PELLISSIPPI STATE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

                                                                         COURSE SYLLABUS

                                                             Biology 2130 Microbiology Spring 2004

 

Contact information	Lecture instructor	Laboratory Instructor
Name
E-mail address

 

Entry Level Standards:

High school biology; students are expected to read and write at the college level.

 

Prerequisites and/or Corequisites:

None; suggested prerequisite: CHM 1010 or 1110; or BIO 2010; or BIO 1110

 

Required Textbooks:

Black, Jacquelyn G. 2002.  Microbiology Principles and Explorations, 5th Edition, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.

Harley, John P. And Prescott, Lansing. M.  2002.  Laboratory Exercises in Microbiology, 5^th Edition, Boston: McGraw-Hill.

 

I.         Week/Unit/Topic Basis:

 

Week of	Chapter	Lecture Topic(s)	Wed. Lab	Thurs. Lab	Assignment Due
1/12	1	History	None	none
1/19	1, 3	History; Microscope	Lab Safety; 44	finish 44; 1
1/26	3, 4	Microscope; Cell structure	7-10	continue 7-10	Abstract 1
2/2	6	Test 1 (chapters 1, 3, 4); Requirements for Growth	39; finish 8-10	14‑16, 18, 19; finish 39	Diliution worksheet; lab notebook
2/9	5	Metabolism	46; finish 14-16, 18, 19	46; prepare for next week’s labs	Abstract 2
2/16	5, 12	Metabolism; Controlling Growth	20‑22, 33‑34; finish 46	20-22, 33-34
2/23	12, 13	Controlling Growth; Antimicrobial Drugs	finish 20-22; 33-34; prepare for biochemical tests	24-31	lab notebook; Abstract 3
3/1	7	Test 2 (chapters 6, 5, 12, 13); Genetics	finish labs for practical I	42, 43; flowcharting exercise	flowchart worksheet
3/8	7, 8	Genetics; Recombinant DNA	finish 42, 43; review for practical	Lab practical I
3/15	9	Taxonomy and Bacteria	53; flowcharts	53, flowcharts	Abstract 4
3/22		SPRING BREAK
3/29	10	Viruses; Test 3 (chapters 7-9)	finish 53; final flowcharts for unknowns due; start unknowns	unknowns	Unknown flowcharts
4/5	10, 11	Viruses; Eukaryotic Microbes and Parasites	unknowns	unknowns	Lab notebook; Abstract 5
4/12	11	Eukaryotic Microbes and Parasites	50, 51, unknowns	50, 51, unknowns
4/19	14	Test 4 (chapters 10, 11); Host-Microbe Interactions	unknowns	unknowns	Abstract 6
4/26	14, 15	Host-Microbe Interactions; Epidemiology	unknowns	Unknowns due; clean up lab; review for practical	unknowns and daily log
5/3	15	Epidemiology; current topics and review	Lab Practical II		lab notebook

 

 

Evaluation:

 

A.            Testing Procedure: 500 points                

 

Four exams, each worth 100 points, will be given. These exams will be noncumulative, although students are expected to retain basic information acquired in previous chapters.  Exams will consist of a combination of multiple choice, matching, short answer and essay questions.  There will be no make up exams.  If a student must miss an exam, the instructor should be notified prior to the exam, or as soon as possible thereafter.  The lowest exam of these four exams may be replaced by doubling the final exam score.

 

In addition, there will be a final exam worth 100 points.  The final exam will consist of multiple choice and matching questions only; approximately 70% of the exam will be cumulative and 30% will cover new material.  This exam will be conducted in the classroom at the scheduled final exam time.  The final exam is not optional!

 

B. Laboratory Expectations: 340 points

 

Participation in laboratory exercises is mandatory.  Laboratory assignments constitute 340 points broken down as follows:  laboratory notebook (160 points), practical exams (100 points), unknown identification (30 points), and work sheets (20 points).  The remaining 30 points will be based on attitude, teamwork, technique, lab safety, effort and attendance.  Students must come prepared to laboratory.  Preparation includes, but is not limited to: reading exercises in advance; completing purpose statement of exercises in advance; bringing lab manual, lab coat and safety glasses to lab.  Students MUST wear a lab coat and safety glasses in lab at all times!!  Students must supply their own laboratory coat and glasses.  Short lab jackets and short sleeved lab coats are not acceptable.  No food, drink, shorts or open-toed shoes are allowed in lab.

