ADVANCED PLACEMENT/DUAL CREDIT BIOLOGY HANDBOOK
Central High School 2014-2015
TABLE of CONTENTS
Table of Contents
Introductory Letter
Course Outline and Description
Grading Policy and Assignments
Using Turnitin.com
How to Write Abstracts
How to Correct Exams
SQWR Notes
What to Do If You are Frustrated
SAISD Honor Code, Grading Policy and Late Work Policy
Signature Sheet—Parent and Student
Goal Setting
1
3
4-6
6
7
8
9-12
13
14-16
17
18
ADVANCED PLACEMENT BIOLOGY HANDBOOK
Dear AP Biology Students and Parents,
This handbook has been prepared for you so you will become familiar with the
Advanced Placement Program® and understand the requirements for success. I have
included as much information as possible to help you.
The Advanced Placement Program® is designed to allow high school students to
obtain college credit and/or advanced placement in college. The credit is earned by
examination. The AP Biology Exam is given in May to over 100,000 students. The score
range is 1-5. A score of 3 is usually acceptable to most colleges and universities. About
70% of the students who take the exam earn a 3 or better. Most of the exam is based on
course content, but critical thinking skills are required to successfully complete the
majority of the exam. Much of the exam involves laboratory-based questions, which may
involve the demonstration of an understanding of experimental design, graphing, data
analysis, prediction, etc. We will work on these skills throughout the year.
Since this course is a college-level course taught to high school students it is
very demanding. Universities expect the course to be the equivalent of a freshman
Biology course. Universities differ in their acceptable exam score requirements
depending on whether the student plans to major in science or not. If you are concerned
about this contact the college or university you plan to attend and find out their policy.
For those of you who are not familiar with AP courses, you should be aware of
some expectations beyond what is required in a regular course. All students are required
to take the AP Exam (even if you are registered as a dual credit student). The fee is
between $50.00 and $80.00 and the exam date is Monday, May 9, 2016. Each student
will be required to read and learn materials outside of the text that might not be covered
in lecture. Each student will be required to learn to use and read current scientific
literature. Students will need to spend time outside class to study, read and work on
assignments. In a typical college level science course, a student would spend around 7
contact hours weekly in class. Since we are expected to cover at least the same amount
of material, much of the learning is necessarily accomplished independently by the
student outside of class.
Attendance is extremely important in AP Biology. Material is covered very quickly
and in much more detail than in Biology. Excessive absences for whatever reason
(excused or unexcused) will jeopardize your chances of success in this course.
Laboratory work is almost impossible to make-up and will be included on unit tests. If
students are absent on a lab day, they may not understand the concepts well enough to
answer questions on quizzes and tests. It is important if you are absent to find a time to
see me at school or to email about the material you missed. I understand that some
students are necessarily busy with extracurricular activities and I will do my best to
schedule major labs and tests around the majority of the students. Students are
provided with a detailed calendar of assignments for 2 weeks at a time. Students are
encouraged to look ahead and plan to complete their assignments early if they know
they will be very busy or have a conflict at a particular time during the course. Time
management is an extremely important skill to learn and is best learned before being on
your own at a university.
We will be using the Internet daily in the course since that is the way students will
be able to access their textbooks. Weekly required assignments must be completed
online. Students who cannot connect to the internet from home can use the computers
in the school library and the public library.
AP BIOLOGY GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION
2015-2016
This is a college-level course taught in high school. At the end of the year, students are
given a standardized exam, which will determine their eligibility for college credit. Students must
exercise exceptional organizational skills in order to meet the demands of this course. The course
is organized into major instructional areas as shown below. The material reflects the curriculum
standards set by the college board for this course.
