Course Prerequisites:

Biology- Must have passed or have instructor approval to take as a sophomore

Equipment Required:

• Scientific Calculator with Trigonometric functions

• Text: Campbell Biology, Twelfth Edition

• Composition Notebook

Grading Schedule:

Quarter grades will be determined as follows:

15%-Class Participation, journal entries and homework

35%- Labs and Presentations

50%- Tests

Late Work:

• Late homework assignments will not be accepted

• Late lab reports or presentations will decrease by half by each day.  Will not be accepted after one week after due date.

Description:

AP Biology is a college level course taught in the high school.  Students and parents should not be surprised by course requirements that are in excess of what you would expect from an honors-level course. Colleges expect a student to have had an "equivalent' experience to their freshman course, including the laboratories and to have mastered its content. It is not unusual for a student to be responsible for several assignments at the same time. For an example, there will be regular reading assignments, lab reports and written and online homework assignments. Success in this course will depend on study skills, reading and writing abilities, motivation and maturity. There is an expectation that all AP Biology students will take the AP Biology Exam.  The exam is graded on a 1-5 scores with a 3, 4 or 5 counting as a "passing".  If one of your goals is to obtain credit for an introductory college biology course, you should make contact with the colleges you are likely to attend.  Please find out if they accept AP scores for credit (most, but not all colleges do).

Outline:

Unit 1- Chemistry of Life

Unit 2- Cell Structure and Function

Unit 3- Cellular Energetics

Unit 4- Cell Communication and Cell Cycle

Unit 5- Heredity

Unit 6- Gene Expression and Regulation

Unit 7- Natural Selection

Unit 8- Ecology