Biology 1014 General Botany

"Plants are really just biological solar collection panels, whose form and function represent a dynamic equilibrium achieved between the need to conserve and utilize water efficiently and the need to have the maximum surface area available for collection of sunlight under a given set of environmental conditions."

HAVE YOU THANKED A PLANT TODAY?

INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. L.K. "Larry" Magrath:
Office: 204 Austin Hall (if not there also check 307, 311 &/or 313 AH or 112 AH)

Phone: 405-574-1292 [222-0904 home]

Email: facmagrathlk@usao.edu

TEXTBOOK:

Uno, G., R. Storey, R. Moore. 2001. Principles of Botany. McGraw Hill.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

To develop an aesthetic and scientific appreciation of the science of botany and its many subfields.
To present information necessary for an educated understanding of basic plant structure and function.
To develop the student's effective use of oral and WRITTEN communication skills.
To develop certain basic laboratory skills (i.e. use of: compound & dissecting microscopes, dissecting equipment, recording & interpreting data, producing graphs, etc.)
To develop mental discipline as evidenced by the ability to comprehend and follow instructions.
To further develop the necessary mental skills needed to organize information and data into logical and coherent thought patterns.
To develop an awareness of the importance of photosynthesis as the basis of essentially all life processes known.
To help you develop a good work ethic. Remember as a student it is your job/work to be on time to classes and to study. Remember also that the taxpayers of Oklahoma are "paying" you to be a student -- don't waste their investment in you!!!
To help you develop an awareness of geography and how it and climate influence the production of important plant materials.

GRADES: Grades will be based on percentages of total points accumulated during the trimester. Points may be accumulated by means of: hour exams, lab exams, lab reports, summaries/abstracts of selected papers, short unannounced quizzes, class attendance and participation, etc.

GRADE SCALE: 90% = A; 80% = B; 70% = C; 60% = D; 50% or lower = F NOTE: failure to complete & turn in a term paper will result in an automatic "I" for the course, until such time as the paper has been completed and delivered to the instructor.]

EXAMS: Exams will be based on the lecture materials; assigned readings, handout material, any films, slides and/or video tapes shown; laboratory work; homework assignments; computer program assignments; etc. IT WILL HELP IF YOU TAKE GOOD NOTES. Exams may be either objective and/or subjective.

Everyone is required to take the final exam, which may be comprehensive.
Exams must be taken at the time scheduled.
Any cheating on an exam will automatically cancel that exam grade (i.e. a grade of "zero" will be recorded for that particular exam).
Lab Exams and Field Exams MUST BE TAKEN ON THE DAY SCHEDULED.

EXAM RETAKE POLICY:

Hour Exams: there will be a comprehensive MAKE UP EXAM sometime during the last two weeks of the trimester. The grade from the Make Up Exam may be substituted for the lowest Hour Exam grade. Anyone may take this exam in order to try to bring their course grade up.
Daily Quizzes and Video Quizzes:
1. All daily quizzes and video quizzes are worth 10 points each. They will be averaged together at the end of the course and will be worth an Hour Exam.
2. If you have completely missed a daily quiz and you take it late, then it will be worth 8 points NOT 10 points.
3. Any quiz grade of 6 or less may be retaken. Any quiz that is retaken will be worth 7 points NOT 10 points.
4. This is intended to be a strong message that you should be in class every day and take the quizzes on time.

ABSENCES: Irregular attendance and habitual tardiness will seriously affect your grade. Remember it is your responsibility to be to class on time.

REWARD FOR GOOD ATTENDANCE!! Perfect attendance will be worth three (3) extra percentage points on your final grade average. One absence is worth two (2) extra points; two absences are worth one (1) point; three absences are worth nothing (i.e. no change in your grade point average); four absences will cost you one (1) point, on your final grade average; five absences will cost you two (2) points, etc.!!

MISSING CLASSES: If you must miss classes for an extended period of time due to illness, accident or other reasons, YOU NEED TO CONTACT THE STUDENT SERVICES OFFICE (405-574-1333) and ask them to send a memo to ALL OF YOUR INSTRUCTORS. This will save you or whoever calls for you the trouble of trying to locate specific instructors. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CONTACT US IF YOU CANNOT BE HERE FOR A CLASS.

DROPPING A CLASS: If you need to drop this class, or any other class, please make certain that you have gone through the proper procedure which involves getting a drop/add slip from the Registrar's Office and getting it signed by your instructor(s) and your advisor. The completed signed form MUST then be returned to the Registrar's Office. If you just stop coming to a class, you will discover that you will receive an "F" at the end of the trimester.