 

Laboratory notebook: Students will maintain a loose leaf laboratory notebook.  The notebook should minimally contain dated entries for each exercise, purpose of the exercise, changes in procedure from the laboratory manual, notes from the laboratory lecture, specific organism(s) used by the student, results and observations, and a conclusion.  Many exercises occur on multiple days, so each day should be dated.  The purpose and conclusion should be written in complete sentences.  All microscope observations should include a sketch of a portion of the field of view, showing shape and arrangement of the organisms; magnification; name of organism or source of sample; type of stain; color of cells; and, if using a differential or special stain, the type of reaction or special structures.  Growth on plates should include a description of the colonies, including color, morphology, odor (if present), and a sketch of a typical colony.  Growth in tubes should be described, using standard terminology.  Sketches may be used to supplement the description.  When appropriate, data should be organized in tables.  Results of all biochemical reactions should include the type of media used; length of incubation; reagents added after incubation; color of reaction; and interpretation of the reaction (is the test positive or negative).  The conclusion should go beyond the results to explain what they mean.  For instance, a positive Gram stain (result) indicates that the organism has a thick peptidoglycan layer in its cell wall containing teichoic acids.  Note that most conclusions will be brief, only one or two sentences long.  Topics to address in the conclusion may be found in the ‘Thoughts To Consider’ section of the handouts for each lab, which are posted on the course website at: http://pstcc15.pstcc.edu/mfhicks/biol2230/biol2230lab.html.  The laboratory notebook must be maintained daily, and must be neat and organized.  It will be collected for grading at least four times during the semester, though the instructor may collect the notebooks at any time and without prior warning. 

 

Practical Exams:  Laboratory practical exams will consist of a number of stations.  Students will rotate from station to station, answering questions.  Stations may contain slides, culture plates, equipment or data from previous labs.  Each station will have one or more questions based on the materials present.  Sample questions will be provided in lab before the first lab practical, and study guides are posted on the course website.  In order to prepare adequately for the practical exams, students must maintain complete laboratory notebooks.

 

Unknown Identification:  During the final portion of the lab, students will receive a mixture of two organisms which must be isolated and identified.  Students will design and utilize a flow chart of the stains and biochemical tests to identify these organisms.  The flow chart and a daily log, as well as a typed purpose and conclusion, will be submitted for evaluation.  Additional information concerning the unknowns is posted on the course website.

 

Worksheets: Two worksheets will be assigned in the laboratory during the semester.  These will be submitted to the laboratory instructor on the due date announced in lab.  All other grading procedures will be discussed by the laboratory instructor when assignments are made.

 

Missed labs:  Missed labs can not be made up.  Students may use a lab partner's data or set-up but points will be deducted from each exercise for each day of the experiment that was missed.  These will be prorated based on:

                                              (the number of days missed)/(number of days lab was conducted).

If you know in advance that you will need to miss a lab, please discuss this with your laboratory instructor.  Laboratory practical exams must be taken on the date announced.  There are ABSOLUTELY NO make-ups of these exams!

 

C. Field Work: 160 points

 

Library research and writing are an integral part of this course.  Students will write short abstracts of current articles and complete a series of disease applications/case studies throughout the semester.

 

Abstracts:  Students will write six abstracts of current articles (no more than three months old) pertaining to microbiological issues covered in the course, following guidelines discussed in class.  Abstracts will be collected at the beginning of lecture on the assigned due dates.  See the handout "Instructions for Abstract Assignments" for additional details on writing and grading of abstracts, as well as a sample abstract.  Each abstract is worth 10 points.

 

Disease Applications/Case Studies: Students will be given five assignments totaling 100 points during the course of the semester. These assignments will involve reading material on the Internet pertaining to specific diseases and applying this information in answering specific questions.  Due dates will be announced by the lecture instructor.

 

 

D. Other Evaluation Methods: Bonus Opportunity - up to 20 points

 

Book Report: You may select to read one of the following books and write a two page, double spaced report about the book, including a paragraph of your reflections.  It must have enough detail to show that you have read the book, but must be written in the style of an abstract.  Maximum bonus points from this assignment: 20.  These bonus points will hopefully broaden your horizons and help you to appreciate the world around you.  Please remember that clear communication (proper grammar and spelling, etc.) is important in getting your views across!  This assignment must be submitted no later than April 6.

 

* indicates we have this book in the PSTCC library. [Most of the others are in the Knox County Libraries.]

*The Hot Zone

*The Coming Plague

*Yellow Fever, Black Goddess

*Virus X

Virus Hunters of the CDC

*Virus Hunter

*Deadly Feasts

 

 

E. Grading Scale

 

The final grade will be based on accumulation of points from both lecture and lab which will then be divided by the total possible number of points (1000).  Note that grades are based on total points, not percentages!                                   

 

The following grading scale will be used.

900-1000 points             90% - 100%                  A

870-899 points               87% - 89%                    B+

800-869 points               80% - 86%                    B

770-799 points               77% - 79%                    C+

700-769 points               70% - 79%                    C

600-699 points               60% - 69%                    D

below 600 points            59% and below F

 

F. Policies:

 

Attendance:  Pellissippi State Technical Community College expects students to attend all scheduled instructional activities.  As a minimum, students in all courses must be present for at least 75 percent of their scheduled class and laboratory meetings in order to receive credit for the course.  If a student is absent from class, it is the student's responsibility to make up the missed material prior to the next class period.

