Faculty Syllabus

Course Description:

• Credit hours: 3
• Classroom contact hours per week: 3
• Pre-Requisite BIOL 1308

A survey of the living organisms on our planet for the non-science major. Emphasis on evolutionary and natural history, structural and behavioral adaptations, biological diversity and co-evolution.

Departmental Common Course Objectives:

The ACC Biology Department has specified the content for this course in the departmental common course objectives. Click here to view the Common Course Objectives.

Student Learning Outcomes: Course-Level:

Specific skills and competencies expected of students who complete this course include:

• ability to explain evolutionary relationships among different organisms

• ability to discuss adaptations, using several different examples

• ability to apply biological concepts to new examples

Required Textbooks and Materials:

Lecture Text: The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution Ebook. by Carl Zimmer

ISBN: 8220115810352      

Computer Access: All course materials will be located in blackboard.  All homework will be submitted online.  Click here to access Blackboard.

Blackboard: 

I will post all grades, lecture slides, homework, and handouts on Blackboard. Please check this site daily for announcements and all needed materials. I will also send emails out via the blackboard system. Please forward your ACC email address to your personal email.

Use of ACC Email
All College e-mail communication to students will be sent solely to the student’s ACCmail account, with the expectation that such communications will be read in a timely fashion. ACC will send important information and will notify you of any college related emergencies using this account. Students should only expect to receive email communication from their instructor using this account. Likewise, students should use their ACC email account when communicating with instructors. Click here for Instructions to activate your ACCmail account.

Skills Requirement:

Reading and writing proficiency as determined by the COMPASS or ASSET test, or by the statewide THEA test, or by providing an official transcript from another college.

Text: The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution Ebook. by Carl Zimmer

Life on Earth Lecture Schedule

Spring 2026

Course Schedule: Dates are tentative and subject to change. Please note that schedule changes may occur during the semester.  Any changes will be announced in class, emailed, posted as a Blackboard Announcement.

ACC is closed for Martin Luthor King Day on January 20st

ACC is closed for Spring Break on March 8th to March 16th

Student Learnig outcomes/Learning Objectives can be found using the link below: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxZ7UnOPp6OVeC1GMjVJMVhzUHM/view?resourcekey=0-LuBZfN4DBShbI13PhWEY0g

Section 1: Science as a Process
Students should be able to:
 Describe the process of scientific inquiry and apply this knowledge to
examples.
 Identify the components of a scientific experiment and explain why control
groups are used.
 Explain the difference between a hypothesis and a scientific theory.
 Compare what theory means to a scientist vs. a non-scientist.
Section 2: Classification and Scientific Nomenclature
Students should be able to:
 Define phylogeny, describe a phylogenetic tree and interpret a
phylogenetic tree.
 Explain the purpose of the biological classification system,
 List the categories of the biological classification system in the correct
order.
 Describe the parts of a scientific name.
 Describe the biological species concept and apply it to examples.
 Name and describe the organisms in the three domains.
 Compare and contrast prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure at a simple
level.
 Describe the endosymbiotic origin of eukaryotic mitochondria and
chloroplasts.
 Compare and contrast the major types of eukaryotes: plants, animals,
fungi and protists.
Section 3: Evolution—an Introduction
Students should be able to:
 Define evolution.
 Describe the various kinds of evidence for evolution and apply this
knowledge to examples.
 Recognize teleological statements and rephrase them to remove the
teleology.
Section 4: Darwin and Natural Selection
Students should be able to:
 Discuss the observations of Charles Darwin leading to the theory of
natural selection.
 Describe the historical background of the development of evolutionary
theory in the 19th century.
 Explain how Charles Darwin used artificial selection, comparative anatomy
and embryology to understand and explain evolutionary mechanisms.
 Name and describe the following aspects of natural selection, including
applying this knowledge to examples:

BIOL 1309 Common Course Objectives

May 1, 2014 Page 3 of 5

o Genetic variation
o Overproduction of offspring
o Competition for resources
o Differential survival and reproduction.

