BIOL 306 General Genetics – Fall 2025 - 4 Credits
Instructor: Dr. Nicolas Fernandez
Office Location: 200 Science Faculty Center (SFC)
E-Mail: [email protected]
Student Hours:
Monday 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. by appointment
Thurs 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
• If you are unable to attend student hours, you may contact me via email to
schedule student hours outside of the listed time.
Course Meeting Times and Location: Monday/Wednesday 12:00–1:45, SSB 1205
(Section 002)
Required Course Textbook:
Pierce, Genetics: A Conceptual Approach 7th Edition (Macmillan) with Achieve access.
Note that Achieve access comes with ebook access built-in.
Note – Achieve access is needed to complete homework problem sets.
Course Description:
An intermediate course in classical, molecular and evolutionary genetics. The structure,
function, and inheritance of genetic material in prokaryotes, eukaryotes and viruses are
discussed. Topics include DNA and chromosome structure, genetic linkage and
mapping, gene expression and its regulation, human genetic disease, and population
genetics. Three hours lecture, one hour recitation.
Program Goals:
This course is a required course for Biology and Microbiology majors. Details of the
Biology and Microbiology programs can be found at the following links:
https://umdearborn.edu/academics/program/biological-sciences-bs
https://umdearborn.edu/academics/program/microbiology-bs
Course Objectives:
By the end of the semester, you should:
1. Have a broad understanding of gene structure, function, regulation, and interaction
2. Understand how genetic processes lead to evolutionary change
3. Understand the applications of genetics in medicine, agriculture, and other applied
biological fields
4. Be able to apply the scientific method to design experiments and solve problems
5. Be able to communicate science to others both verbally and in writing
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BIOL 306 General Genetics – Fall 2025 - 4 Credits
Assignment and Grading Distribution:
In-class quizzes: Short and designed mainly to ensure that you stay on pace with the
current topics. These consist of short form questions such as fill-in-the-blank, matching,
or true/false. They may be administered during the first few minutes of class and
timely attendance is required to take the quizzes. The lowest two quiz scores will be
dropped to accommodate absences.
Homework assignments: Assigned each week based on problem-solving methods
covered in each week’s recitation, to be completed by the beginning of class each
Wednesday. Homework assignments typically are assigned in Achieve, but the initial
assignment will be administered as a worksheet on Canvas. Late submissions are subject
to a modest deduction (5 percent per day).
Attendance: Based on in-class submissions.
Participation grades: based on lecture activities assigned weekly during lectures and
submitted via Canvas or physical worksheets or notecards. These assignments are
only graded for completion and timely submission.
Exams: Midterm exams will cover material through the lecture before the exam. The
lowest exam score will be dropped. The final exam will consist of approximately half
new material and half cumulative material. Exam questions may consist of multiple
choice, short answer, longer problems, or essay questions. Exams will only cover topics
that were at least mentioned during lecture.
Graded Item Points % of Course Total
In-class Quizzes (8 total, 2 dropped) 6 each (36 total) 17%
Homework Assignments (13 total) 2.5 each (32.5 total) 15%
Attendance 13 6%
Participation Grade 13 6%
Midterm Exams (3 total) 35 each (70 total) 16.5% each (33%
total)
Final Exam 50 23%
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BIOL 306 General Genetics – Fall 2025 - 4 Credits
Grading Scale:
Historic final point % and grade
100 - 98% A+
97-90% A
89% A-
88% B+
87 -81% B
80% B-
79% C+
78%-71% C
70% C-
69% D+
68%-61% D
60% D-
59% down E
Missed Exam/Assignment Policy:
Official excuses are required to make up a missed exam. Examples of official excuses
include absences due to university-sponsored activities (documented in advance) or for
medical reasons documented by a doctor’s note. Last minute emails (alone) from you are
not acceptable. If you cannot make it and have no medical excuse, that as your term
exam drop. Missed quizzes are covered by the dropped quiz policy and will not be made
up.
