AP BIOLOGY
BIG IDEAS
AP Biology
BIG IDEA #1
• The process of evolution drives the
diversity and unity of life.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
• 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.
AP Biology
Natural
selection
• Evolutionary change is a
product of the process of
natural selection
AP Biology
Organisms
don’t adapt;
Organisms have
adaptations.
Evolution explains unity &
diversity
• Unity
o what do organisms have in common & why do similarities exist?
• common biochemistry & physiology
o evolutionary relationships
o connected through common ancestor
• Diversity
o but why are there
differences?
• natural selection
• adaptations allow different
individuals to survive
in different environments
AP Biology
"Nothing in biology
makes sense except in
the light of evolution."
-- Theodosius Dobzhansky
March 1973
Geneticist, Columbia University
(1900-1975)
AP Biology
BIG IDEA #2
• Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building
blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic
homeostasis.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
• 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.
AP Biology
Energy
transfer
• Life is an open system
o need input of energy
• energy flows through
o energy is captured and stored
in molecules via
photosynthesis
o energy is released as heat
and through cellular
respiration
o need input of materials
• nutrients are recycled
AP Biology
DECOMPOSERS
ENTROPY RULES!
RULE, too!
nutrients
Energy utilization
Homeostasis
Growth
Reproduction
You think
they’re eating…
They’re harvesting
energy!
AP Biology
Form follows function
• The alignment of structure & function is seen at
all levels of biology
organism
cell
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organ
organelle
Membranes
• Membranes separate the internal from external
AND compartmentalize the internal environment.
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Regulation
• Organisms need to maintain a “steady state”
in the face of changing conditions
o maintain homeostasis
o achieve this through feedback
• monitor the body like a thermostat
• turn on when it’s needed, off when its not
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AP Biology
Complex Interactions
• From cells to ecosystems – all life is influenced by
biotic and abiotic factors.
o Life is universal
• common biochemistry & physiology
o Photosynthesis, Cellular Respiration
o Feedback loops
o Life is diverse
• natural selection
• adaptations allow different individuals to survive in different
environments
AP Biology
Timing
• All life follows a tempo
o There is a specific sequence of timing and coordination that allows for life
to develop, grow and reproduce.
AP Biology
BIG IDEA #3
• Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to
information essential to life processes.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
• 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.
AP Biology
Continuity & change
• Continuity of life is based on heritable
information in the form of DNA
o DNA – the genetic
material – carries
biological information
from one generation
to the next
You
can make more,
a lot like you!
AP Biology
T
R
A
I
T
Communication
AP Biology
BIG IDEA #4
• Biological systems interact, and these systems and
their interactions possess complex properties.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
• 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.
AP Biology
Organization
• Molecular Level
o Monomers
Polymers
• Cellular Level
o Nucleus, ribosomes, ER, Golgi App…
• Organism Level
o Cell, Tissue, Organ, Organ System
• Ecological Level
o Organism (individual), population,
community, ecosystem
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Interdependence
• All parts of the whole are interdependent
o Cell needs organelles…
o Polymers needs monomers…
o Populations need other populations in a community…
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Organizing systems
• Making sense out of the diversity
• Hierarchical
scheme
Eastern gray squirrel
AP
Sciurus
Biology
carolinensis
AP Biology