AP Biology Syllabus: 2015-2016
Instructor: Ms. Vicki Peplin
Phone: 330-896-7575 Ext. 616070
Email: peplinvictoria@greenlocalschools.org
Website: http://www.greenlocalschools.org/PeplinMs.aspx
Text Book
AP Edition - Campbell Biology – 10th edition (2014)
Course Description
AP biology is full year course to be taken by students after the successful completion of high school biology,
chemistry, and Algebra I. AP biology differs from the typical high school biology course with respect to the kind
of textbook used, the range and depth of topics covered, the kind of laboratory work performed by students,
and the time and effort required of the students. AP biology is a rigorous course that demands personal
responsibility from the student. To help students plan effectively, they are provided with due dates for all
exams, labs, and assignments. Students are strongly encouraged to complete all assigned reading and review
lecture notes from class on their own time.
AP biology includes topics covered in an introductory college biology course. The textbook used and labs done
in AP biology are equivalent to those done by college students majoring in biology. AP Biology is a course that
aims to provide students with the conceptual framework, factual knowledge, and analytical skills necessary to
think critically in the rapidly changing science of biology and to prepare students for the Biology College Board
Advanced Placement Exam in May of next year.
Required Materials (to be brought to class daily)
 3-ring binder – to stay organized
 A simple calculator with a square root function – NO GRAPHING CALCULATORS may be used on AP
Exam
 Bound composition notebook – preferably with grid lines
 Black or blue pens
 Textbook
Grade Calculation
Grades are calculated using a percent scale. Marking period grades will not be rounded; students earn a straight
percentage grade based on the quality and accuracy of the work they complete. The value of individual
assignments will vary. AP Biology grades are calculated using the 5-point GPA scale.
Academic Achievement = 80%
 Tests
 Quizzes
 Formal Lab Reports (AP required labs)
Academic Practice = 20%
 Lab Notebook
 Homework
 In-Class Work (including additional labs)
Tests
A test will be given upon completion of each unit. In a manner similar to the AP Exam, 50 percent of the exam
grade will be multiple choice/grid-in, 50 percent will be free response, and testing time will be limited.
Quizzes
Quizzes will be given periodically to check student learning. Some quizzes will be announced and others will not.
The format of the quiz (multiple choice, math, graphing, etc.) will vary based on the topic.
Test/Quiz Makeup Policy
If you are absent the day of a quiz or test but were present in the days leading up to it, you are expected to take
the quiz or test upon your return to school.
If you miss several days in a row, including the day of a quiz or test, you will have one week to make it up. If you
do not make up the quiz/test within that time frame, a “0” will be recorded as your grade.
Laboratory Participation
The laboratory experience is extremely important in AP biology. It emphasizes the science of biology as a
process that requires development and testing of a hypothesis, data collection, analysis, and presentation of
data with a clear discussion of the results. In AP biology, more than half of our class time will be devoted to
laboratory work. Students are required to come in to the lab prepared and properly dressed (see attached lab
safety sheet) to complete laboratory activities. Absence on laboratory days is strongly discouraged. Students
who miss laboratory work lose valuable learning experiences and must schedule time to make up missed lab
work
Laboratory Participation (cont.)
During this course, students will complete the recommended laboratory activities found in the AP Biology
Investigative Labs: An Inquiry-Based Approach. The topics of these labs are shown below, though the order
in which we will perform the labs will vary.
Investigation 1:
Artificial Selection
Investigation 2:
Mathematical Modeling: Hardy-Weinberg
Comparing DNA Sequences to Understand Evolutionary
Investigation 3:
Relationship with BLAST
Investigation 4:
Diffusion and Osmosis
Investigation 5:
Photosynthesis
Investigation 6:
Cellular Respiration
Investigation 7:
Cell Division: Mitosis and Meiosis
Investigation 8:
Biotechnology: Bacterial Transformation
Investigation 9:
Biotechnology: Restriction Enzyme Analysis
Investigation 10:
Energy Dynamics
Investigation 11:
Transpiration
Investigation 12:
Behavior
Investigation 13:
Enzyme Activity
Additional Laboratory Work
The course also includes additional lab activities that have been chosen to serve as an introduction to
the recommended laboratories or to reinforce student learning of topics covered in the course that are
not addressed in the recommended AP biology laboratories.
Laboratory Reports
A formal lab report is required for each of the recommended AP biology labs listed in the preceeding table.
Students will work in groups to complete the lab procedures, but each student is responsible for recording
their own data and completing their own formal lab report. Most of the lab report work will need to be
completed outside of class. A lab report rubric will be used for grading.
A formal lab report is not required for the additional labs. For these labs, student’s grades will be based
upon the completion of pre-lab questions, data collection/results, analysis, and post-lab questions which will
emphasize the key concepts of the lab.
Assignments and Reading
Assignments for this course will take many forms and are intended to help students understand the current
unit of study. An outline for the upcoming week will be posted on my website. Late work will not be accepted.
Reading will often be assigned for each unit. The reading will include chapters from the textbook as well
as articles from scientific journals and online news sources. Videos may also be assigned for review.
