Which Intro Biology Course?
A Guide for Students Choosing Courses in Selected Biological Sciences
Contents
Course
Title
Credits
Biology Core Curriculum (BioCore)
Biocore 301
Evolution, Ecology & Genetics (lecture)
3
Biocore 302
Evolution, Ecology & Genetics (laboratory)
2
Biocore 303
Cellular Biology (lecture)
3
Biocore 304
Cellular Biology (laboratory)
2
Biocore 323
Organismal Biology (lecture)
3
Biocore 324
Organismal Biology (laboratory)
2
Biocore 333
Biological Interactions (lecture)
3
Botany 130
General Botany (lecture and laboratory)
5
Botany/Zoology 151
Introductory Biology (lecture and laboratory)
5
Botany/Zoology 152
Introductory Biology (lecture and laboratory)
5
Zoology 101
Animal Biology Lecture
3
Zoology 102
Animal Biology Laboratory
2
Provide a list of courses that are suitable for non-majors who need to satisfy a breadth requirement in the biological sciences.
NOTE: Students who have earned a 4 or 5 on the advanced placement (AP) biology test should talk to an advisor in the Zoology Department before registering for an introductory biology course.
Biology Core Curriculum (Biocore)
http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/biocore
Enrollment and Prerequisite
Students wishing to enroll in the Biocore Program must apply for admission at the beginning of the preceding spring semester. For most students, this means applying in late January of their freshman year. Prerequisites are Math 221 (first semester calculus), Chem 104, 169 or 116 (first year freshman chemistry), and concurrent (fall) or previous registration in Chem 343 (organic chemistry).
Application
Pick up an application packet from the Biocore Office (or download it from the Biocore web site) between January 22 and February 15, and submit it to the Biocore Admissions Committee (345 Noland Hall) by February 15. The Admissions Committee will notify students of their admission status by mid-March.
For further information
For further information about the Biocore program, visit the web site at http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/biocore/ or contact the Biocore Office, 345 Noland Hall, 262-5979
Overview
The Biology Core Curriculum (Biocore) is a challenging four-semester introductory honors sequence that provides a broad, in-depth, and integrated background for students interested in any area of biological science. Biocore is not a major but fulfills some or all of the biology requirements for a variety of biological science majors, including many in the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences as well as in the College of Letters & Science and the School of Education.
Biocore is an interdepartmental program that includes faculty from many programs and colleges; it draws from the entire spectrum of living organisms to give an understanding of biological principles and processes. The program consists of four courses intended to be taken in sequence: Evolution, Ecology, and Genetics (301/302); Cellular Biology (303/304); Organismal Biology (323/324); and Biological Interactions (333). Although it is possible to take a lecture course without its accompanying lab, we highly recommend taking them together.
Students intending to follow the Biocore sequence should not take other UW-Madison introductory biology courses. There is extensive overlap in the contents of the introductory courses, and most majors allow credit for only one introductory program in fulfilling the requirements for the major. (For Biocore students, any Advanced Placement biology credits from high school will count as electives towards graduation.) Students planning on participating in Biocore should take calculus and chemistry during their freshman year. Organic chemistry is a prerequisite for the second semester of Biocore.
All of the Biocore courses are honors courses and very challenging; however, it is not necessary to be in the honors program to participate in Biocore.
Biocore 301: EVOLUTION, ECOLOGY, AND GENETICS
- Credits: 3 credits
- Offered: Fall semester
- Format: Three lectures plus a discussion section each week
- Prerequisites: Math 221, Chem 104, 169, or 115 and previous or concurrent registration in Chem 343 (or consent of instructor).
This course serves as a foundation for the subsequent Biocore courses. Evolution is the overarching theme that connects genes, organisms, and environments while considering the biological history of the earth, the diversity of organisms, and the development of our ideas about evolution and natural selection. Genetics deals with the rules by which genes are inherited and the ways by which the genetic material exerts its effect. It also provides tools to investigate diverse questions in biology. Ecology is the study of the relationship between individual organisms and their environments as well as the larger systems of populations, communities, and ecosystems. Biocore students apply some of the principles they are learning to a long-term prairie restoration project near Picnic Point.
