BIOL250 Quantitative Biology (3,0)        3 This course will use quantitative methods to examine biological relationships and processes. Students will explore diverse biological topics including heat and energy balance, relative growth, photosynthesis, genetic drift, and diffusion using a variety of quantitative tools. Prerequisites: BIOL131, BIOL132 and MATH111. Over the years I have worked with hundreds of biology students.  The talent, ability, and enthusiasm of these students (not  surprisingly) varies.  With  few exceptions, however, most of these students struggle when it comes to applying quantitative methods to biological problems. I don't believe that this is due to an inherent weakness in biologists.  Rather, I think that most biology students are either insecure regarding their mathematical aptitude, or simply don't appreciate the role that mathematics plays in understanding biological systems. In terms of their coursework, biology majors tend to treat required mathematics courses as entities separate from their biology degree.  At best, these courses are viewed as a University-required hoop to jump through, at worst as 'weeding-out' courses.  A better way to view mathematics is as a tool which can help you to discover how living systems function and interact with their environment.  Alternativively, you can think of mathematics as a language which allows you to decribe these discoveries in an unambiguous fashion. This course was developed to help bridge the gap between biological systems and  (simple) quantitative  approaches for studying these systems. updated 11/18/2010