AP Biology
Course Description
This year-long course is the equivalent of an introductory biology course taken by biology majors
during their first year of college. Students participate in labs and in-depth discussions to develop a
conceptual framework for modern biology as well as an appreciation of the science process. Studies
include molecules and cells, evolution and heredity, and organisms and populations. Course emphasis
includes: developing an understanding of concepts rather than an accumulation of facts; personal
experience in scientific inquiry; recognition of unifying themes that integrate the major topics of
biology; and application of biological knowledge and critical thinking to environmental and social
concerns. This course prepares students for the AP Biology exam and earns optional UCD credit.
This weighted course may fulfill the Human Anatomy & Physiology graduation requirement.
Successful completion of AP Biology requires full participation in class as well as completion of all
projects and assessments, including the AP Biology exam in May.
Instructor
Cynthia Jamison Gay
Classroom: UEM 209
Office Hours: 2:15-3:45pm, excepted as noted on weekly open lab calendar
Additional times as noted on weekly open lab calendar
970.871.3659
cgay@sssd.k12.co.us
http:cgay.pbworks.com
Required Resources
The following resources must be brought to class each lesson:
Campbell, N A, Reece, J B, Taylor. (2009). Biology. San Francisco, CA: Benjamin Cummings.
Binder: 3-ring, at least 2”
Dividers, 5
Notebook paper, college rule
Composition book (spiral notebooks are not acceptable)
Writing utensils
Supplemental Materials
The following resources will not be used daily, but must be brought to class as needed:
Graph paper (¼”)
Calculator
Highlighter
Skills to Be Mastered and Demonstrated
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Inquiry: The Spirit and Process of Science
Laboratory and Field Techniques for Data Collection
Technical Literacy (Reading and Writing)
Scientific Numeracy (Measurement, Uncertainty, and Computation)
Graphicacy (Visual Representation of Information)
Attitudes to Be Demonstrated
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Demonstrates respect of self, others and environment
Makes connections to prior knowledge, is unafraid to ask questions, corrects mistakes
Cooperates with other students and does a fair share of work in groups
Contributes to the learning of other people inside and outside the class
Takes personal responsibility for learning independently and in groups (arrives prepared;
hands in work on time, persistent in difficult tasks; submits finest effort)
C. Gay Revised 8/2011
Steamboat Springs High School Biology
Syllabus
A detailed syllabus is made available separately as well as weekly assignment calendars. All handouts
are available for download on my website.
Unit I: Molecules and Cells
Enduring Understanding:
Cells are the structural and functional units of life. Organismic processes result from cellular processes which are
based on physical and chemical changes in the structure of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids.
Energy is the capacity to do work. All living organisms are active (living) because of their abilities to link energy
reactions to the biochemical reactions that take place within their cells.
Essential Questions:
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Could life exist without a cellular structure?
Why does life depend upon the conversions between different forms of energy, and between energy and
biochemical molecules?
What is the relationship between cellular structure and energy/biochemical reactions?
Can living systems be reduced to and explained by chemical interactions among molecules?
Content Standards
Standard 2: Life Science
Students know and understand the characteristics and structure of living things, the processes of life, and how living
things interact with each other and their environment.
3. Cellular metabolic activities are carried out by biomolecules produced by organisms
a. Identify biomolecules and their precursors/building blocks
b. Develop, communicate, and justify an evidence-based explanation that biomolecules follow the same rules of
chemistry as any other molecule
c. Develop, communicate, and justify an evidence-based explanation regarding the optimal conditions required
for enzyme activity
d. Infer the consequences to organisms of suboptimal enzyme function – such as altered blood pH or high fever
– using direct and indirect evidence
e. Analyze and interpret data on the body’s utilization of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins
4. The energy for life primarily derives from the interrelated processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
Photosynthesis transforms the sun’s light energy into the chemical energy of molecular bonds. Cellular respiration
allows cells to utilize chemical energy when these bonds are broken.
