AP Biology
Course Description
Although
most students who take AP Biology find the course interesting, it is
challenging and you should be prepared to spend extra time outside of class to
keep on top of the material. This is a
requirement with which you might not be familiar so please be prepared for the
commitment that is required. It is
hoped that all students enrolled in the course will take the College Board AP
Biology exam but students are not forced to do so. The maximum grade possible on the exam is 5, and students who
achieve a grade of 3 or higher are able to exempt freshman biology at many
universities.
Course
grades will be based on test and quiz results, lab work, and a final research
project. The tests will be made up of
both multiple choice and long response questions. This design will familiarize students with the format of the AP
Biology exam and will provide excellent practice for students who choose to
write the exam. The lab work will be a
combination of AP labs, and labs adapted from other sources. You will find that some of the lab work has
already been covered in Biology 121 and, in such cases, we will do a brief
review of that lab work. Students will be
expected to write a formal lab report for some labs while responding to some thought-provoking
questions will suffice for others. The
final research project is begun in second semester and will dominate our time
after the exam has been written in early May.
Students choose their own topic and, after obtaining approval from me,
undertake independent research.
Students will be evaluated on the research, their experimental design,
and work ethic.
In
our study of biology, we will focus on a variety of themes that will appear
throughout the course. This will help
you connect what you are learning to your prior knowledge, and to understand
the relationships between, sometimes, seemingly unrelated topics. We will try to build a base of biological
knowledge rather than a collection of facts.
Course Outline
1.
Molecules and Cells
1.
Chemistry of Life
1.
Review Chapters 1-4
individually
2.
Chemistry of water
(1)
Lab - Diffusion and
Osmosis
3.
Macromolecules (Chapter 5)
(1)
Carbohydrates
(2)
Lipids
(3)
Proteins
(4)
Nucleic Acids
4.
Free energy and
thermodynamics (Chapter 6)
(1)
Enzymes
(1)
Structure and function
(2)
Inhibition and Activation
(1)
Lab - Enzyme Catalysis
(2)
Metabolic Equilibrium
(3)
Energy Coupling
2.
Prokaryotic and
eukaryotic cells (Chapter 7)
1.
Subcellular organization
2.
Membranes (Chapter 8)
(1)
Fluid Mosaic Model
(2)
Selective permeability
(3)
Transport across
membranes
3.
Reproduction of Cells
(Chapters 11 and 12)
(1)
Cell cycle and its
regulation
(2)
Lab - Mitosis and
Meiosis
3.
Cellular Energetics
1.
Cellular respiration and
fermentation (Chapter 9)
(1)
ATP and Redox
(2)
Glycolysis
(3)
Krebs cycle
(4)
Electron transport chain
(5)
Chemiosmosis
(6)
Anaerobic fermentation
(7)
Lab - Cell respiration
2.
Photosynthesis (Chapter
10)
(1)
Light Reactions
(1)
Cyclic electron flow
(2)
Non-cyclic electron flow
(2)
Calvin cycle
(3)
C4 plants
(4)
CAM plants
(5)
Lab - Plant Pigments and
Photosynthesis
2.
Heredity and Evolution
1.
Molecular Genetics
1.
DNA (Chapter 15)
(1)
Structure and function
(2)
Replication
2.
Protein synthesis (Chapter 16)
(1)
Transcription
(2)
Translation
(3)
RNA processing
(4)
Mutations
3.
Mutation
4.
Microbial Genetics (Chapter 17)
(1)
Viral structure and replication
(2)
Bacterial transformation
(3)
Operons
5.
Genome organization and expression
(Chapter 18)
(1)
DNA organization
(2)
Control of transcription
(3)
DNA methylation
6.
Nucleic acid technology
and applications (Chapter 19)
(1)
Restriction enzymes and
vectors
(2)
Bacterial plasmids
(3)
PCR
(4)
RFLPs
(5)
Southern and Northern
blotting
(6)
Gene therapy
(7)
Forensics
(8)
Other uses of DNA
technology
(9)
Lab - Molecular Biology
2.
