Instructor: Lisa Nolte
Email: lisa.nolte@dcsdk12.org
Phone: 303-387-3500
Website: www.noltescience.com
General
 Always be respectful of others.
 Always come to class prepared to work.
 Always do your best.
 Always observe the safety rules-see safety sheet!
Supplies
 Textbook
 Binder (2-3inch ring) with dividers for each unit
 Notebook paper, loose leaf graph paper
 Pens, pencils, colored pencils
 Index cards for vocab words (optional)
 Four function calculator for AP Exam
 Review Book-optional-good choices are from Kaplan and Princeton Review
Grading
 You will be graded primarily on tests, quizzes, lab work, and other assignments.
 Course grades will be calculated as 60% tests/proficiencies, 25% graded work (labs, some quizzes,
and other assignments), and 15% responsibility grades (completion and participation). The fall
final exam is worth 20% of the semester grade. The spring final exam will be the Mock and will
also be worth 20%.
 The grading scale is as follows:
A: 100-90%
B: 89-80%
C: 79-70%
D: 69-60%.

The grade program in IC is set up to automatically round at 0.5. This is a college level class so the
work will be challenging. With good effort on your part, there will be sufficient opportunities to
achieve the grade that you are hoping for in this class. Therefore, I will not “bump” grades at the
end of the semester.
Attendance
 Students are expected to be in attendance daily. With this being an AP level course, an absence
results in a great deal of missed class time and work.
 Absences must be called into the office or they are unexcused. You will receive no credit for any
work missed during an unexcused absence.
 Make sure to access the calendar on my website for work missed.
Makeup Work
 Any labs, quizzes, and exams from an excused absence are to be made up within one week to
receive credit. Make-ups will not be during class time.

It is difficult to miss lab days. You will need to arrange a time when you can make up the lab.
This must be done prior to the day when the final lab report is due. You will be able to complete
some make-up labs individually. However, some labs are difficult to complete by yourself. You
will need to recruit someone from class to come with you during the make-up time.
Assignments
 Work must be turned in on time. NO LATE assignments will be accepted. You will typically
have plenty of time to complete an assignment, especially labs. If you are going to be absent on
the day something is due, please make arrangements to get your work turned in on time.
Preparation
 Read/outline the assigned reading and complete the reading guide before the lecture. This will
allow you to be familiar with the material that will be covered. There will typically be a quiz
over the material.
 There will be a vocabulary (roots, prefixes, suffixes) quiz every Tuesday when class begins.
 Bring materials with you to class every day!
 Take good lecture notes. The lectures are available on my website. You can print out the
PowerPoints and the lecture guide if you wish. You may want to bring them to use and write on in
class. But it will probably be a good idea to recopy the notes.
 You will need to print out the reading guides for the chapter to complete at home.
 You will need to create a study group with 2-3 other students. Exchange phone numbers so that
you may contact each other to study, get help with homework, etc. This group will be different
from your lab group which will continually change.
 Success in AP Biology will be determined by how much you are willing to do your part! 
Tentative Outline for 2015-2016
Units 1 & 2: Molecules, Cells, and Energy
August 10-Oct 9
Molecules
 Chemical Bonds
 Water
 Functional Groups
 Carbohydrates
 Lipids
 Proteins
 Free Energy Change
 Enzymes
Function of enzymes
Active site function
Kinetics
Influence of temperature, pH
Enzyme regulation (inhibitors)
 Chemical Cycling
Text Chapters 2-5, 8, & 55
History of Life
 Macromolecules joining to form life
Text Chapter 25


RNA first genetic material?
Age of Earth
Cells
 Cell Theory
 Animal Cell Structure
 Plant Cell Structure
 Prokaryotes vs. Eukaryotes
 Membranes
Plasma membrane function
Fluid mosaic model
Active and Passive Transport
 Cell communication
Text Chapters 6, 7, & 11
Immunity
 Acquired and Innate response
 Self vs. Non-self
Text Chapter 43
Cellular energetics
 Structure/function of mitochondria
 ATP-Anabolism vs. Catabolism
 Stages of Respiration (O2 present)
 Fermentation (no O2 present)
Anaerobic respiration
 Photosynthesis
 Compare/contrast to respiration
Text Chapters 8-10
Units 3 & 4: Heredity, Genetics, and Evolution
Oct 9-Dec 18
Molecular Basis of Inheritance
 Molecular Genetics
Structure/function of DNA and RNA
 Protein synthesis
 Mutations
Text Chapters 16 & 17
Mitosis and Meiosis
 Structure of a Eukaryotic Chromosome
 Cell Cycle
 Mitosis
 Cancer
 Meiosis and Gametogenesis
Text Chapters 12 & 13
Mendelian Genetics
 Mendel’s laws and inheritance patterns
Monohybrid, dihybrid, sex linkage
3:1 and 9:3:3:1
 Gene linkage
Text Chapters 14 & 15
Molecular Genetics
 Central dogma
 Gene expression:
Transcription
Translation
 Effects of Mutation
 Viral structure and replication
 Recombinant DNA technology
Text Chapters 17-20
Evolutionary Biology
 Origin of life-biological models
Where did the building blocks originate?
 Evidence of evolution
Fossil record
Comparative anatomy, embryology
Molecular clocks
 Mechanism of evolution
Populations: Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium/Dynamics
Natural selection, mutation, migration in/out
Micro/macroevolution
Text Chapters 22-25
Units 5-8: Organisms and Populations_________________________2nd Semester______________
Biological diversity
Microbiology (prokary, eukary) BLAST
Text Chapters 25-27, 29, 30
Plant diversity
Transpiration, flower dissection with fruits, plant growth lab
Text Chapters 35-39
Animal diversity
Daphnia or fish (heart rate), survey animal phyla, dissection
Text Chapters 32-24, 40-49
Ecology
Text Chapters 50-55
Animal behavior (fruit flies, pill bugs), (taxis, kinesis, agonistic behaviors), termites, communities and
ecosystems
I have read and understand the policies in Mrs. Nolte’s AP Biology class. I will do my best to adhere
to these guidelines. This signed sheet must be returned and then will be kept in the student’s binder.
Student Name (print): ____________________________________
Student Signature: ______________________________________
Parent Signature: _______________________________________
Date: ______________