BOTANY

Image of two students studying for a test.Course Description
BIOL 331 BOTANY (4) [3] - introduces students to the basic structural, reproductive and evolutionary patterns seen in the plant kingdom. Three lecture periods and one three-hour laboratory meet per week. Prerequisite: Grade of "C" or higher in BIOL 126/7 or consent.

Botany presents an introduction to plant biology with emphasis on the evolution, diversity, structure and physiology of plants (unifying themes that underlie the biological sciences). The central theme of this botany course is evolution, but we will also investigate economic botany and environmental problems. Many of the examples will not have nice neat "happy endings" because actual data are rarely neat and often do not support only one hypothesis. Really good experiments will refute one of the many alternative hypotheses that are developed to understand the biology of plants.

Objectives:

  1. Participate in the SCIENCE of Botany by:
    a. developing primary and alternative hypotheses,
    b. setting up experimental and comparative methods using field, laboratory and theoretical approaches
    c. interpreting results (emphasis will be placed on data analysis and interpretation) to determine if the data refute or support one or more of our hypotheses
    d. write drafts of scientific reports, revise them and rewrite final versions
    e. making oral and final written presentations of the scientific reports
  2. Demonstrate current understanding of plant classification, identification, structure and physiology.
  3. Apply basic botanical information to novel situations and predict results based on previous work, integrating scientific understanding with ecological principles.
  4. Evaluate statements using critical thinking skills. Critical thinking will involve:
    a. realizing that many questions don't have one obvious right answer
    b. knowing that all opinions are usually NOT equally valid
    c. knowing how to compare ideas and actions, choose the ones that are better and discard the ones that are terrible.
    d. learning that such comparisons are made for particular purposes.
  5. Discuss the connections among Botany and other natural sciences.
  6. Evaluate and analyze basic botanical knowledge as informed citizens in a world where botanical issues are of increasing importance. Make intelligent decisions as consumers of plant products (herbivores) and to base these decisions on basic plant biology within the framework of economic, social, and environmental concerns.
  7. Improve writing by writing informally, thinking about writing, and revising formal writing.