Syllabus
Botany: The Early Years Q 1, 2008-2009
It is known what the earliest
plants were like from studying the fossil record. Relatives of some of these old plants are alive today. We will study the first and simplest
plants – the alga, and then learn about the development of plant life as it
came out of the oceans and onto land.
What adaptations were necessary for this transformation? What can the fossil record tell us
about the earliest life on Earth?
Essential Question: How did
plants become successful on land?
Goals:
Students
should gain an understanding of
1. The process of evolution
2. The nature of genetic inheritance
3. The structures that are specific to plants, and
especially, those structures that enable plants to survive on
land.
4. The
difference between early plants versus the later plants, i.e. the Angiosperms
and Gymnosperms
Focus Skills:
Apply effective research
methods.
Manages materials and time to
accomplish goals.
Portfolio items: the lab
notebook and your three projects.
Course Grade:
Ownership 10%
Experimentation 40%
Laboratory work 20%
Lab notebook 20%
Tests and quizzes 20%
Projects/Research
Paper 30%
Project Due dates:
#1 – Monday, Sept. 15
#2 – Monday, Sept. 29
#3 – Friday, Oct. 17
#4 – Monday, Oct. 27
Projects may be an experiment
with an explanatory talk, a model with explanatory talk, a 4-page research
paper with abstract, bibliography and two visuals, or some other ideal of your
choice. Be sure to talk to me
about your ideas.
Each project is 5% of the
student’s grade. Every student
must complete the first project by Monday, Sept. 15. Thereafter, each student must complete two of the remaining
three projects by that due date. A
student who completes all four projects receives extra credit, up to 10%. I will not accept these assignments
after their due dates.
Focus skills, laboratory work and lab notebook:
In the research laboratory
these two skills are closely related.
Effective research – especially at the benchtop – requires
planning. Know the purpose of your
experiment, how you want to accomplish it, and what materials you will need to
get it done.
You will keep all lab work in
you laboratory notebook. If it
helps your organization, you may keep all your class notes in the laboratory
notebook, as well.
There is a standard formula
for laboratory notebooks that we will follow. It includes the date, purpose, procedure, results & and
discussion. Before you come into
the lab, have the “prelab” completed.
These are the date, purpose and procedure. Make note, in the procedure section, of any special
instructions you want to remember, e.g. “this chemical is poisonous” or “these
plants will die out of water.”
This way, you don’t have to memorize everything, but will still know
what precautions to take.
The “results” are those notes
you take in the lab during the experiment and/or immediately after the
experiment is over. Results may
consist of a drawing, or measurements of temperature over time, or anything else
that you want to observe, measure, or occur to you about the experiment.
“Discussion” is filled in
after the experiment is completed.
It contains any connections you can make between what you observed and
the purpose of the experiment, an error analysis and your hypothesis or hypotheses. Results that contradicted your
expectations should be mentioned.
In the Discussion section you
can put any comments about the experiment you wish, including any ideas about
what was proved or disproved, any new questions the experiment brings to mind,
and what new experiments you might devise to answer new questions.
Our time in the lab is
short. You will need to work
efficiently in order to complete the lab in the time we have. Most labs cannot be repeated, so make
sure to be in class and prepared.
You may miss two labs without any consequence, except, of course, that
you will need to learn the material in some other manner.
Effective research includes
an understanding of any chemical you use:
the reason it is used, its proper use, any precautions you need to take
while using it, and any actions you must take if it is misused by you or anyone
in your presence. If you don’t
know, please ask.
Ownership: A
student’s engagement in classroom activities and discussions is essential to
his and others’ learning experience.
The lack of participation by even one student in a class will diminish
the experience for all class members.
Please contribute to discussions, be respectful in behavior, ask and/or
answer questions about class work and homework in class, and bring creative and
challenging ideas to our attention.
Coming to class late or leaving early both disrupt the class, even if
you don’t intend it as such, so be mindful of your effect on others. Homework must be turned in on time to
receive credit. Come to class with
pencil, a notebook in which to takes class notes, your Botany notebook and your
laboratory notebook.
Late Work Policy
Papers, reading assignments,
lab reports, etc. all have due dates.
I will respect and adhere to these dates, as I expect each member of the
class will. Complete the projects
assigned. Do not skip them, and
then ask for extra credit assignments.
I will consider extra credit assignments ONLY for students who have not
skipped any assignments.
Tests and quizzes: Tests will be given every other week. Specific dates will be announced beforehand. Quizzes will usually be unannounced, and can happen any time.
Calendar: because some experiments need several weeks to work, there will be some overlap and back-and-forth in the schedule
Week 1
Evolution, the beginning
life, and the fossil record.
What is a plant? What is an “early” or a
“later” plant?
Week 2-3
Algae
Week 4-5
Bryophyta – The Liverworts
and Mosses
Week 6-7
Pteridophyta – The ferns
The fern allies – Club
mosses, Horsetails
Week 8-9
Intro to the Angiosperms and
Gymnosperms
