AP Biology 2015-2016
Union Academy
Lucinda Supernavage
 Email: [email protected]
 Website: http://www.lucindasupernavage.com
 Remind101: text @apbioua to 81010 or
email [email protected]
 Vocabulary Practice:
http://www.quizlet.com Search for AP
Biology Vocabulary Supernavage
 Cell Phone: 704.608.3143
Welcome to AP Biology! This is an introductory college-level biology
course with two main goals: to help you develop a conceptual
framework for modern biology and to gain a deeper appreciation of
science as a process (as opposed to an accumulation of facts). Because of
the rapid pace of discovery in the life sciences, our primary emphasis is on
developing an understanding of unifying concepts that connect the major
topics of biology.
Twenty-five percent of instructional time is devoted to hands-on laboratory work with an emphasis on
inquiry-based investigations. Investigations require students to ask questions, make observations and
predictions, design experiments, analyze data, and construct arguments in a collaborative setting, where
they direct and monitor their own progress.
Your instructor is here to help you learn this material, but you are the one who has to make the effort
and do the learning. Daily, active learning (thinking about the information, putting it in context and,
especially, putting it in your own words) is the most efficient and most effective way to learn. Your time
is valuable; make the best possible use of the time you spend studying for this course.
The AP Biology course is set up around and interwoven with the 4 big ideas.
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.
These big ideas are supported by enduring understandings. Essential knowledge and science practices
will help you comprehend those enduring understandings. Learning objectives are what you are tested
on and are a combination of essential knowledge and science practices.
Materials
 3 ring binder…as big as you can handle! To help you get organized and set up your binder:
 Put the following sheets at the front so they are easily accessible: this syllabus, formula
sheet, how to write a lab report.
 10 dividers for each topic listed in the chart on the third and fourth pages
 Pens and pencils and highlighters
 Calculator (simple, four-function, NOT graphing/programmable)
 Smiles, commitment, positive attitude, and motivation
Books
 Campbell Biology AP® Edition, 10th Edition ©2014 by Jane B. Reece, Lisa A. Urry, Michael L.
Cain, Steven A. Wasserman, Peter V. Minorsky, and Rober B. Jackson
 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot – will be read after the AP exam in May,
please purchase a copy
 5 Steps to a 5 AP Bio (newest edition) – purchasing a copy is highly recommended
 Pearson Education AP Test Prep Series AP Biology (newest edition) – purchasing a copy is highly
recommended
Grading
Each term will be graded by the following percentages.
 60% Tests – exams, lab reports, projects, free responses
 30% Quizzes – quizzes, vocabulary, some labs
 10% Classwork/Homework
 Examples of activities will include, but are not limited to:
o textbook chapter studies, notes
o vocabulary building
o writing lab reports or creating lab posters
o labs (full and mini)
o assessments (quizzes and exams)
o independent studies
o writing prompts (FRQs)
Each quarter will count as 20% of the year’s final grade and will end with a cumulative assessment called
a Measure of Mastery. (no midterm)
Final Exams will also count as 20% of the year’s final grade.
PLEASE NOTE:
SENIOR AP STUDENTS ARE NOT EXEMPT FROM THE FINAL EXAM…
EVEN IF THEY HAVE AN A IN THE COURSE AND 3 OR LESS ABSENCES!
Summer Assignment (see Mrs. Supernavage)
Make-Up Work
Exams
Students who are absent and excused on a scheduled exam day are responsible to make an appointment
with Mrs. Supernavage in order to make up the exam within two days of their return to class.
Homework
Homework assignments are due the next class period unless otherwise stated. Students who are absent
when homework is assigned will have two days following their return to class to complete the specific
assignment. Students who are present when homework is assigned, but are absent the day when the
assignment is due must submit the homework upon their return to class. Assignments turned in after
those deadlines will be considered late (see below).
Late Work
Homework or classwork that is checked for COMPLETION will receive a late grade (once completed) of
no higher than a 50%.
Incomplete Graded Work…THIS POLICY DOES NOT APPLY TO COMPLETION GRADES!
As part of the character education program, it is imperative that students learn the value of task
completion. Therefore, students are required to complete all assignments in order to receive credit for a
course. Students who do not submit all assignments will receive an incomplete in the class until the
assignments are completed. Students will not receive a “0” for missing work, and they will not receive a
grade in the class until all of the work is submitted.
