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Syllabus

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Prerequisites

There are no formal prerequisites for this course, but we do presuppose high school-level biology

and chemistry (especially familiarity with the fundamental aspects of chemical structure).

Text

Freeman, Scott.Biological Science. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002. ISBN:

9780130819239.

Spencer, Charlotte A. Genetic Testimony: a Guide to Forensic DNA Profiling. San Francisco,

CA: Benjamin Cummings, 2003. ISBN: 9780131423381.

Recitations

Regular weekly attendance is expected. Each recitation section meets twice per week for 50

minutes.

Tutors

Tutors are available at no charge for all students who wish to have extra help with the course

material, either on a one-time or on a regular basis.

Voluntary Laboratory

This semester is the second time we are offering a voluntary lab component as an exciting

addition to 7.012.

The purpose of the labs is to give you a hands-on experience with the organisms, equipment,techniques, and thought process used by molecular biologists. You will have the opportunity todo experiments for yourselves, and a chance to learn the concepts that are addressed in lecture

and section from a different angle. Experiments will include:

Isolating your own DNA Generating and Finding Mutant Yeast Performing Gene Therapy on Mutant Yeast

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Table for Grading

ACtivities percentages notes

5 of 6 Graded

Problem Sets 20% Lowest of 6 problem set scores dropped

4 of 5 Quizzes 80%

Lowest grade of "five" quizzes dropped (3 one-hour quizzes

during term plus the 2 quiz scores derived from the FinalExam, whose score will be divided in two, each half counting

as one quiz score)