AP Biology
Mr. Word
736.1040
Class materials
Text: Biology, Campbell and Reece, 7th edition, AP edition
Lab book: You will need to purchase at least one bound composition notebook for use in lab.
Class Policies
§ Food, gum or drinks are not allowed anywhere in the Biology room. We will be using various chemicals in laboratory exercises and not having food in the room will prevent any contamination.
§ Personal electronic equipment (cell phones, music players, etc.) SHOULD NEVER BE VISIBLE at any time during class. If cell phones are left on, they should be set to silent mode and stored out of sight for the duration of the class. Failure to keep electronics away from sight will result in forfeiture of that object for the remainder of class. However, calculators are allowed in class, when necessary.
§ As per the student handbook, plagiarism will not be tolerated. Any sources used in lab reports, presentations or homework must be cited from a reputable source. In most all cases, you should paraphrase from your source and not quote directly. Note—copying and pasting (and changing some of the words) is still plagiarizing. All of your work should be in your own words.
§ If any assignments are missed due to an excused absence, it is up to you to get those assignments and turn them in within the time outlined in the student handbook.
§ Assignments turned in late will not receive a passing grade, but will be accepted within a week after the due date. If you do not turn in the assignment within a week of the due date, then you will lose your chance to receive any credit for that assignment.
§ Occasionally, unplanned things pop up or you have trouble completing your homework. If you need an extension on the homework, let me know as soon as possible (not the day before) and we can work something out.
§ Being on time is incredibly important. After your fifth tardy, you will be referred to the DRB.
§
Class philosophy
This is a demanding, college-level course. You are in control of your own learning in this course. You will be required to spend many hours outside of class understanding the concepts that are presented in this course. Many of the topics we will have a limited time to go over in class. It is imperative that you keep up with reading assignments, use time wisely in class and ask questions outside of class. You can always email me or we can find time to meet. It is your responsibility to advocate your needs to me and I will do what I can to help you. In most cases, you can work with your classmates (teammates, as below) for help.
For this course, I will serve as facilitator. I think of my job as being similar to your coach, your music instructor and/or your play director. I am on your side and want to help you reach your potential, but you must do the work along the way. If you are a basketball player, you may want to be in the NBA/WNBA, but your coach will not get you there. If you are a musician, your instructor will not get you into the Juilliard School or into the greatest rock band of all time. Your play director will not get you into a Broadway play or into the cast of High School Musical 7: Cat dissection lab. Your hard work, along with all of the other elements (help from friends, family, your coaches, instructors and/or directors) will allow you to be more successful in your field of interest. The same is true for your education. You need to be an active part of the experience.
Continuing the coach/music instructor/play director analogy, I think of the AP Biology homework as “individual skill practice”—the work you do on your own. For basketball, it would be like working on free-throws and/or dribbling in the park near your house by yourself or with friends. For piano, it is like practicing your scales and pieces on your keyboard at home. Finally, for acting, it would be memorizing/rehearsing your lines by yourself or reading your lines to your parents, dog, cereal box or anything that will listen. Some of the assignments you have to do by yourself (i.e., reading assignments), but for others you may use the help of your teammates to discuss an unclear topic (not just copying answers). There will be some other assignments that you will not be able to use your teammates, but I will let you know which assignments those are.
I think of class time as the “group practice”—practicing where your coach, instructor or director (and other teammates/castmates) can help you perfect your skills that you have been working on. You would never go to a dress rehearsal without knowing your lines or go to tennis practice without being prepared. Class time is no different. If you come prepared, you will get so much more out of the course and you can ask more informed questions.
I think of tests as games, recitals or play performances—you get to show off what you have been working on and how much you have improved. This is where all of your hard work pays off. At this point, your instructor, coach or director has little control over what you do on the field or stage. Your individual practice and group practice helps prepare you.
Assignments and Grades
Exams, Tests, quizzes, lab reports and homework will be the basis for grading.
Tests 40%
Lab reports 25%
Quizzes/homework/class participation 25%
Exams 10%
Assignments and Grades
Exams, Tests, quizzes, lab reports and homework will be the basis for grading.
Tests 40%
Lab reports 25%
Quizzes/homework/class participation 25%
Exams (End of semester) 10%
Assignment details
§ Tests will be given after every major unit and questions will be multiple choice with some free response questions and mimic the format of the AP Exam. Questions will be taken from previous AP national exams as well as from many other sources.
§ All lab exercises will require a lab report and will vary by lab topic. Some labs will require a formal report (typed) and others will have different requirements; others will be written up in your lab book. All data that you collect should be in your bound lab book.
§ Quizzes and homework:
o Reading Notes: You will be required to take notes from your reading assignment (outlines are fine) and they are due the same day reading is due. Reading notes will be taken up at different points in the semester
o Quizzes will be given randomly (and mostly unannounced) throughout the semester and they will assess your knowledge of material covered in class, concepts from the laboratory activities and/or information from the reading assignments.
o All assignments are due at the beginning of class and must be printed out. I will not accept emailed homework, unless otherwise directed.
o Any long-term assignments (projects, lab reports, etc.) must be turned in on the due date, even if you are absent that day or the day(s) before. If you are absent the day that the assignment is due, I will accept emailed assignments.
o Late assignments will be accepted within a week after the due date, but they will not receive a passing grade.
§ Exams: Each exam (at the end of the semester) will be cumulative and will include all topics covered to date of the exam. The final exam will focus on the material covered during the spring semester, but will include some concepts from the first semester. Both finals will have the same structure and time requirements as the AP national exam (Monday, May 14 at 8 am).