Course Outline:
Lecture slides and outlines for the week will be posted on Canvas the evening before
the first lecture. Lecture headings are largely taken from textbook headings, thus they
provide a rough outline of material to be discussed in class. Textbook section reading
is encouraged before class to provide better context for class materials. Exam, quiz and
assignment dates are fixed regardless of lecture pacing, but topic dates may change if
we spend additional time on a particular subject.
Lecture Schedule:
Day # Date Topic Chapter HW Quiz
Course Overview; Introduction to
W 1 Aug. 27 1
Genetics
Cellular Reproduction; Principles of
W 2 Sept. 3 2, 3 #1
Heredity
M 3 Sept. 8 Basic Principles of Heredity 3
Quiz
W 4 Sept. 10 Sex Determination and Sex linkage 4 #2
1
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BIOL 306 General Genetics – Fall 2025 - 4 Credits
Extensions to Principles of Heredity,
M 5 Sept. 15 5
Exam Review
W Sept. 17 EXAM 1 #3
Pedigree Analysis and Genetic
M 6 Sept. 22 6
Testing
Eukaryote Genetic Linkage and
W 7 Sept. 24 7 #4
Mapping
Quiz
M 8 Sept. 29 Chromosome Variation 8
2
W 9 Oct. 1 Bacterial and Viral Genetics 9 #5
Quiz
M 10 Oct. 6 DNA and Chromosome Structure 10, 11
3
DNA Replication and
W 11 Oct. 8 Recombination, 11, 12 #6
Exam Review
M Oct. 13 EXAM 2
W 12 Oct. 15 Transcription and RNA 13 #7
Quiz
M 13 Oct. 20 RNA Processing and Genetic Code 14, 15
4
W 14 Oct. 22 Translation and Proteins 15 #8
Bacterial Gene Expression Quiz
M 15 Oct. 27 16
Regulation 5
Eukaryotic Gene Expression
W 16 Oct. 29 17, 21 #9
Regulation
Mutation/DNA repair, Quiz
M 17 Nov. 3 18
Exam Review 6
W Nov. 5 EXAM 3 #10
M 18 Nov. 10 Molecular Genetic Techniques 19, 20
W 19 Nov. 12 Molecular Genetic Techniques 19, 20 #11
Developmental and Cancer
M 20 Nov. 17
Genetics
Developmental and Cancer Quiz
W 21 Nov. 19 22, 23 #12
Genetics 7
NO CLASS (THANKSGIVING
M Nov. 24
BREAK)
NO CLASS (THANKSGIVING
W Nov. 26
BREAK)
Population and Evolutionary Quiz
M 22 Dec. 1 25, 26
Genetics 8
Population and Evolutionary
W 23 Dec. 3 25, 26 #13
Genetics
W Dec. 10 Study Days, Exam Review
Dec. 15-17 FINAL EXAM (Schedule TBA)
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BIOL 306 General Genetics – Fall 2025 - 4 Credits
Generative AI
Generative AI (GenAI or GAI) is a general term for artificial intelligence (AI) that creates
new content based on training data it has already seen. GenAI is a type of artificial
intelligence model or tool which, given a prompt or query, is capable of generating new
and creative outputs in a variety of media, including text, images, video, audio, code, or
other formats that mimic human creation with varying degrees of success.
The use and acceptability of GenAI may vary across courses and within courses. Faculty
may alter assignment expectations so students should read assignment instructions
carefully.
GenAI can be helpful when learning new material; however, even advanced models like
ChatGPT v5 are susceptible to hallucinations, especially in biology. Therefore, I strongly
recommend against using GenAI as the sole studying tool and using GenAI to provide
answers for homework questions. I strongly recommend becoming familiar with material
prior to utilizing GenAI for studying purposes.
Food Pantry
The pantry exists to support individuals on their journey as they work toward achieving
their goals. We are committed to increasing access to food as a key to success, by
assisting any student in need! If you need access or have questions, please contact the
Office of Student Life by phone (313-593-5390) or email
([email protected]).
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