Heredity
1.
Eukaryotic chromosomes
2.
Inheritance patterns
(1)
Mendelian Genetics
(Chapter 13)
(1)
Mono and dihybrid
crosses
(2)
Genetic testing and
counseling
(3)
Other inheritance
patterns
(2)
Chromosomal inheritance
(Chapter 14)
(1)
Linked genes
(2)
Sex-linkage
(3)
Chromosome mapping
(4)
Chromosome abnormalities
(3)
Lab - Genetics of
Organisms
(4)
Lab - Population
Genetics and Evolution
3.
Evolutionary biology
(Chapters 20-26)
1.
Early evolution of life
2.
Evidence for evolution
(1)
Biogeography
(2)
Fossil record
(3)
Comparative anatomy
(4)
Comparative embryology
(5)
Molecular biology
3.
Mechanisms of evolution
4.
Hardy-Weinberg theorem
5.
Factors contributing to
microevolution
(1)
Genetic drift
(2)
Gene flow
(3)
Mutation
(4)
Non-random mating
(5)
Natural selection
6.
Selection
7.
Speciation
8.
Evolution series (when
time permits)
3.
Organisms and Populations
1.
Early plants (Chapter
27)
1.
Origin of vascular
systems
2.
Reproductive adaptations
2.
Fungi (Chapter 28)
3.
Diversity of organisms
(Chapters 29 and 30)
1.
Evolutionary patterns
2.
Survey of the diversity
of life
3.
Phylogenetic
classification
4.
Evolutionary
relationships
4.
Plants
1.
Morphology (Chapter 31)
2.
Plant Cells
3.
Meristem and Plant
Growth
4.
Transport in plants
(Chapter 32)
(1)
Transpiration-cohesion-tension
(2)
Stomatal opening
(3)
Bulk flow
5.
Plant reproduction
(Chapter 34)
6.
Control systems in
plants (Chapter 35)
(1)
Tropisms
(2)
Hormones
(3)
Turgor movements
(4)
Photoperiodism
(5)
Environmental stress
7.
Lab - Transpiration
5.
Animals
1.
Animal morphology
(Chapter 36)
2.
Nutrition (Chapter 37)
(1)
Comparison of digestive
systems
(2)
Mammalian digestive
system
3.
Circulation and gas
exchange (Chapter 38)
(1)
Heart structure and
function
(2)
Control of heart rate
(3)
Blood flow
(4)
Cardiovascular disease
(5)
Respiratory surfaces
(6)
Mammalian breathing
(7)
Oxygen transport
(8)
Lab - Physiology of the
Circulatory System
4.
Defense and immunity
(Chapter 39)
(1)
Humoral immunity
(2)
Cell-mediated
(3)
Immune disorders
(4)
Immune technology
5.
Homeostasis (Chapter 40)
(1)
Osmoregulation
(2)
Excretion
(3)
Nitrogenous wastes
(4)
Thermoregulation
6.
Chemical signals
(Chapter 41)
(1)
Hormones, pheromones,
local regulators
(2)
Hormone action
7.
Reproduction (Chapter
42)
(1)
Comparison of
reproductive systems
(2)
Human reproductive anatomy
(3)
Hormone regulation
(4)
Pregnancy and birth
8.
Nervous system (Chapter
44)
(1)
Neural anatomy
(2)
Membrane potential
(3)
Synapses
9.
Response to the
environment
10.
Lab - Animal Behavior
11.
Lab - Dissolved Oxygen
and Aquatic Primary Productivity
6.
Ecology (Chapter 46)
(1)
Abiotic factors
(2)
Regulators and
conformers
2.
Population dynamics
(Chapter 47)
(1)
Patterns of dispersion
(2)
Reproductive schedules
(3)
Population growth and
factors affecting it
3.
Communities and
ecosystems (Chapter 48)
(1)
Competition, predation,
and patchiness
(2)
Symbiosis
(3)
Succession
4.
Behaviour (Chapter 50)