 Online Study Day
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 Wednesday, November 14, 2007.
 Brain exercise quizzes?
Have you started the genetic worksheet yet?
Link to lecture notes which are the basis for the worksheet.
See you online!
 Dr. Nilsson
 Sunday, November 11, 2007.
Genetic Worksheet:
Link to lecture notes which are the basis for the worksheet.
Dr. Nilsson
Tuesday, November 06, 2007.
Online Take-Home Exam 3 Learning "Hints" Page
Study well! See microscope focusing group 2 in the lab tomorrow!
Dr. Nilsson
Sunday, October 28, 2007.
Cellular Respiration in a "nut shell"
 GLYCOLYSIS
TRANSITION REACTIONS -- see figure 8.3 and 8.4
Krebs Cycles (Citric Acid Cycles) -- see figure 8.3 and 8.7
Electron Transport Chains (ETC) -- see figure 8.3 and 8.9
TOTAL ENERGY (ATP) FORMED
Exam 2 is due tomorrow! Study well! See you in the classroom!
Dr. Nilsson
Friday, October 26, 2007.
Final sprint for take-home exam 2! Here are some Self Review-Quizzes. (All these things are on the Learning Tools Page.)
Click on the links:
 Review Self-Quiz
Review Self-Quiz
Review Self-Quiz
And then you might want to try this one -- if you haven't already:
Dr. Nilsson
Tuesday, October 16, 2007.
Below is the second posting of the take-home exam / study guide 2. (Scroll down for the first posting!)
Click on the exam/study guide.
TakeHomeEx2_GBI_ul2_50 covering cellular respiration
Dr. Nilsson
Sunday, October 07, 2007.
Below is the first posting of the take-home exam / study guide 2. We still have to cover Cellular Respiration in the class...)
Click on the exam/study guide.
TakeHomeEx2_GBI_ul1_50 covering energy and photosynthesis
Geography comment: Biogeography is an important field of biology -- for those of you who appear astonished that you must know geography in this class. In a biology class, if you are discussing bird flu, and it is mentioned that it originate in Asia, you need to know where Asia is located. In a biology class, if you are discussing the geographical range of the lion in Africa, you need to know where Africa is located.
College students don't know the area outside their immediate neighborhood -- about the same distance as the length of their nose.  It may come as a surprise, but there is an area outside of the Valley, unfortunately unknown to many students. 
To make matters even worse some students apparently have no idea what the Internet is for! Heard of Google? (Or any other search engine?) Type in Asia or Africa and map. Welcome to the brave new world of information.
However, if you are a college student who cannot point out all the world's continents on a world map... Hmmm!? Click here! How many will miss question 48? Do you want more free points?
Don't forget reading report 3!
Dr. Nilsson
 Wednesday, September 26, 2007.
Below is the third posting of the study guide. The first and second were posted September 06, and 19. Scroll down for those postings.
Click on the take-home exam page below and get the page information. (This third posting is slightly different than the previous two, since concentration gradients (textbook p. 82) and movement of water (textbook p. 84) will be discussed AFTER you have submitted Take-Home Exam / Study guide 1.)
TakeHomeEx1_GBI_ul3_50.jpg covering cell structures
Try this question: What is a functional group? (Answer see textbook p. 36, and Figure 3.5.)
Try these questions:
 The first 5 memorization quizzes are coming up this Monday! You can do it! (If you cannot you are at the wrong place!) Exercise your brain! You will live longer!
Dr. Nilsson
Monday, September 24, 2007.
Use the self-quiz below to help you study the material for Unit I, and to assist you with the answers to the take-home exam / study guide 1 questions.
Click on the button for more learning tools:
Dr. Nilsson
Wednesday, September 19, 2007.
Below is the second posting of the study guide. The first was posted September 06. Scroll down for the first posting and instructions.
Click on the take-home exam page below and get the page information.
