Student Name: ________________________ Per.______
(School Year 2012-2013 Lincoln High School, Tallahassee, Florida)
Room: 106 Instructor: Heather Thompson
Text Book: Reece, Jane, et al., Campbell Biology, 7th Edition, 2005, Pearson Benjamin
Cummings.
Contact: Email is the easiest way to contact me and is promptly returned: thompsonh@leonschools.net
Phone: (850) 921-2561 ext 1106
Office Hours: Tuesday-Thursday during lunch or after school. NHS is offering tutoring in the Forum for science every Tuesday or Thursday where a designated AP science instructor will be free to assist you in any way possible.
Course Description: The AP Biology course is designed to be the equivalent of a college-level introductory biology course. The intent of the course is to expose students to higher-level biological principles, concepts, and skills and allow them the opportunity to apply their knowledge to real-life applications. Rather than learning from a micro level outward, students learn from a macro level inward. Students are also expected to learn not by memorization of facts, but through content and concept application via the AP Biology science practices.
Core concepts called enduring understandings and their application via the science practices are the basis of the AP Biology curriculum. These concepts are organized around biological principles called big ideas that permeate the entire course and focus on the following topics:
• evolution
• biological systems using energy to maintain homeostasis for survival
• passing heritable information to provide continuity of life
• the interaction of biological systems with biotic and abiotic factors
In the revised AP Biology course, the teacher serves as the facilitator while the students develop as independent thinkers and learners, especially through laboratory investigations. Many concepts that are considered prerequisite knowledge for the course can be reviewed as home study through the use of rich resources such as assigned websites and the textbook. In class, students are given opportunities to learn and apply their knowledge through the process of inquiry rather than learning from lectures and/or prescribed lab protocols. A sense of wonder and use of original thought are fostered as students are encouraged to extend their learning via scaffolded conceptual understandings and open inquiry.
Labs: Major laboratory assignments and other hands-on activities will usually be conducted on at least a weekly basis. All students will be completing lab assignments in small groups of 2-5. Sometimes students will be graded individually and other times groups will end up with a single grade. Labs are worth twenty percent of the final grade.
Homework: Homework and note cards are graded on both completion and correctness. Homework is combined with class work to be worth twenty percent of the final grade. Concept maps will be assigned periodically. Occasionally, text guides, lab assignments, readings, or finishing an in-class assignment will require that work is due on a day other than Wednesday. Also, each student will be given 3 “One Day Late” passes per 9-weeks to be used on any assignment, excluding test corrections, because I understand that life happens. Homework will be assigned every week, typically on Thursdays. Each week, homework is due on
Tuesday.
Bell-work: There will be a question posted on the board for you each day. You are expected to sit down and begin the bell-work once you come into class, on the provided template. You will record your questions and the answer each day. Every other Friday, your questions will be submitted and graded. You are still

responsible for the questions that you miss while you are absent. Bell-work and journal entries will be worth ten percent of your final grade.
Quizzes: A quick quiz will occur every Wednesday. This quiz is usually fewer than ten questions and only takes approximately five minutes of class time. The quiz is used to determine that students understand the concepts taught in class prior to taking a test. Students are responsible for the missed quizzes.
Tests: Tests occur at the end of a concept or chapter. The test format will model the AP exam and will include multiple choice and Free Response Questions. Tests and quizzes are worth fifty percent of the final grade. Test corrections will occur to supplement the assessment and student learning DURING OFFICE HOURS ONLY.
All tests will occur on Wednesdays or Fridays.
Class Supplies: A three ring binder with dividers is required for all students. Notebook paper, pencil or pen, small (very cheap) pencil sharpener, and a box of Ziploc bags (any size). In addition, each student is asked to submit $20.00 that will be directly used to purchase consumable lab supplies for that student. If procuring these materials is difficult due to family circumstances, please contact me. I will be more than happy to provide assistance.
Class Survival Necessities:
• Maintain an accurate, chronological lab journal.
• Study hard and do all assignments.
 Be sure to make up all missed work. Remember we don't cancel class when you aren't there. It is your responsibility to get all missed assignments.
 Read, Read, and Read!
Grading: (Grades are posted regularly, so students can be aware of their current grade)
 Tests and Quizzes
 Class work and Homework
50%
 Labs
 Journal/ Bellwork
20%
20%
10%
Website: http://thompsonapbiology.weebly.com
Student Responsibilities:
1. Be in class, on time, in your seat with books, notebooks, and writing utensil ready to participate and learn.
2. No violations of school policy.
3. Do nothing to interfere with teaching.
4. Do nothing to interfere with learning (both your learning and the learning of those around you).
5. Respect all individuals in the classroom.
Step-by-Step Disciplinary Action:
1. Verbal warning.
2. Stay after class a minute or two to discuss problems with me.
3. A disciplinary note or phone call will be sent home to parents or legal guardians, signed and returned.
4. Afternoon detention to be served as assigned.
5. Further action will result in a referral to the office.
Final Message:
Your time is valuable, DON'T waste it. Always respect the rights of others and ask lots of questions. It's a great way to find out what you want to know. During the school year, let me know if I can help you academically or personally. As a teacher and parent, I am here to help you anyway I can. Let my experiences help you grow towards success!

