Information & Policies

William W. Metcalf
B415 C&LSL
244-1943
metcalf@illinois.edu
Office Hours: Mondays 4:00-5:00 PM or by appointment

Yanheng Chen
513 Medical Sciences Bldg
yanheng2@illinois.edu
Office Hours: Mondays 3-4 PM or by appointment

The course examines the biochemical and physiological adaptations that allow microbes to compete and succeed in diverse environments. Emphasis is placed on the role of metabolism in the living organism and on the specific evolutionary advantages conferred by different metabolic stragtegies.

Although attendance will not be considered in grading, students should consider lecture attendance to be mandatory. In particular, the lecture slides are NOT meant as a substitute for class notes. Instead, they should serve as an outline of the material to be discussed in class, as well as a method to distribute complex diagrams that cannot easily be reproduced in notes. Experience shows that students who rely solely on the online material do poorly in the course.

Option I: An initial grade based on 400 total points will be assigned after the third exam. If the student is satisfied with this grade, then the Final Exam is not required.

3 exams	= 300 points
6 problem sets	= 60 points
10 muddiest points	= 10 points
1 quiz	= 30 points
Total	400 points

Option II: If the student is not satisfied with the initial grade, the final exam may be taken. In this case, the grade will be based on 600 total points. The percentage score required to achieve each grade will be identical to that used for Option I. You cannot lower the initial grade by taking the final.

3 exams	= 300 points
6 problem sets	= 60 points
10 muddiest points	= 10 points
1 quiz	= 30 points
Final exam	= 200 points
Total	600 points

Six problem sets will be given over the semester, two for each third of the course. Each will be worth 10 points. Grading will be based on whether an effort was made to solve the problems, not on whether the right answer was obtained. Partially complete homework will receive partial credit. Problem sets will be due at midnight on the dates indicated below. They can be turned in during class, or in my mailbox in B103, CLSL, or via email. If submitted by email, your answers must be compiled into a single PDF document. "Cut and paste" answers from other sources will not receive credit. Answers will be posted online after the due date. Fully completed, late homework will be accepted prior to the last day of class, but will only be worth 5 points each. No partial credit will be given for late homework.

February 6	Problem set #1
February 18	Problem set #2
March 11	Problem set #3
March 30	Problem set #4
April 15	Problem set #5
May 1	Problem set #6

Help sessions will be held prior to the due date for each problem set and exam. All help sessions will be at 5 PM in A446 C&LSL (on the 4th floor bridge connecting the "B" and "C" wings).

Thursday, Feb 5	Problem Set #1 Help Session	5PM, A446 C&LSL
Tuesday, Feb 17	Problem set #2 Help Session	5PM, A446 C&LSL
Thursday, Feb 19	Exam 1 Help Session	5PM, A446 C&LSL
Tuesday, Mar 10	Problem Set #3 Help Session	5PM, A446 C&LSL
Thursday, Mar 26	Problem Set #4 Help Session	5PM, A446 C&LSL
Tuesday, March 31	Exam 2 Help Session	5PM, A446 C&LSL
Tuesday, Apr 14	Problem Set #5 Help Session	5PM, A446 C&LSL
Thursday, April 30	Problem Set #6/Exam 3 Help Session	5PM, A446 C&LSL

Students often feel that certain topics covered in class are not well explained or confusing. When this occurs, please write a short email of 1-2 sentences asking that this be explained again. Send these to me (metcalf@illinois.edu) with the subject heading "Muddiest point". Each Monday at the beginning of class the most commonly asked question(s) will be discussed. To encourage participation in this feedback exercise, these will be worth 1 point each, up to a maximum of 10 points. You can submit as many questions as you like, but you will receive credit for a maximum of one point per week (i.e. you can't submit ten questions in the last week of class to improve your grade).

One quiz covering material you should have learned previously in prerequisite courses will be given during class on Friday, Jan 31. The answers are available online prior to the quiz.

All exams will be taken during class on the dates indicated below. Questions will be in essay/problem solving format. Makeup Exams will not be given, if you miss an exam you must take the final, which will then count the same as a regular exam. Grading option II is not available if you miss a test.

Exam I	February 20
Exam II	April 1
Exam III	May 4

This is a tentative schedule and may change depending on the pace of lectures.

Thursday, May 14, 1:30-4:30 PM, 1020 Wymer Hall

http://www.life.illinois.edu/mcb/424

The web page will contain lecture outlines, problem sets and problem set answers. Important: the lecture outlines are NOT meant as a substitute for class notes. If you rely on these as your sole source of class material, you are unlikely to do well on the exams.

The physiology and biochemistry of prokaryotes, by David White, Oxford University Press

Biology of the Prokaryotes, edited by Joseph W. Lengeler, Gerhart Drews and Hans Schlegel , 1999, Blackwell Science Bacterial Metabolism, by Gerhard Gottschalk, 1985, Springer-Verlag

Periodic reading will be assigned as the course progresses. These will be from a variety of sources, including the recommended text cited above. Where ever possible I will attempt to have links for these readings on the course web site.