Title
1
Science
Processes &
Biochemistry
2
Cells
3
Energetics
4
Cell Signaling
5
Cell Cycle &
Heredity
6
Evolution
7
Molecular
Biology
8
Ecology
Textbook Ch/ Section
1
2
4
6
7
48
50
8
9
10
36
11
45.3
45.1-2
39
43
12
13
46
14
15
16
22
23
24
26
25
25
17
18
18.5
19
20
21
51
53
52
55
56
Title
Evolution, the Themes of Biology, and Scientific
Inquiry
Chemical Context of Life
Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life
A Tour of the Cell
Membrane Transport
Homeostasis
Neurons, Synapses and Signaling
Muscle Contraction
Intro to Metabolism
Cell Respiration & Fermentation
Photosynthesis
Resource Acquisition in Plants
Cell Signaling
Endocrine System
Sex Hormones and Development in Animals
Plant Responses
Immune System
Cell Cycle
Meiosis & Sexual Life Cycles
Animal Reproduction
Mendel and the Gene Idea
Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
Molecular Basis of Inheritance
Descent with Modification
Evolution of Populations
Origin of Species
Broad Patterns of Evolution
Phylogeny
Early Life & Diversification of Prokaryotes
Origin & Diversification of Eukaryotes
Gene Expression
Regulation of Gene Expression
Development, Stem Cells and Cancer
Viruses
Genetic Engineering
Genomes and Their Evolution
Behavior
Population Ecology
Species Interactions
Ecosystems and Energy
Global Ecology and Conservation
GRADING POLICY AND ASSIGNMENTS
Supplies Needed:
1. Bound composition notebook—will stay in classroom
2. Bound composition notebook—use for collecting lab data and lab planning
3. Large spiral notebook for SQWR’s
4. Internet access
Each student’s six-week’s grade will be based on the following:
Exams, Labs, Projects and Abstracts
Classwork, Reading Quizzes and Homework
60%
40%
All students will take the Fall semester exam. By taking the Semester Exam in the Fall, students
have an opportunity to review a good deal of material that will be on the AP exam. Since
students will be taking the AP Exam in the Spring there will be no Spring semester exam (i.e. you
are exempt) provided the student registers and takes the AP Exam on May 9.
Where to find your assignments:
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Most of your assignments are found on my class website:
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You may be responsible for downloading some of your assignments and printing them so
they can be completed.
I will not be able to lecture slowly enough in class for you to write down everything!
It is important that you get used to having much of your work online. When you go to
college next year, many classes you take will require you to download work and submit
much of your work online.
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**How to turn in work when absent**
1. If you know about your absence ahead of time (i.e school trips, college visits, planned
trips with family) I expect you to turn in the work you know is assigned BEFORE you
leave. If you will be missing a test, you are expected to make arrangements with me for
a makeup time BEFORE you leave. You will not necessarily be required to take the test
before you leave but you need to set a time/date for the test.
2. If you are sick or miss class unexpectedly because of an emergency, I expect you to
turn your work in and/or make up tests ON THE DAY YOU RETURN unless you have
contacted me ahead of time and made alternate arrangements.
3.
Textbook Reading, Note-taking and Study Guides:
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You will be expected to read and take notes on each chapter. These should be kept in a
spiral separate from other work. These notes will be turned in for a grade and may be
used on a chapter quizzes. I am providing you information on how to effectively take
notes from a textbook with a method called SQWR. Please use the assigned method
when preparing your notes.
It is okay if you work in study groups, but ALL ANSWERS AND ALL NOTES MUST BE
YOUR OWN!
These assignments must be turned in on time (i.e. at the beginning of your class on the
due date).
Since you will know the due dates in advance, you are expected to turn in your work the
day you return from an absence.
You will be given a calendar at least one two weeks ahead of time and will not be given
verbal reminders of when work is due. I rarely ever change the calendar for AP
Biology—please don’t EXPECT to see changes just because everyone is busy
Abstracts
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Current scientific literature relevant to the topics being discussed are assigned to be read
and abstracted for each unit.
Specific instructions for completing abstracts are found in this handbook.
Often, questions on the AP exam include new scientific information that relates to topics
that are expected to be covered in class. Students are expected to be able to read and
review new information, critically analyze results and apply that information to various
situations.
You are expected to summarize the paper in your own words! Do not take several
sentences from the paper and piece them together!
Abstracts will be graded based on two criteria:
(1) Completing the assignment in the correct format
(2) Thoroughness and ability to accurately summarize information in the paper
These assignments must be turned in on time (i.e. by the assigned time to
www.turnitin.com).
