This is the main syllabus for Dr. Tiftickjian’s course in Plant Physiology. If this is your first visit, you will probably want to read this page from beginning to end. Some of the links below will take you to sections on this page; others will take you to pages with additional and more detailed information. You can return to this page from any other Plant Physiology page by clicking the “Syllabus” button found at the top and bottom of each page.
To keep up with the latest information on lecture topics, reading assignments, and other announcements, visit the Course Outline page which shows the lecture schedule and provides links to the latest items of interest to students enrolled in the course.
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• Course outline and schedule |
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Course objectives
The main objective is to gain an understanding of some of the processes that are important to the normal functioning of plants. Although many of these processes are common to algae, fungi, and nonvascular plants (such as photosynthesis and mineral nutrition), the physiology of the flowering plants (angiosperms) will be emphasized. By the end of the semester, we should all have a good idea, at least generally, of how plants work. Because many aspects of physiology, such as respiration, enzyme action, and water relations, are shared by all organisms, much of what we study here applies not only to plants but also to animals. Thus, this course will be of value not only to those with a strong interest in botany but to biology students in general.
Expected preparation
It is assumed that you have had at least one year of general chemistry and two semesters of general biology or general botany. This course builds on physiological concepts usually presented in introductory biology, such as basic chemistry, cell structure, photosynthesis, genetics, etc. I will not re-teach things you have already had in general biology. If you are unsure the you meet the prerequisites, please check with me before continuing in the course.
The textbook
The Hopkins and Hüner book is a good introduction to plant physiology. We will try to cover most of the book. Some chapters are a bit too detailed; I will ask you to read only parts of these chapters, so follow the reading assignments carefully. We follow the text fairly closely, so you do need to have access to a copy. Besides the campus bookstore, there are other sources you might want to check for the best price. Several book sellers on the Internet carry the book, both new and used. If you consider buying online, remember to consider shipping costs and how soon the book will get to you. If it takes longer than a couple of days, you may get behind on your reading assignments.
Lecture and Laboratory format
I like to make lectures discussion oriented as much as possible. In a class as small as this one, we have lots of freedom in how we cover things. Whenever you find a concept difficult, don’t hesitate to ask questions. The more questions, the better. I would hope that you read about the upcoming concepts in the text before we discuss them so that you will be able to contribute to class discussion. As much as possible, we will work from an outline during lecture, and that outline will also be available on the course web site. I will supplement our discussions with slides, diagrams, and occasionally a video where appropriate.
The lab exercises are mostly experimental in nature. You will be running experiments, collecting data, and drawing conclusions from those data. Some of the labs are group projects where each team does one component of the exercise then we combine results. One of the objectives of the lab is to acquaint you with techniques that you will find useful in other scientific work that you do.
Course web site
Right now you are reading the home page of the course web site. This site is not yet complete, but it is constantly being updated. Here you will find class news, assignments, lecture outlines, and other information that will be useful. Note that this is not an “online” course, but should be considered “Web-enhanced.” You are not often required to make use of the this website, but it is strongly recommended. You will find materials here that may not be in the textbook or covered completely in lecture, but all the online content is designed to enhance the course and help to improve your grade. You should check the site frequently as it is constantly changing. The most important page is the course outline page that shows an updated schedule of lecture and lab topics, reading assignments, and other assignments. You will also find most of the lecture outlines, other study aids, and links to related information on the Internet.
Email discussion list
We will do some of your class discussion using an email discussion group. If you have been using the Internet for a while, you probably belong to other email lists (some people call these “listservs”). You will get additional information early in the semester about how to join the list.
Assignments and testing
Exams may have some multiple-choice or other objective questions, but will mostly be short essay questions and sometimes problems or calculations where appropriate. Material for exams will be taken from lecture, text readings, and lab. The final exam is comprehensive.
Your lab grade will be based on a variety of things. You will write up lab reports of most exercise that we do. There will also be occasional quizzes, take home questions, and problems assigned at appropriate times during the semester. These assignments may be related to a lecture topic, outside reading, of laboratory exercise.
I also plan to assign one or two more detailed lab reports from special projects that we will work on near the end of the semester. You will get more information on the format for lab reports later.
One of my goals for lab is to introduce using the computer to analyze experimental data, and report results. We will spend some of our lab time learning these computer techniques. You will be required to do at least one of your lab reports on a word processor and include data analysis, graphs, etc., also prepared with a computer.
Checking your grades
You can check your current grade online at a secure web page. You must log in with a unique password so no one but you will be able to see your grades. You will receive your password shortly after the course begins. Note that this web page is independent of the Blackboard system used by Delta State. The login ID and password you might be using for another course through Blackboard will not work for Dr. T's courses.
Other course policies
See the course policies page for additional information on attendance, grading policy, dropping the course, etc.
Delta State University > Biological and Physical Sciences > Dr. Tiftickjian > Plant Physiology