Download AP BIOLOGY GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION

AP BIOLOGY GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION
2011-2012
The course is organized into five major instructional areas as shown below. The
material and its sequence reflect the course outline suggested by the authors of the
AP Exam.
UNIT 1 AP Preliminaries and Review
A.
B.
C.
D.
Levels of Biological Organization
Chemistry/ Measurement Review
Scientific Processes
Unifying Themes in AP Biology
UNIT II: Molecules and Cells
A. Basic Biochemistry
B. Cells
C. Energy Transformation
UNIT III: Genetics and Evolution
A. Heredity
B. Molecular Genetics
C. Evolution
UNIT IV: Organisms and Populations
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Human Anatomy and Physiology
Classification and Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Protista and Fungi
Plant Diversity
Plant Anatomy and Physiology
Animal Diversity
Ecology /Animal Behavior
UNIT V: Exam Review
AP BIOLOGY GRADING POLICY
Each student’s nine-week’s grade will be based on the following allocation of points.
GRADED ITEMS

Major Exams (Tests) (usually 100 points)

Nine Week Exam (200 points) or Semester Exam (100 points)

Laboratory Assignments (50-100 points)

Writing Assignments **
(Includes Abstracts [25 points] and Papers [50 points]) and AP Free
Response questions

Class Activities and Projects
(points variable – depending on level of difficulty)
A typical nine-week term would include the following:

3-4 Major Exams (Test)

2-4 Writing Assignments

4-5 Laboratory Assignments

10-15 Class Activities
Grades are calculated by dividing the total points earned by total points possible
and then multiplied by 100 to convert to percentage. A typical nine week term
will 800-1200 points possible.
GRADING SCALE
A = 90-100, B= 89-80, C= 79-70, D= 69-60, F= 59 and below
** Writing Assignments are in two forms: papers and abstracts. Papers are 2-4 pages
(double-spaced assignments that cover a specific topic or concept. An abstract is a
synopsis of a journal article (usually 1 page single-spaced)
Standard Assessments
For each unit, students will have a reading quiz for each chapter within the unit, as
well as at least one unit assessment (covering all chapters within that unit). After
each unit test, students are required to revise all missed questions by finding the
correct answers and writing statements, in their own words, that answer the
questions correctly.
Labs
As a class, we complete the 12 required labs. Students perform the lab, answer
student questions from the lab book. For select labs, students prepare a formal lab
report.
Essays
To prepare for the essay portion of the AP Exam, students write at least one
unannounced essay per week over the topic we are covering. Sometimes, I give a
second essay during the week over any topic we have covered in class up to that
point. Essay questions and standards are taken from the College Board website.
Student Text
Pack, Phillip. Cliffs AP Biology 2nd Edition. New York, NY: Wiley Publishing, Inc. 2001.
Campbell, Neil A, and Jane B. Reece. Biology, 8th Edition. San Francisco, CA:
Benjamin Cummings, 2008.
Teacher Text
Campbell, Neil A, and Jane B. Reece. Biology, 8th Edition. San Francisco, CA:
Benjamin Cummings, 2008.
Pack, Phillip. Cliffs AP Biology 2nd Edition. New York, NY: Wiley Publishing, Inc. 2001.
Starr, Cecie, Ralph, Taggart, Christine A. Evers and Lisa Starr. Biology: The Unity and
Diversity of Life 11th Edition. Australia/Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole
Publishing Company, 2006.
Other Resources
I draw from several sources to obtain the information for this course and to present
material. For example, I use the internet, local experts from nearby universities,
videos/DVDS and demonstrations.
UNITS: The units in AP Biology are designed around the nine units described by the
College Board in the Biology course requirements. In addition, there will be an
emphasis on the eight major themes in Biology throughout each unit.
8 Major Themes of Biology

