Last updated: August 20, 2009 09:24 PM

Biology C2005 -- Fall 2009

Profs. Lawrence Chasin and Deborah Mowshowitz

Tues. and Thurs           Sec. 1: 10:35 - 11:50 AM  in Room 417 International Affairs (IAB)
Sec. 2: 5:40 - 6:55 PM  in 309 Havemeyer

Biology C2005 is an introductory course for science majors and premedical students who have completed a year of college chemistry. (Why take chemistry first? See FAQ's for First Year Students.) Students who have not had chemistry or who are not science majors or premeds should consult the instructor before registering. Biol. C2005 is the first half of the two semester sequence C2005-C2006. The entire sequence covers the fundamental principles of modern biology. C2005 covers biochemistry, genetics and evolution; C2006 covers cell biology, developmental biology and physiology.

Biology C2005 does not include a laboratory; an introductory laboratory is offered as a separate course. The lab course (Biol. W2501) is taught in both semesters and can be taken concurrently, at a later time, or not at all. W2501 is primarily intended for premedical students who are not biology majors. (To check the lab requirements for the biology major, or a related major, see the department undergraduate majors page.) Students in C2005 do NOT have to register for W2501. They may take a different lab course OR take W2501 at another time. 

See the advice page for information on how to get the most out of this course. There is advice from both instructors and former students on how to succeed in Bio C2005/F2401.

Note: The lectures and exams in Biol. C2005 and F2401 are identical, but the recitation sections are different. C2005 is graded independently of F2401 (the grades in C2005 are not affected by the performance of the students in F2401). Post-baccalaureate students and students in Continuing Education must enroll in F2401. All C2005 students may attend lectures in either course. Students registered for either the morning or the evening sections are welcome to attend either lecture; the evening lectures are a repeat of the same lectures as the morning, given by the same lecturer. Indeed, the evening lecture is sometimes improved by the morning experience, and there should be plenty of room. However, C2005 students must attend a C2005 recitation section, and must take exams at the times listed on this schedule. The evening lectures are Tues & Thurs in 309 Havemeyer at 5:40 PM.

BASIC TEXTS for Fall 2009
(First 2 should be available at the CU Bookstore. You need not necessarily buy texts 1 and 2; it depends on your background and your learning style. Alternative free online sources are available. Everything you need to know for exams will be covered in the lectures; you will not be held responsible for any material in these texts that is not covered in lecture (i.e., that is found solely in the texts). You absolutely must buy book #3.

1. Becker, Kleinsmith, and Hardin, The World of the Cell, 7th ed., Benjamin Cummings, 2008. We will cover more than half of the book (see Reading List). This book is very strong on biochemistry but weak on genetics and has no evolution at all. The 6th edition is not as up to date, but will be okay if you want to save money, as it can be had at Amazon for as little as $15 as of 8/20/08. If you already have another recent cell biology book, you don't need to get Becker. There are several cell biology books available online as part of the PubMed bookshelf. However, topics online are apparently accessible only by searching, i.e., no browsing. Keep in mind that Becker will also be used similarly in the second semester of Intro Bio, Biol. C2006.

2. Sadava, Heller, Orians, Purves and Hill,  Life: The Science of Biology, 8th Edition, Sinauer-Freeman, 2008. In the 6th and 7th editions of this text, Purves is the first author. This book supplies the topics missing in Becker -- basic genetics and evolution for this term; physiology and development for next term. If you have any other recent comprehensive college biology text, such as Campbell or Gould & Keeton or the 6th or 7th edition of Purves, then you don't need to buy a new intro bio text -- any current college biology text will cover the same material. Just use the index to find the material.  And the 7th edition can be had online for just a few dollars. See Kimball's Biology Pages if you prefer to use an online basic bio text. Again, topics online are apparently accessible only by searching, i.e., no browsing. Savada will also be used in the second semester of Intro Bio, Biol. C2006.

