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Schedule
(Strategy: start with most familiar and complex [mammals] then work into less
familiar animals.)
DATE LECTURE TOPIC (Zoology 170) Readings* LAB (Zoology 170L)
Jan. 10 Introduction to course 589-point 3 (no lab this week)
__ 12 Classification of animals -- Who’s who? 498-500, 446-450, 473-485
[15 holiday]
17 Mammals 651-656 mammals -- intro.
__ 19 cont. "
22 Organ systems of complex organisms – muscles 776-778, 1009-1010, 1014-1020
24 cont. " anatomy
__ 26 cont. (and circulation) 815-817
29 -- nervous systems - intro. & neurons 960-974
31 cont. " physiology
Feb. 2 -- senses 992-1000
5 EXAM I, 50 points
7 -- CNS 976-989, 1001-1002 physiology cont.
__ 9 cont. "
12 cont. "
14 Behavior (1053-1079) LAB EXAM I
__ 16 cont. "
[19 holiday]
21 Development 940-950 embryology
__ 23 Birds -- introduction and taxonomy 647-650
26 cont. "
28 cont., and flight " birds
Mar. 2 EXAM II, 50 points (over material since exam I)
5 Amphibians and reptiles 642-647
7 cont. " amph. & reptiles
__ 9 Fishes and other chordates 634-641
__ [12-16 spring break]
19 cont. " , plus 630-634
21 cont.; Time and historical aspects - paleontology plus pages (464-473) fishes and others
__ 23 cont. "
26 Arthropods -- insects 618-623
28 cont. " LAB EXAM II
__ 30 cont. "
Apr. 2 -- other arthropods 614-618, 623-624
4 cont. " arthropods
__ 6 Remainder - introduction/molluscs etc. 608-614, 624-627
9 EXAM III, 50 points (since exam II up through arthropods)
11 cont. " molluscs etc.
__ [13 holiday]
[16 " ]
18 Pseudocoel., acoel., and protozoans 599-607, (520-532)
__ 20 cont. "
23 Parasitism 1113-1114 micro. inverts
25 Ecology -- animals and environments (1024-1143) aquatic ecology
__ 27 cont. "
30 Review and summary ... * ... plus 589-596
May 2 The future? 1101-1104, (1145-1172) LAB EXAM III
4 course wrap-up
May 7 FINAL EXAM -- 7:30-9:30a.m., 125 points (50 since exam III + 25 each comprehensive over material
from parts of the course covered by exams I, II, and III [& "make-ups", see below])
*Readings: pages in Campbell. Additional readings from Lytle will be announced later.
Readings in "( )" = only parts will be used; you are not responsible for everything in those pages.
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Text Book
s & related
Primary text –
Campbell, N. A., et al. 1999. Biology. 5th edition. Benjamin/Cummings.
Supplemental text & lab reference – Lytle, C. F. 2000.
General Zoology: Lab Guide. McGraw-Hill. (Will be used in both lecture [later in
the course] and lab [earlier in the course than in lecture].)
Lab manual (170L only, lab descriptions and reports, available from
department, see other side); ($10, payable once, with first section): The first section
will be available after class when announced and thereafter from the secretaries in
Stevens Hall Room 218, Zoology office. Subsequent sections will become available in
installments, four labs per installment.
Plus recommend 3-ring binder(s) for notes and lab manual and a
folder or binder for daily class use. DON'T BRING ALL NOTES AND MATERIALS TO CLASS EVERY
DAY, IN CASE YOU LOSE THEM !
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Course Description
This course is an introduction to various
vertebrate and invertebrate animals, their evolutionary relationships, and biology
including anatomy and physiology, behavior, and ecology. It is a guided tour through the
complex and diverse world of animals. Although it covers a lot of ground, the subject is
so large that it is impossible to cover all aspects. Thus, the course represents a
sampling of various taxonomic groups and related biological topics. This course is NOT
a course on human biology. Although humans are used in some examples, such as for anatomy
and physiology, the focus of the course is on other animals and zoology in general.
There are other courses that deal primarily with humans.
The course is a gate-way or foundation course for majors in zoology or other
biologically-related fields. It is also approved for General Education at NDSU. Most
students find the subject to be fascinating and fun but also challenging and demanding
because of the material’s diversity, complexity, number of new, unfamiliar topics,
and associated names and terms -- almost like learning a new language for most people.
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Objectives/intended course outcomes
(Note: outcome 5 applies to Zoology 170L; all
others apply to both 170 and 170L.)
- Students will learn to recognize and be able to classify the major (common, economically
or medically important, evolutionarily significant, or for other reasons) groups of
animals.
- Students will learn specialized terminology and basic concepts of zoology.