a. Develop, communicate, and justify an evidence-based scientific explanation the optimal environment for
photosynthetic activity
b. Discuss the interdependence of autotrophic and heterotrophic life forms such as depicting the flow of a carbon
atom from the atmosphere, to a leaf, through the food chain, and back to the atmosphere
c. Explain how carbon compounds are gradually oxidized to provide energy in the form of adenosine
triphosphate (ATP), which drives many chemical reactions in the cell
5. Cells use the passive and active transport of substances across membranes to maintain relatively stable
intracellular environments
a. Analyze and interpret data to determine the energy requirements and/or rates of substance transport across
cell membranes
b. Compare organisms that live in freshwater and marine environments, and identify the challenges of osmotic
regulation for these organisms
c. Diagram the cell membrane schematically, and highlight receptor proteins as targets of hormones,
neurotransmitters, or drugs that serve as active links between intra and extracellular environments
d. Use tools to gather, view, analyze, and interpret data produced during scientific investigations that involve
passive and active transport
e. Use computer simulations and models to analyze cell transport mechanisms
Unit Assessment
Unit Exam: Multiple Choice and Free Response Questions, formatted as the AP Exam
Unit II: Heredity and Evolution
Enduring Understanding:
Hereditary and reproductive events control the passage of structural and functional information from one
generation to the next. All species tend to maintain themselves from generation to generation using the same genetic
code. However, there are genetic mechanisms that lead to change over time, or evolution.
Scientific research, particularly in the field of biotechnology, often leads to technological advances that can have
positive and/or negative impacts on society as a whole.
C. Gay Revised 8/2011
Steamboat Springs High School Biology
Evolution is biological change of organisms that occurs over time, which is driven by the process of natural
selection. Evolution accounts for both the diversity and the unity of life on Earth. Evolutionary theory provides the
basis for understanding all biological sciences. The theory of evolution by natural selection explains evolutionary
change over time on the basis of differential survival and reproduction of those organisms best adapted to the local
environment. Random mutations that occur and are genetically transferred may result in new traits upon which
selection can act.
Essential Questions:
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What is the role of sexual reproduction in inheritance patterns and evolution?
How does genetics contribute to both the unity and the diversity of life?
How is biotechnology influencing science and society? How is biotechnology influencing living systems?
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“There are no living sciences, human attitudes, or institutional powers that remain unaffected by the
ideas…catalytically released by Darwin’s work.” –J Collins
Why is evolutionary theory so powerful and important?
Why has evolutionary theory always been so controversial?
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“Nothing in biology makes any sense except in the light of evolution." -Theodasius Dobzansky
Content Standards
Standard 2: Life Science
Students know and understand the characteristics and structure of living things, the processes of life, and how living
things interact with each other and their environment.
7. Physical and behavioral characteristics of an organism are influenced to varying degrees by heritable genes, many
of which encode instructions for the production of proteins
a. Analyze and interpret data that genes are expressed portions of DNA.
