AP BIOLOGY
Freedom High School
Mrs. Perry
Email: perryb@luhsd
Remind101: Text the message @62f54 to (657) 900-4197
AP Biology 2013-2014
The AP Biology class focuses on the understanding of biological concepts rather than the memorization of facts. The
“4 Big Ideas” specified in the AP Biology Course Description (issued by the College Board) are covered in each unit.
Students will have to achieve understanding of those big ideas. Achievement will be assessed through multiple choice
and essay tests, written laboratory reports, class work, projects, and semester exams.
The course is organized into four “Big Ideas” that are then broken down into Enduring Understandings, then Essential
Knowledge and followed by the Learning Objectives. You will receive a unit calendar prior to each unit that
summarizes the essential knowledge and learning objectives – this is your “study guide” for each unit/topic.
Big Idea
#1: Evolution – The process of evolution drives the diversity
and unity of life.
#2: Energy & Homeostasis – Biological systems utilize free
energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce,
and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
#3: Genetics – Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and
respond to information essential to life processes.
#4: Interactions & Ecology – Biological systems interact, and
these systems and their interactions possess complex
properties.
Enduring Understanding
1A: Change in the genetic makeup of a population over time is
evolution.
1B: Organisms are linked by lines of descent from common
ancestry.
1C: Life continues to evolve within a changing environment.
1D: The origin of living systems is explained by natural
processes.
2A: Growth, reproduction and maintenance of the organization
of living systems require free energy and matter.
2B: Growth, reproduction and dynamic homeostasis require
that cells create and maintain internal environments that are
different from their external environments.
2C: Organisms use feedback mechanisms to regulate growth
and reproduction, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
2D: Growth and dynamic homeostasis of a biological system are
influenced by changes in the system’s environment.
2E: Many biological processes involved in growth, reproduction
and dynamic homeostasis include temporal regulation and
coordination.
3A: Heritable information provides for continuity of life.
3B: Expression of genetic information involves cellular and
molecular mechanisms.
3C: The processing of genetic information is imperfect and is a
source of genetic variation.
3D: Cells communicate by generating, transmitting and
receiving chemical signals.
3E: Transmission of information results in changes within and
between biological systems.
4A: Interactions within biological systems lead to complex
properties.
4B: Competition and cooperation are important aspects of
biological systems.
4C: Naturally occurring diversity among and between
components within biological systems affects interactions with
the environment.
Course Overview
AP Biology is both a hard and a fun course. This is a college course and you will be held to high expectations and
mature responsibilities just like a college freshman taking Introductory Biology.
I view this course as a team effort. While each person needs to complete and hand in their own work, study groups
and cooperative effort are strongly encouraged. You never learn something as well as when you have to explain it to
someone else.
A detailed calendar will be made for each unit. The calendar will list the daily topic, class and lab work, homework, test
dates and homework assignment. You can also check the web site for daily assignments, PowerPoint lectures, and
many other resources.
Class Policies:
1. Cell phones and other electronics are turned off and put away. There is a zero tolerance policy for electronics, refer
to the school handbook for details.
2. Food and drink are prohibited in working science labs and we will follow the same policy. Take care of your
metabolic needs before school, during break, and during lunch!
3. Late work will not be accepted. No exceptions, no excuses.
4. Cheating is unacceptable in any form. Cheating includes, but is not limited to: copying homework, copying lab
analysis answers, plagiarizing written assignments, copying test answers, use of electronics to find test answers. If
copying occurs, all people involved will receive a zero on the assignment and a referral. You are in class to learn and
succeed on the spring exam. Cheating DOES NOT help you learn.
5. You are responsible for your lab station. Keep it clean and organized to make lab breakdown easier at the end of
class. Lab groups will not be dismissed until their lab station is cleaned completely.