3. Mowshowitz, Problems in Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, 19th edition, revised (2009). The 19th edition  & the 18th edition (original or revised) are very similar. This book, also known as "the problem book" contains study questions and problems from old exams; it also contains brief answers to the questions.  This book is available from the Village Copier on Broadway near 112th St. You do not need this book in advance. You are urged to get this book and start doing the problems regularly as soon as the first lecture has been delivered (but not before that).  Some of the older editions (15h, 16h, & 17h) will do in a pinch, but we do not recommend using them, because they have significant differences from the more recent editions. We strongly recommend using the 18th or 19th edition. If you have an older edition see the corrections page for an update.

SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS: The two textbooks cover most of the material in the lectures, but you may want to consult more advanced texts (print or online) occasionally for details on specific topics. Almost any standard biochemistry, cell biology or genetics text will do the job. Click here for a list of recommended texts and online resources. Most of the recommended texts are on reserve in the Biology Library, and many of them are available online as part of the PubMed bookshelf (most relevant are books by the following first authors: Berg, Cooper, Strachan, Griffiths, Alberts, Lodish). All the additional texts listed are good, but many former students have recommended especially Biochemistry by Stryer (or Berg et al. in later editions) and The Molecular Biology of the Cell by Alberts et al. For more problems, see A Problems Approach to Introductory Biology by Brian White and Michelle Mischke.

HANDOUTS: There will be many handouts in this class to help you follow what is going on in lectures and to make note taking easier. Extra copies of the materials handed out in class will be available on the class website or in the cubby-hole boxes outside 744 Mudd.

STUDY QUESTIONS AND PRACTICE EXAMS:  The questions in the problem book are intended to help you focus your studying on the important issues and to help you test your understanding. An additional page of questions ('recitation questions') will be handed out each week in recitation. You can also consult last year’s exams, which are posted along with answers on the course Web site as the semester progresses. The problems that you should be able to work on are posted shortly after each lecture. You are urged to discuss the questions with your fellow students. The problems will be discussed in recitation section along with any other questions you may have. Your answers problems are not handed in and are not graded. The best way to prepare for the exams is to work on the problem sets before the problems are reviewed in recitation. You are not expected to know all the answers before recitation starts, but you are expected to have worked on the problems in the problem book and to have questions of your own.

It is virtually impossible to overemphasize the importance of trying hard to solve the problems -- generations of students will swear that problem solving is the key to success in this course.  It is the way you actually learn the subject, as well as the best way to prepare for the exams. Do not plan to do all the problems the night before each exam - there are way too many! For more advice on how to do the problems, see the advice from students page. Finally, it is virtually impossible to overemphasize the importance of trying hard to solve the problems . . .

RECITATIONS:  C2005 is a 4 point course -- it is 4 points, not 3, because of the weekly recitation. The recitation sections are run by teaching assistants  -- usually either graduate students or undergrads who have taken and aced the course. The sessions are used to (1) answer student questions on the lecture material; (2) go over the solutions to the problems in the problem book & the recitation questions; and (3) give weekly quizzes (see below). Some TA's also give a mini-lecture that constitutes a brief overview of the current material. Many students find the recitations very helpful --- the TA's help them master the material and the quizzes keep them up to date. There will be a weekly quiz and you may earn up to 60 quiz points toward your final grade in the course. Note carefully that the only way to be sure of getting all 60 points is to participate in your recitation faithfully throughout the term. If you goof off for most of the semester, you can't earn extra points at the end. You may also organize a study group on your own - a recommended activity.  You sign up for recitations using an online form at the course Web site that will be available after classes start.  Recitations will begin the second week of class.  Quizzes start the third week of class.  Questions regarding recitation section assignment should be directed to:  Becky Lu ( bl2384@columbia.edu ).

QUIZZES: There will be weekly quizzes in recitation worth 10 points each. The quizzes will be written and graded by the teaching assistant and will be different for each section. At the end of the term, each teaching assistant will assign up to 60 points to each student in his or her section. You must take at least 8 quizzes to get any quiz credit. A maximum of 60 points of quiz credit will be added to your exam total in calculating your final grade. The questions on the quizzes are usually much easier than the questions on the exams.

