BIO-150-04,
Fall 2010
Professor: Diane
Robertson
Professor of Biology, Grinnell College, Science 2608, Grinnell,
Iowa 50112-1690
Email: robertdc@grinnell.edu
Phone: 641.269.3039; FAX: 641.269.4285
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:00-10:00 am; Fridays 1:30-4:00 pm; or by appointment.
Lab Assistant
Sue Kolbe: Office - SCI-1816, Phone - ext. 4864, Email - kolbe@grinnell.edu
Description:
Many people regard plants simply as 'green animals'. While there are many
important similarities between plants and animals at the cellular and sub-cellular
levels, there are profound differences as well, differences shaped by the
migration of plants from the oceans onto dry land. This migration required
a variety of evolutionary adaptations, anatomical, physiological and developmental,
in order to survive in this new, harsher environment. Students will explore
these adaptations by asking questions about the structures, physiological
functions and developmental strategies plants evolved to meet this challenge.
They will design experiments, analyze data and communicate their results
in the form of scientific papers or oral presentations as they endeavor
to understand what it means to be a plant. This
course will be taught in a workshop format, integrating lecture, laboratory
work and discussion in each class period.
Course Policy [ .pdf
]
Course Schedule [
.pdf ]
Photosynthesis Data for Worksheet [ .xls - MS Word ]
Nitrogen Fixation Data for Worksheet
[ .doc - MS Word ]
Sexual Differentiation Worksheet
[ .doc - MS Word ]
Sexual Differentiation Experiment Data [ .doc - MS Word ]
Population Density Experimental Data:
Nitrogen Fixation Worksheet
[ .doc - MS Word ]
Photosynthesis Worksheet [
.doc - MS Word ]
Experiment Planning Form
[ .doc - MS Word ]
C-fern article - "The Programming of Sexual Phenotype..." .pdf on JSTOR
Keys to exams/quizzes
Lecture Slides (.pdf)
Resources