CLASSROOM COURTESY: If you must be late for a class, courtesy requires that you enter the classroom quietly and with a minimum of disturbance to the class. If you are late for class, please do not come down to pick up class materials when your instructor is lecturing--it is distracting both to the instructor and to your classmates.

DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO TO YOU!

STUDY TIME: IT IS AN AUTOMATIC ASSUMPTION THAT YOU WILL SPEND APPROXIMATELY TWO (2) HOURS OUTSIDE OF CLASS STUDYING FOR EACH ONE (1) HOUR SPENT IN THE CLASSROOM. YOUR READING AND OTHER ASSIGNMENTS ARE PREDICATED ON THIS ASSUMPTION. Time is like money, if invested carefully it will eventually pay big dividends.

LABORATORY TIME: Labs sections are scheduled to meet from 2:30 until 5:30 p.m. on either Monday or Wednesday. However, in practice on Mondays and Wednesdays we will effectively meet from 1:25 until 5:30. You will be expected to be present for all labs. If you must miss a lab it is up to you to make up that lab. You will be responsible for the material covered in labs on exams.

Weather permitting, we will be taking some field trips in the local area during some lab sessions, on such days it would be advisable for you to wear "field clothes" (i.e. old clothes that you won't mind getting dirty, etc.)

LAB MATERIALS YOU SHOULD BUY LAB MATERIALS WE WILL SUPPLY TO YOU

A 3H or 4H (hard lead) drawing metric ruler

pencil dissecting needles

a set of colored drawing razor blades

pencils (at least 8 different microscope slides and coverslips

colors)

NOTE: All laboratory drawings (unless otherwise instructed) are to be done with a 3H or 4H pencil, or on occasion with 3H (or 4H) pencil and/or colored pencils. DO NOT DO DRAWINGS WITH AN INK PEN! Your instructor will show you how to properly label your drawings. All drawings MUST BE PROPERLY LABELED. If making drawings while using a microscope, always indicate the magnification that you were using while making the drawing. [NOTE: magnification is always indicated by an "X" (i.e. 10X = scanning field, 40X = low field, 400X = high field, 1000X = oil immersion field).]

LAB RULES, SAFETY PRECAUTIONS AND PROCEDURES:

Do not attempt any unauthorized experiments. If you want to do some innovative laboratory work, please check with your instructor first.
Clean all equipment and the area in which you have been working and put the equipment in the proper place before leaving the laboratory area. When you are finished with a piece of lab equipment, either check it back in, or if it belongs out in the lab, move it away to a different areas so that others may use it.
Use the proper techniques when using equipment. You may be asked to pay for it's repair or replacement!
Treat ALL CHEMICALS as potentially TOXIC and FLAMMABLE.
NEVER TASTE a chemical or solution unless directed to do so by the instructor/lab assistance, or the experimental procedure specifically states that you should do so.
Utilize safety glasses as directed.
NO SMOKING in the laboratory area.
Shoes must be worn in the laboratory area at all times (BROKEN GLASS)!!
Know the location of the first aid kit, and the proper use of safety equipment.
To smell a liquid, fan a little of the vapor toward you by sweeping your hand over the top of the container--NEVER DEEPLY INHALE chemical fumes.
Promptly notify the laboratory instructor/assistant if any accidents occur in the laboratory--even minor accidents.
Be courteous and helpful to others working in the laboratory.
If your experiment is not going correctly--always check the lab instructions (again!).

ACCIDENT PROCEDURES:

Notify the laboratory instructor/assistant.
CUTS: allow to bleed freely and wash thoroughly with cool or cold water. If necessary, apply pressure to stop excessive bleeding.
BURNS from hot objects--rinse with cold water (or ice water).
CHEMICAL BURNS OR CHEMICALS IN EYES: wash immediately with large volumes of water. Get help immediately. Note: there is a sodium bicarbonate solution made up at all times to be used to neutralize strong acids or bases.
USAO HEALTH SERVICE: Hope Layman can be reached at ext. 331 (or 278 or 288); room 120 Troutt Hall (lower level).

LAB REPORTS: After most labs you will be required to turn in either drawings (fully labeled), and/or a written lab report. Drawings and/or reports should always be turned in by NO LATER than the Friday following the completion of a lab.

A written lab report should consist of the following sections:

Title

Author (your name)

Introduction (what it is that you are going to do)

Materials & Methods (what you used & how it was used)

Observations and/or Data Collected (this will often be presented in the form of tables and/or graphs)

Discussion or Summary of Observations (interpretation & summation of your data/observations as related to the introduction.)