Other Expectations:
o Be prepared - in order to facilitate class discussions and reduce lecture time in favor of labs and knowledge
enhancing activities, you must complete all required assignments. AP assignments are not ‘busy work’; they are
designed to help you learn difficult material.
o Come to class - the work we will be doing during class cannot be replicated at home, labs in particular. You have
committed to an advanced class and that requires your presence in the classroom. Students must make up exams
missed the day you return. There is a 5% penalty for being absent on the day of an exam, unless you have a doctor’s
note!
o Study at home – the convention for college courses is 3 hours of independent study for each hour of class. In order
to have productive class discussion you must review the material at home.
o No whining - this is a college level course. It will be challenging. It will require a significant amount of time outside
of class. If you don’t like biology, this is not the class for you!
o Do your best work - yes, you have to write in complete sentences. Yes, you have to show your work. Yes, you have
to write out procedures, data tables, and label graphs. No, you may not write in ‘text-speak’
Required Materials
1. Textbook – Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life by Starr and Taggart, 11th Edition
2. 3-Ring Binder with a lab notebook, 9 dividers, and college ruled notebook paper. We will organize the notebook into
sections the first week of school.
4. Blue/Black/Red pens, pencils, colored pencils
5. Internet access - We will be using several websites to support coursework.
6. AP Biology study books are highly recommended. Make sure you get one that is for the new curriculum. I
recommend Cliff Notes AP Biology (4th edition) or Barrons AP Biology (4th edition).
7. A Basic Calculator (not your phone or ipod).
3-Ring Binder
Please keep the current unit calendar in the front of your binder at all times. In addition to your lab notebook, your 3ring binder must be divided into 9 sections. All lecture and reading notes, handouts, and class work should be titled
and placed behind the appropriate divider.
Unit 1: Evolution – Topics will include:
Darwin & Evolution, Evidence for Evolution, Evolution of Populations, Origin of Species, Origin of Life, Classification
Unit 2: Interactions & Interdependence – Topics will include:
Population Ecology, Community Structure, Ecosystems and Cycles, Behavioral Ecology, Animal Behavior
Unit 3: Biochemistry – Topics will include:
Functional Units, Bonding, Water’s Properties, Organic Chemistry, Structure and Function of Macromolecules
Unit 4: The Cell – Topics will include:
Prokaryotic/Eukaryotic Cell Structure & Function, Plant/Animal Cells, Cell Membranes & Transport, Endomembrane System, Cell
Signaling & Regulation, Action Potentials, Muscle Contraction
Unit 5: Cellular Energy and Enzymes – Topics will include:
Enzymes, Digestive Systems, Cellular Respiration
Unit 6: Responding to the Environment – Topics will include:
Nervous Systems, Endocrine System, Cell to Cell communication, Immune System, Gas Exchange
Unit 7: Plants – Topics will include:
Photosynthesis, Plant Anatomy and Growth, Plant Transport and Nutrition, Plant Responses, Plant Diversity, Plant Reproduction
Unit 8: The Cell – Development – Topics will include:
Cell Cycle, Mitosis, Meiosis, Reproduction, Development
Unit 9: DNA & Heredity – Topics will include:
DNA, DNA Replication, Protein Synthesis, Control of Genes, Biotechnology, Probability, Genetics,Inheritance Patterns &
Abnormalities
Absences
If you are absent, you must do the following:
1. Check the calendar and website to see what assignments you missed.
2. If the assignment is a handout, ask me for this. Complete it and return it to me WITHIN ONE WEEK.
3. If the assignment was a lab/activity/quiz – you must speak with me by the end of class on the day you return to
schedule time to make up the work during lunch or before/after school.
Remember, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to complete any missed work in a timely manner. I will NOT ACCEPT
ASSIGNMENTS AFTER ONE WEEK IF YOU HAVE BEEN ABSENT.
Grading
This is a 2-semester course, and credit will be issued upon successful completion of each semester. The following is a
grading scale and policy for the breakdown of grades:
Grading Scale
A = 90 – 100
B = 80 – 89
C = 70 – 79
D = 60-69
F = 59 & below
Grading Procedure
5% QuADs
10% HW and Projects
25% Labs and Class work
60% Tests, Quizzes, Essays, FRQs
Textbook Reading and PPTs
Very Important! You have to come in class having seen the topics I will cover, which means reviewing the ppt’s the night
before class and completing homework for AP the day of class. Read the book nightly, stay up-to-date to be prepared, if you
don’t know the PPTs or reading before class you will not do well and will be lost the entire class
Labs
Labs will constitute at least 25% of the course work. Some of them are demonstrations or simulation activities and
some of them are actual scientific research. The new AP Biology curriculum includes more emphasis on inquiry based
labs, which means you will design your own experimental procedures for a significant number of labs. In order to have
as authentic a lab experience as possible, you will keep a lab notebook to record procedures and observations during
labs. Formal lab write ups will be completed for each lab.
o
o
You must have your lab notebook with you EVERY DAY in class – no exceptions.
