CALENDAR OF CONCEPTS
Note: Dates are approximate and subject to change
Readings in
Biology, 7th
Theme/Time
Topics Covered
ed.
(Campbell)
SUMMER HOMEWORK
Ecology
50-54
An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere
Behavioral Ecology
1 week (in class)
- Genetics, Environment, Natural Selection
Population Ecology
- Density, Dispersion, Demography
Community Ecosystems
- Trophic Structure
Ecosystems
- Energy flow
- Nutrient cycles
Biochemistry
2 weeks
Exam: 8/23
Cells
3 weeks
Ch. 6 quiz: 8/30
Exam: 9/14 or
15
Photosynthesis
and Respiration
3 weeks
Cell Resp.Quiz
9/24
Exam 10/1
UNIT 1: MOLECULES AND CELLS
The Chemical Context of Life.
- Atoms and Periodic Table
- Types of Bonds
Water and the Fitness of the Environment
- Structure and properties
Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life
- Functional groups
The Structure and Function of Macromolecules
- Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids
An Introduction to Metabolism
- Enzyme structure and function
6, 7, 11, 12
A Tour of the Cell
- Prokaryotes vs. eukaryotes
- Plant vs. animal cells
Membrane Structure and Function
- Passive and active transport
Cell Communication
- Reception, transduction, and response
The Cell Cycle
- Phases and Checkpoints
9, 10
Respiration
- Glycolysis, citric acid cycle, electron transport chain
- Fermentation
Photosynthesis
- Light dependent reactions and Calvin Cycle
- Photophosphorylation, C4, CAM
2-5, 8
Labs/Class
activities
AP Lab #12:
Dissolved
Oxygen and
Aquatic
Primary
Productivity
AP Lab #2:
Enzyme
Catalysis
(8/19)
AP Lab #1:
Diffusion and
Osmosis
(9/1)
AP Lab #3
(9/10)
AP Lab# 5: Cell
Resp. (9/22)
AP Lab #4:
Plant Pigments
& Photosyn.
(9/29)
END OF Q1- FALL BREAK (Assignment includes text reading and questions)
Cellular
Reproduction
and Mendelian
Genetics
4 weeks
Quiz 10/15
Exam 10/27
Molecular
Genetics
UNIT II: GENETICS AND EVOLUTION
13-15
Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles
- Stages of Meiosis
Mendel and the Gene Idea
- Mendel’s Laws and Punnett squares
- Inheritance patterns
The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
- Recombination
- Eukaryotic chromosomes
16-20
4 weeks
Exam 11/22
Evolution
2 weeks
Plants: Diversity,
Anatomy, and
Physiology
4 weeks
The Molecular Basis of Inheritance
- Structure of DNA
- DNA replication
From Gene to Protein
- Transcription, translation
The Genetics of Viruses and Bacteria
- Viral and bacterial structure and replication
- Gene regulation
Eukaryotic Genomes: Organization, Regulation, and Evolution
- Organization of DNA
DNA Technology and Genomics
- Gel electrophoresis
- Restriction enzymes
- Applications of nucleic acid technology
AP Lab #7:
Drosophila
genetics
(10/14)
M&M’s and
Chi-square
Velcro DNA
AP Lab #6B:
Restriction
Analysis of
Lambda DNA
and Gel
Electrophoresis
AP Lab #6A:
Bacterial
Transformation
Week of 11/15
END OF Q2 – WINTER BREAK
Winter break assignment will include reading Survival of the Sickest by Dr. Sharon
Moalem.
