C2006  '03 INTRODUCTION TO MOLECULAR & CELLULAR BIOLOGY II 

Please read all of this carefully even if you took C2005 last term. 

Biology C2006 is the second term of a one year introductory course for undergraduates who are premedical students and/or majors (or concentrators) in biology, biochemistry, biophysics, engineering, or neurosciences & behavior. Post-baccalaureate students must enroll in F2402. Bio C2006 covers cell biology, developmental biology and physiology. Students in C2006 should have completed Bio C2005 or the equivalent.

Class meets in 202 Atschul at Barnard, Tuesday & Thursday, 10:35 - 11:50 am. 

For additional information see Lecture Schedule and Textbooks.

C2006 vs. F2402: The lectures in C2006 and F2402 are identical, and students in either course may attend either set of lectures. (F2402 lectures are in 301 Pupin, 5:40 - 6:55 pm, Tuesday & Thursday). The lectures are the same but the recitations are separate -- students in C2006 must attend a C2006 recitation (or an official study group). The exams for both classes are given at the same time in the evening  (at 5:40). Students with conflicts can come at 7:30; see Schedule for exam dates. If you have a time conflict with the exams, please speak to Dr. Mowshowitz  (directly or by phone mail or e-mail) ASAP. The grading scale for both courses is the same (except for the points earned in recitation), so there is no advantage (gradewise) to taking "the other" class. See below for details of grading.

SCHEDULING PROBLEMS: If you need to take C2006, but the lectures conflict with another required class, you can register for C2006, register for and attend a C2006 recitation, but attend the evening lectures. You will need to fill out an overlap form, obtainable from your Dean or class office; you will also have to register in person instead of over the phone.

RECITATIONS: C2006 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 graduate students or undergrads who have taken and aced the course). The sessions will be used to (1) answer student questions on the lecture material; (2) go over the solutions to the problems in the problem book; (3) go over special 'recitation' problems and assignments that are designed to introduce and/or review important topics and to (4) give weekly quizzes (see below). The recitation is designed to help you understand and master the material. To keep you from falling behind, there will be a weekly quiz on the current material 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 attend your recitation regularly  throughout the term. If you goof off for most of the semester, you can't earn extra points at the end.  You sign up for recitations using an online form at the course Web site which will be ready shortly.  Recitations will begin the week of Jan 27, 2003. Quizzes (and study group reports) will start the following week. 

QUIZZES: There will be weekly quizzes in recitation worth 10 points each. The quizzes will be written and graded by the teaching assistants 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.

EXAMS: There will be 2 exams given during the term and a 3rd during final exams week. The exam questions will be similar to the study questions in the problem book and will probably be more difficult than the weekly quizzes given in recitation. All 3 exams will stress material covered since the last exam, but the exams may refer back to topics covered earlier, since each section builds upon the material covered in previous ones.  Each of the 3 exams will be graded on the basis of 100 points. 

If there is an emergency at the time of the final, you will have to apply for an Incomplete (which your class office must approve) and take a make up exam at the officially scheduled time. 

ADVICE:  If you did not take C2005/F2401 last term, be sure to read "Advice to Students". If can't hurt to re-read it anyway even if you did take C2005. 

STUDY QUESTIONS AND PRACTICE EXAMS: The questions in the problem book are intended to help you develop skills in problem solving and critical thinking about the topics discussed in class. You are urged to discuss the questions with your fellow students. The questions from the problem book will be discussed in recitation along with any other questions you may have. 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 and to have questions of your own. Additional questions ("recitation questions")  will be given out weekly in recitation. 

HANDOUTS: Extra copies of all handouts distributed in class will be available in the cubby boxes on the 7th floor of Mudd (aka Fairchild Extension) at the far end of the hall (outside 744 Mudd). Copies of some handouts will also be available on the web.

GRADING: We will use the following scale for grading, assuming that the average exam grade is about 80:

	90-100	A-, A
	80-89	B-, B, B+
	70-79	C-, C, C+
	60-69	D
	<59	F

That is, if all the students in the course get over 90, everyone will get an A, no matter what the "curve" is. This distribution is based on the assumption that the average exam grade is about 80. If exams prove to be more difficult than expected, and the exam mean is less than 80, then we will lower the cut-off points for grades appropriately, and publicize a new grading scale. This new scale will be determined by the grades in C2006, and the grades for F2402 will then follow the same scale. Note that the test scores earned by the postbacs do not affect this grading scale and there is no advantage to taking one course over the other.