AP Biology Syllabus Kristine Nerlich B128
Course Overview
AP Biology is an introductory college-level biology course. Students cultivate their understanding of biology through inquiry-based investigations as they explore the following topics: evolution, cellular processes, energy and communication, genetics, information transfer, ecology, and interactions.
Scientific discoveries and research are continuously expanding scientific knowledge, which makes it challenging to balance the breadth of content coverage with depth of understanding. Our AP Biology course is designed to embrace this challenge by deemphasizing a traditional “content coverage” model of instruction in favor of one that focuses on enduring, conceptual understandings and the content that supports them. This enables students to spend less time on factual recall and more time on inquiry-based learning of essential concepts, helping them develop the reasoning skills necessary to engage in the science practices used throughout their study of AP Biology.
Instructional Resources
Student success in AP Biology and on the AP Exam is directly proportional to time spent reading the textbook. You will be expected to read and take written notes on chapters as assigned. It is essential to your success that you keep up with the reading assignments. Resources we will use this year are:
1. Morris, et. al.,Biology for the AP Course , 2022, Bedford, Freeman & Worth 2. Online through Google classroom
3. AP Classroom, myap.collegeboard.org Code:
Advanced Placement Biology Content
The AP Biology course is structured around the four big ideas, the enduring understandings within the big ideas, and the essential knowledge within each enduring understanding. The big ideas:
Big idea 1: Evolution – The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
Big idea 2: Energetics – Biological systems use energy and molecular building blocks to grow, reproduce, and maintain homeostasis.
Big idea 3: Information Storage & Transmission – Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.
Big idea 4: Systems Interactions – Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.
The Investigative Laboratory Component
The course is also structured around inquiry in the lab and the use of the six science practices throughout the course. Students are given the opportunity to engage in student-directed laboratory investigations throughout the course for a minimum of 25% of instructional time. Students will conduct a minimum of eight inquiry-based investigations (two per big idea throughout the course). Additional labs will be conducted to deepen students' conceptual understanding and to reinforce the application of science practices with a hands-on, inquiry-based environment. All levels of inquiry and all six science practice skills will be used on a regular basis in formal labs as well as activities outside of the lab experience. The course will provide opportunities for students to develop, record, and communicate the results of their laboratory investigations.
Course Requirements
Students will be required to keep a notebook to be used for reading notes, discussion logs, and lab observations. They will be required to read the textbook & take notes on their reading. Students will also be required to create a Mastering Biology account, as some activities will be assigned and submitted through this online component of the textbook, as well as an AP Classroom account for Personal Progress Checks and some tests. Students will also utilize google Classroom as a platform for assignments in this course.
AP Exam
Students are encouraged, but not required, to take the AP Biology Exam on May 4,2025.(There is a cost for each AP exam). Those receiving scores of 3 or greater (out of 5) may be eligible to earn 2 semesters credit for biology at most colleges. Registration for AP Exams will begin in October.
Course Outline
The course outline on the following pages shows the general pacing of the course. Unit dates are approximate and may change as needed throughout the year.
Unit of Instruction
Modular readings for which you are responsible
Proposed dates*
Assignments (including, but not limited to the following)
Labs
1 – Chemistry of Life
Module 1 – Elements of Life
Module 2 –Water and Life
Module 3 – Carbohydrates and Lipids
Module 4-Proteins
Module 5 - Nucleic Acids
8/20-9/11
Scientific Explanations – CER
Chi Square Analysis of Distribution
POGIL – Biochemistry Basics, Protein Structure
Water Properties with Statistics
Pattern matching
2 – Cells
Module 6: Cell Structure and Function
Module 7: Subcellular Components of Eukaryotes
Module 8: Cell and Organism Size
Module 9: Cell Membranes
Module 10: Membrane Transport
Module 11: Water Movement: Osmosis, Tonicity, and Osmoregulation
Module 12: Origin of Compartmentalization and the Eukaryotic Cell
9/12-10/2
POGIL – Membrane Structure, Membrane Function
Organelle Speed Dating
Membrane Bubble Lab, Diffusion & Osmosis
3 – Cellular Energetics
Module 13: Cellular Energetics
Module 14: Enzymes
Module 15: Photosynthesis I: Overview
Module 16: Photosynthesis II: Biochemistry
Module 17: Cellular Respiration I: Overview
Module 18: Cellular Respiration II: Biochemistry
Module 19: Metabolism, the Environment, and Evolutionary Fitness
10/3-10/31
POGIL – Free Energy, ATP, Cellular Respiration (3), Photosynthesis, Enzymes & Cellular Regulation
HHMI Lactose activities
Cellular Respiration,
Photosynthesis,
Milk – How Sweet Is it?