Science as a process

Evolution

Energy Transfer

Continuity and Change

Relationship of Structure to Function

Regulation

Interdependence in nature

Science, Technology and Society
AP BIOLOGY COMPREHENSIVE SYLLABUS
UNIT I: AP PRELIMINARIES
1 Week 8/15 – 8/19
1. Readings
a. Chapter 1: Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life
2. Laboratory Activities
a. Properties of Life lab
b. Termite Lab (Hands-On)
c. Measurement/ Potato Core lab (Hands-On)
d. AP Lab 11 – Animal Behavior (Hands-On)
3. EXAM I – Chapter 1 – August
UNIT II: Principles of Ecology
2 weeks 8/22 – 9/5
1) Readings
a) Chapter 52 An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere
b) Chapter 53 Population Ecology
c) Chapter 54 Community Structure and Biodiversity
d) Chapter 55 Ecosystems
e) Chapter 56 Conservation Biology and Restoration Ecology
f) Current issues such as climate change, biodiversity, species
extinction, sustainability, and the provision of ecosystem
goods and services are examined from a scientific basis
with the goal of understanding how these issues impact
society
2) Laboratory Activities
a) AP Lab 12 – Dissolved Oxygen and NPP (Hands-On)
b) Predator/ Prey Relationships
c) Power of the Pyramids
d) Biome, Ecosystem Projects
3) Exam II – Chapter 45-49 - September
UNIT III: Basic Biochemistry
2 weeks 9/8 – 9/19
1) Readings
a) Chapter 2 The Chemical Context of Life
b) Chapter 3 Water & the Fitness of the Environment
c) Chapter 7 Membrane Structure and Function
d) Chapter 8 An Introduction to Metabolism
e) Chapter 9 Cellular Respiration: Harvesting Chemical Energy
2) Laboratory Activities
a) Organic Molecules
b) Internet Activity with Enzymes
c) AP Lab 2 – Enzyme Catalysis (Hands-On)
3) EXAM III – Chapter 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 – September
UNIT IV: Transport of Materials with the Environment
2 weeks 9/22 – 10/3
1) Readings
a) Chapter 38 Circulation (pp. 542 -543)
b) Chapter 40 Respiration (pp. 584-587)
c) Chapter 42 Regulating the Internal Environment
d) Chapter 30 Transport in Plants (pp.426-429)
2) Laboratory Activities
a) AP Lab 1 - Osmosis and Diffusion (Hands-On)
b) AP Lab 9 – Transpiration (Hands-On)
3) EXAM IV – Nine Weeks Exam – Friday, October
UNIT V: Cells and the Cell Cycle
3 weeks 10/6 – 10/23
1) Readings
a) Chapter 6 A Tour of the Cell
b) Chapter 28 Plants and Animals – Common Challenges
c) Chapter 29 Plant Tissues and Transport (pp. 408-411)
d) Chapter 33 Animal Tissues and Functions
e) Chapter 12 The Cell Cycle
f) Impact of advances in cell science on modern society
2) Laboratory Activities
a) AP Lab 3A – Mitosis (Hands-On)
b) Microscopy – Tissue slides (Hands-On)
3) EXAM V – Chapters 4,28 ,29,33,9 – October
UNIT VI: Energy Transformations
3 Weeks 10/27 – 11/14
1) Readings
a) Chapter 10 Photosynthesis
b) Chapter 8 How Cells Release Energy (pp. 108-119)
2) Laboratory Activities
a) AP Lab 4 - Plant Pigments and Photosynthesis (Hands-On)
b) AP Lab 5 - Cellular Respiration (Hands-On)
3) EXAM VI – Chapters 7 and 8 - November
UNIT VII: Mendelian Genetics and Heredity
2 weeks 11/17 – 12/5
1) Readings
a) Chapter 13 Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles
b) Chapter 14 Mendel and the Gene Idea
c) Chapter 15 The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
d) Discussion of foundation in the basic science and ethical
analysis of the risks, benefits, realities, and fictions of
genetics. Topics include: Behavioral genetics, cancer
genetics, eugenics, population genetics, research ethics,
forensic DNA, biowarfare, infectious disease
2) Laboratory Activities
a) AP Lab 7 - Genetics of Organisms (Hands-On)
b) AP Lab 3 – Part B of Meiosis (Hands-On)
c) Internet Lab – Sordaria
3) EXAM VII - Chapters 10,11,12 - December
UNIT VIII: MOLECULAR GENETICS I
2 Weeks 12/8 – 12/19
1) Readings:
a) Chapter 16 The Molecular Basis of Inheritance
b) Chapter 17 From Gene to Protein
2) Laboratory Activities
a) Extracting DNA (Hands-On)
3) SEMESTER EXAM
End of First Semester
SECOND SEMESTER
UNIT IX: Molecular Genetics
2 weeks 1/6 – 1/16
1) Readings
a) Chapter 15 Controls Over Genes
b) Chapter 16 Studying and Manipulating Genomes
2) Laboratory Activities
a) AP Lab 6A Bacterial Transformation(Hands-On)
b) AP Lab 6B Restriction Enzyme Cleavage of DNA and
Electrophoresis (Hands-On)
3) EXAM VIII – Chapters 15 and 16 January
UNIT X: Evidence of Evolution
3 Weeks 1/20 – 2/6
1) Readings
a) Chapter 17 Evidence of Evolution
b) Chapter 18 Microevolutionary Processes
c) Chapter 19 Evolutionary Patterns, Rates, and Trends
d) Chapter 20 Life’s Origins and Early Evolution
e) Chapter 23 Plant Evolution
f) An investigation of organic evolution, how it works, and its
impact on society. Philosophical aspects include the role of
