Your journey through BIOSCI 101 starts by questioning what life is, and how life may have arisen. The chief ingredient for life is energy, and most of it comes from the Sun. This energy was possibly trapped within primordial molecules, some of which are now universal among all organisms. We discuss how cells harness this power to replicate, grow, move and store genetic information within genes. We then progress to how genes interact within the cell and environment, and how genetic mutations can be catastrophic or transformational. We will have set you on a course to understand the processes and patterns underpinning life. Tihei mauri ora!
The course is structured to maximise the opportunity for students to master conceptual and skill outcomes. To enable this, a variety of learning opportunities are blended into the course to facilitate each student to work and learn independently at the level and pace appropriate to their needs. All teaching activities and resources can be accessed in Canvas.
The lectures guide you to learn knowledge and the process for answering assessment questions. The course includes online videos to help with familiarisation and retention, where your background may need updating. Practice activities with feedback and questions are available online in the tutor system MasteringBiology. The MasteringBiology system gives you access to the text version of Campbell Biology (prescribed text) with various functions to support your learning including translation into multiple languages. The knowledge you have gained during the course is assessed in a short test (week 10) and final exam. Laboratories occur six times during the semester (fortnightly) and are also assessed.
BIOSCI 101 Life! Origins and mechanisms must be taken by all students in the Biological Sciences major alongside its sister courses BIOSCI 108 Biodiversity: Patterns of life and BIOSCI 109 Ecology and Evolution: The Continuum of Life, as year one core requirements.
It is recommended having a background in year 12 and /or 13 biology and chemistry to ensure you have the appropriate level of preparedness for BIOSCI 101.