AP Biology
2014-2015
Mrs. Shea Floyd, Instructor
Room Number: 210
School Telephone Number: (770) 684-5432
Voice Mail: 7210 Email: sfloyd@polk.k12.ga.us
Planning: 6th period
Course Description
This course is designed to be an equivalent to an introductory biology course for science majors at the
Freshman university level. This AP Biology course consists of mostly seniors. At least 25% of the
course is spent doing laboratory work (labs in the AP Biology Investigative Labs: an Inquiry Based
Approach as well as teacher constructed labs). Labs used throughout the course will allow students to
apply the AP Biology Curriculum Framework’s seven science practices which are as follows:
1. The student can use representations and models to communicate scientific phenomena and solve
scientific problems.
2. The student can use mathematics appropriately.
3. The student can engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or to guide investigations within the
context of the AP course.
4. The student can plan and implement data collection strategies.
5. The student can perform data analysis and evaluation of evidence.
6. The student can work with scientific explanations and theories.
7. The student is able to connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts, and representations
in and across domains.
How Course Meets Requirement:
This course is structured around the four Big Ideas, enduring understandings, essential knowledge, and
science practices (SP) as outlined in the AP Biology Curriculum Framework. At least one of the Big
Ideas will be incorporated into every lesson throughout the course. The big ideas are as follows:
Big Idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity of life.
Big Idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to
reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
Big Idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life
processes.
Big Idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex
properties.
AP Biology will often be using the Flipped Classroom Model. Flipping allows teachers to make the most
of face-to-face time with their students. Rather than taking class time to introduce content and using
homework to review concepts, the process will be flipped so that the students gain basic knowledge at
home and then create, collaborate, and make connections at school. This class contains a lot of content
and many inquiry based labs. In order to cover the material successfully, students will often be expected
to view power points and watch the lectures on video at home. Also, free response questions will be
assigned and graded using past AP exam rubrics. Toward the end of the semester, students will be given
practice AP exams. They will be graded using the AP scoring guidelines. Before each unit, students will
be given CRITICAL reading assignments. In order to stress that biology is a process rather than an
accumulation of facts, the lab activities and formal lab reports stress developing as well as testing
hypotheses; collecting and analyzing data; and discussion of results to try and answer questions about
certain topics. Students will conduct at least 8 inquiry based labs. At least 2 labs for each big idea will be
performed. Students must discuss many lab investigations in a formal lab report. Lab reports include the
development and testing of the hypothesis, the ability to organize collected data, and an analysis of
results. Labs will be conducted in groups of 3 or 4 in order to stress group skills needed for scientific
collaboration. When any lab time is lost due to scheduled testing, assemblies, field trips, or other student
activities, labs may be performed before or after school. Honors Biology and Honors Chemistry should be
taken as pre-requisites to this course.
Course Outline
1) Unit Name or Timeframe:
Unit 1: Evolution, Phylogeny, & Biodiversity- (25 class meetings)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Big Ideas: 1, 3, 4
Enduring Understandings: 1.A, 1.B, 1.C, 1.D, 3.A, 3.C, 4.C
Textbook Chapters: 17) Evidence of Evolution; 18) Microevolutionary Processes; 19) Evolutionary
Patterns, Rates, & Trends; 20) Life’s Origin & Early Evolution; 21) Prokaryotes & Viruses; 22) Protists;
24) Fungi; 25) Animal Evolution-Invertebrates; 26) Animal Evolution-Vertebrates; 27) Biodiversity in
Perspective
Study Guide Chapters: 12) Evolution; 13) Taxonomy& Classification
Lecture Topics: natural selection, evidence of evolution, Hardy-Weinberg concept, how allele
frequencies are changed within a population, speciation, origin of life & fossil records, origin of
single-celled & multi-celled organisms, mass extinctions, adaptive radiation, classification, biodiversity
Labs: 1) Artificial Selection; 2) Hardy-Weinberg; 3) Comparing DNA Sequences
2) Unit Name or Timeframe:
Unit 2: Ecology- (25 class meetings)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Big Ideas 1,2,3,4
Enduring Understandings: 1.A, 1.C, 2.A, 2.C, 2.D, 2.E, 3.E, 4.A, 4.B, 4.C
Textbook Chapters: 45) Population Ecology; 46) Community Structure and Biodiversity; 47)
