Rhs Ap Biology

RHS AP BIOLOGY

HANDBOOK

Containing:

Course Syllabus (p. 2)

Lab Write Up Format (p.5)

Summer Assignment (p. 12)

Welcome to AP Biology!!

AP Biology Syllabus/Handbook 2016-2017

***IMPORTANT PLEASE READ EVERYTHING BELOW!!!***

Note: A copy of this can and should be printed and placed in your 3-ring binder for easy reference.

Ms. Nowell Darwazeh: Room F102 Phone: (707) 863-7950 ext. 2702

Course Description:

The 2016-2017 year of Advance Placement (AP) Biology is designed to offer students a solid curriculum in general biology concepts. There are four “Big Ideas” that the course centers around:

• Big Idea 1: Evolution.

• Big Idea 2: Biological systems using energy to maintain homeostasis for survival.

• Big Idea 3: Passing heritable information to provide continuity for life.

• Big Idea 4: The interaction of biological systems with biotic and abiotic factors.

The AP Biology course shifts from a traditional “content coverage” model of instruction to one that focuses on enduring, conceptual understandings and the content that supports them. Students will spend less time on factual recall and more time on inquiry-based learning of essential concepts which will help them to develop the reasoning skills necessary to engage in the science practices.

Students taking this course will also develop advanced inquiry and reasoning skills, such as designing a plan for collecting data, analyzing data, applying mathematical routines, and connecting concepts in and across domains. The result will be readiness for the study of advanced topics in subsequent college courses. The AP Biology course is equivalent to a two-semester college introductory biology course and has been endorsed by higher education officials.

In AP Biology, the teacher serves as a facilitator, while the students develop as independent thinkers and learners, especially through laboratory investigations. In class, students are given opportunities to learn and apply their knowledge through the process of inquiry rather than learning from lectures and/or prescribed lab protocols. A sense of wonder and use of original thought are fostered as students are encouraged to extend their learning via scaffolded conceptual understandings and open inquiry.

How We Contact Each Other:

Ø Join our Google Classroom: Code “7zq0a3” All purpose course hub for resources, due dates and assignments.

Ø District Email- You have a district “@fsusd.org” email account. All email correspondence from me will go to this email address, and any email you wish to send me must be from this email address. Your district email is also how you access your district Google Apps Account, something that we will use quite regularly. If you don’t know how to access your district email/google apps, you want to figure that out ASAP.

Ø Celly: Used for reminders, last minute changes, etc. Sign up Now! You need to get these messages (either by text/email/or both). Celly will only be used for basic reminders and announcements. Students may respond with clarifying questions but all grade-based questions must be submitted via email. When creating your username use First Name and Last Initial.

● TEXT@APBio1617to23559

● Password: mustangs

Please note, responses may take up to 24 hours.

Extra Help:

● Extra help is available during tutorials, by appointment and during scheduled study sessions (TBA). Please try to attend extra help during your lunch period or after school (on any day other than Wednesday) as much as possible.

● Please let me know you are attending extra help prior to attending through verbal communication.

AP Biology is a college-level introduction to the Biological Sciences. It is intended as a survey of the many fields of study that comprise “biology.” At the end of the course, students take the AP Biology exam, administered by the College Board. A sufficient score on this exam makes a student eligible for college credit. Being that this is a college-level course, students should expect a workload equal to what would be encountered in college. The typical college formula is that students will spend ~ 3 hours of their own time per hour spent in class. In this class, typically, the formula is that students spend an equal amount of their own time (or more) outside of class per hour spent in class. This time requirement does not change if you are enrolled in multiple AP courses. Please take this into consideration as you prioritize your time.

Textbook: Principles of Life, Hillis et al.

AP Exam Review Book: You are HIGHLY encouraged to purchase an AP Exam review book. Barron’s AP Biology Test review , Pearson Test Prep for AP Biology by Holtzclaw or Princeton Review AP Biology Exam are great. These books are useful review items and have practice tests in them that are helpful for individual review and/or exam prep.

Required Materials :

In class:

· HEAVY DUTY (plastic cover) 3 subject notebook, college ruled

· ONE 1 ½ -2 inch binder with clear cover for title page.

· Hayden-McNeil Laboratory Notebook, Life Sciences, 70 Carbonless Duplicate Sets. (check Amazon)

· Blue/black pens and red pen & pencils (for testing days)

· 2 highlighters

· Colored pencils or markers

· Post it notes

· Note Cards & note card rings.

· 2 Expo markers.

· TWO rolls of paper towels

Grade Calculations: :

Summative Assessments: (50%) Summative Assessments include tests, projects, quizzes, FRQ’s and the final exam. Tentative test dates are provided in the “at a glance” section of your syllabus. Tests are modeled on the AP exam, and include a series of multiple-choice, mathematical “grid-in” questions, and constructed response questions of varying lengths (FRQs). Final Exam: Everyone will take a final exam for the first semester. It will be comprised entirely of multiple choice questions that you have seen on prior exams. For the second semester, you will complete a Final Project.

Labs: (30%) This includes lab participation, lab work and lab write-ups. You are required to complete every lab that we conduct. We will do many labs during the course of the year. Most labs will include a pre-lab quiz. These lab activities will be major, long-term, experiences that will involve the development of a particular protocol to answer a question of your own creation, the collection of data, and the generation and publishing of a documentation of your lab experience (typically a lab report, a mini poster, a presentation, or a smaller assignment like a website article, or other item). You can expect approximately three formal lab reports per semester. Labs can be anywhere from a week to three months in length, with lab reports typically being due as early as one week after the conclusion of the experimental portion of the activity.

General Classwork & Participation: (20%) All other work that is done in this class falls into the category of “In-Class” Assignments. Class participation counts for 20% of your average. The main work that will contribute to your Class Participation grade are homework completion, book notes, article analysis notes/summaries for videos, worksheets, POGILs and discussion participation.