Section 5: What the Rocks Say
Students should be able to:
 Describe the processes of fossil formation.
 Explain how relative and absolute dating work in general and apply this
knowledge to examples.
 Outline the major events in the evolution of life on earth and briefly
describe the evidence for each.
 Describe the evolution of oxygen-producing photosynthesis and its effects
on early life forms.
Section 6: First Life, the Videos
Students should be able to:
 Describe Snowball Earth, the geological evidence, and its importance to
the evolution of complex life forms.
 Outline the major events in the early evolution of animals and briefly
describe the evidence for each.
 Describe the main features of various animal body plans and their
evolutionary significance. Apply this knowledge to examples.
Section 7: The Tree of Life
Students should be able to:
 Describe tetrapod evolution. This includes anatomical changes and
ecological changes, such as the shift from an aquatic environment to a
terrestrial environment.
 Discuss the role of transitional fossils in understanding tetrapod evolution,
using examples.
 Describe the amniotic egg and explain its importance in tetrapod
evolution.
 Describe the characteristics of mammals.
 Compare monotremes, marsupials and placental mammals, using
examples of each.
 Describe the role of Archaeopteryx as a transitional fossil demonstrating
the evolution of birds within the reptiles.
 Explain how information from the fossil record and living organisms is
used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of a group of organisms.

BIOL 1309 Common Course Objectives

May 1, 2014 Page 4 of 5

Section 8: The Ways of Change
Students should be able to:
 Describe the function of DNA in cells.
 Explain the relationships among these terms: DNA, chromosome, gene,
protein, allele.
 Explain that all living organisms use DNA in a similar fashion and explain
the implications of that for the evolutionary history of life.
 Describe and compare asexual and sexual reproduction.
 Describe the sources of genetic variation in a population, including the
differences in the kinds of variations produced by mutations and by
recombination.
 Explain the differences between harmful, neutral, and beneficial mutations
and their effects on organisms’ fitness.
 Explain what is meant by evolutionary fitness and give examples.
 Explain the following evolutionary mechanisms and give examples:
o Genetic drift
o Gene flow
o Sexual selection.
 Describe and give examples of negative selection, positive selection,
stabilizing selection, and balancing selection
Section 9: The History in Our Genes
Students should be able to:
 Describe in general how molecular data are used to construct
phylogenetic trees.
 Explain what a molecular clock is and how it is used.
Section 10: Adaptations
Students should be able to:
 Describe adaptation and explain the role of natural selection in their
evolution.
 Recognize a variety of adaptations and discuss how natural selection
could have resulted in the evolution of these features.
 Describe the evolution of a complex adaptation that requires many
different parts working together. Explain the roles of gene duplication and
gene recruitment in the evolution of these adaptations.
 Describe the importance of the “genetic toolkit” (Hox genes) in the
evolution of animals.
 Explain the factors that constrain evolution.
 Define convergent evolution and apply this concept to examples.

BIOL 1309 Common Course Objectives

May 1, 2014 Page 5 of 5

Section 11: The Origin of Species
Students should be able to:
 Explain different species concepts and the usefulness of each.
 Describe various reproductive barriers and their effects on speciation.
 Explain different methods of speciation, using examples.
Section 12: Radiations and Extinctions
Students should be able to:
 Define biogeography.
 Explain the role of vicariance, dispersal and reproductive isolation in
determining the distribution of organisms, using examples.
 Define adaptive radiation and extinction. Describe how these two types of
events affect patterns of biodiversity, using examples.
 Describe the Cambrian Explosion and discuss hypotheses for the causes
of this adaptive radiation.
 Compare background extinctions and mass extinctions, using examples.
 Explain how humans are currently involved in causing the next mass
extinction.
Section 13: Intimate Partnerships
Students should be able to:
 Explain coevolution, using examples.

 Distinguish between positive-negative, positive-neutral, and positive-
positive relationships using examples..

 Explain symbiosis, using examples.
 Explain the concept of a natural arms race, using examples.
 Explain the process of endosymbiosis and its effect on evolutionary
history.
Section 14: Primate and Hominid Evolution
Students should be able to:
 Describe the characteristics shared by all primates.
 Describe the major groups of primates and their evolutionary relationships.
 Describe the characteristics and evolutionary history of hominids.
 Compare hominids to other primates.
 Describe the general pattern of human evolution.
 Apply evolutionary mechanisms to current human evolution, using
examples.