genetic, environmental and cultural diversity, and
differences between biological and cultural evolution.
2) Laboratory Activities
a) AP Lab 8 – Population Genetics and Evolution (Hands-On)
b) Fishy Frequency Lab (Hands-On)
c) Hardy-Weinberg Problems
3) EXAM IX – Chapters 22-26 - February
UNIT XI: Classification, Bacteria, Archaebacteria, Protists, and Fungi
2 Weeks 2/9 – 2/20
1) Readings
a) Chapter 21 Prokaryotes and Viruses
b) Chapter 22 “Protists” The Simplest Eukaryotes
c) Chapter 24 Fungi
2) Laboratory Activities
a) Slides of Bacteria (Hands-On)
b) Microscope Lab of Protists (Hands-On)
c) Lichen Lab (Hands-On)
d) Mushroom Lab (Hands-On)
3) EXAM X – Chapters 21, 22, 24 - February
UNIT XII: Animal Diversity
2 Weeks 2/23 – 3/6
1) Readings
a) Chapter 25 Animal Evolution : The Invertebrates
b) Chapter 26 Animal Evolution : The Vertebrates
c) Chapter 27 Biodiversity in Perspective
2) Laboratory Activities
a) Animal Classification
b) Animal dissections (Hands-On)
3) EXAM XI – Chapters 25-27 – March
3rd NINE WEEKS EXAM – March
UNIT XIII: Plant Diversity
3 Weeks 3/9 – 4/3
1) Readings
a) Chapter 29 Plant Tissues
b) Chapter 30 Plant Nutrition and Transport
c) Chapter 31 Plant Reproduction
2) Laboratory Activities
a) Life Cycles of Ferns and Mosses
b) Flower Structure
c) Plant Cell – Microscopy (Hands-On)
d) Plant Scavenger Hunt
3) EXAM XII – Chapters 29-31 – April
UNIT XIV: Human Anatomy and Physiology
4 Weeks 4/7 – 5/9
1) Readings
a) Chapter 41 Digestion and Human Nutrition
b) Chapter 38 Circulation and Gas Exchange
c) Chapter 39 Immunity
d) Chapter 45 Endocrine Control
EXAM XIII: Chapters 38, 39, 41
e) Chapter 43 Principles of Animal Reproduction and
Development
f) Chapter 44 Human Reproduction and Development
g) Chapter 34 Neural Control
h) Chapter 35 Sensory Perception
3) Laboratory Activities
a) AP Lab 10 – Physiology of the Circulatory System (HandsOn)
b) Sheep Heart Dissection (Hands-On)
4) EXAM XIV – Chapters 34, 35, 43, 44
AP BIOLOGY EXAM: TBA MAY 2011
COLLEGE BOARD’S AP BIOLOGY COURSE OUTLINE
I.
MOLECULES AND CELLS ………………………………………………25%
A. Chemistry of Life ……………………………………………………………………………7%
I.
Water
II.
Organic molecules in organisms
III.
Free energy changes
IV.
Enzymes
B. Cells ………………………………………………………………………………………………10%
I.
Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells
II.
Membranes
III.
Sub cellular organization
IV.
Cell cycle and its regulation
C. Cellular Energetics …………………………………………………………………………8%
II.
I.
Coupled Reactions
II.
Fermentation and Cellular Respiration
III.
Photosynthesis
HEREDITY AND EVOLUTION……………………………………25%
D. Heredity…………………………………………………………………………………………8%
I.
Meiosis and gametogenesis
II.
Eukaryotic chromosomes
III.
Inheritance patterns
E. Molecular Genetics…………………………………………………………………………9%
I.
RNA and DNA structure and function
II.
Gene regulation
III.
Mutation
IV.
Viral structure and regulation
V.
Nucleic acid technology and application
F. Evolutionary Biology …………………………………………………………………………8%
III.
I.
Early evolution of life
II.
Evidence of evolution
III.
Mechanisms of evolution
ORGANISMS AND POPULATIONS……………………………………50%
G. Diversity of Organisms….……………………………………………………………………8%
I.
Evolutionary patterns
II.
Survey of the diversity of life
III.
Phylogenetic classification
IV.
Evolutionary relationships
H. Structure and Function of Plants and Animals…………………………………32%
I.
I.
Reproduction, growth, and development
II.
Structural, physiological, and behavioral adaptations
III.
Response to the environment
Ecology…………………….………………………………………………………………………10%
I.
Population Dynamics
II.
Communities and Ecosystems
III.
Global Issues
From Advanced Placement Courses Description – Biology. The College Board, 2007.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT BIOLOGY NOTEBOOK
2011-2012
August 2011
Dear AP Biology Students and Parents,
This handbook has been prepared to help you become familiar with the Advanced
Placement Program and Advanced Placement Biology and understand the requirement for
success. I have included as much information as possible to help you. Students should place this
in the front of their binder and have it available each day in class.
I am very pleased to have you as a member of the AP class this year. Some of you may
already be familiar with the manner in which the AP courses work. However, for many of you,
this may be your first experience with an AP course. I want this to be a wonderful, fun, and
challenging year for you in AP Biology. Hopefully, this letter will help you better understand the
expectations for the course and describe what you can expect to accomplish during this school
year.
The Advanced Placement Program is designed to allow high school students to obtain
