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 8)

(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 6)

1.                  Subcellular organization

2.                  Membranes (Chapter 7)

(1)               Fluid Mosaic Model

(2)               Selective permeability

(3)               Transport across membranes

3.                  Reproduction of Cells (Chapters 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 16)

(1)               Structure and function

(2)               Replication

2.                  Protein synthesis (Chapter 17)

(1)               Transcription

(2)               Translation

(3)               RNA processing

(4)               Mutations

3.                  Mutation

4.                  Microbial Genetics  (Chapter 18)

(1)               Viral structure and replication

(2)               Bacterial transformation

(3)               Operons

5.                  Genome organization and expression  (Chapter 19)

(1)               DNA organization

(2)               Control of transcription

(3)               DNA methylation

6.                  Nucleic acid technology and applications  (Chapter 20)

(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 14)

(1)               Mono and dihybrid crosses

(2)               Genetic testing and counseling

(3)               Other inheritance patterns

(2)               Chromosomal inheritance (Chapter 15)

(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 22-25)

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 29)

1.                  Origin of vascular systems

2.                  Reproductive adaptations

2.                  Fungi (Chapter 31)

3.                  Diversity of organisms (Chapters 26)

1.                  Evolutionary patterns

2.                  Survey of the diversity of life

3.                  Phylogenetic classification

4.                  Evolutionary relationships

4.                  Plants

1.                  Morphology  (Chapter 35)

2.                  Plant Cells

3.                  Meristem and Plant Growth

4.                  Transport in plants (Chapter 36)

(1)               Transpiration-cohesion-tension

(2)               Stomatal opening

(3)               Bulk flow

5.                  Plant reproduction (Chapter 38)

6.                  Control systems in plants (Chapter 39)

(1)               Tropisms

(2)               Hormones

(3)               Turgor movements

(4)               Photoperiodism

(5)               Environmental stress

7.                  Lab - Transpiration

5.                  Animals

1.                  Animal morphology (Chapter 33-34)

2.                  Nutrition  (Chapter 41)

(1)               Comparison of digestive systems

(2)               Mammalian digestive system

3.                  Circulation and gas exchange (Chapter 42)

(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 43)

(1)               Humoral immunity

(2)               Cell-mediated

(3)               Immune disorders

(4)               Immune technology

5.                  Homeostasis (Chapter 44)

(1)               Osmoregulation

(2)               Excretion

(3)               Nitrogenous wastes

(4)               Thermoregulation

6.                  Chemical signals (Chapter 45)

(1)               Hormones, pheromones, local regulators

(2)               Hormone action

7.                  Reproduction (Chapter 46)

(1)               Comparison of reproductive systems

(2)               Human reproductive anatomy

(3)               Hormone regulation

(4)               Pregnancy and birth

8.                  Nervous system (Chapter 48)

(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 50)

(1)               Abiotic factors

(2)               Regulators and conformers

2.                  Population dynamics (Chapter 52)

(1)               Patterns of dispersion

(2)               Reproductive schedules

(3)               Population growth and factors affecting it

3.                  Communities and ecosystems (Chapter 53)

(1)               Competition, predation, and patchiness

(2)               Symbiosis

(3)               Succession

4.                  Behaviour (Chapter 51)