Types of  Microscopy    Brightfield - Phase Contrast - Nomarski - Dark Field     Go to Photo Caption  

Biology 150 - General Biology - Section PT/P2
Lecture Schedule  -  Fall 1997  -  28 August to December 5, 1997
 
An integrated presentation of important biological processes and principles
designed to teach the literacy of biology to science majors.
  
 

course demographics

testing & grades

tutorials & study guides

syllabus

Instructor - Charles Mallery, Ashe Bldg. 205 - Associate Dean  &  Master Pearson College.

Office Hours - call his secretary, June, for an appointment : 284-3188.

Textbook - "Biology" by Neil Campbell, published by Benjamin Cummings , 4th edition, 1996, 1190 pages : ISBN 0-8053-1940-9.

Lecture - The lecture will be from 10:50 am to 12:05 pm,  on Tuesday's & Thursday's in the Cox Science Bldg., Room 126.  

Workshops - a series of practice problem sets to be completed by small groups of students working together with a facilitator. Workshops will meet from 5:00pm to 6:15pm on Tuesday's in rooms to be assigned.  Also, please remember that the laboratory course [BIL 151] is a co-requisite to Biology 150.

Special Needs - if you have special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and need assistance please do not hesitate to contact me. Additionally, if you have special needs regarding exams (privacy, large type, longer time) you may contact the Office of Disability Services (room 108 in the Panhellenic Bldg.) and its director, Nicola Cuminskey, 284-6434, for assistance.

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There will be four examinations. The first three will be given during the semster on Tuesday's from 5:00pm to 6:15pm, the scheduled workshop period. Each of the regular semester exams will be composed of 50 multiple choice questions. The final exam will be material since the last test plus a cumulative portion and will be most probably 100 multiple choice questions. The complete course total will be 550 points, 100 points for each of the 3 semester tests, 200 points for the final exam, and 50 points coming from your particiaption in the weekly workshops.  Your grade will be determined from a curve of the maximum points achieved by any student.

POST-EXAM ANALYSIS ........One of the best ways to find out how to change your study and test-taking tactics is to analyze your recent exam. I will post keys to the exams in the lobby of the Cox Science building, usually the same day as the exam. You will be allowed to keep your test, when you leave the exam room. You should mark the correct answers on your exam. Then, for every question you miss you should write down two things: 1) why you chose the answer that you chose (the incorrect answer) and 2) why you did not choose the correct answer. Do this as soon as you finish the exam while you still remember why you chose specific answers. Waiting until just before the next test to do this type of critical thinking often does not work. Also, be very specific. Saying that you chose an answer because you thought it was right one is obvious... better is to ask...Why did you think that it, above all other choices in the question, was correct; What scientific fact(s) lead you to choose that answer choice. Whatever the reason is, write it down.... (you thought protein were made of sugars, a car backfired and distracted you, your roommate told you the nucleus of the cell makes candy, the material was not in your notes, you did not study). Once you have done this for every question that you missed, you should look for any trends. If you can not find any trends then, bring the analyzed exam to me, and I will try to help. I have had students tell me that they now do this in all of their classes and that it is very helpful.

ACADEMIC ETHICS: Cheating will NOT be tolerated. It does not affect the instructor but directly affects every student. Since most large classes are graded on a curve, the unfair elevation of the grades of a few artificially lowers both the grades and value of the degree of the majority. The Biology Department has adopted the policy that the penalty for cheating, plagiarism, or acquiescence in them shall be FAILURE of the course.

During tests we will assume that you are cheating if your eyes wander from your paper to another's or that you are passing answers if we observe you talking. You will be required to sign your answer sheet in compliance with the following statement:

            SIGNATURE:________ On my honor, I have neither given nor received any aid on this examination.

The instructor of this course supports the University of Miami Honor Code. Cheating, plagiarism, or acquiescence in these activities is subject to the provisions of the Honor Code.

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 Course Resources and Help - In addition to the resources listed just below, don't forget to browse to the links highlighted under each lecture topics for helpful hints, notes, and goodies of all sorts.

The TOP 12 Things to do to be successful in BIL 150.

Survival of the Fittest... Some Academic Survival Skills or How to Succeed in Biology without Really Trying.

Enter the new Online Testing Center for Department of Biology's recent multiple choice exams in interactive format!    The Web address for the Biology Department server is http://fig.cox.miami.edu .     Course materials and interactive examinations can be found on the Biology "Home Page" under the heading "Courses".

 Some really hot topics, i.e.,  Scientific significa  of absolutely no consequence;  It's just for the pure joy of reading some of the vast biological trivia and unimportant facts that are published everyday..... read and enjoy.

  Internet Biology Links ... a collection of useful and interesting web pages that deal with a number of biology topics that can help a student gather more detailed information about some of the courses topics. Please let Dr. Mallery is any of hte links are no longer active. You can send an E-mail to Dr. Mallery by clicking on the address below.

E-mail Dr. Mallery: cmallery@umiami.edu   

Caption : Four different types of light microscopy. The images are of a fibroblast cell grown in culture.  When light is passed through a living cell, the phase of the light waves is changed according to the cell's Refractive Index. Light passing throuh a dense cell part [nucleus] has its phase retarded relative to the light passing through the cytoplasm, thus creating contrast.

Brightfield Microscopy: Standard transmission of light through the cell, which has very little contrast. A cell is 70% water, thus most of the cell is basically colorless and translucent, i.e., invisible to the eye.	Phase Contrast Microscopy: Incident light [Io] is out of phase with transmitted light [I] and when the phases of the light are synchronized by an interference lens, a new image with greater contrast is seen.
Nomarski (phase contrast) Microscopy:  is also known as differential interference contrast micro- scopy. Synchronizing of the different phases of incident and transmitted light is done by a set of special condenser lens mounted below the stage of a microscope.	Dark Field Microscopy: Here the illuminating rays of light are directed from the side so that only scattered light enters the microscope lenses, consequently the cell appears as an illuminated object against the view.

Stressed out as finals approach????? Here are some handy hints.

University of Miami Home Page | Biology Home Page | Dr. Mallery's Home Page | On-Line Testing Center.