References (any outside library materials used to augment your understanding of your laboratory experiment) (NOTE: in some cases references will be required, in other labs not--your instructor will indicate when they are required.)

HOMEWORK: You should expect homework assignments every week (if not each class period.) Homework assignments should be completed prior to the next class period (unless told otherwise by the instructor) so that they can be discussed in class.

PLANT OF THE WEEK: Two (2) "Plant of the Week" presentations dealing with some phase of botany are required. The specific plants picked is up to you the student. This is an opportunity to read in areas of particular interest to you. Articles may come from journals, popular magazines or books. ONE OF YOUR TWO presentations should be over your term paper topic, the other may be over any other plant related topic in which you are interested. You will have 10 minutes to make your presentation and 5 minutes to answer questions about your topic that others in the class (or your instructor) have. We will essentially be following the format used at technical meetings, such as the Oklahoma Academy of Science.

The "Plant of the Week" abstract should consist of from one to two written pages and briefly summarize the information that you wish to share with others about your "plant." The abstract must be typed [or done on a word processor]. You must include a "Literature Cited" as part of your abstract. Anything that is based solely on "information on the web" will NOT BE ACCEPTABLE. Since you will be asked make copies of the abstract for all others in the class, I would recommend that you be economical on the number of pages you have to copy.

Questions?1.What is the difference between a Bibliography and a Literature Cited (References/Works Cited)?

2.What is the difference between primary literature, secondary literature and "gray" literature?

FORM:

Your name and the date in the upper right hand corner of the page. The title should consist of "Plant of the Week:" followed by a colon followed by the name of the plant being discussed. You should use both the common name and the botanical name [binomial name] of the plant being discussed.

You should have a Literature Cited at the end of your abstract, where you list the books, articles, etc. that you have consulted to obtain your information. The form used should be as follows:

FOR A JOURNAL:

Bruce, J. G. (author's name) 1976. (date) Gametophytes and subgeneric concepts in lycopodium. (title) Am. J. Bot. (journal) 63 (7): 919-924. (volume number, followed by issue number in parentheses, followed by a colon, followed by page numbers, followed by a period)

FOR A BOOK:

Bruce, J. G. (author's name) 1976. (date) Gametophytes and subgeneric concepts in lycopodium. (title of book) publisher, and place published.

POSSIBLE SOURCES [may be any of the following, but is not restricted to them]:

*Southwest Naturalist *Ecology

*Ecological Monographs *Bioscience

*Science *American Journal of Botany

*Taxon *Brittonia

*Rhodora *Madroño

*Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science Scientific American

Smithsonian Audubon

National Geographic Natural History

National and/or International Wildlife various gardening and horticulture publications

Discover

Many of these are available in NASH Library, others in the library in room 307 Austin.

PLAGIARIZED ABSTRACTS AND TERM PAPERS:

DO NOT PLAGIARIZE YOUR WORK!! Plagiarized work is not acceptable. A first offense with result in the return of the abstract/paper to the student to be redone properly. Any subsequent plagiarized work will result in an "F" for the particular work, AND POSSIBLY AN "F" FOR THE COURSE (if there is a continuance of such behavior.)

TERM PAPER: The following information pertains to your term paper. READ IT CAREFULLY!! I strongly recommend that you do your term paper on a word processor and save it on disk (actually on 2 different disks is better) as well as hardcopy, it will make revising your paper much easier. You are also encouraged to access the "world wide web" for information.

***Term papers that come in late (i.e. after the 14th of November) will lose 5% of the possible grade for each day that the paper is late!!! Not turning in a term paper will automatically result in the assignment of a "I" for the course!!!

It has been said that science is the challenge of the unknown. Botany may seem at first to be a dreadfully dull subject, however, keep in mind--we all owe our existence to the fact that plants carry on the process of photosynthesis. Without plants,we humans could not and would not exist! Plants provide our food (directly or indirectly), many of our fibers for making clothes, wood for building houses, cooking our food, making furniture, and producing paper pulp. Plants help prevent soil erosion by virtue of their root systems and the ground cover provided by their stems and leaves. Plants last but not least provide us with oxygen without which we humans could not carry out respiration. Botany is a rapidly developing field--especially in this age of genetic engineering.

WRITING A BOTANY TERM PAPER: a guide to the perplexed

The following format is adapted from the journal BioScience (which NASH LIBRARY receives--it can be located in the periodical reading room), and the CBE Style Manual, 3rd ed. The overall format of the paper should be as follows:

TITLE -- should be descriptive of the paper, BUT SHORT & CONCISE

AUTHOR -- [Your name]

ABSTRACT -- a short concise summary of the major points of the paper (MUST BE SINGLE SPACED AND HAVE BOTH LEFT & RIGHT MARGINS INDENTED) [Note: a good abstract is usually about 25 words long, NEVER more than 50.]

