Message from Rob Day:
DON’T FORGET…..
All the .ppt files from the lectures are available on the class web site. If
you have any difficulty opening them, let me know. I may be able to supply them
in some alternate format.
Check the links for each lecture and lab. Material in these links may be on
the exam, although only in a general way… you will not need to memorize
all the details of these links.
Make sure your name is on any paper copies of assignments you give to me or
the TAs and keep all returned work until after the end of the quarter.
Remind me to take your picture if I didn’t already do so in lecture.
If you did not already do so, please send me a short biography: Just a few lines
saying who you are, what experience you have in plant science and why you took
this class. You might also include anything you find especially interesting
about plant biology that might make a good homework assignment.
HOMEWORK WEEK 1
(carried over into week 2)
The first assignment has two parts.The first part
asked you to look at the list of “ten things everyone should know about
plants”. This document is available as a .pdf file at:
http://140.254.31.4/plant_biology102/PB102_powerpoint_list.html
You were meant to simply tell me which of these things you already know well,
which things are vaguely familiar, and which things are new or totally incomprehensible
to you. Specifically indicating any unfamiliar words would be useful.
Some of you misunderstood and marked them as true / false…. Actually,
ALL the statements on the list are believed to be true by plant scientists.
I just need to know how FAMILIAR you are with them. The purpose of this exercise
is to help me judge the level of background knowledge of the class.
If you think you misunderstood the assignment, I’m afraid you will have
to do it again, but it was pretty easy, so it shouldn’t take long.
You may submit the list electronically or write directly on the sheet and submit
it to me in class. If you choose the latter, don’t forget to add your
name! If you submit the homework you get five points.
The second part of the first assignment
is a very simple web-based exercise. I would like you to send me three links
to internet resources related to lab 3 (DNA technology) and two for lab 4 (Seeds
and food) The resources may be articles, lectures, papers, anything you can
find… BUT they must be directly relevant to the specific content of the
lab and they must be of an appropriate level so that they will actually be useful
for students studying in this class. For each link, write one or two sentences
accurately describing the page’s content and it’s strengths and
weaknesses as a learning aid for this week's lab exercises.
Points will be deducted if the resource is not (in my view) directly relevant
to the lab, or if your description does not closely match the actual content
of the resource. This assignment was due on or before Friday August 6th, but
everything in life is negotiable.
HOMEWORK WEEK 2
For your second assignment I will give you some options. For 10 points, pick
ONE of the following:
1) The first option deals with a well known evolutionary biology resource called
the “talk.origins archive.” This site has a nice summary of current
evidences for the occurrence of evolution:
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/
Another area deals only with observed instances of speciation.
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-speciation.html
Go to the speciation area. Scroll down to sections 5.1 and 5.2 that deal with
plant speciation. Pick any ONE of the descriptions in this area and rewrite
it so that the description would make sense to someone with NO knowledge of
plant biology terms. A plant biology dictionary may help you here. Try to eliminate
as many technical terms as you can and make your description the simplest it
can possibly be while still retaining as much of the original meaning as possible.
2) Your second option is to read the document: “other stuff you should
know about living things” available at http://140.254.31.4/plant_biology102/PB102_powerpoint_list.html
This is a longer version of the document you used for the first homework. Go
through this document and tell me what you know well, what you are vaguely familiar
with and what you don’t know at all. I am especially looking for any instances
where what you think you know appears to be different from what is in the document.
In these cases, be sure to tell me what you believe and how it differs from
what appears in the document. The point of this exercise is to allow me to continue
to expand my estimation of your background knowledge AND to identify common
misconceptions about biological phenomenon, especially those that may be widespread
in society as a whole.
3) Your third option is to ask me to send you a short essay question dealing
with some aspect of plant biology that interests you. If you pick this option,
you should send me, or (I will suggest to you), a news story, plant process,
species, technology or phenomena that seems especially relevant to your life
or interests. I will then send you a short essay question that you will answer
in one page or less. I will expect you to support your answer with links to
a couple of relevant internet resources. You can use this option more than once
(i.e for future homework assignments) if you like.
4) Option 4 See me if you want to develop some other 10 point plant biology
related assignment of your choosing.
HOMEWORK WEEK 3
You have three options:
option 1) The first one is a real challenge, intended only for people who really
want to expand or develop their ability to identify plant families.
Bring me 10 leaves (or small twigs) from 10 different trees. In each case, label
the leaf to tell me what family the tree belongs to. Try to pick a mix of gymnosperms
and angiosperms. Also, if you already have a background in taxonomy (we have
a few landscapers in the class), try to pick species that are unfamiliar so
that you EXPAND your knowledge. No point learning stuff you already know. (Honor
system applies here!)
A partial list of plant families is available at:
http://biodiversity.uno.edu/delta/angio/#E
There are hundreds of plant families.... recognizing which family a plant belongs
to is a challenge even for professional botanists. Consider asking someone in
the Plant Science Department (your TA or the greenhouse staff) for help. If
you do a google search for different combinations of keywords like < tree
identification guide key families > you will also find many resources that
may help you.
OR
option 2) Simply write a list of 25 common names of plants you think most people
have heard of.
When you have written the list go on to step 2:
Find the scientific name of the family that each of these 20 plants belongs
to. Often, simply googling the common name followed by < family scientific
name > will reveal what you need. Try to remember as many of the family names
as you can for future reference.
OR
option 3) Some other project that I approve for you. See me or email me for
this option.
HOMEWORK WEEK 4
Submit three exam questions appropriate for section 2 of your final exam. Make sure that the questions are not the same as any that appear on your midterm or in the sample question page online. Make sure they are of an appropriate level and scope. The questions may cover any aspect of any part of this class so long as it was discussed either in lecture or lab. Some of the best questions I receive will be distributed to the class and some of the VERY best questions will be used in the final exam.
OR
Some other project that I approve for you. See me or email me for this option.
