Principles of Genetics BIOL 3060 – Fall 2020

Instructor Information

Instructor: Dr. James Pitts Office: Geol 301 Drop-in Office Hours: Tues 1:00-2:00 pm (and by appointment) via Webex E-mail: [email protected]

Teaching Assistant Information

GTA: Brenna Decker E-mail: [email protected]

UTF: Nathan Barber E-mail: [email protected]

UTF: Braden Geddes E-mail: [email protected]

Course Format

This course is an introduction to genetics and will be ALL ONLINE. You will learn how genetics is important to us on the individual level as well as to society as a whole. This course mixes traditional lectures, homework in solving genetics problems, which are mostly mathematical, and assigned readings. Topics covered include DNA structure and function, transmission of genetic material, population and evolutionary genetics, and molecular aspects of modern genetics. This course will be a Hybrid Class. Lectures will be available online asynchronously via CANVAS. A subset of the class will either meet online on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays during the regularly scheduled class time for an SI session to focused on problem-solving sessions while working with the TAs via WEBEX. To get the most out of the problem-solving sessions, it is imperative that you have watched the week’s lectures beforehand.

Textbook & Course Materials

Required Text Meneely, P., et al., Genetics – Genes, Genomes, and Evolution (2017) Oxford University Press

Optional Additional Text Pierce, B. A., Genetics – A Conceptual Approach, 6th ed (2017) or 5th ed (2013) W.H. Freeman

Notes on Options for Purchasing a Text:

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Option 1: DO NOTHING AND SPEND NO MORE MONEY! This course is enrolled in Inclusive Access (IA) and your course fees automatically give you access to an electronic, interactive version of the book on the first day of classes.

Option 2: To get a paper copy of the book in addition to IA, you can purchase a loose- leaf version of the text from Amazon $145.99 (ISBN 9780198828730)

Option 3: To get a hard copy of the book in addition to IA, you can purchase a hardback version of the text from Amazon $179.95 (ISBN 9780198795360)

Non-Option: It’s possible to buy pirated versions of the text. Don’t try it.

Inclusive Access (IA) to your Textbook

When you pay your course fees, you automatically gain access to an electronic copy of the book as well as Student Resources. The Student Resources that accompany Genetics: Genes, Genomes, and Evolution are as follows:

• Video tutorials • Flashcard glossaries • Further reading • Online Box 16.1: Genetics in local populations

I have no way to ensure that you use these resources. You must obviously understand, however, that using the resources will only increase your understanding of the material and your resulting grade. As such, I strongly recommend you using these resources.

Course Objectives & Learning Outcomes

Essential Learning Objective Learning Outcomes (from the IDEA Center)

Objective 1. Gaining factual knowledge You will be able to recall facts, such as how meiosis produces genetic (terminology, methods, trends). variation.

You will be able to combat misconceptions regarding the key processes of the Objective 2. Learning fundamental principles, natural world, and understand how we have acquired the scientific knowledge generalizations, or theories. we have today.

Objective 3. Learning to apply course materials By understanding the course material you will be able to think critically about (to improve rational thinking, problem solving, and topics in genetics (like newly emerging biotechnology) and be able to work decisions). through complex problems relating to genetic topics.

Class discussion and problem sets will help strengthen problem-solving skills. Objective 4. Developing skills in expressing It is also time for you to practice expressing complex concepts to your peers oneself orally or in writing. orally as well as in writing.

You will meet the objectives listed above through a combination of the following activities in this course:

▪ Attend the real-time SI sessions online! This is the easiest way to do well in this class.

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▪ Complete the problem sets on time. This will not only help your grade but will also better prepare you for tests. ▪ Participate in discussion, ask questions, and don’t be afraid to talk to your TAs during the SI session or instructor during office hours. ▪ If you do poorly, you have only yourself (not the instructor or TAs) to blame. ▪ THIS IS A DIFFICULT SUBJECT AND YOU NEED TO BE AN ACTIVE PARITICIPANT IN YOUR LEARNING.

Assignments and Point-Awarding Activities

Attendance of Weekly SI sessions The class will be broken into three sections and each section will be assigned a TA and one day of the week to attend a SI session. Attendance will be taken. Attendance of the SI session constitutes 5% of your overall course score. In order to receive these points, you have to attend 75% of the SI sessions. It is all or nothing, so if you attend less than 75% of the sessions, you receive 0%. These SI sessions will be recorded and posted to Canvas.

Weekly Reading Quizzes The purpose of the reading quizzes is to ensure that you have read the textbook and reviewed critical material before and after class. There are difficult topics presented in the asynchronous lectures and it is important to have the foundational information you need to work through the concepts and to be successful at working on the genetics problem sets.