TakeHomeEx1_GBI_ul2_50 covering inorganic and organic chemistry
Dr. Nilsson
Tuesday, September 18, 2007.
This is posted on both the Class Communication page and the On-Line Study Day page.
Twelve (12) students submitted the Reading Report 1 assignment. Keep up the good work! I guess the assignment was to hard for the other students in class? But it is an improvement -- last online assignment had only four submissions! Excellent!
The biology department is one of only a few STC departments that accept students for college level classes, before the students have completed college success and the bulk of their developmental (high school level or below) classes in math, reading, and writing. For this reason this class is only in part about BIOLOGY. To a big extent this class is about teaching students to mature and to become good college students and as such take responsibility for their own learning.
Another part of this class is to make sure students use computers as part of becoming educated, as per Texas Higher Education Coordination Board requirements. The Internet is not going to go away! This class is web enhanced and I do not intend to repeat information just because some students don't want to read web pages with class information. You are getting a grade for doing the assignments in this class. If I tell you what to do every two minutes, why bother grading? For those of you who have not yet understood this, click on the read me button
As already pointed out, repeatedly, you also need to study these class documents.
Here is in a simplified form how you succeed in this class:
 You look at the calendar and find out when the assignments are due. 
 You read the grading criteria, and if applicable other information pages.
 You do the assignments.
 You turn in the assignments on time (there are no make-ups).
Here is how you do NOT succeed in this class:
You ask the instructor for help to do or how to do the assignments.
When all this is said -- the students, who need to read this, don't read this page! What can I say?
See you tomorrow, at 10.15am, in the classroom! For those who read the Semester calendar, don't forget to bring your assignment. It is due at the beginning of class. Late assignments will NOT be accepted.
Dr. Nilsson
Wednesday, September 12, 2007.
Students: Because of the incorrect scheduling in the calendar we will not meet in the lab today. Instead do the assignment explained below. You can do the assignment anytime, as long as you finish before we meet next time. We will use the assignment data and collections next time we meet in the lab!
All students must do 1, 2, 3 and 4 below, then select one of either 5 OR 6. You need the lab manual. Don't have the lab manual -- buy one or lose the points.
Read the STC Biology Laboratory Safety Rules. Detach the Safety Rules pages from your lab manual. Sign each page (on both sides at the bottom) indicating that you have read the page. Put the pages in a plastic sheet protector. Next time in class you will turn in the pages. Don't have a lab manual? If you do not turn in the signed safety sheets in class next time you will lose (1) 1 pop-quiz point, and (2) 50 percent of the portfolio points. Students who later turn in a portfolio for a grade will have 50 percent deducted if the safety sheets are not turned in next time we meet in class. In class you must also sign a Safety Sheet Acknowledgment, which will be turned in to the chair of the biology department.
Study the following in your lab manual (you do NOT have to fill in any blanks or turn in anything indicating that you have studied the material -- honorary rules, I trust that you will look at the figures.):
Figure 1-1,
Figure 3-2,
Care of Compound Light Microscope procedure paragraph p. 27,
Figure 3-3,
Figure 3-4,
Figure 3-6,
Figure 3-8,
Figure 3-9,
Wet mount procedure paragraph p. 35,
Figure 3-13.
Lab Quiz: Answer the pre-lab questions below from the lab manual (on a paper you will turn in for a grade next time). You do not have to copy the question, but you MUST write down BOTH the correct letter and the complete answer -- not just the letter! In addition you must bubble in a scantron form for grading. Treat the scantron form gently so that you can use it for the next lab quiz. If the scantron machine cannot read the scantron form you will receive a zero on the quiz. Don't have a lab manual? Buy one!
Exercise 1:
Question 1 - 10
Exercise 2:
Question 1 - 10
Exercise 3:
Question 1 - 10
 Don't waste scantron forms -- use bubble 1-10 for exercise 1 questions 1-10, bubble 11-20 for exercise 2 questions 1-10, and bubble 21-30 for exercise 3 questions 1-10.
