General Botany, BIOL 305

Overview of course: This course is designed for the biology major and is a comprehensive introduction to the plant kingdom including the following topics: life-history, reproduction, structure, and physiology. A laboratory is included and involves self-paced microscopic and macroscopic analysis of living and preserved specimens.

Jan 12th NO Lab!!!!!!! Registration for classes ends the last Friday of the week. It is impossible to re-schedule a missed lab this semester if you did not sign up for class/Lab for Monday, so Labs will begin in week two!

Jan 19th LAB ONE: Working on oral Presentation: This week you will be working on your oral presentation component for the course. It is completely up to you to decide on the topic, and I do not expect the topic to have anything to do with anything in class.I will be coming around to see how you are progressing with the process. The abstract, which is 30% of the points, will be due at the end of the Lab. This is your chance to ask any questions, get advice from me or your classmates, and to really focus on the task at hand for the following lab period. You will be graded for the work you put into this lab period.

Jan 26th LAB TWO: Oral presentation: Because we are surrounded on a daily basis by news articles, journal entries, and Internet stories concerning cutting-edge aspects of plant Science, I want us as a class to explore these issues during this class. This will also provide you all with vital experience in assimilating information from scientific sources, which you will need for your future careers.

Plan to give a ten minute presentation on an issue of your choice. Create a power-point slide presentation. Provide the entire class and me with a relevant handout. Plan for a 15-20 minute presentation and 5 minutes of question and answer time.

The best advice for any oral presentation is to speak with authority. As seniors you will have to present some form of seminar for your major - so remember what you do in this class! So, how does one speak with authority?

Feb 2nd LAB THREE: General plant anatomy – a great place to start! Historically, Botany covers a wide range of scientific disciplines including structure, growth, reproduction, metabolism, development, diseases, chemical properties, and evolutionary relationships among taxonomic groups. Today the scope and importance of modern botany has grown to cover many molecular, genetic and biochemical level aspects through organelles, cells, tissues, organs, individuals, plant populations, and communities. At each of these levels a botanist might be concerned with the following aspects of plant life:

There will also be various extra bits and bobs thrown into the mix to help you become more aware of, and more appreciative of, the importance of plant science.