BIOL 202
Genetics Fall 2023
Division III Quantitative/Formal Reasoning

Class Details

Genetics, classically defined as the study of heredity, is today a multidisciplinary field whose principles provide critical insight and tools to most areas of biology and medicine. This course covers the experimental basis for our current understanding of the inheritance, structures, and functions of genes. It introduces approaches used by contemporary geneticists and molecular biologists to explore questions in areas of biology ranging from evolution to medicine. A primary focus of the course is on students developing familiarity with problem solving, the logic and quantitative reasoning required to understand how genetic mechanisms lead to biological patterns. The laboratory part of the course provides an experimental introduction to modern genetic analysis as well as introductions to interpreting genetic reasoning in the primary research literature. Laboratory experiments include investigating chromosome structure using microscopy, mapping a mutation to the genome by integrating multiple streams of evidence, and determining the structure of a DNA plasmid using molecular tools.
The Class: Format: lecture/laboratory; Lecture: three hours per week, Lab: three hours per week.
Limit: 120
Expected: 60
Class#: 1028
Grading: no pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: bi-weekly problem sets; weekly laboratory exercises and laboratory reports; three exams
Prerequisites: BIOL 101 and 102
Enrollment Preferences: students interested in the Biology major
Distributions: Division III Quantitative/Formal Reasoning
QFR Notes: This course develops quantitative skills through solving problems. Students learn to apply basic calculations and logic to predict the outcomes of biological systems, for example, describing the likelihood that an individual will be affected by an inherited disease. Application of quantitative and logical analysis contributes to a large component of the in-class work and the graded material for the class, in the form of problem sets, exams, and data analysis for lab reports.
Attributes: BIGP Courses
BIMO Required Courses

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