AP BIOLOGY – Scope and Sequence
For a complete description of College Board’s AP Biology Curriculum, see the Course and Exam Description.
During remote learning, lab investigations will be primarily virtual with the possibility of a few at home labs.
Equations for the Math Connections can be viewed on the AP® BIOLOGY EQUATIONS AND FORMULAS page.
Timeline: Each unit comprises approximately 3-4 weeks of the 2 semester curriculum.
SEMESTER ONE
Introductory Lessons
- Three Domains, Taxonomy and Scientific Names
- Review of Biology PowerWords
- Intro to Statistical Analysis; Central Tendencies - mean, median, mode
Unit 1: Chemistry of Life
- Structure of Water and Hydrogen Bonding
- Elements of Life
- Biological Macromolecules; Properties, Structure and Function
- Nucleic Acids; Structure and Continuity of Life
Unit 2: Cell Structure and Function
- Cells - structure and function; Subcellular Components – function and interaction;
- Cell Size – efficiency of exchange as driving force
Math Connection: Surface Area to Volume Ratios, Metric Prefixes
- Plasma Membrane; permeability, types of diffusion, tonicity and osmoregulation
Math Connection: Water Potential, Solute Potential
Lab: Determining the Solute Potential of Living Cells
- Mechanisms of Transport
- Cell Compartmentalization – function and ancestral origin
Unit 3: Cellular Energetics
- Enzymes; Structure, function, catalysis, environmental impacts
- Cellular Energy; role in living things, second law of thermodynamics
- Photosynthesis – process, role, interdependence in living things
Lab: Factors that Affect Photosynthesis in Spinach Leaves
- Cellular Respiration – process, role, interdependence in living things
Lab: Use of a Respirometer for Cellular Respiration Rate Analysis
- Fitness – evolutionary connection between structure and survival
Math Connect: Statistical Analysis; Variability – Range, Standard Deviation, Standard Error
Unit 4: Cell Communication and Cell Cycle
- Cell Communication – local, short distance, long distance
- Signal Transduction – components of and changes in pathways
- Feedback; maintaining homeostasis
- Cell Cycle – components, role in continuity of life, regulation of, disruptions
Lab: Comparing Length of M Phase in Treated and Untreated Cells
Semester Review and Final Exam
SEMESTER TWO
Unit 5: Heredity
- Meiosis – role in heritable transmission and genetic diversity
Lab: Mapping a Chromosome using Fungal Ascospores
Math Connection: Laws of Probability
Math Connection: Chi Square Statistical Analysis
Lab: Comparing Expected and Observed Ratios using Wisconsin Fast Plants
- Non-Mendelian Genetics
- Environmental Effects on Gene Expression and Phenotype
- Chromosomal Inheritance – sources of genetic variation in offspring
Unit 6: Gene Expression and Regulation
- DNA and RNA - structure, similarities, differences
- Replication of DNA
- Transcription and RNA Processing
- Translation
- Regulation of Gene Expression – regulatory sequences, transcription factors (eukaryotes), operons (prokaryotes), epigenetics; role in cell specialization
- Mutations – types, potential outcomes, role in natural selection
- Biotechnology and potential uses – gel electrophoresis, polymerase chain reaction, gene transformation, DNA/RNA sequencing
Lab: Restriction Enzyme Analysis of DNA
Lab: Bacterial Transformation using pGlo Plasmid
Unit 7: Natural Selection
- Natural Selection – causes, explanations, role in evolution, vs. artificial selection
- Population Genetics – types of random occurrences and their role in evolution of populations
Math Connection: Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
- Evidence of Evolution – morphology, biochemical, geologic, geographic, mathematical data, structural and functional evidence of common ancestry
- Continuing Evolution – examples in fossil record and present day, speciation process, extinction
- Phylogeny – use of phylogenetic trees and cladograms to show evolutionary relationships
- Variations in Populations – effects on population dynamics
- Origin of Life on Earth – hypotheses, models, supportive scientific evidence
Unit 8: Ecology
- Responses to the Environment – behavioral and physiologic mechanisms, internal and external cues, effect on overall fitness
- Energy Flow Through Ecosystems – source and role of energy in organisms, impact of energy availability on ecosystems
- Population Ecology – factors that impact, effect of density
Math Connection: Rate, Population Growth, Exponential Growth, Logistic Growth
- Community Ecology – describing and explaining the role/impact of biodiversity
Math Connection: Simpson’s Diversity Index
Semester Review and Final Exam
AP Biology Test - May 14