Unit 1:
AP Biology Investigation: Enzymes as Biological Catalysts
Estimated Time:
Biochemistry 15 Days
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Learning Objectives
Represent graphically or model quantitatively the exchange of molecules between an organism and its environment, and the subsequent use of these molecules to build new molecules that facilitate dynamic homeostasis, growth, and reproduction.
[LO 2.9, SP 1.1, SP 1.4]
Explain the connection between the sequence and the subcomponents of a biological polymer and its properties. [LO 4.1, SP 7.1]
Refine representations and models to explain how the subcomponents of a biological polymer and their sequence determine the properties of that polymer. [LO 4.2, SP 1.3]
Use models to predict and justify that changes in the subcomponents of a biological polymer affect the functionality of the molecule.
[LO 4.3, SP 6.1, SP 6.4]
Textbook Correlations

CH 2: The Chemical Context of Life ( prior knowledge ) o 2.1 Matter consists of chemical elements in pure form called compounds o 2.2 An elements properties depend on the structure of its atoms o 2.3 The formation and function of molecules depend on chemical bonding between atoms

CH 3: Water and the Fitness of the Environment ( prior knowledge ) o 3.1 The polarity of water molecules results in hydrogen bonding o 3.2 Four emergent properties of water contribute to
Earth’s fitness for life o 3.3 Acidic and basic conditions affect living organisms

CH 4: Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life o
4.1 Organic chemistry is the study of carbon compounds o 4.2 Carbon atoms can form diverse molecules by bonding to four other atoms o 4.3 A small number of chemical groups are key to the
Activities and Assessments

AP Biology Investigation: Enzymes as Biological
Catalysts
 completion of Student Study Guides (Campbell) for relevant sections of chapters 2 thru 5
 review test (not factored into grade) on CHs 2 and 3
 multiple choice quiz on CH 4 (multiple choice (MC))

“Chemistry of Water and Its Effects on Pond Ecology”
(group activity)
 practice “free response” essays from previous AP

Biology Exams (self-graded with AP Biology rubric) coloring sheets: The Structures of Carbohydrates,
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
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Proteins, Lipids, and Nucleic acids
“Toothpick-ase” enzyme modeling activity lab activity: “Enzymes as Biological Catalysts”
Unit Exam: CHs 4 and 5 (MC, short free-response
(SFR), and long free-response (LFR)

Unit 1:
AP Biology Investigation: Enzymes as Biological Catalysts
Biochemistry
Construct explanations based on evidence of how variation in molecular units provides cells with a wider range of functions.
[LO 4.22, SP 6.2]
Analyze data to identify how molecular interactions affect structure and function. [LO
4.17, SP 5.1]
 functioning of biological molecules
CH 5: The Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules o 5.1 Macromolecules are polymers, built from monomers o 5.2 Carbohydrate serve as fuel and building material o 5.3 Lipids are a diverse group of hydrophobic molecules o 5.4 Proteins have many structures, resulting in a wide range of functions o 5.5 Nucleic acids store and transmit hereditary information
Estimated Time:
15 Days

Unit 2:
Ecology
Laboratory Investigations

AP Biology Investigation: Animal Behavior

AP Biology Investigation: Dissolved Oxygen and Primary Productivity
Estimated Time:
15 Days
Essential Questions Addressed
 How do organisms use energy to maintain organization, growth, and reproduction?
 How do changes in available energy result in changes in population size and disruption to an ecosystem?
 How are biological systems from cells to populations, communities, and ecosystems affected by complex biotic and abiotic interactions involving the exchange of matter and energy?
 In what ways do communities interact within their environments that result in the movement of matter and energy?
 In what ways do interactions between and within populations influence patterns of species distribution and amount of local and global ecosystem changes over time?

How does the diversity of a species within an ecosystem influence the stability of the ecosystem?
Learning Objectives
Refine scientific models and questions about the effect of complex biotic and abiotic interactions on all biological systems, from cells and organisms to populations, communities, and ecosystems.
[LO 2.22, SP 1.3, SP 3.2]
Justify scientific claims, using evidence, to describe how timing and coordination of behavioral events in organisms are regulated by several mechanisms. [LO 2.39,
SP 6.1]
Analyze data to support the claim that responses to information and communication of information affect natural selection.
[LO 2.38, SP 5.1]
Materials and Textbook Correlations
 CH 51: Animal Behavior o 51.1 Discrete sensory inputs can stimulate both simple and complex behaviors o 51.2 Learning establishes specific links between experience and behavior o 51.3 Both genetic makeup and environment contribute to the development of behaviors o 51.4 Selection for individual survival and reproduction can explain most behaviors o 51.5: Inclusive fitness can account for the evolution of altruistic social behavior
 CH 52: Water and the Fitness of the Environment (prior knowledge) o 52.2 Interactions between organisms and the environment limit the distribution of species

CH 53: Population Ecology o 53.1 Dynamic biological processes influence population density, dispersion, and demographics o 53.2 Life history traits are products of natural selection o 53.3 The exponential model describes population growth in an idealized, unlimited environment
Activities and Assessments
 AP Biology Investigation: Animal Behavior

