AP Biology Course Information Sheet
Instructor:
Julianne Sundstrom
833-3300 ext. #7092
sundstromjulianne@dublin.k12.ca.us
Required Books:
1) Biology 6th ed. Campbell & Reece, Benjamin Cummings Publisher (provided)
2) 5 Steps to a 5 AP Biology Review Manual by Mark Anestis, McGrawHill Publisher
3) AP Biology Lab Manual for Students 2001 – College Board
(The second 2 items must be purchased on your own – often you can get them
cheap/used on half.com or amazon.com. Please let me know if cost is a concern.)
Curriculum:
This course is designed to be the equivalent of a college introductory biology course usually taken
by biology majors during their first year. Some AP students, as college freshmen, are permitted to
undertake upper-level courses in biology or to register for courses for which biology is a
prerequisite. Other students may have fulfilled a basic requirement for a laboratory science course
and will be able to undertake other courses to pursue their majors.
AP Biology is an advanced course in Biology that is meant to be taken after successful completion
of both 10th grade Biology and a college prep Chemistry course. This course is meant to go farther
than the typical HS science course which often focuses on memorizing all of the facts pertaining to
the subject rather than the processes involved. This course also has an increased focus on the
design and performance of controlled experiments.
The AP Biology Curriculum is divided into three broad categories.

Molecules and Cells: Ch. 2-12 – Chemistry, Cells, Cellular Metabolism
o

Heredity and Evolution: Ch. 13-34 – Cell Division, Heredity, Molecular Genetics, Biotechnology, Evolution
o

AP Labs: #1-Diffusion and Osmosis, #2-Enzyme Catalysis, #4 Plant Pigments and Photosynthesis,
#5-Cell Respiration
AP Labs: #3-Mitosis and Meiosis, #6-Molecular Biology, #7-Genetics of Organisms, #8-Population
Genetics and Evolution
Organisms and Populations: Ch. 35-54 – Taxonomy, Plants, Animal Body Systems, Behavior, Ecology
o
AP Labs: #9-Transpiration, #10-Physiology of Circulatory System, #11-Animal Behavior, #12Dissolved O2 and Aquatic Primary Productivity
Our goal will be to cover from 1 to 3 chapters per week. This is a significant amount of
reading! Quizzes and/or tests are given weekly.
Semester Grades will be based on the following
50% Tests and Quizzes
30% Labs-AP Lab performance, formal lab reports and lab quizzes
20% HW/CW-Typically note-taking, end of chapter work, practice exam questions.
A comprehensive final will be given at the end of each semester. Second semester final
will be given before the AP exam. All students are highly encouraged to take the AP
exam in the Spring. All students are expected to set the goal of earning a 4 or 5 on the
AP exam!!!!
Summer AP Biology Work
1) Decide how you will organize your coursework. It is up to you whether you want
to use notebooks, folders, binder, expandable file folder, etc. On the first day of
school, you will be expected to present your plan for organization. It is suggested
that you organize based on the main units as outlined in your AP Review manual.
Your summer coursework should already be completed and organized into the
Ecology section by the time you show up to school in August.
2) Check the summer email account that you provided every few days for any updates.
Likely there will be emails about suggested materials to buy online and reminders
of when summer assignments should be completed.
3) Summer Assignments with suggested timeline for completion:
Ecology Unit
Reading with Cornell Notes
Ch. 50 An Introduction to
Ecology and the Biosphere
Ch. 51 Behavioral Biology
Practice
Self-Quiz p. 1119-1120 –
check your answers
Self Quiz p. 1149-1150 –
check your answers
Ch. 52 Population Ecology Self Quiz p. 1172-1173 –
check your answers
Ch. 53 Community Ecology Self Quiz p. 1196-1197 –
check your answers
Ch. 54 Ecosystems
Self-Quiz p. 1222-1223 –
check your answers
Ch. 55 Conservation
Self-Quiz p. 1246-1247 –
Biology
check your answers
Read the Ecology sections of the Review manual as you
review your notes. Do the practice questions. Write down
any questions you will want answered about the summer
material.
Suggested Due Date
Friday June 24th
Monday July 4th
Friday July 15th
Monday July 25th
Friday August 5th
Monday August 15th
First day of school
NOTE – When taking Cornell Notes, focus on the key concepts and the vocabulary
words in bold. Look at the Key Concepts at the end of each chapter and at the
Key Ideas in your Review Manual before you start taking notes. This will help
emphasize what the most important points are. DO NOT GET OVERDETAILED
IN YOUR NOTE-TAKING AS YOU WILL GET OVERWHELMED!!!
The first week of school will consist of an overview of the AP Exam, review of your
summer material and a test on the Ecology Unit, so BE PREPARED! Ecology is the
easiest unit for students, so we simply review and move on to more difficult material.
HAPPY SUMMER! I LOOK FORWARD TO SPENDING NEXT YEAR EXPLORING
COLLEGE LEVEL BIOLOGY WITH YOU!