college credit and/or advanced placement in college. Credit is earned by scoring a 3 or higher
on the national examination, which is given in May to over 100,000 students. The scores range
from 1 – 5. A score of 3 or higher is considered passing. However, recently colleges and
universities have become more selective in awarding credit to students. Therefore, a 4 or 5 is
requested by many of the colleges. It is the expectation of most post-secondary institutions
that a student have had an “equivalent” experience to their freshman course for science
majors. Colleges are more willing to give credit for non-science majors, if a student makes a 3
or higher.
There are several reasons for these high standards at the college level. First, even
though a student may score a 3 on the AP exam, colleges do not necessarily consider that the
student has full mastery of the subject matter. Also, the constant upgrading of the quality and
quantity of subject matter taught in the introductory biology courses, is not reflected in the AP
exam. And, finally the lab requirements at the university level often exceed what we are able to
do in the high school lab. I would suggest you check with the colleges you plan to possibly
attend and see what they require on AP exams. Most colleges have this information listed on
their admissions site.
While the AP exam does focus on lecture content, approximately 25% of the questions
are lab based. The exam consists of two parts – a multiple choice section and a free response
(essay) section. You have 90 minutes to answer 100 multiple choice questions and 90 minutes
to respond to four essay questions. One of the essay questions is typically based on one of the
twelve AP labs. We will perform these labs throughout the year.
Please understand that this is not an honors-level course. There are high expectations in
AP Biology. Students are expected to keep up with their assignments and not fall behind. That is
the biggest mistake one can make. In addition to having regular reading assignments from the
text, students will be expected to write to formal lab reports, research internet assignments,
read and summarize articles which pertain to our area of study.
To be successful in this course, there are several suggestions I would make. First, engage
yourself in the learning process in as well as outside the classroom. Let me explain. Many
students feel that by simply being in class and taking good notes – they have guaranteed their
success. While these are certainly important – sometimes I think students miss major concepts
because they are so busy writing or copying notes. Listening carefully and becoming a part of
the discussion is critical. I find that students who ask the most questions are often the ones who
perform best on the exam. Also, remember that some of the best learning occurs outside class
– on your own. Unfortunately, too many students think that just being in class for an hour each
day will be an automatic success. They are often disappointed with their scores in May.
Secondly, use all the resources that you have available to help you learn the material.
For example, your text should be a primary study guide but there are several other options.
Form study groups. When you can explain a concept to another student – you have mastered
the concept!!
Manage your time carefully. Most students think they can just “cram the night before a
test.” Sorry – no can do! Make studying a daily activity. Make use of your time.
Last, but certainly not least, learn for the sake of learning. Most students simply try to
memorize their notes the night before a test – get a decent grade and move on. While that may
work at times and in some courses, AP level courses demand more commitment on the part of
you as a student. Certainly, there is a body of knowledge that has to be memorized. However,
try to learn the information by making connections with real life experiences or with other
concepts presented throughout the course. Remember, you will take 55 chapters of biology in
May. You can’t memorize all of it. Learn it as you go and apply it throughout the year.
There are a few items you will need for class. I have listed them below.
2-3” three ring binder with dividers; paper and pencil/pen
Cliff Notes Study Guide for Biology – may be purchased at any local bookstore
If you or your parents have any questions or concerns about the course or the contents
of this letter, please contact me by phone (264-9551) or by email
([email protected]).
I truly look forward to working with you and the other members of this class this year. I
believe, as always, we will learn a great deal together.
Sincerely,
Andrea M. Childress
AP Biology
Fairfield High Preparatory School