Daily Assessments
The Daily Assessment (DA) is a very short assignment or quiz completed each day during the class. The DA is
intended to reinforce skills that are essential to your student’s success in this course and on the AP biology
exam. Daily Assessments topics include math skills, graph and data analysis, writing, and reading
comprehension. Sometimes the DA will be graded by peers and sometimes it will be graded by the teacher.
Information Specific to Ms. Peplin’s Class
The following information details some of the expectations I have for my students.
What I Expect From You



Respect yourself. This includes being prepared with all necessary materials for class, listening carefully,
participating in class, staying on task until dismissal, and limiting tardies and absences that take away
from your learning time in class.
Respect others. In order for students to be successful, a safe, productive, and nonthreatening environment must be maintained in the classroom.
Respect the classroom. This includes the property of other students in the room as well as the
equipment of the classroom and lab area. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. If you make a mess, clean
it up.
What You Can Expect From Me
 I will provide a variety of instructional techniques to help you
learn.
 I will always treat you with kindness and respect.
 I will limit disruptive behavior to create a positive learning environment in which everyone can learn.
 I will provide a safe classroom environment by practicing with you a variety of safety drills to make
sure that you are comfortable and know how to respond should an emergency situation arise.
Tardies
Please come to class on time. Unexcused tardiness to class is disruptive and takes away from your ability to
learn course material. If you are tardy four times you will receive an after school detention.
Curriculum Outline
The AP biology curriculum is framed around four Big Ideas. For each of these Big Ideas, there is a set of
core concepts called Enduring Understandings which will be used to guide our studies in this course.
BIG IDEA
1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and
unity of life.
2: Biological systems utilize free energy and
molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and
to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and
respond to information essential to life processes.
4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and
their interactions possess complex properties.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
A: Change in the genetic makeup of a population over
time is evolution.
B: Organisms are linked by lines of descent from
common ancestry.
C: Life continues to evolve within a changing
environment.
D: The origin of living systems is explained by natural
processes.
A: Growth, reproduction and maintenance of the
organization of living systems require free energy and
matter.
B: Growth, reproduction and dynamic homeostasis
require that cells create and maintain internal
environments that are different from their external
environment.
C: Organisms use feedback mechanisms to regulate
growth and reproduction, and to maintain dynamic
homeostasis.
D: Growth and dynamic homeostasis of a biological
system are influenced by changes in the system’s
environment.
E: Many biological processes involved in growth,
reproduction, and dynamic homeostasis include
temporal regulation and coordination.
A: Heritable information provides for continuity of life.
B: Expression of genetic information involves cellular
and molecular mechanisms.
C: The processing of genetic information is imperfect
and is a source of genetic variation.
D: Cells communicate by generating, transmitting and
receiving chemical signals.
E: Transmission of information results in changes
within and between biological systems.
A: Interactions within biological systems lead to
complex properties.
B: Competition and cooperation are important aspects
of biological systems.
C: Naturally occurring diversity among and between
components within biological systems affects
interactions with the environment.
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Science Practice for AP Biology Skills
The student can use representations and models to communicate scientific phenomena and solve
scientific problems.
The student can use mathematics appropriately.
The student can engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or to guide investigations
within the context of the AP course.
The student can plan and implement data collection strategies appropriate to a particular
scientific question.
The student can perform data analysis and evaluation of evidence.
The student can work with scientific explanations and theories.
The student is able to connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts and
representations in and across domains.
Restroom Passes
I allow four passes per semester for you to use for trips to the restroom, your locker, the drinking fountain, etc.
Any passes needed beyond the four allowed will result in a tardy.
Electronics Policy
Electronic devices will sometimes be used in class and may be brought to class on a daily basis. Please observe
the following rules regarding internet-ready devices/electronic devices and their usage:
Red Card = No electronic devices
Yellow Card = Please use your device as directed by teacher.
Green Card = Use your device freely.
Absent work
If you are absent, you are responsible for finding out what you missed. An outline of our daily activities can be
found on my website. Lecture notes and other materials from the date that you were gone will be placed in the
AP folder on the side counter.
Cheating
If you are found to be cheating on any test, quiz, assignment or lab, you will receive a zero and be referred to
the Assistant Principal for disciplinary action. Your Parent or Guardian will also be contacted.
AP Biology 2015-2016
Syllabus Acknowledgement Form
Dear AP Student and Parent(s) or Guardian(s),
Thank you for your interest in AP biology. It is going to be a fun year! Please be certain to thoroughly read this
syllabus. We will go over it in class as well. Please take the syllabus home to your parent or guardian so that
they may have a chance to read it and bring this sheet back to me. It is an assignment. Thanks!
I will take this home for a parent or guardian. Signed,
Student Signature: ___________________________________________________________________________
Student Name (printed): ______________________________________________________________________
Student Email Address: _______________________________________________________________________
Student Needs of Teacher: ____________________________________________________________________
Student Preferred Learning Styles: ______________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature: ___________________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Name (printed): _______________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Email Address: ________________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Needs of Teacher: _____________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Preferred Learning Styles: _______________________________________________________
Additional Comments (if needed):
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________