AP® Biology
Instructor
Mrs. Deemer
Mission Statement
Email
The KOSD’s mission is to provide a safe learning environment that prepares critical
thinkers to become responsible and productive members of society.
deemer@kosd.org
Classroom Website
Google classroom AP
Biology 2015-16
Classroom Location
AP Biology Room 222
Chemistry Room 228
Course Overview
The AP®® Biology course is designed to offer students a solid curriculum in general
biology concepts. AP® Biology includes those topics regularly covered in a college
introductory biology course. By utilizing the big idea statements, enduring understandings,
and science practices to guide biology instruction, I assist students in developing an
appreciation for the study of life. The learning objectives and science practices in the AP ®
Biology Curriculum Framework help to guide the selection of instructional activities and
assessments. This course is designed to prepare students for the Biology College Board
Advanced Placement Exam.
.Required Text
Biology AP® Edition, 8ed. Campbell, Reece, et al.
Course Materials
 Lab Manual (will be provided)
 4 function calculator (with square root button- this is what must be used on AP® Exam)
 Large 3 ring binder
 Internet access is required (see me ASAP if this is a concern)
 Strongly recommend buying a test prep guide (we will discuss options in class)
 Graphing Calculators are not permitted to be used in the classroom. There are several reasons for this:
1. They are banned from the AP® Test.
2. We need to practice for the final test with the tools we’ll have with us on Test Day. We’re starting Day 1.
3. All sections of the AP® Biology Test have time constraints. Manipulating data takes longer on basic calculators
than it does on graphing calculators. A GREAT DEAL LONGER. By using basic calculators, we can begin
conditioning our pacing in accordance with time restrictions and the tools we have at our disposal. The
importance of this practice cannot be overstated.
4. Basic calculators are finicky, and we need to acquaint ourselves with their shortcomings and our own common
mistakes.
Mrs. Deemer
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Classroom 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.
 Students are expected to read required chapters in textbook prior to class discussion. KEEPING UP WITH THE
READING IS VERY IMPORTANT! Read your textbook nightly.
 Discussion is required.
 This class requires dedication and quite a bit of study time. You will get out of this class only what you are
willing to contribute! This is NOT a class where cramming the day before a test will work!
 Come to class! The work we will be doing during class cannot be replicated at home, labs in particular. Missed
labs are difficult to make up and, unless it is an excused (not unexcused or truant) absence, missed labs will be
given a zero.
 Students should expect to complete a MINIMUM of 5-8 hours of study OUTSIDE of class each week. Students
taking multiple AP® courses should be aware of the time commitment required by each.
Lab work
 Labs will constitute at least 25% of the course work. The new curriculum includes more emphasis on inquiry based
labs, which means you will design your own experimental procedures for a significant number of labs. In order to
have as authentic a lab experience as possible, you will keep a lab notebook to record procedures and
observations during labs. All labs will be done in pen. If you make a mistake, cross out (do not scribble out) the
information and rewrite. In the scientific world, lab notebooks are considered legal documents and all information
must be accessible. Lab notebooks will be assessed once per nine weeks.
 Students will be required to utilize various methods to convey the results of our lab experiments. These will
include, but are not limited to, formal lab reports, brief lab reports, lab mini-posters and analysis questions. A
formal lab report will include: title, introduction/background information, purpose, hypothesis, procedure,
data/results, analysis, question and conclusion. Students work in groups to complete lab procedures, but are
responsible for turning in individual lab reports. Students are encouraged to produce a high quality report and are
given a week from the conclusion of the lab to submit their report.
Homework
 Homework should be completed every night. Usually it will consist of reading assignments, viewing lectures
(Crash Course, 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 work
 Learning to budget your time and meet deadlines is a valuable job/life skill which students will need in the "real
world". LATE WORK IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. Failing to turn in assignments is NOT an option.
Assignments turned in after the due date will drop 1 letter grade each day. After papers have been graded and
returned to the class, the assignment will be worth 0%. Once a unit is finished and tested, homework from that
chapter WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Notebook
 This should be your best study tool! You will have information from many sources: lecture notes, video notes,
textbook notes and other activities. It will be collected and every unit test and given points for completeness and
neatness. Bring this to class every day!
Mrs. Deemer
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Test/Quizzes
 We will have unit tests at the end of each unit which will consist of multiple choice and free response. Tests are a
large part of your grade (similar to a college course) and it is important that you prepare for them. Keeping
current with lessons throughout the semester will help with test preparation. Unit test will be in the same format
as the AP® Exam and will be timed.
 There will be a quiz every week covering all material covered that week plus some questions from previous
chapters.
Make up work and Absences
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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 Ms. Deemer. You are still responsible for the content covered
in class on the day of your absence. Each of you is responsible for keeping up with your own make-up work and
missed material.
Daily, punctual attendance is extremely important to your success in this course.
Unexcused absences/tardies or failure to make up missed work in the required amount of time will result in zero
points for tests, quizzes, labs, homework, class work etc.
Missed class assignments need to be made up within the number of days absent from school (i.e. miss 2 days you
have 2 school days upon your return to make up missed work). Make-up labs are usually not offered due to the
nature of perishable lab materials and time requirements, however you will be required to fully complete the lab
with provided data or the equivalent.