§ AP EXAM Monday morning, May 14, 2012
VERY TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
Week / Topic / Chapters8/15 / Introduction to the Scientific process / 1
8/22 / Intro to Ecology; global climate; Global
Climate, Behavior and species interactions / Summer reading: 50, 52
8/29 / Biogeography; energy flow; Population Dynamics / Summer reading: 51, 53
9/6 (Labor Day) / Ecosystems, Human disturbance / Summer reading: 53, 54
9/12 / Evolution, Origin of Life / 22, 24
9/19 / Mechanisms of Evolution, Evolution of Populations, Hardy-Weinberg / 23
9/26 / Chemistry Review / 2, 3, 4
10/3 (Fall Break) / Bio Chemistry / 4
10/10 / Organic molecules; Intro to cells/organelles / 5
10/17 / Cell membranes; diffusion; transport / 7
10/24 / Glycolysis / 8
10/31 / Cell respiration / 9
11/7 / Photosynthesis / 10
11/14 / Cell signaling / 11
11/21(Thanksgiving) / Mitosis / 12
11/28 / Meiosis / 13
12/5 / Genetics; Gene/Sex linkage / 14, 15
12/16 / EXAM
Week / Topic / Chapters
1/3 / Chi-squared test; chromosomes / 15
1/9 / Molecular genetics / 16
1/17(MLK Jr.) / Transcription, Translation, Replication / 17
1/23 / Proteins
1/30 / Viruses and Prokaryotes; Operons and Gene control / 18, 19
2/6 / Biotechnology / 19, 20
2/13 / WINTER BREAK
2/20 / Taxonomy and phylogenetics; Prokaryotes / 25-27
2/27 / Protists, plants, invertebrates, vertebrates / 28-34
3/5 / Tissues; Nerve conduction; sensory organs / 48,49
3/12 / Nervous system / 40, 48, 49
3/19 / Homeostasis; Endocrine System / 40, 45
3/26 / Digestive system, circulatory and
respiratory systems / 41, 42
4/2 (Spring Break begins Friday) / SPRING BREAK
4/9 / Reproduction system, immune system / 46, 47, 43
4/16 / Plant Structure, growth, development, Water transport / 35, 36
4/23 / Review of Ecology
4/30 (Oaks Day) / Review
5/7 / Review and Final Exam
5/14 / AP EXAM
AP Biology Themes
These themes are the major concepts that will be taught throughout the course. These
themes will be used as reference points in sections from molecular to organismal biology, from chemistry to ecology. These eight themes will be integrated throughout the course.
This integration will include the concept of evolution as the overarching process in biology, the interpretation of labs and data, and the effects of science and technology on the history and ethics of modern society.
*Science as a Process: Science is a way of knowing, including the processes of discovery, data collection, data analysis and inductive reasoning. Science uses empirical information to explain the world by collecting and analyzing information collected in controlled, repeatable studies.
*Evolution: One of the major controlling concepts of biological systems, evolution is change in populations over time in response to natural or artificial selection. It is the interaction between organisms, natural selection, and the microenvironments on Earth that account for biodiversity. Evolution is a connecting thread for all eight
themes of AP Biology, as well as the basis for genetics, population interactions, speciation, and much of ecology.
*Energy Transfer: Energy is the ability to do work. All living things require energy to do the activities of life; the source of that energy is biochemical in nature within cells and a result of direct feeding relationships between organisms at the species, population, and community level. Energy transfer is one of the major causes of
matter cycling from organisms to the environment.
*Continuity and Change: All species tend to maintain themselves from generation to generation via DNA and the universal genetic code. At the same time, the genetic mechanisms have the capacity built into them that allow genetic changes over time that lead to variability. This variability is a key component of natural selection.
*Relationship of Structure to Function: From the molecular structure level (proteins) to the organismal structure level (phenotype), organisms have structures that ensure successful functioning at all levels and through living systems. Natural selection is the process that relates structure and function to evolution.
*Regulation: Everything from cells to organisms to ecosystems are in a state of dynamic balance, such that healthy systems are controlled by a series of positive or negative feedback mechanisms. It is when these control processes are not balanced that an organism become sick, cancer may occur or an ecosystem is in danger of being replaced.
*Interdependence in Nature: Living organisms rarely exist alone in nature. Ecosystems consist of both biotic and abiotic factors that demonstrate interdependence with each other. Alterations in any component in an ecosystem can cause changes in all of the factors in the system and are part of the dynamic
regulation of life on Earth. Interdependence causes certain characteristics to be more adaptive under certain conditions, leading to selection and evolution.
*Science, Technology, and Society: Scientific discoveries can lead to technological advances that affect society. The effects can be positive or negative, short‐term or long‐term. Science and technology can lead to changes in local or world populations. Through our investigation of current data and current events, we can observe how the role biology in society has become an increasingly important part of modern biology.
HELPFUL information for the AP EXAM
Outline of Topics covered on the AP EXAM (not in the order that we will cover them in class)
I. Molecules and Cells (25%)
a. Chemistry of Life (7%)
i. Water
ii. Organic Molecules in Organisms
iii. Free Energy Changes
iv. Enzymes
b. Cells (10%)
i. Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells
ii. Membranes and cellular transport
iii. Organelles and subcellular organization
iv. Cell cycle and regulation
c. Cellular Energetics (8%)