I Expect the Following from All Students in My Classroom

AP Biology

Welcome to AP Biology! My name is Mrs. Andra Dumitrescu, (or Mrs. D). Congratulations on taking this class! Not everyone is ready for the challenge of an AP course, and I am really excited that you are going on this adventure with me. Biology is an extremely exciting subject to study, but, indeed, it is also a lot of work. However, don’t panic! We’ll work through this together!  The good news is that AP Bio curriculum has been modified to fewer topics than before, so that now you have more time to go in-depth and make connections between different major topics instead of just quickly memorizing facts. Our goal for this class will be to learn everything you need to know for the AP biology test and have fun through various applications of the concepts learned. Remember that biology is not just in the classroom, but everywhere around you (even that granola bar you just ate has a biological function inside of you right now!  ) Therefore, I am hoping that the material you will learn in this course will have a positive influence in your life because it will help you understand better you, your body, and the world around you.

Behavior and Expectations

I expect the following from all students in my classroom:

1. When the bell rings, be in your seat, ready to work.

2. Bring your biology notebook every day to class.

3. Keep trash and food away from your work areas to keep you safe.

4. Respect yourself, others, and school property at all times

5. Participate in class

Consequences

1st occurrence: Verbal Warning

2nd occurrence: One-on-One Talk

3rd occurrence: Call Parent(s)/ guardian

4th occurrence: Detention

5th occurrence: Parent/Teacher Conference

Schedule

The rough schedule of our year long class is below. I will also be making a calendar for all due dates of all assignments for each semester. This means it is your responsibility to turn in all homework assignments, pre- lab preps, and lab write ups, etc. There is no excuse for late work in my class unless you speak to me in advance about any issues you are having. This calendar will help you keep on top of your work, as well as on track to learn everything you need to know to prepare for you AP biology test.

Instructional Resources

Reece, Jane, et al., Campbell Biology, 9th Edition, 2011, Pearson Benjamin Cummings.

AP Biology Investigative Labs Student Manual – College Board

Active Reading Guide for Campbell Biology, 9th edition, Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Advanced Placement Biology Content

The AP course is structured around the following four big ideas, and being able to make connections between these big ideas:

Big idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.

Big idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.

Big idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit and respond to information essential to life processes.

Big idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties

TENTATIVE Yearlong Schedule

Unit 1: Introduction ( 2 1/2 weeks)

Big ideas: 1, 2, 3,4

Chapters:

2. The Chemical Context of Life

3. Water and the Fitness of the Environment

4. Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life

5. The Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules

Lab: Practice the scientific experimental set-up: Mystery powder inquiry lab (lab report/folder)

Unit 2: The Cell, cellular energy, and cellular communication processes ( 6 weeks)

Big ideas: 1,2,3, 4

Chapters:

6. A Tour of the Cell

7. Membrane Structure and Function

8. An Introduction to Metabolism

9. Cellular Respiration

10. Photosynthesis

11. Cell communication

12. The cell cycle

Labs: Diffusion and osmosis

Enzyme activity (lab report/folder)

Cellular respiration (lab report/folder)

Photosynthesis (lab report/folder)

Cell division and mitosis in onion root cells

Unit 3: Genetic Basis of Life (8 weeks)

Big ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4

Chapters:

13. Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles

14. Mendel and the Gene Idea

15. The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance

16. The Molecular Basis of Inheritance

17. From Gene to Protein

18. Regulation of Gene Expression

19. Viruses

20. Biotechnology

21. Genomes and their Evolution

Lab: Meiosis in Sordaria

Biotechnology Labs: DNA extraction from green split peas

Bacterial transformation

Restriction enzymes (lab report/folder)

Student power point presentation: Human genetic diseases

Unit 4: Mechanisms of evolution (4 weeks)

Big ideas: 1, 3, 4

Chapters:

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

26. Phylogeny and the Tree of Life

27. Bacteria and Archae

Labs: 1. NCBI BLAST fossil DNA search

2. Allelea A1 Program Simulation by Jon C. Herron to simulate the Hardy Weinberg principle, using natural selection, mutation, migration, and genetic drift.