You will be asked to leave your lab notebook in class periodically for grading.
Homework
Whether it is expressly assigned or not, you have homework EVERY night in this class. If you do not have a specific
assignment then,
1. Review your notes.
3. Practice exam questions in your textbook and your review book.
4. Watch AP Biology videos on You Tube (Bozeman Biology is an excellent resource).
Question a Day (QuAD): You should complete each QuAD on the night assigned! Do NOT procrastinate. QuADs tend to
be roughly the length of a short FRQ on the exam and, as such, you should be able to produce the answer to each in
about 6-7 minutes on test day. My objective is to have you reflect on the content of the lesson in a manner that
requires you to produce a response to a College Board-like question. This will help us prepare for the short FRQ
section of your exam.
QuAD expectations:
o QuADs must be handwritten and identified with the DATE assigned
o QuADs should be one- or two good paragraphs in length.
o QuADs must reference your textbook or PPT’s. However content must be in your own words.
o QuADs may include hand drawn diagrams, not cut and paste from the web.
o QuADs are their own category, worth 5% of your grade.
o I will collect your QuADs at the end of each semester. I will choose one or two QuADs to score per semester using
the College Board guidelines and the others will earn points for completion. You will not know in advance which
QuADs are going to be scored and which are completion.
Warning: Many QuADs have answers posted on the web. Many of them are inadequate and downright wrong. Be
cognizant of plagiarism: ALWAYS use your own words. Additionally, the College Board has released rubrics to some
questions that have been subsequently published by test prep authors. They often oversimplify the means by which
you earn points on essays. You will never earn points for simply providing a term or phrase. You must provide a
definition and context in order to earn any credit at all. Each unit exam will consist one long and two short FRQs.
Roughly ½ of the FRQ points will be directly or very closely related to QuADs. So, your work here matters for more
than just the QuAD category.
Exams
Exams are composed of AP exam questions as well as AP style Free Response Questions (“FRQs”). Exam questions will
be based on class notes, the textbook, and labs.
For the majority of exams, you will have 30 minutes to answer 30 multiple choice questions (of which up to 3 may be
grid-in type questions). You will then have a 5-minute reading period followed by 30 minutes to answer 1 long FRQ
and 2 short FRQs. Just as with the AP Exam, the two portions of the exam are equally weighted. All tests will be timed
and exams will not be curved.
AP FRQs
Essays are an integral part of the AP exam. Essays questions will be handed out the first day of each unit and are due
on the day of the exam. Unit essay assignments will be worth 25 points and in class FRQ’s will be worth 25 points (50%
of your unit exam grade). Unit Essays will be checked or graded by a College Board created rubric and peer graded.
Rubrics are not allowed to leave the room.
AP Exam
The AP Exam you take in May will allow 90 minutes for 63 Multiple Choice questions and 6 Grid-In questions followed
by 90 minutes for two long FRQs and six short FRQs. Of the 90 FRQ minutes, 10 are a mandatory reading and planning
period, leaving you with 80 minutes for writing. The two portions of the exam are equally weighted.
Failure to take the AP Exam will result in the completion of an in class cumulative final, on the day that other student
are taking the AP exam. There will be no make-ups for this exam. The 2014 Biology AP Exam is administered on
Monday May 12th at 7:30 am.
We will have review sessions for the AP exam & students are expected to attend as many sessions as possible.
 Tuesday May 6th (3:15- 5:00 pm)
 Thursday May8th (3:15- 5:00 pm)
 Friday May 9th (3:15-6:00 pm)
 Pre-exam Breakfast 7:00 am May 12th
Extra Help
I am available for extra help during lunch, during my free periods (Periods 3 and 5), before or after school on A days, or
after school on B days. Come prepared with specific questions, problems, or concerns.
AP Biology Contract
I have read and understand the information and policies discussed in this handout.
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(Student signature)
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(Parent signature)