BODY OF THE REPORT -- this is where you report the findings (or results) of your literature search and readings. This section may have several sub-headings, or no sub-headings--depending on how you wish to structure your report.

SUMMARY -- the summary should contain briefly only the major results of your literature investigation, and YOUR conclusions.

LITERATURE CITED -- the literature cited should contain (listed ALPHABETICALLY) only those references which are CITED in the text of your paper. Note: you will use "in body" citations in your paper--following the style used by BioScience.

TOPIC OF PAPER: Your paper is to be over some aspect of "Economic Botany". You should choose a single plant [or a group of closely related plants] and write about their use [historical and/or modern] and value. Areas to be considered are:

food plants [don't forget tropical plants]

spices and/or flavorings

fibres

lumber, construction materials, shelter, etc.

horticultural - ornamentals, house plants, landscaping etc.

rubber, miscellaneous materials, etc.

IN-BODY LITERATURE CITATIONS: Literature citations made in the body of the paper must be in the following forms: 1) Hannon (1987), or 2) (Hannon 1987), 3) if two authors--Hannon & Glump (1987), or (Hannon & Glump 1987), 4) if more than two authors--Hannon et al (1987), or (Hannon et al 1987). Remember "in-body" citations take the place of footnotes/endnotes, and are intended to document sources of information.

EXAMPLES:

"Triploids in some inter-and intraspecific hybrids are male sterile but produce unreduced eggs. The 3x eggs may be fertilized by haploid sperm to produce a tetraploid, thereby allowing some gene flow from diploidies to tetraploids (Zohary & Nur 1959; Vardi & Zohary 1967: Vardi 1970)."

"Basically, there are two kinds of translocation: 1) between homologous and 2) between non-homologous chromosomes. Transpositions are considered separately, and I do not consider inversions as a kind of translocation as have Lewis and John (1963)."

"It is quite possible that the initial break points involve the centromeres themselves in some organisms, as first proposed by Robertson (1916)."

The above examples of "in body" citations are from:

Jackson, R.C. 1985. Genomic Differentiation and its Effect on Gene Flow. Sys. Bot. 10 (4): 391-404.

LITERATURE CITED: The following forms should be used in the literature cited (or references) at the end of the paper. (Question--How does a "literature cited" differ from a "bibliography?")

FOR A JOURNAL:

author(s)--last name first, then a comma, then the first and middle initials--each followed by a period; IF more than one author-=then the subsequent authors names are listed initials first (followed by periods) and then the last name.

date--year of publication followed by a period

title of article, followed by a period

name of journal (usually abbreviated-if appropriate), the name of the journal is underlined (or in italics)

volume number of journal followed by a colon IF no issue number is given

issue number of journal IF available is placed in parentheses immediately after the volume number and before the colon

page number(s) of the article followed by a period

entries are always entered alphabetically

all lines after the first line of an entry are indented five spaces

EXAMPLES:

Bakelaar, R. G. & E. P. Odum. 1978. Community and population level response to fertilization in an old-field ecosystem. Ecology 59(3): 660-665.

Fraser, G.R. 1962. Our genetical "loads:" a review of some aspects of genetical variation. Ann. Hum. Genet. 25: 387-415.

Myers, N. 1979. Conserving our global stock. Environment 21 (9): 25-33.

Shaw, D.D. et al. 1983. Increased chromosomal mutation rate after hybridization between two subspecies of grasshoppers. Science 220: 1165-1167.

Simberloff, D. S. & L. G. Abele. 1976. Island biogeography theory and conservation practice. Science 191: 285-286.

FOR A BOOK:

author as above

date as above

title of book-is underlined (or in italics), followed by a period

publisher followed by a comma

place published followed by a period

EXAMPLES:

Price, P. W. 1980. Evolutionary Biology of Parasites. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, N.J.

Saarinin, E. 1982. Conceptual Issues in Ecology. D. Reidel Publ. Co., Higham, MA.

IF MORE THAN ONE ARTICLE BY THE SAME AUTHOR:

Then they are listed by date with the oldest date being listed first and the most recent listed last. IF more than one article by the same author in ONE year, THEN they are listed alphabetically by title, AND a letter is alphabetically added after the date.

EXAMPLES:

Jackson, R. C. 1971. The karyotype in systematics. Annual Rev. Ecol. Syst. 2: 327-368.