EXAMS & GRADES: There will be 3 exams given during the term and a 4th at the time of the final. All midterm exams will be given in the evening. The exam questions will be similar to the recitation problems & the study questions in the problem book; they will generally be significantly more difficult than the weekly quizzes given in recitation. All 4 exams will be cumulative but will stress material covered since the last exam. Each of the 4 exams will be graded on the basis of 100 points. To lessen the effect of doing poorly on one particular exam, your lowest exam grade of the first 3 will not be counted.  The fourth exam grade (final exam) will always be counted. Your final grade will include up to a maximum of 60 points from quizzes. For example, if you attained all 60 quiz points and received grades of 60, 80, 70 and 40 for exams 1 to 4, respectively, your final grade would be 250/360 maximum calculated by dropping exam 1. This policy is designed to make sure you study for and take the fourth exam and that you prepare for and attend recitations. Pass/fail students must take the fourth exam to earn a pass. If you must miss a midterm exam for any reason, that is the one that will be dropped. Students who wish to register for R credit must obtain permission from one of the instructors. Note: The last day to switch to Pass/Fail or W (in GS) comes before the third exam. This is the absolutely last day to request a UW grade from the instructors. See the lecture schedule for the exact date.

CONTACTING THE INSTRUCTORS: Students are urged to contact the instructors about the course material by e-mail or in person (as opposed to phone or paper mail). Dr. Chasin's and Dr. Mowshowitz's regular office hours are listed below; please avail yourselves of these office hours if you have specific questions or want to hear others' specific questions. If problems arise at other times, please leave a message by e-mail, phone mail, or by leaving a message in the appropriate paper mailbox:

Dr. Chasin: 854-4645. Office: 912 Fairchild. Paper mailbox (7th floor of Fairchild): #2433.
E-mail: lac2@columbia.edu. Office hours 1-2 Tues and Thurs in 912 Fairchild

Dr. Mowshowitz: 854-4497. Office: 744D Mudd. Paper mailbox (7th floor of Fairchild): #2453.
E-mail: dbm2@columbia.edu. Office hours 1-2 Tues and Wed and 4-5 Thurs in 744D Mudd.

Questions of an administrative nature (recitation scheduling, exam grade posting, exam room assignment, etc.) should be directed to the Intro Bio Administrator Becky Lu ( bl2384@columbia.edu )

COURSE WEB SITE: Access to the course Web site is absolutely required. The address of the course web site (home page) is http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/courses/c2005. The web site serves as a bulletin board for the course and it is essential that you visit it regularly (several times a week) for announcements, updates, and changes. The web page will contain updated schedules for exams, recitations & review sessions as well as the lectures. It will also include lecture notes, most of the handouts, grades, recitation assignments, exam keys, and exams from last year.

WEB NOTES: The lecture notes will be posted the night before each lecture, often very late. If you want to read ahead, look at last year's web notes, which are very similar and are accessible via last's year's Web site. The live lectures may omit or abbreviate some topics that are covered more fully in the online lecture notes. Some material may be omitted from the live lecture for various reasons, such as to allow more time for reviewing difficult concepts, or to allow an expanded class discussion.  Students are responsible for all the material in the online web notes, whether it is covered in class or not.  

WHAT TO READ: The readings listed on the schedule are intended as a guide and NOT as an assignment, so be selective. It usually pays to read one of the two basic texts (Becker or Savada) before you come to class so you will be familiar with the terminology and the basic ideas. It usually does not pay to spend a lot of time outlining the book because you need to concentrate on the material covered in class, not all the material in the book(s). Specific pages or sections are listed (intended to match the lectures) but you may find it more helpful to read whole chapters in order, especially if you have had no background in biology. In general, Becker is better for the biochemistry and part of the course and Savada is better for the genetics and evolution. After the lecture, you should read whatever you feel is necessary to understand the lectures, to do the problems and to satisfy your curiosity.

If you want to look up a specific topic in one of the supplementary texts, use the index in the book (or the search function on the web) - don't read whole chapters. Wholesale reading of the supplementary texts is NOT recommended (it takes too much time and the books are cluttered with details that are unnecessary for this course). Many of the supplementary texts cover the same topics, and any one of them will do. Read whichever one you have handy or like the best. Do not read them all.

A fair number of experimental methods will be discussed in class. Both texts describe some of these, but not always in the sections assigned for that lecture. To find out where a particular method is described in the texts, consult the indexes or The Guide to Techniques inside the front cover of Becker. For more information, try searching the PubMed bookshelf.