Exams, Quizzes, and Assignments

FINAL December 9th at 12:30 Study guide  Expect 50% of the test to be on new material and the other 50% to be over material on which you have been tested.

Exam 3 December 4th: Chapters 5-7 Study guide. I am excluding the section on Neutral Theory.  That section will be on the final.

Take home question:  Read the following article in New Scientist on the finding of the gene that led to the Fore women's susceptibility to kuru and discuss the scientists' findings in reference to what you learned from our textbook. What is important to know in regards to what you have learned about evolution? How is an evolutionary response to kuru different than an evolutionary response to HIV?

Be succinct and clear in your answer, no more than one page. This question is worth 8 points, however if you do a really outstanding job in answering it, I will give you more credit.

Assignment: HIV Clock. Do exercises 1-3.  We will discuss them in class November 23.  Exercise 4 and 5 will be due December 4.

H-W problems

Assignment: Domesticating Dogs

• Friday November 6: Group assignment on domesticating dogs exercise. 

• Use the same group as assembled for the Tricking your neighbor exercise.

• I have uploaded pdfs of journal articles and placed them on Georgia View. 

  • Each member of the group should choose a journal article.  One must be on the phylogeny of the dog.  One paper should be a more recent paper and the other paper can be more recent or older. 

  • You are to write a brief (2-3 pages) literature review of what scientists have discovered about domesticating the dog.

  • You are to use the Victoria McMillan book, Writing in the Biological Sciences, to help you cite correctly and to guide you in writing a review article.

  • This should not read like three separate papers.  You are to work together to incorporate what every group member has written and read.

  • Keep track of what each person did.  I will have another peer review sheet for you to fill out. 

  • You are are responsible for making sure their is adequate citations and no plagiarism.

Quiz 2 on Domesticating Dogs October 28 Test will be on producing a phylogenetic tree based on genetic differences. Practice questions. Domesticating dogs worksheet

Exam 2 redo of multiple choice and matching questions, October 23rd.  I will post the questions on Thursday morning and you will use your texts and notes to fill in another scantron to turn in.

Exam 2 October 16th: Chapters 10, 16 and 4.  Study guide in progress.

Assignment : Domesticating Dogs

• Wednesday October 7: Work through exercises 1 through 4.  Bring questions to class at that time.

• Monday October 12: We will do Exercise 5, Trick your neighbor in class.  Groups. The group will domesticate the wolves using the instructions in 63 and 64.  Then the group will turn over their computer to the group that is opposite them in the other column (Group 1 switches with Group 8, Group 2 switches with Group 9, etc.).  The groups then work on producing the phylogeny of domesticating dogs.  Please remember to take notes on how you set up your dog domestication scheme. If there is time you will compare notes between groups.

• Friday October 23: Group assignment associated with Exercise 6.  More details to follow soon.

Exam 1 September 16th: Chapters 1,2,3 and Experimental Design Study Guide

• Be prepared to interpret graphs and form hypotheses from observations.

Due September 11th, letter assignment (15pts):  Write a letter that addresses the concerns you may have in Georgia's standing in teaching evolution in the public schools.  You can write from the point of view of a former student of  the schools or as a parent of a child who will be attending a Georgia school.  I want you to address such strategies used by anti-evolutionists as

• Evolution is controversial

• It is important to teach all sides of an issue

• Being exposed to  alternate ideas of how species arose develops critical thinking skills

• Academic freedom

In addition, you should address the importance of evolution in your own biology studies.

Websites that may help you in developing your arguments include

• Facing Challenges to Evolution Education

• Ten tips for writing a letter to the editor

• The interview with Eugenie Scott that I passed out in class

• Judgement Day: Evolution on Trial Webpage This includes an interview with Ken Miller and ID proponent Philip Johnson

The following article is also interesting for those of you who would like to read more.

A Grand Bargain Over Evolution

This is a recent opinion piece from the NY  Times by Robert Wright on how evolution can be compatible with a belief in God.  You may find this interesting in light of the last part of chapter 2 where we were discussing methodological and ontological naturalism.  Mr. Wright appears to fall in the camp of methodological naturalists.