AP® Biology
Overview of AP® Biology
Course Times:
The AP® Biology course meets 5 days a week. Four days are 42-minute periods devoted to
lecture, discussion and testing. The fifth day is an 88-minute double period for lab work.
Therefore, this course meets for 6 periods a week for a total of 256 minutes a week, of which at
least 88 are devoted to lab work.
Course Summary:
The AP® Biology course is built around the eight major themes of Biology: Science as a
Process, Evolution, Energy Transfer, Continuity and Change, Relationship of Structure to
Function, Regulation, Interdependence in Nature, and Science, Technology and Society. These
themes will be integrated throughout the course.
In any Biology course, and particularly in AP® Biology, the focus must be on evolution as the
unifying principle underlying all topics. In every unit, we will relate the topic being studied to
evolution – for example, how a process such as glycolysis unifies diverse groups of organisms
and indicates common ancestry; how any process or structural adaptation allows an organism to
survive to reproduce and pass its genes on to the next generation; how the incredible diversity
observable in living things today is a product of evolution by natural selection.
In AP® Biology, the students will perform the 12 AP® labs found in the AP® Biology Lab
Manual for Students, and will also perform selected other labs as determined by the instructor.
The time spent on lab work will allow the students to directly observe biological phenomena,
while developing observation and data analysis skills.
Lab activities are hands-on so that students can experience the process of science, not just the
results. During lab activities, students will develop and test hypotheses, collect, analyze and
present data and clearly present their results. Lab reports will include discussion of the
aforementioned areas and also clearly presented tables and graphs.
Textbook:
Biology
Seventh Edition, AP Edition, 2005
Campbell, Neil A., and Jane B. Reece
Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ
Lab Manual:
AP Biology Lab Manual for Students
College Board
Timeline:
Summer Homework
Read Chapters 1 & 2, Test will be given on the second day of school
Read Chapters 3 and 4 in preparation for the first week of school
Unit 1 – Basic Chemistry, Biochemistry – 6 Days
Chapters 3, 4, 5
Topics:
• Polarity of water, and its importance to biological systems
• Cohesion, Adhesion, High Specific Heat of water and the importance
to biological systems
• Acids, Bases and buffers
• Carbon compounds – the tetravalence of carbon, leading to great
molecular diversity in biomolecules
• Functional groups and their importance in biomolecules
• Monomers and Polymers, Dehydration synthesis and Hydrolysis
• Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, Nucleic Acids
Labs/Activities
• Protein Model Kits – These will allow students to effectively visualize
the four levels of protein structure and how a protein’s native
conformation is determined via interactions of the amino acid side
chains.
I use the kits made by 3D Molecular Design, and have modified a handout
originally created by the Center for BioMolecular Modeling at the Milwaukee
School of Engineering. I borrow these kits from the Princeton University
Extension.
Unit 2 – Cells – 11 Days
Chapters 6, 7, 11
Topics
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Prokaryotes vs. Eukaryotes
Evolution of Eukaryotes – Endosymbiont Hypothesis
Eukaryotic Organelles – structure and function
Structure of the Plasma Membrane, Selective Permeability
Methods of Transport – diffusion, osmosis, facilitated diffusion, active
transport, bulk transport
Cell communication – signals and receptors, responses
Labs/Activities
• AP Lab 1 – Diffusion and Osmosis
Unit 3 – Cellular Energetics – 14 Days
Chapters 8, 9, 10
Topics
• Metabolic Pathways – catabolism, anabolism
• 1st and 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, Free Energy
• ATP – structure and function
• Enzymes – Activation Energy, Specificity
• Enzyme Regulation – Inhibition, Allosteric Regulation
• Redox reactions as they will be seen in respiration and photosynthesis
• Cellular Respiration – Glycolysis, Citric Acid Cycle, Electron
Transport Chain and Chemiosmosis
• Fermentation
• Photosynthesis – Light Reactions, Calvin Cycle, C4 and CAM plants
• Conservation of the Glycolytic Process across Kingdoms – evidence
for common ancestry
Labs/Activities
• AP Lab 2 – Enzyme Catalysis
• Enzymes Everywhere – this simulation of enzyme action will
demonstrate the factors affecting enzymes and will serve as an
introduction the Enzyme Catalysis lab
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I have combined several enzyme simulations into this activity. This activity
includes information and diagrams from the Biology Coloring Workbook by I.