_____. 1971a. The karyotype in systematics II. J.Genetics 23 (6): 669-673.

_____. 1973. Chromosomal evolution in Haplopappus gracilis: A centric transposition race. Evolution 27: 243-256.

_____. 1984. Chromosome pairing in species and hybrids. pp. 67-86 in Plant Biosystematics, ed. W. F. Grant. Academic Press, Canada.

_____. 1985. Genomic differentiation and its effect on gene flow. Sys. Bot. 10 (4): 391-404.

NOTE: Only papers and books actually cited in the "body of your paper" can be listed in the Literature Cited. Anything that you read, but did NOT CITE IN THE BODY OF THE PAPER cannot be included in the Literature Cited.

OTHER HINTS:

1.Misspelled words, dangling clauses and phrases, incomplete sentences, and other basic grammatical blunders are NOT WELCOME!!

2.Don't overuse pronouns such as "it" and "they." Make sure the reader knows to what "it" and "they" are in reference. Don't assume the reader is following the same thought you were when you were writing.

3.Never use several words to say what a few will do just as well. Avoid redundant and irrelevant rambling (i.e. avoid diarrhea of the pen and word processor). Papers will be graded on the merits of their informational content and literary style, NOT on the basis of the weight of the paper and ink.

4.Don't make rash statements you can't substantiate. Try to be concise and exacting in your choice of words. Logic is important in scientific writing. If in doubt about this refer to your freshman logic book (used for IDS 1002--Logic & Critical Thinking).

5.If you have questions--ask them before you submit a final copy of your paper. The instructor will look over rough draft copies and make suggestions for improvement, if YOU REQUEST that he do so.

6.Don't PROCRASTINATE unduly, having to try to write, type and hand in a term paper in two days time is almost impossible. SO DON'T TRY IT! It also tends to alienate instructors!

7.The paper must be typed (or done on a word processor), double spaced (with the exception of the abstract which must be single spaced and indented), and on one side of page only.

SOME EXAMPLES OF LITERATURE CITATIONS:

Alexander, G. 1984. Water: Making Do With Less. Nat. Wildlife 22 (2): 11-13. (Feb/Mar 1984)

Altieri, M.A., D.K. Letourneau, & J. R. Davis. 1983. Developing Sustainable Agroecosystems. Bio Sci. 33 (1): 45-40. (Jan 1983)

Anonymous. 1977. Earth's Creeping Deserts. Time vol num (issue num): 58-59. September 12, 1977)

Anonymous. 1977. Warning: Water Shortages Ahead. Time vol num issue num: 48-51. (April 4, 1977)

Brown, L.R. 1981. World Population Growth, Soil Erosion, and Food Security. Sci. 214 (4524): 995-1002. (November 1981)

Powledge, F. 1984. Water the Magnificent Liquid of Life. Nat. Wildlife 22 (2): 7-9. (Feb/March 1984)

Sheridan, D. 1981. The Underwatered West: Overdrawn at the Well. Environment 23 (2): 6-13 & 31-33. (March 1981)

Steinhart, P. 1983. The Edge Gets Thinner. Audubon 85 (6): 94-126. (This is the November 1983 issue of Audubon.)

NOTE: the above should also serve to give you an idea of how a Literature Cited is put together in alphabetical order. In your Literature cited you MUST NOT include the dates in parentheses -- I put those in here only to help you find these articles in Nash Library. The two articles listed from Time do have volume and issue number -- I just did not have that information available to me when this handout was being written.

Additional Note: Since you are required to do two "Plant of the Week" presentations with a one page abstract for each presentation for this course--I would suggest that you do some or all of your abstracts over articles that you will be using as sources of information to write your term paper. This will reduce the total amount of work that you will have to do!

A FINAL NOTE:

I will expect you to utilize materials available in NASH LIBRARY as one of your main sources of information. Also note that dictionaries and encyclopedias are NOT to be cited as sources of information!!!!!

SOME ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:

It has been said that science is the challenge of the unknown. For those of us living in the latter part of the 20th century botany (and its applications such as food and fiber production, etc.) is becoming once again one of the most important sciences. Especially with the applications of genetic engineering (plants producing antibiotics, etc. for direct consumption, possibly even immunizing people) it is a field where last week's unthinkable ideas are this week's common place realities. It is both frustrating an enthralling precisely because we don't know all of the answers. For this reason it is a field wide open for new ideas and new people.

Welcome to General Botany--I hope that you have an interesting and challenging semester. My best wishes for your success in this class. This class is not a passive class where you can act like a tape recorder by memorizing set answers and then repeating them back on a test. You will have to become intellectually actively involved, to read, to listen, to study the world around you, above all to think critically and to ask questions.