- Biocore 302: EVOLUTION, ECOLOGY, AND GENETICS LABORATORY
- Credits: 2 credits
- Offered: Fall semester
- Format: One 3-hour lab plus a lab discussion section each week
- Prerequisite: previous or concurrent enrollment in Biocore 301.
The laboratory course gives students practical experience working with the concepts introduced in lecture. Fieldwork and activities connected with the Biocore Prairie restoration are a major focus during the first part of the semester. Later projects deal with model systems, Mendelian genetics, and cytogenetics. This is a writing-intensive course with an emphasis on drawing conclusions from data.
Biocore 303: CELLULAR BIOLOGY
- Credits: 3 credits
- Offered: Spring semester
- Format: Three lectures plus a discussion section each week
- Prerequisites: Biocore 301 and Chem 343 (or consent of instructor).
The course deals with the cellular and molecular basis of life, emphasizing the general principles needed to understand and appreciate what cells are and how they work. It focuses on three main themes: (1) the flow of energy in cells, considering how cells obtain, store, and use energy; (2) the flow of genetic information in bacteria, viruses, and higher organisms; and (3) signal transduction, particularly emphasizing cellular motility and the importance of receptor-ligand interactions.
Biocore 304: CELLULAR BIOLOGY LABORATORY
- Credits: 2 credits
- Offered: Spring semester
- Format: One 3-hour lab plus a lab discussion section each week
- Prerequisite: previous or concurrent enrollment in Biocore 303.
Students conduct experiments based on some of the ideas from lecture. They have opportunities to solve puzzles, test their own ideas, draw conclusions from data, and further improve their writing skills. Topics include enzyme catalysis, fractionating cells, genetic mapping, transformation of bacterial cells with DNA, and genetic engineering.
Biocore 323: ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY
- Credits: 3 credits
- Offered: Fall semester
- Format: Three lectures plus a discussion section each week
- Prerequisites: Biocore 301 and 303.
This physiology course explores the means by which plants and animals interact with their environments to support the basic needs of surviving, obtaining nutrients, and reproducing. The course examines the developments that have evolved in conjunction with the need of animals to search out and procure food - their nutrient and energy source - and contrasts this with plants, which are able to manufacture energy-rich molecules from simple inorganic raw materials. The course focuses on the complex systems of neural and endocrine regulation in animals and hormonal and environmental regulation in plants to understand how cells and organs within an organism maintain communication. We also discuss the regulation of respiration, circulation, and heart function, as well as the mechanisms that underlie the function of the brain.
Biocore 324: ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY LABORATORY
- Credits: 2 credits
- Offered: Fall semester
- Format: One 3-hour lab plus a lab discussion section each week
- Prerequisite: previous or concurrent registration in Biocore 323.
Students learn plant and animal physiology by collaborating on experiments, in many cases using themselves as subjects (e.g., electrocardiograms, electroencephalograms, respiration rate). Emphasis is on critical thinking required in designing and conducting experiments and in analyzing and interpreting results.
Biocore 333: BIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS
- Credits: 3 credits
- Offered: Spring semester
- Format: Three large group meetings plus a discussion section each week
- Prerequisites: Biocore 301, 303, and 323.
This final course in the Biocore sequence emphasizes the fact that biological systems do not operate in isolation but are characterized by interactions at all levels of organization. The course helps students to build on and integrate the knowledge they have gained in the previous three semesters while working in teams to understand papers from the current literature on topics such as cancer, signal transduction, immune function, cloning, and stem cells.
Botany
http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/courses/botany_130/
Botany 130: GENERAL BOTANY
- Credits: 5 credits
- Offered: Fall and spring semesters
- Format: Three lectures, two 2-hour labs and a discussion section each week
- Prerequisites: None, but high school chemistry or concurrent registration in chemistry is strongly advised.
Botany 130 is a one semester plant biology course that is offered during both fall and spring semesters. It is especially appropriate for plant science majors. The course introduces the student to the basic facts and theories concerning organisms historically studied by botanists, including bacteria, fungi, algae, and plants. Lectures, labs, and discussion sections are coordinated. The curriculum includes the biology of the plant cell, energetics (respiration and photosynthesis), genetics and evolution, taxonomy and systematics, diversity (from bacteria to flowering plants), structure and development of the body of flowering plants, physiology of seed plants and ecology.