- Students will learn evolutionary relationships among the different groups of animals.
- Students will learn basic, selected external and internal structure and associated
biology/function for different kinds of animals.
- Students will learn quantitative measurement, statistical methodology, and hypothesis
formulation and testing in zoology.
- Students will learn to integrate all of the above.
- Students will come to appreciate and enjoy the subject of zoology (i.e., have fun) and
be able to place the subject in the larger context of human knowledge and experience on a
global scale.
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Attendance and Lecture Notes
Attendance in lecture (Zoology 170) is not required, but (1) it is part
of what is being paid for; (2) lecture (and the exams) will include some
information/explanations not in the book; and (3) lecture
notes are not provided on the web or by the instructor except under
certain circumstances (e.g., hand injuries or other writing disabilities).
Notes are normally taken by
students during lecture or obtained from peers.
- Caution:
notes by most people are usually incomplete to some extent, represent their own personal
perspective and synthesis, and serve to simply remind them of more extensive information
or material that was presented; thus, another person’s notes are frequently
inadequate for someone else who was not present.
- Suggesion for taking
notes: try to obtain as complete a record, at least in outline form, of
everything that goes on in class, plus write down (perhaps in the margins) your own
comments, impressions, and any questions you have.
Attendance in labs
(Zoology 170L) is required for participation in working
groups/ teams, preparation of reports, and report scores.
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Student Input and Feedback
This is your course and we want to
make it what you need and want to the maximum extent possible. The present design and
structure is based on much feedback from large numbers of students over many previous
years. However, we try to continuously improve and update the course. Please provide any
suggestions, comments, complaints, or concerns at any time; there will also be a formal
evaluation by students at the end of the semester.
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Questions to Instructor
I encourage questions in class, during office hours, or by e-mail. Helping others to
learn and understand the subject is my job and what I am being paid for! The only times
that I am NOT available for questions (and will refuse them) are during a
question-blackout period within 40 hours of an exam (that is, after 5 p.m. of the last
lecture day before an exam) -- take care of questions before then! Please use regular
office hours for routine questions. I may be available at other times by appointment or in
case of urgent matters or emergencies.
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Labs
Labs (Zoology 170L) are integrated with
lecture topics. Further details and instructions, information about reports, etc., will be
provided in the Lab Manual, by teaching assistants (TAs) at the start of each lab, and, to
a limited extent, on the web pages.
(Note: no lab first week of classes.)
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Exams, Studying, and Expectations
Lecture exams will
include material from lecture (including films/videos) and readings. Students are
responsible for everything in the assigned readings except as discussed in comments on the
web pages. The three midterm lecture exams and the final exam will consist of true-false
and multiple choice questions to be computer scored. Lecture exams will involve simple
memory-recall (names, terms, facts), thought questions, and both -- recall plus synthesis
of the material. There will be some diagrams and much that involves taxonomy. In
addition, some or most of the lecture exams will include questions based on projected
slides of photos from lecture, the text, and posted web sites plus new ones that
have not been seen in class but which should be identifiable based on this course. "Make-up"
exams will be automatically included in the final exam for all persons (to be further
explained later in class and on the web).
Lab exams will involve
fill-in-the-blank answers and possibly short essays based on lab exercises, identification
of specimens, dissections, and anatomy of various organs and tissues including via
microscopes.
For all exams: DON'T CRAM!
Study all along/ rest before the exam.
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Grading
Zoology 170 -- 3 lecture exams of 50
points each and a final exam of 125 points.
Zoology 170L -- 12 lab reports for 12 points average each and 3 lab exams of 50
points each. (Note: Although there were extra points possible during past years, that
practice has been discontinued for a variety of reasons. Thus, extra points are not
allowed; grades will be based entirely on exams and [for Zoology 170L] reports.)
Grading is curved, based on the normal distribution. Percentages (60-70-80-90) are
(mostly) NOT used and may be considered irrelevant for this course. In brief,
B’s and C’s, respectively, start at the mean + or - 0.5 standard deviations and
A’s and D’s, respectively, start at the mean plus or minus 1.5 standard
deviations of total scores (not based on averages of component scores). The only exception, in which percentages do count
as such, is when the lecture (not
lab) curve goes above the standard percentages; then grading switches to
percentages. Thus, for lecture (Zoology 170), grading is primarily based on a normal
curve, but can switch to percentages depending on the position of the curve.
There also are "buffers" on the
final, end-of-semester total score for border line cases (within a specific number of
points), pending an individual’s semester trend and overall performance (e.g.,
increasing, decreasing, or mostly a typical level with only one "atypical" [high
or low] score). Further details will be explained later in the semester.
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