b. Analyze and interpret data on the processes of DNA replication, transcription, translation, and gene
regulation, and show how these processes are the same in all organisms
c. Recognize that proteins carry out most cell activities and mediate the effect of genes on physical and
behavioral traits in an organism
d. Evaluate data showing that offspring are not clones of their parents or siblings due to the meiotic processes of
independent assortment of chromosomes, crossing over, and mutations
e. Explain using examples how genetic mutations can benefit, harm, or have neutral effects on an organism
8. Multicellularity makes possible a division of labor at the cellular level through the expression of select genes, but
not the entire genome
a. Develop, communicate, and justify an evidence-based scientific explanation of how cells form specialized
tissues due to the expression of some genes and not others
b. Analyze and interpret data that show most eukaryotic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) does not actively code for
proteins within cells
c. Develop, communicate, and justify an evidence-based scientific explanation for how a whole organism can be
cloned from a differentiated – or adult – cell
d. Analyze and interpret data on medical problems using direct and indirect evidence in developing and
supporting claims that genetic mutations and cancer are brought about by exposure to environmental toxins,
radiation, or smoking
9. Evolution occurs as the heritable characteristics of populations change across generations and can lead
populations to become better adapted to their environment
a. Develop, communicate, and justify an evidence-based scientific explanation for how Earth’s diverse life forms
today evolved from common ancestors
b. Analyze and interpret multiple lines of evidence supporting the idea that all species are related by common
ancestry such as molecular studies, comparative anatomy, biogeography, fossil record and embryology
c. Analyze and interpret data suggesting that over geologic time, discrete bursts of rapid genetic changes and
gradual changes have resulted in speciation
d. Analyze and interpret data on how evolution can be driven by three key components of natural selection –
heritability, genetic variation, and differential survival and reproduction
e. Generate a model – an evolutionary tree – showing how a group of organisms is most likely diverged from
common ancestry
Unit Assessment
Unit Exam: Multiple Choice and Free Response Questions, formatted as the AP Exam
C. Gay Revised 8/2011
Steamboat Springs High School Biology
Unit III: Organisms and Populations
Enduring Understanding:
Evolutionary relationships illustrating unity within the diversity of life are used in the phylogenetic classification
of organisms.
The relationship of structure to function is common to all organisms. The structural levels from molecules to
organisms ensure successful functioning in all living organisms and living systems. Everything, from cells to
organisms to ecosystems, exists in a state of dynamic balance that must be controlled by positive or negative feedback
mechanisms.
Organisms interact in complex, interdependent systems with each other and their environment. Changes in these
systems can result in a variety of sometimes unforeseen consequences.
Essential Questions:
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What is the value of using structure, function, and evolutionary relationships to create a phylogenetic
classification system for all living organisms?
How do the structural, functional and behavioral adaptations of plants and animals reflect their evolutionary
relationships?
What is the relationship between maintaining a state of dynamic balance at cellular, organismic, and
community/ecosystem levels?
Is interdependence necessary for survival? Could an organism exist in isolation from all other organisms?
Content Standards
Standard 2: Life Science
Students know and understand the characteristics and structure of living things, the processes of life, and how living
things interact with each other and their environment.
1. Matter tends to be cycled within an ecosystem, while energy is transformed and eventually exits an ecosystem
a. Analyze how energy flows through trophic levels
b. Evaluate the potential ecological impacts of a plant-based or meat-based diet
c. Analyze and interpret data from experiments on ecosystems where matter such as fertilizer has been added or
withdrawn such as through drought
d. Develop, communicate, and justify an evidence-based scientific explanation showing how ecosystems follow
the laws of conservation of matter and energy
e. Define and distinguish between matter and energy, and how they are cycled or lost through life processes
f. Describe how carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and water cycles work
g. Use computer simulations to analyze how energy flows through trophic levels
2. The size and persistence of populations depend on their interactions with each other and on the abiotic factors in
an ecosystem
a. Analyze and interpret data about the impact of removing keystone species from an ecosystem or introducing
non-native species into an ecosystem
b. Describe or evaluate communities in terms of primary and secondary succession as they progress over time
c. Evaluate data and assumptions regarding different scenarios for future human population growth and their
projected consequences
d. Examine, evaluate, question, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media to investigate
ecosystem interactions
6. Cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems maintain relatively stable internal environments, even in the face of
changing external environments
a. Discuss how two or more body systems interact to promote health for the whole organism
b. Analyze and interpret data on homeostatic mechanisms using direct and indirect evidence to develop and
support claims about the effectiveness of feedback loops to maintain homeostasis
c. Distinguish between causation and correlation in epidemiological data, such as examining scientifically valid
evidence regarding disrupted homeostasis in particular diseases
d. Use computer simulations and models of homeostatic mechanisms
Unit Assessment
Unit Exam: Multiple Choice and Free Response Questions, formatted as the AP Exam
AP Exam
Homework and Grading Policies
Refer to the separate handout for a detailed explanation of homework and grading policies.
C. Gay Revised 8/2011
Steamboat Springs High School Biology