The problem sets are designed to assist you to understand topics covered in the course and to provide you with feedback on your understanding of those topics. It is essential that you do complete the problem sets as the two tests and the final examination will cover similar topics to the problems. We will go through the problem sets during the practicals. Answers to the problem sets will be found on the unit’s web page one week after the problem sets due date.

Problem sets are to be brought to your practical/tutorial classes.

Students doing their practicals externally should hand in problem sets according to the external assessment schedule. If a good attempt is made at each of the problem sets (that are to be handed in) then 1 mark will be awarded for each.  This will make up 5% of the final assessment. We also recommend that you attempt the problems at the end of the relevant chapters in your textbook.  It contains solved problems and answers to selected problems. 

Your progress during the unit will also be assessed a test during week 11. Each test is worth 10% of the unit’s assessment. The tests will focus mostly on topics covered during the lectures and are based on 35 multiple choice questions and 7 short answers. Students have up to one hour and 20 minutes for conclusion of each test. This test will require application of genetic principles to solve problems and an ability to describe genetic processes and techniques..

You are required to design and present a conference poster (design as a powerpoint slide) to your tutorial group on almost any aspect of genetics that you find exciting. Don’t panic.  Being able to talk is essential in almost any job and it is far better to learn the art in front of a group of friendly biologists than anywhere else. You will have 3 minutes to present your poster and 2 minutes for questions.

You must email your PowerPoint presentation as an attachment to Sanscha by 9am, Thursday the 2nd of April (internal students) or Thursday 7th May (external students). Make sure your presentation is saved with your surname and practical session day and time, e.g. “Smith_monam” (also make this the subject line of the email). Please use PowerPoint 2003 format (avoid tif. files for images) and also bring your presentation on a USB key as back up. It is your responsibility to ensure the presentation is emailed to Sanscha by the due date – we will not be chasing you up for it!

Useful places to begin searching for information on your topic are the following.

(i)            Trends in Ecology and Evolution

(ii)          Science              

(iii)         Nature                

(iv)         New Scientist

(v)          Scientific American                 

Content: Choose an interesting topic and try to convey as much enthusiasm to your audience as possible. State the main points of the topic in a clear and concise manner and attempt to construct your own tables and figures, rather than taking from internet or using unreadable photocopies from papers. Make sure that there is a simple take home message.

Presentation: Write clearly and don’t put too much information, illustrations may be a more effective way to impart information and be as creative as you like with the design.. You will need a heading and for text, write few lines with large print in point form rather than in sentences. Address your audience and stand back from the projector making sure that the audience has a clear view of the screen. Do not read from a transcript and use the poster as a reminder for the major points you wish to get across.

Assessment (10% of unit’s assessment): It will be based on content and presentation. The overall mark will be based on a mean of the students’ marks in the class out of 3 plus the tutor’s mark out of 7.

We need two practical sessions to include everyone’s posters and you are expected to attend, participate in discussions and mark both poster sessions.

A major component of BIOL206 Genetics is the preparation of a practical report. This practical report, titled “From tissue to Species Identification”, should be presented in the style of a scientific publication and describe the procedures and results of a series of three week practicals.

The report has a forensics type focus in that you will receive an unknown tissue sample and you need to identify the species from which it came.  In the process of identifying your sample, you will learn essential skills in modern genetics, including: how to isolate DNA, visualize DNA using gel electrophoresis, perform PCR amplification, and sequence a mitochondrial gene.  Students will then identify their mysterious sample by comparing their sequences with those available in the DNA sequence databases. After this is done, we will align all the DNA sequences collected and build a phylogenetic tree to determine how the species are related. 

It is highly recommended that you go across to the library and browse through relevant journals online in order to familiarize yourself with setting out and general structure of scientific papers before you commence writing your report. Please do not underestimate the time requirement for this exercise. It is recommended that you start drafting your paper at the commencement of the ‘from tissue to species identification’ DNA practical series.

Specific guidelines about preparing your practical report will be posted on iLearn.

The practical report is worth 20% of your total unit assessment and should be between 2,000 and 3,000 words (text only, do not include references and tables in your word count).

Submission of Report:

Assignments must be submitted both electronically and as a hardcopy.

1. Hardcopy submission  

Your assignment (= report) must be submitted to the Biol206 assignment box. This box is located in the reception area of the Faculty of Science student assignment office on the first floor of E7A (at the western end of the building). Consult a campus map for directions http://mq.edu.au/on_campus/maps/. The Centre opens from 9.00am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday.

Assignments are to be submitted strictly before 10.00 am on the date specified and must include a completed and signed coversheet stapled to the front cover (which includes your Turnitin submission number, see below). The Assignment Cover Sheet can be downloaded from the web at

http://web.science.mq.edu.au/intranet/lt/barcode/coversheet.php . 

External students only should submit their assignments to the Centre for Open Education following the COE instructions provided at the start of semester.  Assignments should be received at the Centre by the due date, so if you choose to mail your assignments please make allowances for postage time. Remember that work handed in at weekends is marked with Monday's date!

1. Electronic submission    

All assignments must also be submitted online through Turnitin and you must write your Turnitin submission number onto your assignment cover-sheet (see above).  Turnitin will check your assignment for plagiarism. It works by comparing the text of a submitted document (i.e., your assignment) with the work of your current classmates, past students in BIOL206 and other courses at Macquarie, as well as published material in books, journals and on the web.

To submit via Turnitin, you will need to follow the link provided in iLearn available via the “Assessments at a glance” folder or through the “Activities” block on the right hand side. Your assignment will not be marked if you have not submitted it to Turnitin and supplied the submission number.

1.    To submit an assignment, click the ‘submit’ button to open the paper submission page and then follow the instructions on screen to submit your assignment.  Note that to upload your assignment to Turnitin it must be either in MS Word, WordPerfect, RTF, PDF, PostScript, HTML, or plain text (.txt) format.

2.    Click the ‘yes, submit’ button to upload your assignment. Once your assignment is uploaded, a digital receipt will be provided or emailed to you. You must retain a copy of this receipt.

3.    Don’t forget to submit a hard copy of your assignment in the usual way (outlined above) including a signed cover sheet.

If you need assistance, please contact Student IT Help (02 9850 4357). If you have any questions about privacy, security or these procedures, please contact the Coordinator, Copyright and Digital Asset Management (02 9850 7578)

Please note:

MARKS (10% per day) WILL BE DEDUCTED FOR LATE ASSIGNMENTS

PLAGIARISM: THE REPORT MUST BE YOUR OWN WORK AND PLAGIARISM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED

Please follow this link for further information on plagiarism 

Extensions and penalties

10% of the mark allocated for the assignment may be deducted per day that any work is submitted late.

The deadlines for assignments are not negotiable. Only a medical certificate or a letter with appropriate supporting documents outlining other serious, extenuating circumstances can be used to submit an assignment after the due date without penalty. All applications for special consideration or extension must be sought before the due date unless this is absolutely impossible. All applications for extensions of deadlines must be submitted to the unit convenor.

Reports will be returned to you via the Faculty of Science student assignment office on the first floor of E7A, or via mail if you are an external student.

Students will be tested on their knowledge of course content. The exam will include information from lectures, prac classes and assessment tasks up to and including week 13. Exam conditions will be as for the mid-semester test. The date for your final exam will be available later in the semester.