BIO 160 - Foundations of Biological Inquiry

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR (students beginning prior to Fall 2024): Meets general academic requirement SC.
Meets Explore Core requirement (students beginning Fall 2024 and later): NP
Prerequisite(s): Prerequisite: High school coursework in math, chemistry, and biology is normally required.
An introduction to the study of organisms and life systems, intended for students planning to major in natural science. This course explores the overarching principles of evolutionary theory, emphasizing the empirical approaches and habits of mind that characterize biological disciplines. Students will gain experience in core competencies such as experimental design, hypothesis testing, analysis of quantitative data, modeling, and interpretation of experiments and observations. In addition, the course addresses how biological understandings inform other disciplinary areas, including social and political concerns. Four hours of combined laboratory and discussion per week. The course involves animal dissections. Four hours of combined laboratory and discussion per week.