Edward Alcamo, Ph.D., Princeton Review Publishing, 1998. I also have
modified the “Toothpickase” lab found at
http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/mcvittiej/bio30unit1/handouts/tooth
pickase.htm, which in turn was modified from Toothpickase Biochemistry:
Experiments with Enzyme Kinetics found at http://www.flinnsci.com/index.
AP Lab 5 – Cell Respiration
AP Lab 4 – Plant Pigments and Photosynthesis
Unit 4 – DNA, RNA and Protein Synthesis – 6 Days
Chapters 16, 17
Topics
• Discoveries leading up to our present understanding of DNA –
Griffith, Avery, Chargaff, Pauling, Franklin, Watson & Crick
• DNA Structure and Replication
• RNA Structure
• Protein Synthesis – Transcription and Translation
• RNA processing
• Mutations and the basis for Natural Selection
Labs/Activities
• DNA Extraction
• Protein Synthesis Modeling – Students will model the processes of
transcription and translation, allowing them to visualize protein
synthesis
This activity combines information and diagrams from the Biology Coloring
Workbook by I. Edward Alcamo, Ph.D., Princeton Review Publishing, 1998,
with a simulation of protein synthesis that I designed.
Unit 5 – Mitosis and Meiosis – 5 Days
Chapters 12, 13
Topics
• Cell Cycle and Mitosis – What happens in each stage
• Chromosome structure
• Control of the cell cycle
• Sexual vs. Asexual Reproduction and Evolutionary Advantages
• Sexual Life cycle
• Stages of Meiosis
• Events that lead to Genetic Variation in offspring
• Evolutionary Importance of Genetic Variation
Labs/Activities
• AP Lab 3 – Mitosis and Meiosis
Unit 6 – Genetics – 9 Days
Chapters 14, 15
Topics
• Mendel – Segregation, Independent Assortment
• Punnett Squares and problem solving
• Other inheritance patterns – Incomplete dominance, Multiple Alleles,
Codominance, Epistasis, Pleiotropy, Sex-Linked inheritance, Sexinfluenced traits
• Pedigree analysis and Genetic counseling
• Morgan and Chromosome theory
• Gene linkage and Gene mapping
• Chromosomal mutations
Labs/Activities
• AP Lab 7 – Genetics of Organisms
• Human Genetic Traits – Students will survey traits found in the class,
construct and analyze a karyotype and perform pedigree analysis
This is Lab 15 in Biology in the Laboratory, 3rd edition; Helms, Doris R., Carl
W. Helms, Robert J. Kosinski, John R. Cummings; W.H. Freeman and
Company, New York, NY, 1998
Unit 7 – Molecular Genetics – 6 Days
Chapters 18, 19, 20
Topics
• Viral Life cycles and Evolution
• Viral diseases
• Bacterial genomes and Evolution
• Gene expression in Bacteria – operons
• Eukaryotic DNA Packaging – nucleosomes and histones
• Regulation of Gene Expression in Eukaryotes
• DNA Technology – Restriction Enzymes and Recombinant DNA,
PCR, Gel Electrophoresis
• Practical Applications of DNA Technology
Labs/Activities
• pGLO Transformation – Students will transform E. coli with the
pGLO plasmid, demonstrating molecular biology techniques
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I use the pGLO Bacterial Transformation Kit from Bio-Rad and the student
materials they provide.
