri.        May 23      Quiz 1    chromosome theory, Population genetics    21            

II     Mon.    May  26    Memorial Day, no class,
       Wed.    May 28      Population genetic, Mapping                 21, 5
       Friday     May 30        Homework 2 due,  Mapping

III    Mon.     June 2      Test 1 (chapters 1-5, 20)   Mutation        7       
        Wed.     June 4        Homework 3 due  Genetic methods, genomics    9 -12,
       Friday    June 6        Quiz 2     (Quiz 2 answers/explanations) Genetic methods, genomics        9 -11

IV    Mon.     June  9         Chromosomes                     13-14
       Wed.      June 11         Homework 4 due    Chromosome abnormalities    14   
          (Note:  Thursday June 12 is the last day you can withdraw and get a grade of W)
       Friday     June 13    Test 2 (chapters 7, 9-14)
               

V    Mon.     June 16          Prokaryote genetics,                15
      Wed.      June 18        Homework 5 due, Organellar genetics         16
      Friday     June 20         Cancer genetics    Quiz 3         19

VI   Mon.     June 23      Developmental Genetics,                      20
      Wed.     June 25       Homework 6  due Evolutionary genetics    22
      Fri.        June 27        Test 3  (chapters 15, 16, 19-22,)



Course Schedule

Week    Date        Topic                            Chapter

I      Mon.     Jan 14        About Genetics, Mendelian Genetics             1, 2
       Wed.   Jan 16         Mendelian Genetics                    2
        Fri.    Jan 18        Extensions to Mendel                    3       

II      Mon.    Jan 21        Martin Luther King Day   University Holiday No Class      
        Wed.    Jan 23      Homework 1 due   
         Friday     Jan 25        Chromosome theory, sex linkage              4

III      Mon.     Jan 28          Chromosome theory, sex linkage              4
         Wed.     Jan 30        Homework 2 due Population Genetics        21
         Friday     Feb  1        Quiz 1                 

IV     Mon.     Feb.  4        
        Wed.    Feb.  6         Homework 3 due    Mapping             5
        Friday     Feb.  8                Mapping                 5             

V      Mon.     Feb. 11     Mapping                         5    
        Wed.      Feb. 13    Homework 4   due    DNA p. 155-166,           7
        Friday     Feb. 15     Test 1 Postponed until Monday!.    Chapters 1-5, 21

VI     Mon.     Feb. 18   Test 1!
        Wed.     Feb. 20                            9
        Fri.       Feb. 22    Homework 5
NOTE! REVISED 4:45 Thursday! PRINT A NEW ONE!due

VII    Mon.    Feb. 25           
Gene Function, Mutation                                                   8
        Wed.    Feb. 27   
        Genomes                                                                            9
         Fri.    Feb. 29    Homework 6A and 6B due

VIII    Mon.    March   3   
Quiz 2
          Wed.    March   5    Genome Analysis                                             ,             10
           Fri.    March   7       Genotype from GenomesSystems Biology and proteomics     11, 12

                    Spring Break March 9 - March 16


IX    Mon.    March 17 
        Wed.    March 19   
  Homework 7  NOTE! REVISED 3:44 -problem 2, Thursday! PRINT A NEW ONE!due,   Chromosomes and  abnormalities            13/14
        Fri.    March 21                  Quiz 3

X    Mon.    March 24      
      Wed.    March 26    Homework 8 due   Prokaryote genetics,        15
       Fri.    March 28    Test 2 (Ch  7, 9-14)
    (Note:  Thursday March 27 is the last day you can withdraw and get a grade of W)

XI    Mon.    March 31       
       Wed.    April   2    Organellar genetics                     16
        Fri.    April   4   

XII    Mon.    April   7    Cancer genetics                    19
        Wed.    April  9        Homework 9 due
        Fri.    April 11    Quiz 4

XIII   Mon.    April 14     Model organisms,:  www.mhhe.com/hartwell3
         Wed.    April 16   
         Fri.    April 18    Developmental Genetics,                20

XIV   Mon.    April 21    Homework 10 due   
        Wed.    April 23    Quiz 5     
        Fri.    April 25    Evolutionary genetics                     22

XV    Mon.    April 28         
         Wed.    April 30    Homework 11 due (extra credit)
         Fri.    May    2    Test 3  (15, 16 19, 20, 22 model organisms)

Final Exam Friday May  9 ,  8:00-9:50
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Recommended problems:  Genetics,  Hartwell et al.  4th edition

Chapter  2:  Social and Ethical: 2 Solved: “solving Genetic Problems” very important! II, III Problems: 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 15, 18, 23, 29, 36
Chapter  3: Social and Ethical:  1, 2, 3  Solved:I, II  Problems:2, 3, 7, 9, 13, 14, 17, 18, 22, 32, 39
Chapter  4: Social and Ethical:  1, 2, 3  Solved:  II, III  Problems:  3, 12, 14, 21, 24, 27, 28, 35, 40
Chapter 21: Social and Ethical:  1.  Solved:  I, II, III  Problems: 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14
Chapter 5: Social and Ethical:  1, 2.  Solved:  I, II, III  Problems: 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 20, 21, 24, 29, 34, 35
Chapter  7:  Solved:  I, II, III  Problems: 3, 7, 8, 14, 16, 17, 23, 27, 28
Chapter  9: Social and Ethical:  1, 2.  Solved:  I, III  Problems: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 19, 29
Chapter 10: Social and Ethical:  1, 2.  Solved:  I  Problems: 3, 12, 30, 34
Chapter 11: Social and Ethical:  1, 2, 3, 4  Solved:  I  Problems: 3, 4, 10, 12, 16, 21, 22, 31
Chapter 12:  Solved I
Chapter 13: Problems 13, 25, 27
Chapter 14:  Social and Ethical:  1,  3  Solved:  I, II  Problems: 2, 7, 10, 11, 21, 36
Chapter 15:  Social and Ethical:  1,  2  Solved:  II  Problems: 3, 9, 11, 14, 15, 20, 21
Chapter 16:  Social and Ethical:  1  Solved:  I, II, III  Problems: 6, 14, 17, 19, 25, 26, 28
Chapter 19:  Social and Ethical:  2,  3  Solved:  II, III  Problems: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 29
Reference A:  Solved I, II; Problems 2, 6
Reference B:  Solved I; Problems 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 10
Reference C: Problems 1, 3
Reference D:  Solved II; Problems 2, 8
Reference E:  Solved I; Problems 1, 3, 5