It is concerned with their form, structure, reproduction, physiology, metabolism, and identification. This course also includes the study of their distribution in nature, their relationship to each other and to other living organisms, their beneficial and detrimental effects on human beings, and the physical and chemical changes they make in their environment. This class offers the opportunity for in-depth study and discussion of topics where science overlaps ethics. Example topics of discussion include death and dying, reproductive choices, genetics, human and animal experimentation, and bioengineered organisms. This course will include a systematic survey of the divisions of the vascular plants with an emphasis on extant groups.
Major emphasis is on taxonomy, ecology, and reproductive diversity.
Major evolutionary trends and economic importance will be addressed as well as the identification of local flora. For example, we will explore how natural selection could lead from inorganic precursors to the first prokaryotic cells, which in turn gave rise to eukaryotic cells. Also, in addition to describing cellular components and their functions, we will look at how these components carry out their functions at the molecular level. Throughout the course, we will develop a strong sense of the ways in which all cells are similar and an appreciation of the diversity of which cells are capable. This course is open only to and is required of all senior Biology Majors.