Since these are considered major assignments, you may not turn them in late. Leaving
town or missing school unexpectedly does NOT mean you get extra time on these
assignments. Plan ahead when you know you will be busy and DO NOT wait until the
last minute to submit these. I will not make allowances for technical/computer issues that
occur in the few hours before this assignment is due!
Lab Assignments:
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Directions for formal lab write-ups are found in this handbook. You will be given
directions when a formal lab write-up is expected. You will not prepare a formal report for
every lab.
These assignments must be turned in on time (i.e. at the beginning of your class on the
due date). These are considered major assignments and cannot be turned in late.
Pre-labs are not accepted late for any reason and will result in your inability to
participate in the lab!!
Since you will know the due dates in advance, you are expected to turn in your work the
day you return from an absence.
Some lab activities cannot be made up because the materials will not keep very long, but
you are still responsible for completing the lab questions or write up. If you are absent on
a lab day, you are expected to get lab data from someone in class in order to complete
the lab and turn it in on the assigned day.
Quizzes
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Almost all of the quizzes will be taken online in Mastering Biology. Quizzes will be
timed (usually around 10 minutes) and are to be taken right after your SQWR is due.
You should use the SQWR on the reading quiz. You are expected to complete the quiz
on your own. Most of these quizzes will be taken BEFORE the material is covered in
class to ensure you are reading and interacting with the textbook!
Some quizzes will be during class and will not be announced ahead of time. These
quizzes will be used to assess whether you have mastered important concepts that we
have been working on in class. Consequently, it is important to try to manage your time
and not get behind.
Quizzes may be short answer, multiple choice or a free response question from a
previous AP Exam.
Quizzes assigned in mastering biology must be completed BEFORE 8am on the day it
is due. The computer WILL NOT let you take the quiz after the due date/time.
Therefore, quizzes cannot be taken late. It is your responsibility to get the quizzes taken
whether you are in class or not. If you are going out of town and internet service is
questionable, please do them before you leave. You have access to all of the quizzes on
the first day of school.
Unit Exams:
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It is important that you keep up with your assignments and work on studying a little bit
each day. There is too much information for you to try to “cram” all of your studying into a
few hours before the exam. If you try to do the “cramming” method, you will hurt yourself
in the long run because you will be unable to remember the material long term (i.e. for the
AP exam in May). You will be more likely to retain information if you review and study
your notes and textbook a little every day!
Exams are composed of AP exam questions & AP style exam questions as well as AP
style FRQ’s questions
Each exam will have some questions from previous exams on it as well. This will
help everyone review material as we go in order to be well prepared for the exam.
Exams will sometimes take two periods and time will be limited just as it is on the AP
exam.
Exam questions will be based on class notes, assignments, labs and your textbook. We
may or may not directly cover every single item on a test. It is your responsibility to
carefully complete assignments, assigned readings and video notes.
All exams will be corrected when they are returned. Directions for correcting are at the
end of this information packet.
Corrections are usually due one week after tests are returned.
Exam corrections will be a SEPARATE GRADE and you will keep your original exam
grade!
Corrections are an important learning tool and will help you figure out what concepts you
misunderstood or need extra help with.
If you are absent on the day of an exam, you are expected to make up the exam on the
day you return OR on the day you have arranged with me ahead of time.
Using Turnitin.com
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We will use the website: www.turnitin.com for many written class assignments including
labs, projects and frq’s. This is antiplagarism software purchased by SAISD. You will
probably be using it in more than one of your classes this year. When you submit your
work to this website, the program compares your work to everyone else in the class and
to several thousand website entries for similarities. The percent similarity and location of
similarities are reported to the instructor. I am choosing to use the software to encourage
everyone to think for themselves!
If you used this program last year, you will continue to use the same user name and
password. You just need to join the class by using the class id listed below.
If you have never used the program, the directions that follow will allow you to set up your
account:
o Go to www.turnitin.com
o Click on New User
o Click on New students start here
o Create a user profile
o Under create a new account choose student
o Class ID numbers:
AP Bio is ________________________________
Password for all is __________________________
You will be given specific directions when work should be turned into this service. Plan
ahead for computer problems!! You will not be able to turn in work late when we use this
program!