 

Academic Honesty:  Plagiarism is any form of using another person’s words or ideas without giving proper credit.  Plagiarism includes, though is not limited to, the following:

- Copying sentences from a source without putting them in quotes and citing the source.       

- Borrowing a sentence from another author and simply substituting a few synonyms or rearranging the order of the sentence.

- Copying from another student.

- Working together on an assignment that each student is to complete individually.

Plagiarism is a form of mental laziness and will not be tolerated.   Any plagiarized assignments will receive an automatic 0 and may not be dropped or replaced by resubmitting the assignment.  Second offenses will result in automatic failure of the course.

 

Cheating will not be tolerated.  Students who are caught cheating may be given a 0 for the assignment; second offenses will result in an automatic failure of the class. 

 

Late assignments:  Late assignments will not be accepted.

 

Course Web site:  The master syllabus, lecture outlines, learning objectives, and other useful information pertaining to the course will be posted at the web site:  http://pstcc15.pstcc.edu/mfhicks/index.html#Microbiology

Announcements will be made in class or lab if any additional information is posted.  Please note that if several students attempt to access the web site at the same time, the web server may respond with a message that states the information is not accessible.  This is similar to calling someone on the telephone and getting a busy signal.  Try again later.  If you cannot access the information after trying several times (different times, days, etc.), please e-mail mfhicks@pstcc.edu and describe the problem, including the days and times you attempted to access the material, as well as your web browser version.

 

Instructions for Abstract Assignments

 

1. Read an article in a newspaper or magazine that is related to some aspect of microbiology that we will be covering in class.  If the article is about a disease, it must be a disease caused by a microorganism (virus, bacteria, protist, or helminth that has a microscopic portion of the life cycle).

 

2. Articles must be no more than three months old.  The minimum length of the article is 250 words; maximum length should be no more than 3 pages.

 

3. In a minimum of 50 words and a maximum of 75 words, write an abstract of what you read starting with the phrase: "This article is about...".  Do not provide details about the article (this would be a summary); rather provide an overview that would cause the reader to want to read the article to obtain more information.

 

4. The last paragraph (which is not included in the 50 to 75 words of the assignment) should answer the question: "How is this information relevant to me?"

 

5. This assignment must be typed and double spaced with name, lecture section, and number of the abstract at the top.  The date and source of the article must be included at the top of the abstract.

 

6. A Xerox copy of the article (or printout if from Internet or Infotrac) must be stapled to the abstract.

 

7. Only one abstract may be submitted per week.

 

8. Abstracts are due at the beginning of lecture on Tuesdays.  Late abstracts will not be accepted.

 

Writing abstracts is a difficult thing for many students.  It is tough to distinguish between an abstract and a summary.  Two students submitted 'abstracts' on the same article, one of which was a summary and the other a true abstract.  Without disclosing the students, here they are (with some modifications).  I have omitted the personal application statements at the end of the assignment:

 

EXAMPLE A:

This article is about colds and flu.  There are over 100 viruses that cause the "common" cold and all their symptoms are different.  There are three specific viruses that people catch in the middle of winter.  They are adenoviruses, corona viruses, and respiratory syncytial viruses.  They will get into your breathing passages, producing symptoms of fever and respiratory distress.  Those who are immunocompromised or the very old or young are most susceptible to these infections.

A nose spray is being developed that blocks cold viruses from triggering a bombardment of immune cells.  The scientists are working on a flu vaccine that is in nasal spray form.  This would make it easier to administer, especially to children.  The article advises to cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough, don't share eating utensils or glasses, use tissues only once, then throw them away.  It is also important to wash your hands often.

 

EXAMPLE B:

This article is about the common cold.  The article discusses symptoms, who is at risk and how to protect yourself from infection.  The article then compares natural versus man-made remedies and explains how to distinguish the cold virus from the flu virus.  The article concludes with examples of nasal sprays that are being developed for treatment and vaccination against viruses.

 

Example A provides a lot of details from the article and therefore is a SUMMARY.  Note that because of all the details, this summary is longer than the 75 word maximum.  Example B, on the other hand, just describes what topics are included in the article - without giving any of the details.  To get the information, I must actually read the article.  This is an ABSTRACT.

 

To help you to write abstracts rather than summaries:

1. Read the article.  Do not highlight or underline ANYTHING.

2. Set the article aside.

3. Write down what the article was ABOUT.

4. Do not refer back to the article until the abstract is written, and then only to check on spelling, etc.

 

If you have submitted an abstract, and it is returned without a grade, this means the abstract should be rewritten and resubmitted.  You may use the same article (unless the instructor has noted otherwise); use the same abstract number (1 in this case); and include the first draft of the abstract which was turned back to you.  Once you get used to writing abstracts, it will be an interesting assignment.