3. HHMI Creating Phylogenetic Trees from DNA Sequences

4. Artificial selection using Arabidopsis fast plants

Unit 5: Organism Form and Function (5 weeks )

Big ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4

Chapters:

36. Resource acquisition an transport in vascular plants

38. Angiosperm reproduction and biotechnology

40. Basic Principles of Animal Form and Function

43. The Immune System

45. Hormones and the Endocrine System

48. Neurons, Synapses, and Signaling

47. Animal Development

49.2 The Vertebrate Brain

51. Animal Behavior

Lab: Transpiration

Carnation water transport

Animal behavior lab (pill bugs and fruit flies)

Student presentations: Animal altruistic behaviors and mechanisms of evolution

Unit 6: Ecology (3 weeks)

Big ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4

Chapters:

52.2. Interactions between organisms and the environment limit the distribution of species.

53. Population Ecology

54. Community Ecology

55. Ecosystems

56. Conservation Biology and Global Change

Student presentations: Terrestrial biomes

AP Bio review 4 classes

AP Bio practice tests 4 classes

AP Bio Exam May 9th, 2016

After exam Field Trips (tentative) : UCLA fly research lab and cancer research lab

CSUN DNA sequencing lab and animal cadaver lab

You will be expected to do outside studying of each subject. I will give vocabulary assignments and expect you to take notes on designated chapters. You will do group projects and power point presentations, so you are teaching each other. We will have hands-on activities, labs, videos, field trips (to be determine) to help comprehension and visualization of the material you will be studying.

Assessments

Unit Tests 20%

Final or APBio exam 10%

Labs (pre, post lab, lab reports) 25%

Projects 10%

Homework 10%

Quizzes 20%

Class Participation 5%

Grading

A 90%

B 80%

C 70%

D 60%

F < 59%

Labs

Labs are a very important part of the AP biology class. There will be times when you are asked to come in early, stay late, or even occasionally come in on a weekend (or two). There is a big push this year on the AP exam to understand the labs and know how to design labs using the scientific method, and know how to interpret and analyze data. Therefore, we will emphasize doing many labs, and the lab write-ups that go along with them.

Homework Policy

Homework will be on my website, linked to Q. Homework is due the day after it is assigned, unless otherwise noted. I understand that at times it will feel like a lot of homework, but my goal is that you are starting to learn the subject outside of class, so we can reinforce the difficult subjects in class for a better understanding of the material.

Class participation

Class participation includes ALL of the following: coming to class, being on time, paying attention, being involved in class discussions NOT in personal discussions, and participating in class activities and in labs.

Cell phone Policy

Cell phones will be allowed to be used only for in-class research on biological topics, and only when the teacher indicates that students should use it. Personal use of cell phone during class is not allowed. If the student chooses to disregard this policy, the phone will be confiscated and taken to the office from where only the parent/guardian can get it back.

Make-Up Policy

You will be able to make up work if you have an EXCUSED absence. Work will be due according to how many days you are absent—i.e. if you are gone for two days you will have two days to turn in your make-up work. I strongly encourage you not to fall behind as we move quickly through these subjects and I do not want you to feel lost. In addition, I will not accept late work more than two weeks after the assignment was due. It is the responsibility of the student to know what is due and when. If you are absent, please come and talk to me as soon as you return. I will post all power points and assignments on my website (linked to Q).

AP Exam Policy

It is a school expectation that if you are taking an AP course, you will also be taking the AP exam along with it. If you choose to take the AP exam, that will serve as your cumulative final exam. If you choose to not take the AP exam, you will instead take a cumulative test based on all the information you have learned over the course of the year, as well as the inquiry projects.

I hope you are as excited as I am about this course, and I am looking forward to a fun year of learning biology together!