If you are on a field trip or school related activity that keeps you from attending class it is your responsibility to get
all missed notes and assignments. If assignment is due that day then it is your responsibility to turn assignment in
on the day it is due. If not turned in on due date it will be treated like a late assignment NO EXCEPTIONS!!
If you are miss an exam, you must take the exam within one week of test day unless other arrangements have been
made. No test/quizzes will be made up during class time!!
If you enter school late with an excused tardy you must make up quiz that day after school or there will be an
automatic deduction of 10% from your grade.
Grading Policy
 I will be using a the following weighted grading scale:
o 30% Unit Exams/Tests
o 25% Weekly Quizzes
o 25% Lab and Lab reports
o 15% Homework/classwork
o 5% Special Projects
Extra Help
 I am available before/after school and at arranged times to answer student questions and provide help. You can
also come and see me if you have a study hall during my planning time (See me ahead of time for a pass) Please
arrange a time with me to come if you don't understand something. Please let me know anytime you have
concerns or questions.
Mrs. Deemer
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Academic Integrity
 High integrity and academic honesty is expected. Students should not do anything that would bring their integrity
into question. All assessments (homework, labs, quizzes, exams, projects, etc.) are expected to be completed
only by the student. Collaboration and teamwork is allowed on homework; however, individual work must
always be distinctly original from the lab partners’ work or zero credit will be earned. Always properly cite and
credit sources that are not your own (text, data, pictures, etc.). Copying work, full or in part, is in violation of the
academic honesty policies. DISHONESTY is not tolerated and will always result in a "0" on that
test/assignment. Students copying and students allowing others to copy their work are both academically
dishonest. Do not put your classmates in an uncomfortable position by asking to copy. Make the right choices!!
Final Note
 We’re going to have a lot of fun this year. As emerging adults, my goal is to give you a great deal of responsibility
both within and outside of the classroom. Although you are ultimately in charge of your own education, it is
important you know that I will always be there to support you in your responsibilities. Please treat the
responsibility with respect, and as always, take care of yourself, your friends, and your school.
4 Big Ideas of AP® Biology
1. The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
2. Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce and to maintain
dynamic homeostasis.
3. Living systems store, retrieve, transmit and respond to information essential to life processes.
4. Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.
7 Science Practices of AP® Biology
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 appropriate to a particular scientific
question.
5. The student can perform data analysis and evaluations 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 representation in
and across domains.
* The Big Ideas are further broken down into Enduring Understandings and Essential Knowledge. Please see
www.apcentral.collegeboard.com for further information.
Mrs. Deemer
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Syllabus and Pacing Guide
Below is a general outline of the units covered and labs opportunities. Additional activities and lab work will be added as
needed.
Unit 1 (Summer Assignment) (August 24-Sept 4)
 Chapter 3 Water and the Fitness of the Environment
 Chapter 4 Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life
 Chapter 5 The Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules
Unit 2 Biological Interactions (Ecology) (Sept 8- Oct 2)
 Chapter 52 Introduction to Ecology
 Chapter 53 Population Ecology
 Chapter 54 Community Ecology
 Chapter 55 Ecosystems
 Chapter 56 Conservation Biology and Restoration Ecology
 Labs:
o Animal Behavior lab
o Energy Dynamics lab
Unit 3 The Cell (Oct 5-Dec 4)
 Chapter 6 A Tour of the Cell
 Chapter 7 Membrane Structure and Function
 Chapter 8 An Introduction to Metabolism
 Chapter 9 Cellular Respiration :Harvesting Chemical Energy
 Chapter 10 Photosynthesis
 Chapter 11 Cell Communication
 Labs
o Diffusion and Osmosis
o Enzyme Activity
o Photosynthesis
o Cellular Respiration
o Cell Division
Unit 4 Genetics (Dec 7- Feb 5)
 Chapter 12 The Cell Cycle
 Chapter 13 Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles
 Chapter 14 Mendel and the Gene Idea
 Chapter 15 The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
 Chapter 16 The Molecular Basis of Inheritance
 Chapter 17 From Gene to Protein
 Chapter 18 Regulation of Gene Expression
 Chapter 19 Viruses
 Chapter 20 Biotechnology
 Chapter 21 Genomes and their Evolution
 Labs:
o Bacterial Transformation
o Restriction Enzyme Analysis of DNA
Mrs. Deemer
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Unit 5 Evolution and Biodiversity (Feb 8- March 25)
 Chapter 22 Descent with Modification: A Darwinian View of Life
 Chapter 23 The Evolution of Populations
 Chapter 24 The Origin of Species
 Chapter 25 The History of Life on Earth
 Chapter 26 Phylogeny and the Tree of Life
 Labs
o Artificial Selection
o Hardy Weinberg
o Comparing DNA sequences (BLAST)
Unit 6 Form and Function (March 28- April 15)
 Chapter 27 Bacteria and Archaea
 Chapter 35 Plant Structure, Growth, and Development
 Chapter 38 Angiosperm Reproduction
 Chapter 40 Basic Principles of Animal Form and Function
 Chapter 43 The Immune System
 Chapter 45 Hormone and Endocrine System
 Chapter 48 Neurons, Synapses, and Signaling
 Chapter 49 Nervous Systems
 Chapter 51 Animal Behavior
*** Exam Review April 18- May 6
AP® Biology Exam May 9, 2016
**Changes to the syllabus may occur throughout the school year if I feel they are necessary**
Mrs. Deemer
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