A review of the different kinds of organisms is organized by tracing their evolution from asexual aquatic ancestors, first with the introduction of sex and then with a progressive shift in life cycles from greater emphasis on the gamete‑producing generation to greater emphasis on the generation in which meiosis occurs, culminating in better adaptation to life on land.
The ecological importance of the various groups of organisms is emphasized. The plant body is considered from a developmental point of view, beginning with the embryo and ending with the adult plant. In this, the relationship of structure and function from the cellular to the organismal level is stressed.
The course grade is based on four lecture exams, laboratory quizzes, and some take-home assignments.
Botany/Zoology 151 & 152
http://www.wisc.edu/zoology/courses/index.html
Botany/Zoology 151-152: INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY
- Credits: 5 credits each
- Offered: Fall and spring semesters
- Format: Three lectures, one 3-hour lab and one 1 1/4-hour discussion each week
- Prerequisites: High school chemistry and/or concurrent registration in college chemistry is recommended.
Botany/Zoology 151‑152 is a two‑semester integrated introductory biology sequence and is recommended for many majors in the biological sciences. The sequence exposes students to basic biological concepts and phenomena and prepares students for upper level courses in biological science and scientific thought. Course sequences run either fall (151) to spring (152), or spring (151) to fall (152). Both courses are listed as "writing intensive."
151 topics include: Structural organization of cells; metabolic activities associated with cellular components; information flow within the cell (DNA, RNA, proteins); energy flow within cells (cellular respiration and photosynthesis); basic principles of genetics; and an introduction to evolution, biological diversity and the major kingdoms of life. 152 topics include: A survey of the major kingdoms of life (continued from 151); selected topics in plant and animal physiology; local and global considerations in ecology and population biology.
Discussion sections emphasize understanding and working with the major biological concepts presented in lecture. Cooperative and small group learning techniques are used.
Laboratory sections introduce students to the thought processes of science. Four to five investigative lab modules (each lasting from two to four weeks) are conducted each semester. After doing background reading, students work in small groups to develop a hypothesis and an experimental procedure to test it, undergoing both peer and instructor review. Hypotheses and procedures are revised, experiments conducted, results evaluated and written up in scientific format. In 152, all students will also do a research project. This gives students a chance to do more in-depth study in an area of interest. Because of the writing intensive research projects, Biology 152 counts as a Comm B course. The two types of research projects are:
- Library review paper in an area of interest. The papers will be mentored by your lab TA's.
- Mentored research -- independent experimental work with a researcher on campus.
Students who choose to do mentored research will be asked to volunteer 10 to 15 hours per week to a mentor in any area of biology available on campus. For this extra work they would sign up for 2 additional credits of directed study in the mentor's department. Mentorships are set up while students are still in Biology 151.
Zoology
http://www.wisc.edu/zoology/courses/index.html
Zoology 101 : ANIMAL BIOLOGY
- Credits: 3 credits
- Offered: Fall and spring semesters
- Format: Three lectures per week; optional discussion sections
- Prerequisites: None.
Zoology 101 is a large introductory zoology course that addresses an audience of beginning students with a wide range of backgrounds and interests. Offered each semester and during the 8-week summer session, the course serves as a prerequisite for a large number of disciplines. Many students select it as an elective for biological or life science credits.
Topics covered include: cell structure and organization; genetics; molecular biology; development; the chemistry of biology; the structure and function of physiological systems; evolution; behavior and ecology; contemporary issues.
The optional discussion sections are offered at a number of different times during every week. These sections are available on a signup basis and are highly recommended.
The course grade is based on an average of 2 lecture exams and the final exam. Borderline grades can be influenced by discussion section participation.
A 2-credit lab (Zoology 102, described separately) supplements and enhances the topical considerations of Zoology 101. The lab is required by many programs and departments and is generally taken concurrently with the lecture by about 70% of the students.