 Student work is to be submitted on time
 Work not submitted on time is marked incomplete and reduced by one letter grade
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A student who fails to submit an assignment on time completes an incomplete assignment form,
and the teacher assigns the student a time to complete the work (during lunch, after/before
school, or during Saturday school).
Student does not receive grade or credit for course until all assignments are completed
Discipline
Students are asked to follow the 8 character traits of compassion, respect, initiative, optimism,
perseverance, adaptability, responsibility, and trust. Be mindful of the tardy policy and please come to
class prepared and on time. Be respectful of what we are trying to accomplish in class and in life and of
others, and always give your best effort with a positive attitude. Appropriate classroom behavior is
expected at all times; anything else will not be tolerated. Cheating refers to copying another person’s
work OR giving your work to someone else OR using restricted devices/materials and will result in an
automatic grade of zero and a parent contact. Electronic devices should be used for classwork only with
teacher permission. Cell phones will be collected during quizzes and exams. They must remain out of
sight and out of use all other times.
Information about the AP Biology Exam
 Section 1: 90 minutes, 63 multiple choice and 6 grid-ins, 50% of exam score
 Section 2: 90 minutes, 8 free response questions (1 long, 1 long, lab-based and 6 short), 50% of
exam score
 Date: Monday, May 9, 2016 at 8 am
 Exam Calendar & Fees: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/exam/calendar/index.html
 Create an account at https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/home
Course Overview
TOPIC
CHAPTER (Campbell)
TENTATIVE LABS
1) Ecology
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52. Introduction to Ecology
53. Population Ecology
54. Community Ecology
55. Ecosystems & Restoration Ecology
56. Conservation Biology & Global
Change
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Dissolved Oxygen
Population Genetics
Hardy-Weinberg
Chi Square
2) Chemistry of Life
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1: The Chemical Context of Life
2: Water & Life
3: Carbon & the Molecular
Diversity of Life
4: The Structure & Function of
Large Biological Molecules
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Transpiration
Organic Chemistry
Enzymes
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3) The Cell
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6: A Tour of the Cell
7: Membrane Structure & Function
8: Metabolism
11: Cell Communication
45: Hormones & the Endocrine System
12: The Cell Cycle
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Diffusion/Osmosis
Cell Communication
Mitosis & Chi Square
4) Energetics
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8: Metabolism
9: Cellular Respiration & Fermentation
10. Photosynthesis
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Energy Dynamics
Cellular Respiration
Photosynthesis
5) Mendelian
Genetics
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13: Meiosis & Sexual Life Cycles
14: Mendel & the Gene Idea
15: Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
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Meiosis
Chi Square
Artificial Selection?
6) First Semester
Independent Study:
Animal Form and
Function
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40: Basic Principles of Animal Form &
Function
41: Animal Nutrition
42: Circulation & Gas Exchange
43: The Immune System
44: Osmoregulation & Excretion
46: Animal Reproduction
47: Animal Development
48: Neurons, Synapses, & Signaling
49: Nervous Systems
50: Sensory & Motor Mechanisms
51: Animal Behavior
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Animal Behavior
Chi Square
7) Molecular Genetics
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16: The Molecular Basis of Inheritance
17: Gene Expression: From Gene to
Protein
18: Regulation of Gene Expression
19: Viruses
20: DNA Tools and Biotechnology
21: Genomes and Their Evolution
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Bacterial
Transformation
Population Genetics
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Hardy-Weinberg
Phylogeny
DNA/Evolution/Blast
Population Genetics
Chi Square
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Review
Photosynthesis
Review Transpiration
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8) Mechanisms of
Evolution
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22: Descent with Modification: A
Darwinian View of Life
23: The Evolution of Populations
24: The Origin of Species
25: The History of Life on Earth
9) The Evolutionary
History of Biological
Diversity
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26: Phylogeny & the Tree of Life
27: Bacteria & Archaea
28: Protists
29 & 30: Plant Diversity
31: Fungi
32: Animal Diversity
33: Invertebrates
34: Vertebrates
10) Second Semester
Independent Study:
Plant Form &
Function
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35: Plant Structure, Growth, and
Development
36: Resource Acquisition & Transport in
Vascular Plants
37: Soil & Plant Nutrition
38: Angiosperm Reproduction &
Biotechnology
39: Plant Responses to Internal &
External Signals
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