Biology 210: Microbiology

Lifestyles of the itty-bitty

Phillip E. Funk, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology

Lecture: M,W,F 9:40-10:40

Laboratory: T 8:30-11:30, 2:30-5:30

Teaching Assistants: Christopher Becker and Jessica Palmer

SPRING 2002

Course Summary

Course Schedule

Helpful Links

COURSE SUMMARY

Course Objectives:

1. To introduce students to the variety of microorganisms, those too small to be seen with the naked eye.
2. To provide laboratory experience in microbiology, particularly with reference to the techniques used to isolate, identify, and grow bacteria.
3. To introduce students to the tremendous advances that are being made in microbiology and how this field has contributed much to our current knowledge of biology.
4. To introduce the impacts that microorganisms have on our lives, both good and bad.

Course format: Lecture/discussion/laboratory

Required Textbook: Microbiology: Principles and Explorations, 4^th edition, by Jacquelyn Black. This is an excellent introductory text to the broad field of microbiology. This book also includes a companion web site with supplementary materials and quizzes so that you can test yourself. A link is available on the course website. (http://condor.depaul.edu/~pfunk/210index.html  

The laboratory manual is Microbiology Laboratory: Fundamentals and Applications by George A. Wistreich. In addition you must buy a disposable laboratory coat. These coats are for your protection! We will be working with stains that could ruin your clothing and some potentially infectious organisms. This coat will be kept in the laboratory for you to use. At the end of the quarter the teaching assistants will autoclave the coats and dispose of them. You must have this lab coat for the first day of laboratory.

All required supplies are available in the campus bookstore.

Additional materials may be handed out in class or placed on reserve in the library. The class website will also have links to material on the World Wide Web that will be helpful in your studies.

Grading: Exams will be a combination of multiple choice, short answer, matching, and fill in the blank type questions. Exams will be held at the times indicated, any exceptions to this must be arranged with me well ahead of time. There will be no make up examinations without adequate reason for why the exam was missed in the first place. Make up exams must be arranged by the college of Liberal Arts and Sciences, there is a fee for this.

Since I post my lecture notes to the web I feel free to require a good deal of specificity in the answers I expect on the exams. You will be tested on your ability to unite concepts presented in different lectures and to think analytically about the information presented in class. The essential ability you should acquire as a young scientist is to reason logically from what you know.

Laboratory reports are due to the teaching assistants by the next laboratory period after the exercise is completed. Late reports will receive an unsatisfactory grade. Attendance at the laboratory is absolutely required and you must attend your assigned section in the laboratory. There will be no make up labs. I may excuse you from a lab if given a valid, verifiable reason for the absence.

Statement of Academic Honesty: It is expected that your work in this course will be original, not copies of another student's work. The university dictates strong sanctions against those who copy another's work without citing the original source. This may also apply to students who allow others to copy their work. This sanction may be as severe as an F in the course. Please refer to the student handbook for a more detailed discussion of the university's rules on this matter. In the laboratory portion of this course you will be required to share your data with other students in order to gain a more complete understanding of the experiment. In writing the laboratory report I expect a clear distinction between YOUR results and those obtained by sharing results with others. Science is a collaborative endeavor but it requires acknowledgement of one's collaborators.

Behavior: You should be on time for both lecture and lab. You should behave as you would like an audience to behave if you were speaking. TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES AND BEEPERS. No talking, note passing, horseplay, etc. Your success in this course depends primarily on you! In the laboratory it will be necessary to share reagents, equipment, and results with others. You should be courteous and respectful of your fellow students. Inappropriate and rude conduct in the lab will not be tolerated. Smoking, eating, drinking, and applying make-up are absolutely forbidden in the lab. Extraneous conversation should be kept to a minimum.

Tips for success in this course:

1. All my lecture notes will be available via the class Blackboard site. I cannot guarantee that these notes will be posted before the lecture is given. Do not use these notes as a substitute for attending class! There is no substitute for attending class, paying attention, and taking good notes. The successful students in my other classes can tell you that the notes on the web are an excellent addition to the lectures but that you will not do well if you rely solely on the website.
2. Read the book! The text has a number of self-testing tools that I highly recommend you use in your studies. The text's companion web site has additional review tools. These will help you prepare for the exams. This also applies to the laboratory, read the exercise beforehand. This will help you understand the experiment before you begin and help you make the most efficient use of your time in the lab.
3. Don't think of each lecture as a single, self-contained entity. Microbiology is a field of study and its components are interrelated. Part of my teaching philosophy is to get you to understand some of the interrelationships. This will help you to reason from what you do know to what you don't know.
4. Don't be afraid to ask questions. I welcome student's questions before, during, and after lectures.

CONTACTING YOUR INSTUCTOR:

You may contact me by email at pfunk@depaul.edu

My office is 243 McGowan Hall on the Lincoln Park Campus.

I will also be available before and after lecture to answer specific questions. If necessary I will establish office hours. I will do my utmost to answer questions in a timely fashion. I sincerely want this course to be a rewarding educational experience for you.

You may contact your teaching assistants in 245 McGowan or by email at:

Chris:  christopherbecker@hotmail.com

Jessica:  jesspalmer@earthlink.net

Office hours for the teaching assistants will be posted.

 Tentative Course Schedule:
   

Final Exam Thursday, June 13, 2002, 8:45-11:00 am

HELPFUL LINKS

Microbiology: Principles and Explorations- Companion Website for your textbook. This is an excellent resource with links to supplementary material and very helpful review questions. A lazy professor might consider using some of the questions on this site for exams.

Microbiology Courses at Other Universities:

University of Wisconsin

Bacteriology 303

Bacteriology 330

Ohio State

Cells Alive

Online Medical Dictionary

The Microbe Zoo

Cells of the Immune System

Bugs in the News

The Bad Bug Page - From the Food and Drug Administration

The American Society for Microbiology

Internet Resources for Biology

MicrobeWorld - information on our microbial friends and enemies from the American Society for Microbiology

Virtual Library of Biosciences

DIVERSIONS:

The Realbeer page

Mr. Beer- manufacturer of the kit we use in class

Oxymoron science humor archives