AP Biology Syllabus
2012-2013
AP Biology/Concepts of Biology-BIO 101
2012-13
Mrs. Britni Walz
Sparta High School/UW Richland Center: Academic Alliance 2.0
Phone: 608-366-3504 ex. 8517
E-mail: bwalz@spartan.org
Student Responsibilities:
You have the primary responsibility for your learning. I am here to aid you in this process,
however you must do the challenging and time-consuming studying on your own. The student is
responsible not only for attending class but participating in class through discussion and
activities. You are also responsible for the assigned readings (see schedule). DO NOT
assume attending class alone will allow you to succeed in this course. You will need to commit a
significant amount of time toward studying. A common rule of thumb is for every hour spent in
class one needs to spend 2-3 hours studying outside of class (each individual varies, depending
on their background). In addition, the student is responsible for coming in for help when needed.
If you do not understand the material, after working at it on your own, you need to seek help.
Statements on Academic Integrity
Although course activities encourage collaboration and shared learning, acknowledging others
for their contribution is crucial. Do not copy words, ideas, papers or parts of papers from any
source with out giving credit through acceptable forms of documentation. Do not lend out your
ideas, papers or parts of papers to others. Passing off someone else’s work as your own or
allowing your work to be used in this way is a serious break in academic integrity of this class.
It may result in failure.
Statement on American with Disabilities Act
UW-Richland provides services and/or accommodations for students with physical, learning, or other
disabilities. If you have a documented disability and would like to request certain accommodations or
services, contact John Poole, Student Services (#480/Melvill Hall). Early notification is important. I will
maintain the confidentiality of the information shared with me and make every effort to accommodate the
special needs to enable you to fully participate in this course.
Biology Assessment Statement
A UW Colleges-wide assessment program has been put into place to enhance the quality and
effectiveness of the curriculum, programs and services of the institution. The following areas of
proficiency will be assessed because they are of primary importance in the education of our
students: Analytical Skills, Quantitative Skills, Communication Skills, and Aesthetic Skills. The
Biology Department has also determined a number of core proficiencies for students enrolled in
biology classes. For more information, go to www.uwc.edu/resources/assess/.
Late Work Policy:
"Late homework will be accepted through the end of each unit for full credit. At the
conclusion of the unit, students will get 50% of the grade earned for late homework turned
in prior to the first day of final exams on January 22, 2013."
AP Biology Syllabus
2012-2013
Materials:
Bring the following materials to class with you every day: Writing utensil, 3 ring binder, and highlighters.
Attendance:
It is the student’s responsibility to contact the teacher to make arrangements for making up work missed
during an absence from school. Check for handouts in the holder above the file cabinet in the form of the
room. Talk to you lab partner to find out what was missed.
Work will be made up at the rate of two days for each day absent. The day the student returns counts as a
day. Work will be due the following day. Work which was due the day the student was absent is due at
the start of the day the student returns.
Anyone absent on a review day will still have to take the exam on test day!!!!
Grading:
60 % Exams and Quizzes
40% Lab work and daily assignments
The following scale represents the percentage you must acquire in order to earn a desired grade.
It is also our school-wide grading scale.
90-100% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
60-69% = D
**The top and bottom 2 percentage points are the + and -
Extra Credit:
Extra credit is available any time for students. No more than 20 points per quarter will be allowed.
Students may complete the Self Quiz at the end of a chapter or any practice quizzes on line.
AP Biology Syllabus
2012-2013
In AP Biology, an emphasis is on students making connections between the big ideas within the AP
Biology Curriculum Framework. The two main goals of AP Biology are to help students develop a
conceptual framework for modern biology and an appreciation of science as a process.
Philosophy
My AP Biology course is designed to actively engage students in the process of science through class
assignments and discussions which inform their laboratory experiences. I teach the equivalent of an
introductory college-level biology course, and it is designed to prepare students for the AP Biology Exam.
I believe the study of biology is important to the understanding of ourselves and the environment in which
we live. Through new discoveries, biology is an ever changing course that allows the student to see how
the acquisition of this knowledge can influence future generations. To emphasis this, journal article
readings will be used in order to expose students to present day hypotheses in order to develop better
designed experimental investigation. Students will be held to high expectations and mature
responsibilities just like a college freshman taking Introduction to Biology.