22-25
Descent with Modification: A Darwinian View of Life
AP Lab #8:
- Darwin’s research and principles
Population
- Evidence for evolution
Genetics
The Evolution of Populations
- Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium conditions and
Breeding
equations (calculations practice)
Bunnies Lab
The Origin of Species
- Convergent, divergent, parallel evolution
- Directional, stabilizing, disruptive
Phylogeny and Systematics
UNIT III: ORGANISMSAND POPULATIONS
29, 30, 3539
How Plants Colonized Land
- Mosses, Ferns
- Alternation of Generation
The Evolution of Seed Plants
- Gymnosperms and Angiosperms
Plant Structure, Growth, & Development
- Differentiated Plant Cells
AP Lab #9:
Transpiration
Transport in Vascular Plants
- Transpiration and Stomata
Plant Nutrition
- Symbiotic relationships
- Soil exchange
Angiosperm Reproduction and Biotechnology
- Flower Structure and Germination
Plant Responses to Internal and External Signals
- Hormones, tropisms & environmental stress
Animals:
Diversity,
Anatomy, and
Physiology
8 weeks
41-49
Animal Nutrition
- Ingestion & Digestion
Circulation and Gas Exchange
- Open vs closed systems
- Vertebrate Circulatory Systems
- Respiratory
The Immune System
- Immunity
Osmoregulation and Excretion
- Fresh vs Marine Animals
- Kidney structure & function
Hormones and the Endocrine System
- Major Endocrine Glands
- Invertebrate Hormones
Animal Reproduction
- Asexual reproduction
- Reproductive organs
- Gametogenesis
Animal Development
- Fertilization, cleavage, gastrulation
- Organogenesis
Nervous Systems
- Neuron structure and function
- Neurotransmitters
- Brain structure and function
Sensory and Motor Mechanisms
- Types and functions of sensory receptors
- Taste vs smell
- Vertebrate vision
- Skeletons and muscle movement
AP Lab #11:
Animal
Behavior
AP Lab # 10:
Physiology of
the Circulatory
System
Thematic Approach:
All of the concepts covered in this class are related to one of the following AP themes.
Science as a Process:
Science is a way of knowing. It can
involve a discovery process using
inductive reasoning, or it can be a
process of hypothesis testing.
- All labs give students this practice as they clearly define a
problem of study, form a hypothesis, collect data, analyze and
interpret data, and form conclusions. In some of the labs, the
students will design their own experiments, including a fieldbased research project.
-
Evolution
Biological change of organisms that
occur over time is driven by the process
of natural selection. Evolution accounts
for the diversity of life on Earth.
-
Aerobic and anaerobic cell respiration
Discussion of introns
Endosymbiotic theory
Diversity of life and evolutionary trends
Reproductive methods
Animal embryonic development
Energy Transfer
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 cell.
-
Population dynamics
Cell respiration and fermentation
Photosynthesis
Continuity and Change
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.
-
Mitosis and Meiosis
Asexual and sexual reproduction
Alternation of generations in plants
Crossing over
Independent assortment and segregation
Mutations
Cloning
Transformation and transduction
Relationship of Structure and
Function
The structural levels from molecules to
organisms ensure successful functioning
in all living organisms and living
systems.
- Structure of water related to its properties
- Discussion of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids
- Relationship of membrane structure to neuron transmission and
muscle contraction
- Discussion of cells, tissues, organs in association with any plant
or animal system
- Structure of DNA related to replication
- Structure of tRNA
- Protein conformation and function
- Homologous structures
- Structure of a stomata
Primary productivity – Dissolved oxygen lab
Cell respiration lab
Regulation
Everything from cells to organisms to
ecosystems is in a state of dynamic
balance that must be controlled by
positive or negative feedback
mechanisms.
- Discussion of what regulates enzyme activity by various
inhibitors, product concentration, positive and negative feedback
- Regulation of cell respiration
- Regulation of photosynthesis
- Regulation of the cell cycle
- Regulation of gene expression by the promoter, operator,
- Transcription factors, inducers, repressors and methylation
- Regulation of stomatal closure in a plant
- Regulation of alternation of generations
Interdependence in Nature
Living organisms rarely exist or thrive
alone in nature.
-
Science, Technology and Society
Scientific research often leads to
technological advances that can have
positive and/or negative impacts upon
society as a whole.
- Biotechnology
- Genetically modified plant has environmental consequences of
toxic wastes and global warming
- Discussing pros and cons to gene therapy
- Discussion of stem cell research
Requirement for nutrients
Symbiotic, parasitic, and mutualistic relationships
Cell respiration and photosynthesis
Dissolved oxygen lab carried out in several aquatic environments
over time