4 – Cell Communication & Cell Cycle
Module 20: Cell Communication
Module 21: Signal Transduction
Module 22: Changes in Signal Transduction Pathways
Module 23: Feedback in Cell Communication
Module 24: The Cell Cycle
Module 25: Regulation of the Cell Cycle
11/3-11/14
HHMI – Mouse cell signaling
POGIL – Cellular Communication, Signal Transduction Pathways,
Cell Cycle Regulation, Plant Hormones, Feedback Mechanisms, Control of Blood Sugar, Neuron Structure/Function, Immunity
Mitosis,
Taste Lab
5 – Heredity
Module 26: Meiosis and Genetic Diversity
Module 27: Mendelian Genetics
Tutorial 2: Probability
Module 28: Non-Mendelian Genetics
Module 29: Environmental Effects on Phenotype
Module 30: Chromosomal Inheritance
11/17-12/4
POGIL – Statistics of Inheritance, Genetic Mutations
HHMI – Sickle Cell Genetics, Cancer discovery activities
Meiosis modeling
6 – Gene Expression & Regulation
Module 31: DNA and RNA Structure and Function
Module 32: DNA Replication
Module 33: Transcription and RNA Processing
Module 34: Translation
Module 35: Regulation of Gene Expression
Module 36: Cell Specialization and Development
Module 37: Mutation
Module 38: Biotechnology
Module 39: Viruses
1/5-2/4
POGIL – Control of Gene Expression, Transcription, Translation
HHMI – Gene switches stickleback, Mouse molecular genetics
Flow of Genetic Information
Bacterial Transformation,
Restriction Analysis of DNA
7 – Natural Selection
Module 40: Introduction to Evolution and Natural Selection
Module 41: Natural and Artificial Selection
Module 42: Population Genetics
Module 43: Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
Module 44: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Evolution
Module 45: Continuing Evolution
Module 46: Phylogeny
Module 47: Speciation
Module 48: Extinction
Module 49: Variation in Populations
Module 50: Origins of Life on Earth
2/8-3/13
POGIL – Selection & Speciation, Phylogenetic Trees, Hardy-Weinberg, Mass Extinctions
HHMI – Mapping traits in dogs
Hardy-Weinberg,
Phylogeny,
Beaks as Tools
8 – Ecology
Module 51: Responses to Environment
Module 52: Energy Flow through Ecosystems
Module 53: Population Ecology
Module 54: Effect of Density of Populations
Tutorial 3: Rate and Growth in Population Ecology
Module 55: Community Ecology
Module 56: Biodiversity
Module 57: Disruptions to Ecosystems
3/16-4/21
POGIL – Global Climate Change, Eutrophication
Population practice problems
HHMI – Niche partitioning
Transpiration,
Isopod Behavior, Diversity Lab
AP Exam prep
Review activities & exam practice
4/22-5/1
AP Biology Exam
Monday 5/4/2022
Final project
Various readings and research
5/5-5/18
Final projects/competitions
*Tests will generally be on the last day of the unit, but all dates are approximate & may change to meet class needs.
About the AP Biology Course
AP Biology is an introductory college-level biology course. Students cultivate their understanding of biology through inquiry-based investigations as they explore the following topics: evolution, cellular processes, energy and communication, genetics, information transfer, ecology, and interactions.
College Course Equivalent The AP Biology course is equivalent to a two-semester college introductory biology course for biology majors.
Prerequisites Students should have successfully completed high school courses in biology and chemistry.
Laboratory Requirement This course requires that 25 percent of the instructional time will be spent in hands-on laboratory work, with an emphasis on inquiry-based investigations that provide students with opportunities to apply the science practices.