Biology II Syllabus

Welcome to Biology 2 at PHS.  I’m Coach Kyle Hardaway, and I’ll be your Biology 2 coach this year.  We will be covering some of the same material as in Bio 1, but with more detail.  I have divided your year in to nine divisions.  What you learn will be very much up to you.  I will present information to you in various ways.  If you pay attention, class will be easy, and you’ll learn a lot.  Otherwise, this will be a hard class.  Remember, Biology is probably the most important class you will take in high school.  It is the study of life.  We are living beings sharing a finite planet with millions of other living things.  If we are ignorant, and gradually degrade our earth, then we die.  We are the species that has the power to destroy the earth, and also, the power to protect it.  So, Knowledge is Power.  (It might even win you a million dollars)

Grading Policy
Each quarter the student has the opportunity to accumulate approximately 1000 points in Biology.  Daily work accounts for about 400 points, tests and quizzes 400, and your final exam will be worth 200.  If you have no tardies or absences during the quarter, you may be exempt from taking the final test.  If you are exempt, but you would like the  opportunity to raise your grade, you may take the final, at no risk of lowering your grade.  You will be expected to keep up with your grade on your assignment grade sheet.  I will check it periodically during the semester as an assignment grade.  You will also be keeping your notes in a Bio 2 three ring binder.  This will be worth a test grade at the end of each quarter.

Bonus Points
You will have several opportunities to earn bonus points throughout the year by doing vocabulary words and/or other activities provided by me.  If you do the bonus, often, it assists you in studying for upcoming tests.  I greatly encourage you to get the relatively  “free” points/

Daily Assignments
Daily assignments will be worth points.  It is imperative that you grade assignments on time, in order to prevent a deduction of points from a late “fee”.   

            1 day late                     =          20% deduction
            2 days to a week          =          30% off
            more than a week         =          40% off

Late work will be accepted up until the Friday before finals week.

Name
Period
Date
Assignment 

Attendance
You may have one excused absence per quarter, and still qualify for the exemption policy.  Failure to bring all supplies to class is considered an unexcused tardy.  Please be responsible for your life.  If you have more than 8 absences in a quarter, you automatically receive an F no matter what your average is.  Attendance is a good thing.

Course Outline

1.       Ecology, Cladistics, and Natural Selection     August                         

2.       Arthropods                                                 September

1. Insect Collection
2. Anatomy/Physiology
3. Impact and Distribution                                     

3.       Plantae Unit                                                October           

1. Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration
2. Tree Leaf Collection                             

4.       Genetics and Pedigrees (Inheritance)               November

A.     Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis
  1.  Replication
  2.  Transcription
  3.  Translation             

B.     Cell Reproduction   
  1.  Inheritance
  2.  Gene Expression
  3. DNA  Technology

5.    Probability and Statistics                              December   

6.  Mammology/Human Biology                               January

7.  Mink Dissection                                                February

8.  Aves/Ornithology                                              April

9.  The Mind                                                         May