The required reading for each quiz will be posted on Canvas on the course page. It will be updated throughout the semester and reminders will be made, when possible, via Canvas.

Reading quizzes will be completed in Canvas and will be available no later (and generally much earlier) than 7 pm Monday. Reading quizzes close on Fridays at 8 pm. Late submissions are not allowed. Remember that these quizzes will help you master genetics. You’ll squander this opportunity and pay for it on exams if you simply copy correct answers from a partner. To ensure that you read, some questions may come directly from the reading and will not be discussed during lecture.

The number of questions on each quiz will vary. All questions are weighed equally with your overall quiz score calculated based on the percentage of all questions answered correctly. The final reading quiz score constitutes 20% of your overall course score.

Problem Sets You will work in the SI sessions on example problems similar to the questions from the problem sets. You will solve genetics problems that relate to the topics we have been discussing in class. Problem sets are due every other week as outlined in the class schedule. Problem sets will be submitted through Canvas and be due no later than Midnight on the dates posted. Beyond this time, submissions will not be accepted. The

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problem sets allow you to work on improving your genetics problem solving skills, and will be typically mathematically oriented. The final Problem Set score constitutes 25% of your overall course score.

Exams There will be four hourly exams and one comprehensive final exam. The lowest score of the four hourly exams will be dropped. The final cannot be dropped. Exam questions will focus primarily on the concepts covered during lectures and in the problem sets, but may also include questions from the reading quizzes, the textbook, and questions I pose during lectures. All exams will be taken through Canvas. Exams will be open over a two-day testing period, typically Wednesday and Thursday. Submissions will not be accepted after the end of the test. Exams will be timed to reduce cheating. The final exam score constitutes 50% of your overall course score.

Grading

The most stringent possible grading scale is shown here. Points may be added at the instructor’s discretion to exams, problem sets, or the reading quiz score.

Grade Percentage Grade Percentage

A- 92-100% C- 72-77% A- 90-91% C- 70-71% B+ 88-89% D+ 68-69%

B+ 82-87% D+ 60-67%

B- 80-81% F+ < 60% C+ 78-79%

Final grades assigned for this course will be based on the percentage of total points earned and are assigned as follows:

Assignment Weight (%) Attendance of SI session 5% Weekly Reading Quizzes 20% Exam 1 11% Exam 2 11% Exam 3 11% Exam 4* -- Final Exam 17% Problem Sets 25% TOTAL 100%

*There will be four hourly exams, but the lowest score will be dropped.

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Course Policies & Expectations

▪ You must attend problem solving sessions. ▪ If you cheat on any assignment you will automatically get a zero. No exceptions. ▪ Deadlines for quizzes and problem set submissions are firm. ▪ Individual extra credit activities are not available. ▪ Grading of exam questions or problem sets is open for discussion up to 48 hours after scores are returned to the class, but not beyond this time. ▪ If you contest grading of problem sets, first work with the TA to see if the issue can be resolved, and see me only if the issue cannot be resolved after working with the TA.

Everyone knows that problems can occur. I’m reasonable and will be happy to discuss unforeseen events with you and possibly make adjustments, but there must be a well-justified reason for making any exceptions to the above listed course policies.

Materials on Canvas Reading lists, PowerPoint slides presented in class, and many other important resources will be available on Canvas and updated as the semester goes on. You should check this site frequently.

Office Hours and Meeting with the Instructor Feel free to stop by during regular office hours via Webex. I know these times are limited, so if you can’t come during regularly scheduled office hours, please, send me an e-mail to set up an alternative time to meet.

Lecture Schedule Due to the course being asynchronous, I should be able to stay as close to the lecture schedule targets listed below in the “tentative schedule” section. However, if history is a good predictor, it’s almost certain that adjustments will be needed as the semester unfolds.

Critical Deadlines Deadlines for adding and dropping the course with various notations on your transcript and for changing to P/D+/D/F are all given in the Registration Calendar at: https://catalog.usu.edu/content.php?catoid=12&navoid=14908. If you find yourself wondering about any of these options, please, check the posted dates carefully.

University Policies

Academic Honesty and Integrity Policy Policies described in the USU Academic Integrity/Honesty document (https://studentconduct.usu.edu/studentcode/article6) will be followed for this course.

