BCH 4054

GENERAL BIOCHEMISTRY

FALL 1999

 

Instructor:

 

            Robley J. Light

            Office:  204 DLC

            Telephone: 644-3844

            email: rlight@garnet.acns.fsu.edu

 

Office Hours:

 

            2:00-3:00 Mondays and Wednesdays  (or by appointment)  (May be subject to change once semester is underway)

 

 

Help Sessions:           

 

            Help Sessions will be given at 5:30 pm on Wednesdays prior to Hour Tests on Fridays

 

 

Textbooks:

 

            Mathews and van Holde, Biochemistry, 2nd. Edition, Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Co., Menlo Park, CA, 1996

 

 

Extra Credit -- Optional Study Groups

 

            To encourage formation of study groups (4-5 persons), extra credit will be available for a group assignment.  A take-home, open-book, Pre-Test will be available on the class web page about a week before each hour test.  The test is to be done by the group and turned in on Monday of the test week.  It will be graded and returned by Wednesday. Persons not willing to participate in a group, or unable to take part in one of the exams, will have their Hour Test grade substituted for the Pre-Test grade.  The Hour Test grade will also substitute if it is higher than the Pre-Test grade.

 

Grading

 

Four Hour Tests (100 pts. each)

Average of five Pre-Tests

Final Exam (100 points x 2)*

 

Total

400 points

100 points

200 points

___________

700 points

 

                *Exam grade can replace lowest Hour Test grade

             Final Average = Total/7

 

No make-up tests

 

            In exceptional circumstances, it might be possible to arrange to take the hour test a day early.  In the case of excused absences where this is not possible, the final exam grade will substitute for the missed exam.

 

Grading Scale

 

            Following are the minimum percentage cut-off's for a given letter grade, obtained by dividing the total raw score by 7.  Depending on test difficulty and class performance, these cut-off's might be lowered slightly, but they won't be raised. 

 

                                    90-100  A or A-

                                    80-89   B or B-

                                    70-79   C or C-

                                    60-69   D or D-

 

Electronic Mail Communication

 

            To provide an additional means of communication between instructor and student and among students, students may obtain a computer account and register it for the class.  You are encouraged to use this means of asking questions, commenting on lectures, making appointments for help, etc.  A mail alias, BCH-4054-01@garnet.acns.fsu.edu, has been generated for the class.  Everyone with an FSU email account who is registered for the course will automatically be put on the alias and should receive mail sent to it.  (Only your FSU account can be entered in the alias.  If you read your mail on another account, then telnet to your FSU account and set it to forward mail.)  If you do not have an email account, you should go to the web site: http://register.acns.fsu.edu  and follow the link to new accounts.  If you are not on the class roll (perhaps you are auditing or making up an I grade), you must go to the same web site and follow the link to course mailing lists.  You will need your FSU ID card number, your social security number, and the course reference number for this class, which is 00517.           For additional information on Email accounts, computer help, etc., go the the ACNS web sites:  http://www.acns.fsu.edu/Students/Orientation.html ( A guide to computing at FSU) and http://www.acns.fsu.edu/Students/ (information about registering and getting connected).

 

Class Web Page

 

            A class web page will provide a variety of class-related information, including the syllabus, lecture schedule, assignment dates, and pointers to information on the internet that is relevant to the material you are studying.  You will also be able to access previous BCH 4054 web pages and previous tests.  These pages are linked through my class index page at the URL:

            http://www.chem.fsu.edu/editors/rlight/course-pages.html

 

            This term I am experimenting with the new web template known as WebMC (Web Mediated Course Assistant) which contains some of the class materials as well as a number of general web and library resources.  The WebMC page has the following URL: http://bch4054-01.fa99.fsu.edu

            Some parts of this web page are password protected.  Your garnet account name and password will give you access to this material provided you are registered for the course and have a garnet mail account.  If you don’t and need access otherwise, see Dr. Light for an alternative password.

 

            Non-password protected class materials will also be through the above class index page.

 

American Disabilities Act

 

            Students with disabilities needing academic accommo­dations should:

 

1)             register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC);

2)             bring a letter to the instructor from SDRC indicating you need academic accommodations.  This should be done within the first week of class.

 

Academic Honor Code

 

            Students are reminded of the Academic Honor System of the Florida State University.  Collaboration is permitted and encouraged on the group pre-tests, but signing one's name to the group effort without having participated in it would be considered a violation of the honor code.  Receiving or giving unauthorized help on the hour tests is a violation.