With a metric ruler measure the following (on a paper you will turn in for a grade next time):
A. The length of your lab manual.
B. The width of your lab manual.
Don't have a metric ruler? Most rulers have both scales. Use the correct one. Don't have a ruler? BUY ONE! Or you can use the ruler in Appendix VI in your textbook. Don't have a textbook? Buy one! Don't have a lab manual? BUY ONE!
SELECT 5 or 6
 With a metric ruler, measuring tape, by pacing, using a thermometer, or locating the information on an Internet Weather Service "measure" the following (on a paper you will turn in for a grade next time):
A. The height of your spouse, mother, father, brother, or sister (or another ADULT).
B. The circumference of a telephone pole.
C. The air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit AND degrees Celsius in your hometown. (Write down the name of the hometown and both temperature points.) You can convert between the two temperature scales using the temperature scales in the Appendix VI in your textbook. Don't have a textbook? Buy one!
D. The approximate distance from your car parked at STC students parking to the biology lab. (Write down the distance in meter. 1 meter is approximately 1 yard or 1 long step. You do not have to use a measuring tape. Just pace and report the approximate distance -- number of paces.)
 If you live near a pond or a canal, collect some pond/canal water in an old food glass jar, for use with the microscope next time. We will study prepared slides, but it is always more fun if some students have collected water with microorganisms for study. (If you collect the water the day before, or several days before, to keep it from starting to stink -- keep it in a plastic bag in a refrigerator!) Put a name label on the jar for grading purposes. Watch out for rattlesnakes! Afraid of snakes -- do assignment 5 instead.
The class meets in the classroom next Wednesday. You have a week to complete the assignments. Before that, see you online!
Dr. Nilsson
Thursday, September 06, 2007.
Students: You now have the Take-Home Exam 1 in your hand. Let's use it! As I pointed out in class -- to those who listened, it is as study guide -- not a test. (But you get points for completing it so we call it a Take-Home Exam...)
Below is a link to the study guide. It has scribbled in page information where you can find the information to help you answer questions covering some material from the first part of your books -- science and biological organization. Also, some on classification, which was scheduled to be mentioned last time -- but we ran out of time because we had to go over what this class is about... (We will cover it next time.) Classification is related and connected to Evolution, which we will mention next time -- MONDAY -- and view a video on the subject. We will also quickly mention the steps in the scientific method. When we are in the lab next time will go over the meter stick and measure a couple of items, to introduce you to the metric system.
Click on the take-home exam page below and get the page information.
TakeHomeEx1_GBI_ul1_50 covering science, biological organization, and classification
A couple of comments:
1. The metric (SI) system is explained in the lab manual, but your textbook has some good temperature comparisons in the Appendix, which you can use to locate different temperatures.
2. To get to the answer of question 21 you must read the page indicated and use your critical thinking skills interpreting the text and come up with the correct answer. Since it is multiple choice questions it should be rather easy -- if you understand the words. Look up the words in a dictionary if you don't understand! If you don't have a college dictionary --- hmmm?! --- BUY ONE!!!!
3. Note that not only the page numbers in your textbooks was given for question 24. It also says "online". To see how many students have read this page by Monday, and "have the energy", I will here give you a "pop-up assignment" counting for "pop-up quiz" points.
 Pop-Up Assignment: Google the answer to question 24. Search Google for these exact words (put them within quotation marks when you search, and don't forget the comma!):
"continually challenged, organized study of information"
Find the correct answer on the web page located by Google. For the points post the answer online on WebCT -- in the bulletin board called "online pop-up assignment 1 BB"
Have a good weekend!
Dr. Nilsson
Students, welcome to the General Biology Online Study Day page!
This is the "online study day" page used for the web enhanced General Biology classes taught by Dr. Nilsson.
Stay tuned for future messages.
Dr. Nilsson
"Continually challenged, organized study of information"
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If anyone feels that his or her material cannot be used this way I will immediately remove it if notified. 
