Plant Biology: Plant Physiology

Study of the plant as a whole, growth and development, water and mineral relations, environmental factors, and regulatory processes. Prerequisites: BCOR 1400 and BCOR 1450, or BIOL 1400 and BIOL 1450, or BCOR 1425; CHEM 1400 and CHEM 1450, or CHEM 1100 and CHEM 1150, or CHEM 1400 and CHEM 1150; or Instructor permission.

Must register for a PBIO 2040 lab A01 - A02 - A03 Prereqs enforced by the system: BCOR 1400 & 1450 or BIOL 1400 & 1450 or BCOR 1425 and CHEM 1400 & 1450 or CHEM 1100 & 1150 or CHEM 1400 & 1150 Open to Degree and PACE students

Plant Physiology examines how plants work at different levels of organisation, ranging from the level of the cell to an organ (such as a leaf), to the whole plant. Since plants function within their environments, the effects of environmental conditions on plant function and development is also a key piece of this course. Plant physiology has both a classroom portion, devoted to lecture and in-class discussion and activities, as well as a lab portion in which students work in groups to design and conduct experiments to explore some of the topics and ideas from class in a hands-on manner. Course goals: 1. Gain an understanding of how plants function at the cellular, tissue, organ, and organismal level 2. Develop / improve skills in asking scientific questions and finding ways to answer them through experiments a. Develop / improve on logical skills in term of processes and procedures required to get from a question to a logically sound answer based on gathered information b. Develop / improve critical analysis skills in order to interpret and explain scientific observations, questions, and data 3. Develop / improve the ability to communicate scientific information to a range of audiences (both professional and general public) in both verbal and written format

This course has a combination of both a lecture component and a lab component. In lecture, classes will be a mix of lecture and group discussion to solve problems and answer questions. Completion of brief post-class homeworks as well as a larger weekly homework will be required to prepare students for tests. In lab, students will be expected to attend and to actively be involved with their groups, following all guidance and safety instructions from the graduate teaching assistant leading the lab.

Evaluation will consider attendance, small post-lecture homeworks, weekly homeworks, and tests. 25% of the course grade is given for activities done in lab throughout the term, which will include a combination of in-class assignments, short lab homeworks, and communications in various styles prepared after each key experiment (e.g., lab report, poster presentation, blog post).