AP Biology Investigation: Dissolved Oxygen and Primary Productivity
 completion of Student Study Guides
(Campbell) for relevant sections of chapters
51 thru 56
 multiple choice quiz on CH 51
 multiple choice quiz on CH 52
 multiple choice quiz on CH 53
 multiple choice quiz on CH 54
 multiple choice quiz on CH 55
 practice “free response” essays from previous
AP Biology Exams (self-graded with AP Biology rubric)
 Unit Exam: CHs 51 thru 55 (MC, short freeresponse (SFR), and long free-response (LFR))

Unit 2:
Ecology
Laboratory Investigations

AP Biology Investigation: Animal Behavior

AP Biology Investigation: Dissolved Oxygen and Primary Productivity
Connect concepts in and across domain(s) to predict how environmental factors affect responses to information and change behavior. [LO 2.40, SP 7.2]
Design a plan for collecting data to show that all biological systems (cells, organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems) are affected by complex biotic and abiotic interactions. [LO 2.23, SP 4.2, SP 7.2]
Analyze data to identify possible patterns and relationships between a biotic or abiotic factor and a biological system (cells, organisms, populations, communities, or ecosystems). [LO 2.24, SP 5.1]
Justify the selection of the kind of data needed to answer scientific questions about the interaction of populations within communities. [LO 4.11, SP 1.4, SP 4.1]
Apply mathematical routines to quantities that describe communities composed of populations of organisms that interact in complex ways. [LO 4.12, SP 2.2]
Predict the effects of a change in the community’s populations on the community. [LO 4.13, SP 6.4] o 53.4 The logistic model describes how a population grows more slowly as it nears its carrying capacity o 53.5 Many factors that regulate population growth are density dependent o 53.6 The human population is no longer growing exponentially but is still increasing rapidly
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CH 54: Community Ecology o 54.1 Community interactions are classified by whatever they help, harm, or have no effect on the species involved o 54.2 Dominant and keystone species exert strong controls on community structure o 54.3 Disturbance influences species diversity and composition o 54.4 Biogeographic factors affect community biodiversity o 54.5 Community ecology is useful for understanding pathogen life cycles and controlling human disease
 CH 55: Ecosystems o 55.1: Physical laws govern energy flow and chemical cycling in ecosystems o 55.2: Energy and other limiting factors control primary production in ecosystems o 55.3: Energy transfer between trophic levels is typically only 10% efficient o 55.4: Biological and geochemical processes cycle nutrients between organic and inorganic parts of an ecosystem o 55.5: Human activities now dominate most chemical cycles on Earth
 CH 56: Conservation Biology and Global Change o 56.1: Human activities threaten Earth’s biodiversity o 56.4: Restoration ecology attempts to restore degraded to a more natural state
Estimated Time:
15 Days

Unit 2:
Ecology
Laboratory Investigations

AP Biology Investigation: Animal Behavior

AP Biology Investigation: Dissolved Oxygen and Primary Productivity
Use visual representations to analyze situations or solve problems qualitatively to illustrate how interactions among living systems and with their environment result in the movement of matter and energy.
[LO 4.15, SP 1.4]
Explain how the distribution of ecosystems changes over time by identifying large-scale events that have resulted in these changes in the past. [LO 4.20, SP 6.3]
Predict consequences of human actions on both local and global ecosystems.
[LO 4.21, SP 6.4]
Make scientific claims and predictions about how species diversity within an ecosystem influences ecosystem stability.
[LO 4.27, SP 6.4]
Estimated Time:
15 Days

Unit 3:
Cells
Laboratory Investigations

AP Biology Investigation: Diffusion and Osmosis

Investigation: Plant Cell Plasmolysis
Estimated Time:
20 Days
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
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Learning Objectives
Use calculated surface area-to-volume ratios to predict which cell(s) might eliminate wastes or procure nutrients faster by diffusion. [LO 2.6, SP 2.2]
Explain how cell size and shape affect the overall rate of nutrient intake and the rate of waste elimination. [LO 2.7, SP 6.2]
Justify the selection of data regarding the types of molecules that an animal, plant, or bacterium will take up as necessary building blocks and excrete as waste products.
[LO 2.8, SP 4.1]
Represent graphically or model quantitatively the exchange of molecules between an organism and its environment, and the subsequent use of these molecules to build new molecules that facilitate dynamic homeostasis, growth, and reproduction.
[LO 2.9, SP 1.1, SP 1.4]
Use representations and models to pose
Materials and Textbook Correlations
Campbell
 CH 6: A Tour of the Cell o 6.2: Eukaryotic cells have internal membranes that compartmentalize their functions o 6.3: The eukaryotic cell’s genetic instructions are housed in the nucleus o 6.4: The endomembrane system regulates protein traffic and performs metabolic functions in the cell o 6.5: Mitochondria and chloroplasts change energy from one form to another
 CH 7: Membrane Structure and Function o 7.1: Cellular membranes are fluid mosaics of lipids and proteins o 7.2: Membrane structure results in selective permeability o 7.3: Passive transport is the diffusion of a substance across a membrane with no energy investment
Activities and Assessments

