Reavis High School
AP Biology Syllabus 2015-2016
David Grecek, Instructor
“So long as DNA is passed on, it does not matter
who or what gets hurt in the process. Genes
don't care about suffering, because they don't
care about anything.”
Richard Dawkins
Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light
of evolution.”
Theodosius Dobzhansky
Introduction
If you are intrigued by the two quotations above, AP Biology will be a fun and challenging course for you. AP
Biology is equivalent to the two-semester introductory Biology course offered at most major universities and
colleges.
Over the years, AP Biology has evolved into a course that is not so much about memorizing facts as it is a course
that trains you to think critically. Take a moment and think of all of the “smart” people you know. Consider a
doctor in an emergency room or a lawyer in the middle of a trial. They aren’t just smart because of what they
know. They are smart because of how they are efficiently able to gather, process, and interpret information. AP
Biology will help you develop these skills while increasing your knowledge of the living world around you.
Such skills are also becoming increasingly important for students seeking entrance into universities and schools
that train students in healthcare and scientific professions.
AP Biology is also a lab-based course that focuses on the interactions between living organisms and their
environment. Particular attention is paid to understanding the diversity of life, the structure and operation of cells,
the types of interactions between living organisms, and how energy flows through ecosystems.
Instructor: David Grecek
E-mail: dgrecek@d220.org
Materials
Campbell, Neil and Reece, Jane B. 2008. AP Edition Biology, Eighth Edition, San Francisco, CA: Pearson
Benjamin Cummings.
Campbell, Neil. Student AP Edition Biology Student Study Guide, Eighth Edition
Biology Laboratory Manual, 8/e by Vodopich and Moore, 2008
AP Biology Investigative Labs: An Inquiry-Based Approach, The College Board,
2012
Prior to Start of Class
A strong background in chemistry is required for AP Biology. Such a background is usually obtained in an honors
level chemistry course (Chemistry I Honors) or an AP Chemistry class. In addition students will be given a
chemistry review assignment to complete over the summer and turn in on the first day of class.
Course Overview
AP Biology revolves around four Big Ideas. Each of these Big Ideas has an accompanying group of concepts
called Enduring Understandings, which together are used to guide the AP Biology curriculum.
Big Idea 1 - The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
Big Idea 2 - Biological systems utilize energy and molecular building blocks to grow, reproduce, and maintain
homeostasis.
Big Idea 3 - Living systems retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.
Big Idea 4 - Biological systems interact and these interactions possess complex properties.
For each Big Idea, there is a set of essential concepts Enduring Understandings. The combination of the Big Ideas
and their Enduring Understandings overarches the entire course.
AP Biology Course Framework
Big Ideas
Big Idea 1
The process of evolution
drives the diversity and unity
of life.
Big Idea 2
Biological systems utilize
energy and molecular
building blocks to grow,
reproduce, and maintain
homeostasis.
Big Idea 3
Living systems retrieve,
transmit, and respond to
information essential to life
processes
Big Idea 4
Biological systems interact
and these interactions possess
complex properties.
Enduring Understandings
A.
B.
C.
D.
Change in the genetic makeup of a population over time is evolution.
Organisms are linked by lines of descent from common ancestry
Life continues to evolve within a changing environment.
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
environments.
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.
The Investigative Laboratory Component
AP Biology course also contains an inquiry based lab component. Students are given the opportunity to develop
the protocols of their own laboratory investigations throughout the course. The course will also provide
opportunities for students to develop, record, and communicate the results of their laboratory investigations.
There are thirteen investigative labs that will be carried out during this course. As per the College Board, the
table below has the tile of the investigation and its associated Big Idea. A designation of a lab as (IB) indicates it
is an inquiry-based lab.
Big Idea
Big Idea 1:
The process of evolution drives the
diversity and unity of life.


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Big Idea 2:
Biological systems utilize energy and
molecular building blocks to grow,
reproduce, and maintain homeostasis.
Big Idea 3:
Genetics and Information Transfer



Diffusion and Osmosis (IB)
Photosynthesis (IB)
Cellular Respiration



Mitosis and Meiosis (IB)
Bacterial Transformation
Restriction Enzyme
Analysis of DNA
Crime Scene Analysis of
DNA (IB)
Energy Dynamics
Transpiration
Pillbug Behavior (IB)
Enzyme Activity (IB)
Water Potential in Plant
Cells

Big Idea 4:
Interactions
Lab Activity
Artificial Selection (IB)
Mathematical Modeling of
Genetics, Hardy-Weinberg
(IB)
Comparison of DNA
Sequences




