Prerequisites: none
Lecture/Lab: MWF 12:30-2:20 in SL421
Instructor: Dr. S. Harley; e-mail: sharley@weber.edu; Office: SL409M, 801-626-7434; Office Hours: MWF 10:30-11:20, TuTh 11:00-11:50, or by appointment; e-mail: sharley@weber.edu
Botany Department Office: SL402M, 801-626-6174
Course URL: http://faculty.weber.edu/sharley/2104/2104.htm

        Plant Form and Function is one of the two core courses required by all Botany majors and minors. The other course is Botany SI2114, Evolutionary Survey of Plants. The two courses are independent of each other; one is not a prerequisite for the other. If you will be taking upper division Botany courses, you should be aware that some have both 2000-level courses as prerequisites and that others only require a specific one of the two.
        Plant Form and Function is a 4 credit hour course which meets in three 2-hour blocks per week. Lab activities are integrated with lecture information. You will spend approximately 2-3 hours per week in lecture time and 3-4 hours per week in activities. The first part of the course will go into the details of internal anatomy, including subcellular structures. The second part of the course material will cover plant metabolism (respiration and photosynthesis), mineral nutrition, and sexual and asexual reproduction.

Required texts and materials
P.H. Raven, R.F. Evert, and S. E. Eichhorn.  2005.  Biology of Plants, 7th ed.  W.H. Freeman and Company. 
S. M. Harley, R. A. Bush, B. A. Wachocki. 2008. Botany 2104 Lab Manual.
The following items are available at the WSU Bookstore:  30 cm ruler, safety glasses, colored pencils, and a calculator.  (Safety glasses are also available from Chemistry stores on the 5th floor of the Science Lab Building.)

Recommended texts:
Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences by V. E. McMillan. This text is required for Botany 2121.  Any edition is OK.
A Photographic Atlas for the Botany Laboratory by Van de Graff et al. This text has been recommended in the past for Botany SI2114.

Students With Disabilities
Any student requiring accommodations or services due to a disability must contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in room 181 of the Student Services Center.  SSD can arrange to provide course materials in alternative formats, if necessary.

Student Behavior
This class meets in a laboratory room.  Therefore, food and drink are prohibited.  Feet must be in enclosed shoes.  Your clothing must cover your lap when you are seated.  Safety glasses are required.  Additional safety information will be covered on the second day of class.
You are expected to comply with the Botany Department Statement of Expectations of Students. 

Your course grade will be based on the following:  

Exams:  There will be three 100 point exams and one 200 point cumulative final (100 points old material, 100 points new material).  Of the 500 points available, only 400 will go towards the calculation of your grade.  Either your lowest score on a 100 point exam will be dropped or your final exam score will be halved; whichever calculation gives you the higher grade will be used.  Your exams will be a mixed format of multiple choice, short answer, essay, diagrams, and lab practical.  

Lab Activities:  You will turn in 12 of your lab activities.  See the Important Dates section of this syllabus for the 12 activities that you will turn in.  The assignments are turned in when the activities are completed.  You must be present in order to get credit.

Essay: One of the goals of Botany courses numbered >2000 is to provide support to the development of the Botany Student Portfolio. Therefore, you are to write an essay in which you address certain core concepts in Plant Biology as displayed by one particular species of flowering plant (angiosperm).  In that essay, you need to support your information with specific examples, illustrations, lists, etc. For this class you are to write an essay that focuses specifically on the structure/function aspects of the flowering plants. Further guidelines will be given during the third week of classes.