Course Overview
This course is designed based on the three overarching topics of Molecules and Cells, Heredity and
Evolution, and Organisms and Populations. The recurring thread throughout the text is evolution as the
foundation of modern biological models and thought. The eight major themes are discussed and
reemphasized through the course. The course is taught to constantly review the themes and relate the
biological concepts to real world examples and explanations to the students and society. The 8 major
themes put forth by the College Board are:
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Science as a Process
Evolution
Energy Transfer
Continuity and Change
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Relationship of structure and function
Regulation
Interdependence in nature
Science, Technology and Society
During the first semester, classes meet 5 days a week for 90 minutes. During second semester, classes
meet 3 days a week for 47 minutes and 1 day for 90 minutes. The textbook for the course is the seventh
edition of Neil A. Campbell and Jane B. Reece’s Biology. A minimum of two labs in each big idea will
be conducted and make up at least 25% of instructional time. The student-directed and inquiry-based
laboratory investigations used throughout the course enable students to apply the seven science practices
as defined in the Curriculum framework. The labs are from the AP Biology Investigative Labs: An
Inquiry-Based Approach and Advanced Placement Biology Lab Manual for Students. During labs,
analysis, reports, and discussion the process of science is emphasized. Students begin each unit with a list
of enduring understandings and big ideas to guide them throughout the main points of the unit and to
frame students’ class notes. Students are encouraged to add to these notes during class discussions,
listing all of their questions that arise as the class discusses each topic.
Big Ideas:
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.
AP Biology Syllabus
2012-2013
Lab Component
Big idea 1: Evolution
BLAST Activity: Students use NCBI to compare DNA and protein sequences for organisms to test
student-generated hypotheses on their relatedness.
Hardy-Weinberg: Spreadsheet development to investigate factors affecting Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium.
Artificial Selection: Students will grow organisms such as Fast Plants and select for specific traits over
several generations.
Big idea 2: Cellular Processes; Energy and Matter
Cellular Respiration: Students investigate some aspect of cellular respiration in organisms.
Photosynthesis Students investigate photosynthetic rate under a variety of student selected conditions.
Diffusion/Osmosis: Students investigate diffusion and osmosis in model systems and in plant tissue.
Big idea 3: Genetics and Information Transfer
Cell Division: Mitosis and Meiosis. Students compare mitotic rate after exposure to lectin or other
substances presumed to affect mitotic rate.
Bacterial Transformation: Students investigate bacterial transformation.
Restriction Enzyme Analysis: Students investigate restriction enzyme analysis.
Big idea 4: Interactions
Energy Dynamics: Students develop and analyze model systems that
describe energy flow.
Fruit Fly Behavior: Students investigate chemotaxis in fruit flies.
Transpiration: Students investigate the movement of water through plants
in a model system.
Enzyme Investigation: In an open inquiry lab, students will investigate and
quantify factors that affect enzyme action.
AP Biology Syllabus
2012-2013
Molecules, Cells & Energy Big Ideas 1,2,3 & 4
Topics
I.
Readings
Activity/Labs
Biochemistry
PymoL
Polarity of water & its importance to biological
systems
Chapters 2,4,5
Acid/Base/Buffer lab
investigation
U Carbon’s role in the molecular diversity of life
N
I Monomers, polymers & reactions involved in
T building & breaking them down considering
polar/nonpolar interactions
1
Various level of structures in protein, lipids, &
carbohydrates
Acid-Base Solution
Online Simulation
pH scale simulation
Eating & Exercise Online
Lab: PhET
Enzyme structure as a special protein
Lab: Using and
understanding how
different indicators are
used to identify proteins,
lipids and carbohydrates
using Biuret, Benedict’s,
Sudan etc.
Cohesion, adhesion, specific heat of water & its
importance to biological systems
Acids, bases, and buffers
Using kits to build
macromolecules
II.
The Cell
Explain similarities, differences & evolutionary
U relationships between prokaryotic and eukaryotic
N cells
I
T Cell membrane structure and function (Fluid
mosaic fluid)
2
Subcellular organization
Chapters 3,7,8 & 11
Diffusion & Osmosis
Investigative AP Lab 4
Membrane Channels
Online Lab: PhET
Lab: Microscope
techniques for observing
& measuring different
types of cells.
Cell communication (signals, receptors, response,
hormones)
Methods of transport across membranes
III.
