Introduction to Mastering Biology assignments

Introduction to Mastering Biology assignments

See syllabus for the only way to correctly access Mastering Biology and the assignments

Only use FIREFOX or CHROME as your browser when doing so

MUST enable pop-ups for Mastering Biology to function properly – a horizontal bar will appear at the top of your screen, click on “options” and “allow”

Once in Mastering Biology, click on our course. Your assignments will show up on the Mastering Biology Course Home page (and associated calendar) ON THE DAY that each assignment is due (see syllabus schedule for due dates). Just click on the assignment and complete it. You will have from 12:01 a.m. until midnight that day to complete the assignment.

Put the dates of each assignment in your calendar NOW so that you don’t miss an assignment.

Mastering Biology assignments include different types of questions. The questions may include an introduction, possibly figures or animations, and one or more parts for you to answer.

Be sure to watch the associated animation or mp3 if you see one associated with the question.

You are not penalized for clicking on the “hint” associated with a question.

For each question, select the answer you believe to be correct. After you have finished answering a question, select “submit”.

Types of questions that may appear on the assignments:

Vocabulary exercises:

Vocabulary (sentence completion) exercises require you to drag terms in the left-hand column to the appropriate blanks, which look like boxes, in the sentences or paragraph on the right. (SEE BELOW)

When dragging a term over to a blank, be sure to note when the blank changes color (may look like a change from gray to pale yellow/orange); this change in color tells you that you have placed the term in the blank properly. The term may “snap back” to the left-hand column if you haven’t placed it fully in the blank.

Do not leave any blanks empty. For some sentences, you will have to fill more than one blank.

In some exercises, you can use a word more than once. Other times, there may be more words than there are blanks; in this situation, you will not have to use every term.

To start a vocabulary (sentence completion) exercise over, click

Before you submit your answers, you can rearrange the terms by dragging them to new locations.

When you are satisfied with your answers, click

Labeling exercises:

Labeling exercises require you to place the labels in the appropriate targets located on the background image. You can assign only one label to each target.

There may be more labels than targets. Not all labels must be used.

In some exercises, you can use each label only once. In others, you can reuse labels. When you can reuse a label, it will still appear in the label holding area even though you have placed the label on a target.

To start over, click Reset.

Before you submit your answers, you can rearrange the labels by dragging them to new targets.

When you are satisfied with your answers, click Submit.