Zoology 102 : ANIMAL BIOLOGY LABORATORY
- Credits: 2 credits
- Offered: semester and during the 8-week summer session
- Format: One 3-hour lab each week
- Prerequisite: Previous or concurrent enrollment in Zoology 101.
This lab course is designed to augment topics covered in lecture (Zoology 101) as well as to broaden students' exposure to certain additional materials. The sequence of lab topics is not structured to follow lecture week by week, but to provide an overall package of labs that is both interesting and challenging for the students.
The main objectives of the course are to help students develop an appreciation for biology as a science, acquire some conceptual tools that will enhance their appreciation of the natural world around them, and develop critical reasoning skills that will assist them in making informed choices as citizens; the course also reinforces material in Zoology 101 (lecture) by giving practical experience and provides a grounding in zoology for continued studies in the life sciences.
The course emphasizes biological concepts and processes, basic experimental design and scientific thought. Topics include animal diversity, introduction to evolution, physiology, development, comparative skeletology, Mendelian genetics, cell division, thermal consequences of size and shape, and animal behavior.
Grades are determined from quizzes, lab reports, oral reports and general participation. Some of the labs employ small group learning techniques. Several dissections (worm, rat, clam, squid and starfish) are done with a lab partner.
Courses for Non-Majors
Suggested courses for students needing to satisfy biology breadth requirements. More information about these courses can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog and on-line on the Biology Course Info web site at http://www.wisc.edu/cbe/bci/. For additional courses consult a Timetable.
Note: Students majoring in the biological sciences should be sure to consult an adviser prior to taking any of these courses!
Course
Title
Credits
AGRONOMY 100
Principles and Practices in Crop Production
4
AN SCI 200
The Biology & Appreciation of Companion Animals
3
ANTHRO 105
Introduction to Human Biology
3
ANTHRO 106
Human Biology Lab
3
ANTHRO 107
Evolution of the Human Species
3
BACT 101
General Microbiology
3
BACT 102
General Microbiology Lab
2
BOTANY 100
Survey of Botany
3
BOTANY 130
General Botany
5
BOTANY/GEOG 240
Plants and Man
3
COM DIS 201
Speech Science
3
COM DIS 202
Normal Aspects of Hearing
3
DY SCI/AN SCI 101
Livestock Production
4
ENTOM 201
Insects and Human Culture
3
ENVIR ST 126
Principles of Environmental Science
4
ENV TOX 308
People, Chemicals, Environment
2
ENV TOX 606
Colloquium in Environmental Toxicology
1
FOOD SCI 120
Science of Food
3
FOREST 100
Introduction to Forestry
2
HORT 120
Survey of Horticulture
3
GEN/BOT/ZOOL 133
Genetics and Human Affairs
3
GEN/BOT/ZOOL 160
Heredity
3
GEOLOGY 107
Life of the Past
3
GEOLOGY 110
Evolution and Extinction
3
ILS 252
Contemporary Life Sciences
3
NUTR SCI 132
Nutrition Today
3
PHARM SCI 310
Drugs and Their Actions
2
PL PATH/BOT 123
Plants, Parasites, and People
3
WL ECOL 318
Principles of Wildlife Ecology
2
WOMEN ST 430
The Biology and Psychology of Women
3
WOMEN ST 251
Women and Health in American History
3
ZOOLOGY 101
Animal Biology
3
ZOOLOGY 102
Animal Biology Laboratory
2
ZOOLOGY 120
Biological Principles & Their Impact on Society
3
ZOOL/BOT 260
Introductory Ecology
3
ZOOL/WL ECOL 335
Human/Animal Relationships: Biological & Philosophical Issues
3
More Information
Biological Sciences Advisor
- Pat Henrikson
- 445 Henry Mall
- Room 118C
- 262-6836
Director, Biology Core Curriculum
- Jeff Hardin
- 327 Zoology Research Bldg,
- 262-9634
Botany 130
- Michael Clayton
- 120 Birge Hall,
- 262-2333
Botany/Zoology 151-152
- Jean Heitz
- 230 Noland Hall,
- 263-2186
Zoology 101
- Nancy Raffetto
- 233 Noland Hall,
- 262-0148
Zoology 102
- Gale Oakes
- 243 Noland Hall,
- 265-5867