Ecosystems; 48) The Biosphere; 49) Behavioral Ecology
Study Guide Chapters: 17) Behavioral Ecology and Ethology; 18) Ecology in Further Detail
Lecture Topics: animal behavior, biomes, population growth models, population growth regulation,
community interactions, species diversity and composition, community biodiversity, energy flow &
chemical cycles in ecosystems, primary productivity, trophic levels & energy transfer between levels,
human threats to biodiversity
Labs: 12) Fruit Fly Behavior
3) Unit Name or Timeframe:
Unit 3: Biochemistry- (10 class meetings)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Big Ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4
Enduring Understandings: 1.D, 2.A, 2.B, 3.A, 4.A through 4.C
Textbook Chapters: 2) Life’s Chemical Basis; 3) Molecules of Life
Study Guide Chapters: 5) Chemistry
Lecture Topics: 4 biological macromolecules (polymers) and monomers (including role of nucleic
Acids); properties of water, enzymes
Labs: 13) Enzymes
4) Unit Name or Timeframe:
Unit 4: Cells, Cellular Transport, & Metabolism (15 class meetings)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Big Ideas: 1, 2, 4
Enduring Understandings: 1.A, 1.D, 2.B, 4.A, 4.B
Textbook Chapters: 4) Cell Structure and Function; 5) A Closer Look at Cell Membranes; 6) Ground
Rules of Metabolism
Study Guide Chapters: 6) Cells
Lecture Topics: Metabolic pathways, laws of energy transformation, cell parts & functions; cell transport
Labs: 4) Diffusion & Osmosis; 10) Energy Dynamics
5) Unit Name or Timeframe:
Unit 5: Cell Division and Heredity- (25 class meetings)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Big Ideas: 1, 2, 3
Enduring Understandings: 2.E, 3.A, 3.B, 3.D
Textbook Chapters: 9) How Cells Reproduce; 10) Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction; 11) Observing
Patterns in Inherited Traits; 12) Chromosomes and Human Inheritance
Study Guide Chapters: 9) Cell Division; 10) Heredity
Big Ideas: 1, 3, 4
Enduring Understandings: 1.A, 3.A, 3.C, 4.C
Lecture Topics: Passing of genetic information from parent to offspring through chromosomal
inheritance, reduction of chromosome number by meiosis, evolutionary significance of genetic
variation due to sexual life cycles, Mendelian genetics, gene linkage and mapping distance, causes of
genetic disorders
Labs: 7) Cell Division & Meiosis
6) Unit Name or Timeframe:
Unit 6: Molecular Genetics & Biotechnology- (15 class meetings)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Big Ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4
Enduring Understandings: 1.A, 2.C, 2.E, 3.A, 3.B, 3.C, 4.A
Textbook Chapters: 13) DNA Structure & Function; 14) From DNA to Protein; 15) Controls Over
Genes; 16) Studying and Manipulating Genomes
Study Guide Chapters: 11) Molecular Genetics
Lecture Topics: DNA as the genetic material (historical experiments, DNA structure/function, DNA
replication); flow of genetic material (transcription and translation); genetic mutations; gene
expression; restriction enzymes, plasmids, bacterial transformation, DNA technology (gel
electrophoresis and applications of DNA technology)
Labs: 8) Biotechnology & Bacterial Transformation; 9) Biotechnology-Restriction Enzymes
7) Unit Name or Timeframe:
Unit 7: Cellular Energy & Communication- (15 class meetings)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Big Ideas 1, 2, 3, 4
Enduring Understandings: 1.A, 1.B, 2.A, 2.C, 2.D, 2.E, 3.E, 4.A, 4.B
Textbook Chapters: 7) Where it Starts-Photosynthesis; 8) How Cells Release Chemical Energy
Study Guide Chapters: 7) Respiration; 8) Photosynthesis
Lecture Topics: sunlight as energy, photosynthesis, light-dependent reactions, light-independent
reactions, energy-releasing pathways, glycolysis, aerobic respiration, anaerobic pathways, fermentation,
alternative energy sources
Labs: 5) Photosynthesis; 6) Cellular Respiration
Unit 8) Unit Name or Timeframe:
Plant and Animal Form and Function- (30 days)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Big Ideas: 4
Textbook Chapters: 31) Plant Reproduction; 29) Plant Tissues; 30) Plant Nutrition and Transport; 31)
Plant Reproduction; 32) Plant Growth and Development; 33) Animal Tissues and Organ Systems; 34)
Neural Control; 35) Sensory Perception; 36) Endocrine Control; 39) Immunity
Study Guide Chapters: 14) Plants; 15) Human Physiology; 16) Human Reproduction
Lecture Topics- plants, animals, organ system overview, nervous system, endocrine system, immune
system
Labs: 11) Transpiration
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Daily Sponge Activities
Daily participation in class discussions
Writing assignments (Free Response Questions)
Lab Reports
Viewing flipped lessons
Reading of assigned material
Textbooks
Title: Biology: The Unity & Diversity of Life
Publisher: Thomson/Brooks/Cole
Published Date: 2006
Author: Cecie Starr
Second Author: Ralph Taggert
Materials Needed
Notebook , paper, blue or black pen, pencil, iPad, and earbuds. Students will need to bring all materials and
textbook to class every day. iPads need to be fully charged every day!