Late Work Policy: Work is considered “late” when it is submitted after the established collection time. Late lab reports will receive a 10% penalty for every day they are late. Other work will be accepted for half credit for up to one week or until the assignment is returned/unit is completed, whichever comes first.

Makeup work: It is strongly recommended that you attend class every day in a timely fashion. Excessive lateness or absences will make it very difficult for you to keep up with the workload of this course. If you are legally absent, it is your responsibility to makeup all assignments and submit them upon your return (the class resource page list all assignments and homework for every day of class). “I was absent” is not an excuse for missing an assignment (unless I excuse you). Please discuss missed work with me as soon as you return to class. Work done during absences is due upon your return to class. In the case of multiple day absences, we will establish an acceptable due date for missed work upon your return to class. You must also make arrangements to make up any labs, quizzes or tests as soon as you return to school. There is no additional extra credit offered in this class.

Missed labs: Depending on procedures some labs may be made up with a 4-page research paper (MLA format, typed, double space) on the topic of the lab. You must use and include a bibliography for a minimum of three references. Encyclopedias do not count. Research paper is due one week from absence return. It is expected that you will read the lab, review any podcasts on the lab, and gear your write up toward the content, expectations, and conclusions of the original lab.

Grading Scale

Percentage Grade

90-100% A

80-89% B

70-79% C

60-69% D

59% F

Classroom Expectations

The following expectations and procedures have been created to ensure that every person in the classroom has the opportunity to achieve their best in a safe and positive learning environment.

1. Treat yourself, those around you and all school property with respect. (Put downs will not be tolerated.) Being respectful also includes being responsible for your own actions and coming prepared.

2. Obey all lab safety rules and guidelines.

3. Follow all expectations outlined in the RHS Student Handbook-DRESS CODE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED.

4. Students will be in their seats, ready to work, when the bell rings. Students will remain in their seats and will begin to pack up only when they have received the signal from me to do so.

5. Clean up after yourself.

6. No gum/food/beverage allowed with the exception of water.

7. ZERO tolerance for inappropriate use of electronic devices (iPods, cell phones, etc). They will be confiscated and turned in to the office after one warning.

8. Be on time. The RHS Tardy Policy as found in the Student Handbook will be enforced. Teacher consequence at the 2nd Tardy is a 15 minute lunch detention. Failure to show becomes a referral.

Academic Honesty: You are encouraged to work together to study course content. I do not expect fully original answers for pre-discussion questions or similar content interfacing documentation. You are allowed to collaborate on lab exercises. Data among lab partners is expected to be identical. With these two exceptions, all work done in this class is expected to be original or attributed to its original source in the MLA format. Any violation of this will result in an automatic 0 on the assignment in question. Cheating on exams, or plagiarism on any other item, will result in an automatic 0, mandatory change of seating, academic referral and notification of parents, notification of counselor, notification of grade-level administrator and the inability to ever receive a college recommendation from me for all parties involved.

The AP Exam: The AP exam is given in Monday, May 8, 2017. It administered by the College Board and is given in a secure room on the RHS campus. There is a fee for taking the exam. All students who are in this course are strongly encouraged to sit for the AP exam—fee waivers are available. The AP Biology exam will assess your ability to think like a scientist, along with your understanding of the course content (what’s in the textbook). This will also be true of any in-class assessments, and many of the in-class projects. To that end, there will be situations and content on exams that will not be specifically discussed in class prior to their appearance on exams. This is very different than many other types of courses you might have taken. A good rule of thumb is that any content covered in the material you are responsible for reading/viewing/watching in the content homework could appear on an exam, regardless of whether or not we have discussed it specifically in class. The take-home message for you is that independent reading/viewing/watching is absolutely crucial, and must be done if you want to succeed.

Notes from Videos/ podcasts

You will be asked to view a number of videos online throughout the semester in addition to or in lieu of lecture in class. Many of them are found on “You Tube” under “Bozeman Biology” and/or at www.bozemanscience.com. Others will be assigned as the semester progresses. In your notebook, you will Title the page with the video title and date viewed. You will take notes on key concepts presented in the video. (For full credit, this must be exact format!) You may record your notes however they are most useful to you (numbered, bulleted, graphically organized (flow chart, Venn diagram…)…). You may glue in pictures/charts/diagrams if they help. You may want to record diagrams as presented, or make a concept map. It must be neat!

Following your notes, skip a line and please title a section “Summary Paragraph”. Write at least one paragraph (including an introduction, and minimum 5 supporting facts) about what you learned in this video segment. Be specific and give examples. For example:

Title: Enzyme Action

Date Viewed: 13 March, 2012

Notes:

· Enzymes are catalysts

· Enzymes speed up chemical reactions; decreasing energy needed for reaction

· Active site on enzyme substrate (reactant) goes into.

· Lock and Key analogy

Summary Paragraph:

Enzymes are proteins that function as catalysts. Enzymes speed up chemical reactions by decreasing the amount of energy required for a reaction to take place. Enzymes have an active site that the substrate acts on and forms a product. Enzymes work like a lock and key; if the key fits the door opens.

LAB REPORT FORMAT

Adapted from D. Knuffke. Some portions modified from NCSU’s LabWrite program: http://labwrite.ncsu.edu

In AP Biology, we will use the IMRaD format when writing lab reports. IMRaD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion), is a standard format for reporting the results of experiments in the scientific community. This document explains the specific details of our IMRaD lab reports. It is important that you read this document fully, and ask any questions that you have prior to submitting your first AP Biology Lab Report. For a template to follow on written or typed lab reports click here. Note that not all labs will be submitted electronically but if specified, you can simply create a copy of the template and type over with your own information.