AP Biology Investigation: Diffusion and
Osmosis


Investigation: Plant Cell Plasmolysis completion of Student Study Guides
(Campbell) for relevant sections of chapters 6 and 7
 multiple choice quiz on CH 6
 multiple choice quiz on CH 7
 practice “free response” essays from previous
AP Biology Exams (self-graded with AP Biology rubric)
 Unit Exam: CHs 6 and 7 (MC, short freeresponse (SFR), and long free-response (LFR)

Unit 3:
Cells
Laboratory Investigations

AP Biology Investigation: Diffusion and Osmosis

Investigation: Plant Cell Plasmolysis scientific questions about the properties of cell membranes and selective permeability based on molecular structure.
[LO 2.10, SP 1.4, SP 3.1]
Construct models that connect the movement of molecules across membranes with membrane structure and function.
[LO 2.11, SP 1.1, SP 7.1, SP 7.2]
Use representations and models to analyze situations or solve problems qualitatively and quantitatively to investigate whether dynamic homeostasis is maintained by the active movement of molecules across membranes.
[LO 2.12, SP 1.4]
Explain how internal membranes and organelles contribute to cell functions.
[LO 2.13, SP 6.2]
Use representations and models to describe differences in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. [LO 2.14, SP 1.4]
Construct explanations of cell communication through cell-to-cell direct contact or through chemical signaling. [LO 3.34, SP 6.2]
Create representation(s) that depict how cell-to-cell communication occurs by direct contact or from a distance through chemical signaling. [LO 3.35, SP 1.1]
Use representation(s) and appropriate models
Estimated Time:
20 Days

Unit 3:
Cells
Laboratory Investigations

AP Biology Investigation: Diffusion and Osmosis

Investigation: Plant Cell Plasmolysis to describe features of a cell signaling pathway. [LO 3.33, SP 1.4]
Estimated Time:
20 Days

Unit 5:
Evolution
Laboratory Investigations

AP Biology Investigation: Artificial Selection

AP Biology Investigation: Population Genetics Estimated Time:
15 Days
Learning Objectives
Predict how changes in free energy availability affect organisms, populations and ecosystems. [LO 2.3, SP
6.4]
Analyze data to identify how molecular interactions affect structure and function. [LO 4.17, SP 5.1]
Predict how changes in free energy availability affect organisms, populations, and ecosystems. [LO 2.3, SP 6.4]
Use representations to pose scientific questions about what mechanisms and structural features allow organisms to capture, store, and use free energy.
[LO 2.4, SP 1.4, SP 3.1]
Explain how biological systems use free energy based on empirical data that all organisms require constant energy input to maintain organization, to grow, and to reproduce. [LO 2.1, SP 6.2
Materials and Textbook Correlations
Campbell
 CH 8: An Introduction to Metabolism o 8.1: An organism’s metabolism transforms matter and energy, subject to the laws of thermodynamics o Section 8.2: The free-energy change of a reaction tells us whether or not the reaction occurs spontaneously o 8.3: ATP Powers cellular work by coupling exergonic reactions to endergonic reactions o 8.4: Enzymes speed up metabolic reactions by lowering energy barriers o 8.5: Regulation of enzyme activity helps control metabolism
 CH 9: Cellular Respiration: Harvesting Chemical Energy o 9.1: Catabolic pathways yield energy by oxidizing organic feuls o 9.2: Glycolysis harvests chemical energy by oxidizing glucose to pyruvate o 9.3: The citric acid cycle completes the energyyielding oxidation of organic molecules o 9.4: During oxidative phosphorylation, chemiosmosis couples electron transport to
ATP synthesis o 9.5: Fermentation and anaerobic respiration enable cells to produce ATP without the use of oxygen

CH 10: Photosynthesis o 10.1: Photosynthesis converts light energy to the chemical energy of food
Activities and Assessments
 AP Biology Investigation: Cellular Respiration

AP Biology Investigation: Photosynthesis

AP Biology Investigation: Transpiration
 completion of Student Study Guides (Campbell) for relevant sections of chapters 8, 9, and 10
 multiple choice quiz on CH 8
 multiple choice quiz on CH 9
 multiple choice quiz on CH 10
 practice “free response” essays from previous AP Biology
Exams (self-graded with AP Biology rubric)
 Unit Exam: CHs 8 thru 10 (MC, short free-response (SFR), and long free-response (LFR)
Estimated Time:
20 Days

Unit 5:
Evolution
Laboratory Investigations

AP Biology Investigation: Artificial Selection

AP Biology Investigation: Population Genetics o 10.2: The light reactions convert solar energy to the chemical energy of ATP and NADPH o 10.3: The Calvin cycle uses ATP and NADPH to reduce CO
2
to CH
2
O o 10.4: Alternative mechanisms of carbon fixation have evolved in hot, arid climates
Estimated Time:
15 Days
Estimated Time:
20 Days

Unit 5:
Evolution
Laboratory Investigations

AP Biology Investigation: Artificial Selection

AP Biology Investigation: Population Genetics Estimated Time:
15 Days
Estimated Time:
20 Days