AP Lab 6 – Molecular Biology
Virtual Transgenic Flylab – online activity from the Howard Hughes
Medical Institute – Students create virtual transgenic fruit flies and use
them in virtual experiments on circadian rhythms
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/vlabs/transgenic_fly/
Unit 8 – Evolution – 12 Days
Chapters 22, 23, 24
Topics
• Foundations for Darwin’s work – Hutton, Lyell, Lamarck
• Darwin’s Voyage – His specimens and observations
• Evolution by Natural Selection
• Evidence for Evolution – homologous structures, vestigial structures,
biochemical and genetic similarities
• Population Genetics – Gene pools, Allele frequencies
• Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
• Genetic Drift
• Speciation – Reproductive Isolation, Adaptive Radiation
Labs/Activities
• AP Lab 8 – Population Genetics and Evolution
Unit 9 – Phylogeny and Biological Diversity – 6 Days
Chapters 25, 26
Topics
• Phylogenies – Homologous and Analagous structures, Molecular
homologies
• Systematics, Cladistics, Phylogenetic Trees
• Molecular Clocks and Gene Evolution
• Early Life on Earth
• Evolution of Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes
• Evolution of Multicellularity
Unit 10 – Plants – 12 Days
Chapters 29, 30, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39
Topics
• Adaptations that allowed Plants to colonize Land
• Basic structures of Seed Plants
• Basic plant structures – roots, stems, leaves
• Transport in Plants – Transpiration
• Factors necessary in Plant Nutrition
• Angiosperm reproduction
• Plant responses to hormones, light and other stimuli
• Plant defenses
Labs/Activities
• AP Lab 9 – Transpiration
Unit 11 – Animals – 7 Days
Chapters 32, 33, 34, 40
Topics
• Characteristics of Animals
• Animal body plans and evolution thereof
• Invertebrate Structure and Physiology – Sponges, Cnidarians,
Molluscs, Annelids, Nematodes, Arthropods, Echinoderms
• Vertebrate Structure and Physiology – Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles,
Birds, Mammals
• Animal Form and Function – Levels of Organization, Energy Use,
Maintenance of Homeostasis
Labs/Activities
• Fetal Pig Dissection
Unit 12 – Digestion, Circulation, Gas Exchange, Excretion – 9 Days
Chapters 41, 42, 44
Topics
• Digestive Organs and Processes
• Circulatory Organs and Processes
• Respiratory Organs and Processes
• Excretory Organs and Processes
• Evolution of these organs and processes through Natural Selection –
for example, villi/microvilli allowing more efficient nutrient
absorption would increase chances of survival and be selected for
Labs/Activities
• AP Lab 10 – Physiology of the Circulatory System
• Sheep Heart Dissection
Unit 13 – Immune Function, Hormonal Control – 6 Days
Chapters 43, 45
Topics
• Body Structures involved in Immunity
• Humoral vs. Cell-Mediated Immunity
• Hormonal regulation of bodily processes
• Body Structures involved in Endocrine control
Unit 14 – Reproduction and Development – 6 Days
Chapters 46, 47, 21
Topics
• Asexual vs. Sexual Reproduction
• Reproductive Organs – Structure and Function
• Fetal Development – Cleavage, Gastrulation, Organogenesis
• Cell-Fate Determination during development
• Hormonal Control of Development
• Genetic Control of Development
• Conservation of Developmental Genes and Processes across Species
Unit 15 – Nervous Control, Musculoskeletal Function – 3 Days
Chapters 48, 49
Topics
• Nervous System Structures
• Neural Communication – Action potential, neurotransmitters
• Brain Anatomy and Function
• Sensory Receptors
• Musculoskeletal structures and functions
Labs/Activities
• Sheep Brain Dissection
Unit 16 – Ecology – 17 Days
Chapters 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55
Topics
• Biotic vs. Abiotic factors
• Environmental influences on organismal behavior patterns – Natural
Selection for these behaviors
• Population Growth – Exponential Growth vs. Logistic Growth
• Regulation of Population Growth – Density Dependent and Density
Independent Limiting Factors
• Interactions within a Community – Trophic levels, Symbiosis, and
how these interactions lead to evolution of all species involved
• Nutrient Cycles
• Energy flow within an Ecosystem
• Human influences on the Environment
• Societal and Environmental Concerns
• Conservation efforts
Labs/Activities
• AP Lab 11 – Animal Behavior
• AP Lab 12 – Dissolved Oxygen and Aquatic Primary Productivity
• Human Population Ecology: Demography – Students analyze
interment data from www.interment.net and make conclusions as to
the changes in human life spans over the 20th century.
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I found this activity at
http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/demography.html
The Natural Selection of Forks and Beans – Students will simulate the
interactions between predators (plastic knives, forks and spoons) and
prey (lima beans, pinto beans, and lentils). They will draw
conclusions as to the selective advantage or disadvantage each form
will encounter and make predictions as to the future of each
population.
I modified the activity “The Natural Selection of Forks and Beans” which can be
found at http://www.accessexcellence.com/AE/ATG/data/released/0279MikeBasham/index.html