UNIT 1: INTRO TO AP BIO
1.
Darwin and the Theory of Natural Selection
2.
Inquiry as a way to learn science
3.
Structure of Atoms
4.
Emergent Properties of Water
UNIT 2: BIOCHEMISTRY AND INTRO TO CELL
1.
The impact of carbon as the “backbone of life”
2.
How monomers build polymers, including the roles of nucleic acids
3.
Examples of organelles that are membrane bound to compartmentalize their functions
4.
Membrane structure and function
UNIT 3: CELL ENERGY AND PROCESSES
1.
Metabolic pathways
2.
Laws of Energy Transformation
3.
How ATP powers cellular work
4.
Enzyme structure and function
5.
Harvesting chemical energy: glycolysis, citric acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation
6.
Light reactions and the Calvin cycle
7.
Evolution of alternative mechanism of carbon fixation
UNIT 4: CELL COMMUNICATION AND CELL CYCLE
1.
Evolution of cell signaling
2.
Reception, transduction, response
3.
Apoptosis
4.
How mitosis produces genetically identical daughter cells
5.
Evolution of Mitosis
6.
How the eukaryotic cell cycle is regulated by a molecular control system
7.
Origin of cell communication
UNIT 5: GENETIC BASIS OF LIFE
1.
Genes are passed from parents to offspring by the inheritance of chromosomes
2.
How meiosis reduces the number of chromosomes (diploid to haploid)
3.
Evolutionary significance of genetic variation that results from sexual life cycles
4.
Concepts of Mendelian genetics (laws of probability, inheritance patterns)
5.
Genes are located along chromosomes (concepts of gene linkage, mapping distance between genes, causes of genetic disorders)
UNIT 6: GENE ACTIVITY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
1.
DNA is the genetic material (historical experiments, DNA structure and function, DNA replication)
2.
Flow of genetic information (genetic code, role of other polymers, transcription, translation)
3.
Mutations
4.
Gene expression (operon systems in prokaryotes, eukaryotic gene expression)
5.
Virus structure and activity
6.
Restriction enzymes, plasmids, transformation
7.
DNA technology (how gel electrophoresis works and applications of this technology)
UNIT 7: EVOLUTION AND PHYLOGENY
1.
How natural selection serves as a mechanism for evolution
2.
Scientific evidence supporting evolution
3.
Hardy-Weinberg concept
4.
How allele frequencies can be altered in a population
5.
Concepts of speciation
6.
Origin of Life; Fossil Records
7.
Events in the “history of life” (origin of single-celled and multicellular organisms; mass extinctions; adaptive radiations)
UNIT 8: DIVERSITRY IN THE BIOLOGICAL WORLD
1.
Evolutionary trends (endosymbiosis, adaptations that allowed plants to move from water to land, reproductive adaptations of angiosperms, environmental roles of fungi, animal body plans, progressively complex derived characters in animal groups)
2.
Unique features of the angiosperm life cycles
3.
Signal transduction pathways (plant and animal hormones)
4.
Photoperiodism in plants
5.
Feedback control loops in animals
6.
Thermoregulation in animals
7.
Energy allocation and use in animals
Chapters:
1-3
Chapters:
4-7
Chapters:
8-10
Chapters:
11-12
Chapters:
13-15
Chapters:
16-21
Chapters:
22-26
Chapters:
40, 43, 48, 49

8.
Examples of functioning units in mammal systems (alveoli in lungs, villi of small intestines, nephrons in kidneys)
9.
Structure and function in immune systems
10.
Structure and function in nervous systems (neurons, resting potential, action potential, synapses)
11.
Structure and function of the human brain
UNIT 9: ECOLOGY
1.
Aspects of animal behavior
2.
Aspects of biomes
3.
Models describing population growth
4.
Regulation of population growth
5.
Community interactions
6.
Species diversity and composition
7.
Community biodiversity
8.
Energy flow and chemical cycling in ecosystems
9.
Primary productivity
10.
Energy transfer between trophic levels
11.
Human activities that threaten biodiversity
Exam Review
Chapters:
50-55
All
Chapters
After you and your parent or guardian have read the course syllabus, please complete the information below and return the entire document to the teacher by Friday, August 24 th .
We have both read and understood the information Mrs. Thompson’s 2012-2013 course syllabus.
AP Bio, Period ______
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Student’s Name (Printed)
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Student Signature
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Parent/Guardian Name (Printed)
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Parent/Guardian Contact Number
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Parent/Guardian Name (Printed)
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Parent/Guardian Contact Number
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Parent/Guardian Signature
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Parent/Guardian Email Address
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Parent/Guardian Email Address
Valuable Information the Teacher should know: (medical conditions, learning difficulties, special family situations, etc.)
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