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ADA compliance Students with physical, sensory, emotional or medical impairments may be eligible for reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. All accommodations are coordinated through the Disability Resource Center (DRC) in Room 101 of the University Inn, 797- 2444 voice, 797-0740 TTY, or toll free at 1-800- 259-2966. Please, contact the DRC as early in the semester as possible. Alternate format materials (Braille, large print or digital) are available with advance notice.

General Advice for this Course

Realize that you’re going to need to spend a lot of time on this course, and that you must keep up with watching lectures, textbook readings, using the IA portion of your textbook, weekly quizzes, and problem sets. Immerse yourself in your courses. This is your responsibility and yours alone. Be careful to avoid the trap of having your classmates do the problem solving with you. You can easily get a great score on the problem sets, but things won’t go well on exams and you won’t gain much from the class if you lean on others to do your work.

Page 6 Tentative Class Schedule Principles of Genetics Class Schedule1 Day & Date Topic Chapter2 Assignments3 M 31-Aug Introduction to Course; Introduction to Genetics 1 Quiz 1 open (due by Friday 8pm) W 2-Sep The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology 2 F 4-Sep The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology 2 M 7-Sep LABOR DAY Quiz 2 open (due by Friday 8pm) W 9-Sep Genome Structure, Organization and Variation 3 Problem Set #1 Due by Friday F 11-Sep Genome Structure, Organization and Variation 3 Midnight M 14-Sep Descent with Modification 4 Quiz 3 open (due by Friday 8pm) W 16-Sep Descent with Modification 4 F 18-Sep Descent with Modification 4 M 21-Sep The Inheritance of Single Gene Traits 5 Quiz 4 open (due by Friday 8pm) W 23-Sep The Inheritance of Single Gene Traits 5 Exam 1 Problem Set #2 Due by Friday F 25-Sep The Inheritance of Single Gene Traits 5 Midnight M 28-Sep The Cellular Basis for Mendelian Genetics 6 Quiz 5 open (due by Friday 8pm) W 30-Sep The Cellular Basis for Mendelian Genetics 6 F 2-Oct The Cellular Basis for Mendelian Genetics 6 M 5-Oct X-linked Genes and Sex Chromosomes 7 Quiz 6 open (due by Friday 8pm) W 7-Oct X-linked Genes and Sex Chromosomes 7 Problem Set #3 Due by Friday F 9-Oct X-linked Genes and Sex Chromosomes 7 Midnight M 12-Oct Pedigrees 5 / Pierce 6 Quiz 7 open (due by Friday 8pm) W 14-Oct Pedigrees 5 / Pierce 6 Exam 2 F 16-Oct Pedigrees 5 / Pierce 6 M 19-Oct The Inheritance of Multiple Genes 8 Quiz 8 open (due by Friday 8pm) W 21-Oct The Inheritance of Multiple Genes 8 Problem Set #4 Due by Friday F 23-Oct The Inheritance of Multiple Genes 8 Midnight M 26-Oct The Locations of Genes on Chromosomes 9 Quiz 9 open (due by Friday 8pm) W 28-Oct The Locations of Genes on Chromosomes 9 F 30-Oct The Locations of Genes on Chromosomes 9 M 2-Nov Human Genetic Mapping 10 Quiz 10 open (due by Friday 8pm) W 4-Nov Exchange and Evolution 11 Exam 3 Problem Set #5 Due by Friday F 6-Nov Exchange and Evolution 11 Midnight M 9-Nov Transcription 12 Quiz 11 open (due by Friday 8pm) W 11-Nov Transcription 12 F 13-Nov Transcription 12 M 16-Nov Translation 13 Quiz 12 open (due by Friday 8pm)

Principles of Genetics Fall 2020

W 18-Nov Translation 13 Problem Set #6 Due by Friday F 20-Nov Translation 13 Midnight M 23-Nov W 25-Nov THANKSGIVING BREAK – NO CLASS F 27-Nov M 30-Nov Linkage, Recombination, & Eukaryotic Gene Mapping 14 Quiz 13 open (due by Friday 8pm) W 2-Dec Linkage, Recombination, & Eukaryotic Gene Mapping 14 Exam 4 F 4-Dec Genetic Analysis of Cellular Processes 15 M 7-Dec Genetic Analysis of Cellular Processes 15 Quiz 14 open (due by Friday 8pm) W 9-Dec Genetics of Populations 16 Problem Set #7 Due by Friday F 11-Dec Genetics of Populations 16 Midnight 9-13 Dec Finals Week Final Exam 1. Don’t be surprised if adjustments are needed during the semester. The only things that are locked in place are exam dates and the holidays 2. This is an overview reading list. Details can be found on the assigned reading Canvas page. 3. All exams will be administered through Canvas.

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