Cell Energy & Metabolism
ATP structure and function
Redox reactions in relation to cellular respiration
Enzyme catalysis
Activation energy and specificity
U Cellular respiration glycolysis, citric acid cycle,
N electron transport chain & chemiosmosis
I
T Mitochondria form and function
Chapters 6,9,10
Photosynthesis
Investigative AP Lab 5
Cellular Respiration
Investigative AP Lab 6
AP Biology Syllabus
3
2012-2013
Photosynthesis mechanisms; light/dark
Compare/contrast to respiration
Alternative mechanisms
Understanding light energy
Heredity, Genetics & Evolution Big Ideas 1 & 3
IV.
Molecular Basis of Inheritance &
Molecular Genetics
DNA structure and replication
U RNA structure
N
I Protein synthesis, transcription & translation
T
Mutations-basis for natural selection
4
Viral structure and replication
Chapters 16-21
Watson & Cricks
original Science
article
Stretching DNA
simulation: PhET
Investigative Lab:
Students generate an
experiment to extract
DNA
Gene Machine: The Lac
Operon simulation
Gel Electrophoresis
Biotechnology and applications to society
Biotechnology: Bacterial
Transformation
Investigative Lab 8
Regulation of gene expression
Gene expression in bacteria
Biotechnology:
Restriction Enzyme
Analysis of DNA
Investigative Lab 9
V.
Mitosis & Meiosis
U
N Cell Cycle
I
T Chromosomes
5
Stages of meiosis
Asexual vs. Sexual reproduction and evolutionary
advantages
Genetic variation in offspring and impact on
evolution
Investigating genetics: environmental influences
Antibiotic Resistance and the Problems with
Improper Antibiotic Use
Chapters 12-13 &
46-47
Cell Division: Mitosis and
Meiosis
Investigative Lab 7
(Connects to BI 1)
AP Biology Syllabus
VI.
Mendelian Genetics
U Patterns of Inheritance
N
I Predicting genetic outcomes & genetic
T counseling
6
2012-2013
Chapters 14, 15
Gene linking & mapping
Mutations revisited
VII.
Evolutionary Biology
Darwin’s explorations and theory of descent with
modification & natural selection
U Galapagos Islands Overview
N
I Early evolution of life
T
Evidence for evolution
7
Phylogeny
Chapters 22-25, 26
“Welcome to
Evolution 101”
Lamb, Trevor D.,
“Evolution of the
Eye”
Natural Selection Online
Simulation
Artificial Selection
Investigative Lab 1
Mathematical Modeling:
Hardy-Weinberg
Investigative Lab 2
Evolution of populations
Hardy-Weinberg Law
Organisms & Populations Big Ideas 1, 3 & 4
VIII.
Biological Diversity & Microbiology
U Early life on earth
N
I Evolution of prokaryotes and eukaryotes
T
Phylogenetic classification
8
Evolutionary patterns
Chapters 26-28, 31
BLAST
Investigative Lab 3
Gram-Staining
Investigation lab:
Culturing Bacteria
Hypothesizing where
bacteria population would
be the highest
Protists
Fungi
IX.
Plants & their diversity
How plants colonized land
U
N Evolution of seed plants
I
T Structure, growth & development
9
Plants responses to internal & external stimuli
Plant nutrition
Angiosperm reproduction
Chapters 29, 30, 3539
Transpiration
Investigative AP Lab 11
(connects to BI 4)
Lab: Plant Dissection
Investigation Lab: Plant
growth under different
conditions
AP Biology Syllabus
X.
Animal Diversity
U
N Characteristics of Invertebrates & Vertebrates
I
T Analysis of structure & function of body systems
1
0
2012-2013
Chapters 32-34, 4049
Pig Dissection Hands-on
and virtual simulation
Anatomy Online Lab
Bioweb.wku.edu
Body systems
Response to the environment
Fruit Fly Behavior
Investigative AP Lab 12
Reproduction, growth, and development
XI.
Ecology & Interactions
Chapters 50-55
U Population dynamics
N
I Communities and ecosystems
T
Global issues
1
1
Energy Dynamics
Investigative AP Lab 10
“My Footprint”
Investigative Lab: Brine
Shrimp and their response
to toxicity of
environmental pollutants
Investigative Lab: Lake
Eutrophication