Homework:
Homework should be completely every night. Usually it will consist of reading assignments, viewing
lectures (Kahn Academy, Bozeman biology), taking notes, finish labs. Even if a formal assignment is not
given, you are expected to spend time reviewing content each night. AP Biology is a challenging class
and can’t be just ‘picked up’ during class time. You need to invest the time outside of class to be
successful in class.
Late Assignments
Students are expected to turn in all completed assignments at the time scheduled by the teacher.
Make-Up Work Policy
For each grading period, makeup work must be completed no later than two weeks after progress reports are
issued. Students may not make up work outside of the grading period window once the time has passed.
Re-Test Policy: Any student can retest any chapter test regardless of the grade on the test provided that the
student attends tutoring as directed by the teacher. The student must retest within two weeks of the grade being
returned. The higher of the two grades will be recorded. This excludes benchmark assessments, final exams,
standardized tests (such as EOCT, Milestones, EOPA, AP Exams, etc.), and major projects and research that
required an exorbitant amount of time in and outside the classroom (ie: research paper).
Exam Exemption: Exam exemption policies must be approved by the superintendent each school year. Any and all
exemption policies do not apply to EOCTs, AP exams, or any other PSD mandated examinations.
Class Policies/Rules: All policies of the Polk School District Board of Education and student handbook will be
enforced.
Class Expectations:
Come to class prepared - in order to facilitate class discussions and reduce lecture time in favor of
labs and knowledge enhancing activities, you must complete all required assignments. AP assignments
are not ‘busy work’; they are designed to help you learn difficult material.
Come to class! The work we will be doing during class cannot be replicated at home, labs in
particular. You have committed to an advanced class and that requires your presence in the classroom.
Missed labs cannot be made up and will receive a score of zero.
Study at home – the convention for college courses is 3 hours of independent study for each hour of
class. In order to have productive class discussion you must review the material at home.
No whining! This is a college level course. It will be challenging. It will require a significant amount of
time outside of class. If you don’t like biology, this is not the class for you!
Yes, you have to write in complete sentences. Yes, you have to show your work. Yes, you have to
write out procedures, data tables, and label graphs. Yes, you are expected to show a higher level of
understanding on ALL of your assignments. No, you may not write in ‘text-speak’
Absences:
AP courses are fast paced and cover a significant amount of content each day, particularly on lab and
test days. It is extremely important that you attend class every day. If you are ill, check the website, call
a friend, or email Mrs. Floyd. You are still responsible for the content covered in class on the day of your
absence.
Technology Usage Guidelines: My classes will use technology extensively. Assignments, notes, and resources
will be made available online as well as in downloadable, offline formats. Make sure to download any needed
materials before leaving school if Internet is not available at home. Students will only be able to use iPads when
permitted. STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE iPads in my classroom for the purpose of gaming or social
media.
They are to be used for educational purposes only that have been authorized by the teacher. Any
student that violates this policy will have his/her iPad taken up and turned in to the Media Center. Please keep
personal devices (cell phones) put away during class time.
Final Exam
Students in this course must take a final exam that will count 10% before the AP exam in May.
Grading Policy
Tests & Projects
Labs
Homework, writing, tasks, daily, & quizzes
Final Exam
AP EXAM DATE: MONDAY, MAY 11TH
40%
30%
20%
10%
COMMUNICATION INFORMATION:
*Parents and students are free to email me anytime at sfloyd@polk.k12.ga.us.
*Also, parents and students need to sign up for Remind. This is an app that that allows me to
send you reminders about important dates and information.
Please text @floydapbio to (720) 608-4464.
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