This page, and the materials available from it, will be updated periodically. Be sure to check it for updates. If you can't get to something that you think you should be able to get to, please contact Dr. Hauser (bahauser@botany.ufl.edu) or Dr. Bowes (gbowes@botany.ufl.edu).
Lecture notes for enzyme kinetics, photosynthesis, respiration and plant stress
Topics for lectures
Instuctions on how to log ontoWebCT
Handy equations and constants for water potential problems
Water potential questions
Review questions for Exam1 and Exam II
The major objective is to provide plant science students with an overview of plant physiological and biochemical processes, and how they are influenced by environmental factors. The major topics with which students must become familiar, include: cell and membrane structures and functions; water relations; mineral nutrition; transport processes; gene expression and signal transduction; energetics, enzymes, and biochemical reactions; photosynthesis; respiration; lipid metabolism; plant defenses; stress physiology; growth, and morphogenesis; growth regulators; phytochrome, blue light responses, photomorphogenesis, and flowering. Basic information about these plant processes will be integrated with agronomical and ecological considerations.
The course meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for one period. Students are expected to interact during class, and questions during lecture are encouraged. In order to interact, you must read over the appropriate chapter in the text prior to class. Discussion and review sessions are scheduled before each exam.
Enrollment in the laboratory (BOT 3503L) is not a requirement, but is recommended. Material covered in the laboratory will reinforce concepts presented in lecture!
The required text is PLANT PHYSIOLOGY second edition by L. Taiz and E. Zeiger, Sinauer Associates Inc, 1998. Examinations are based on both the lectures and the material in the required readings.
The course grade is determined from four examinations. The first two are worth 200 points each, while the final exam is worth 300 points, giving 700 points for the course. The first three exams are scheduled on Mondays in the regular 50-min class period. They consist of multiple-choice and short answer questions relating to the lecture and text material from the previous three to four weeks. The final exam is partially comprehensive; 200 points cover material from the previous four weeks, while the remaining 100 points are the comprehensive component that emphasizes major concepts presented throughout the course. You should note that the lectures do NOT cover all the exam material. A word to the wise: in this course, memorizing a list of facts is not enough, to get an "A" requires understanding the major concepts well enough to apply them. Participation during class also influences your grade. This is a more subjective component, but it can determine the grade cut-off line.
Please feel free to consult with us. Schedule an appointment, or send an email message. We check our email daily and do respond. Do not leave problems until just before the exam when it is too late to correct them. In this course, emphasis is placed upon developing the ability to recognize significant facts, and to reason with precision and logic. Regurgitation of facts is inevitable, but the best students demonstrate they can also use them. Potential is not graded, only achievement as demonstrated in the exams and class discussions.
We hope that you enjoy the course, work hard, and find it worthwhile. We appreciate constructive comments as to how it might be improved.
bahauser@botany.ufl.edu and gbowes@botany.ufl.edu