AP Biology

Welcome to AP Biology!

I'm excited to be working with you all this year and getting to know you more throughout the course of the school year. This course is intense. Please understand that the expected workload of this course is high and will require you to be responsible and active learners. This is a college-level course and as a result, there is a significant amount of time that is required inside the classroom and outside of the classroom. I have no doubt that you are all capable students and will do exceptionally well.

In this course, you will be:

• Participating in labs (currently scheduled to be virtual through simulations and demonstrations).

• Participating in free-response questions that will require you to critically analyze phenomena and explain your knowledge of the science.

• Read, interpret, and explain graphs and data tables.

• Deepening your knowledge of Biology. You will be learning content that may be familiar to you with much greater depth and apply your prior knowlege to old and new concepts at the college level.

• Taking the College Board AP Biology examination at the end of the course.

There are four big ideas that AP Biology encompasses:

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

2. Energetics: Biological systems use energy and molecular building blocks to grow, reproduce, and maintain dynamic homeostasis.

3. Information Storage and Transmission (IST): Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.

4. Systems Interactions (SYI): Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions exhibit complex properties.

Within these four ideas, we will be diving into 8 units that make up specific weights in the AP Biology exam. They are subcategories within the 4 big ideas listed above. They are:

Unit 1: Chemistry of Life (8-11%)

Unit 2: Cell Structure and Function (10-13%)

Unit 3: Cellular Energetics (12-16%)

Unit 4: Cell Communication and Cell Cycle (10-15%)

Unit 5: Heredity (8-11%)

Unit 6: Gene Expression and Regulation (12-16%)

Unit 7: Natural Selection (13-20%)

Unit 8: Ecology (10-15%)

Tips for success in AP Biology

1. Be organized. Find a system that works for you. This can include, but are not limited to a physical calendar, phone calendar, agenda, or some method to allow you to stay organized. Don't take a chance by saying that you'll remember. Be proactive about being organized and on top of your assignments.

2. Complete every reading or video assigned before class. This will allow you to engage in discussions with the knowledge that you need to succeed. It allows you to have the prior knowledge to understand deeper and more complex content.

3. Ask questions! I am not your only source for asking questions. Your peers and the internet are your friends. Work together to answer questions because there are a lot more of you than there are of me. Being proactive about your learning means that you're not waiting on the answer from the teacher, but rather continually seeking answers and from multiple sources.

4. Give yourself more than a week to study before an exam. Do not wait until the last week before an exam to study. There is too much content for you to solidfy in a week. Quizzes may come unannounced and it's important that you're prepared before an exam for these quizzes.

5. Explain verbally and in writing. A large part of AP Biology is learning how to understand, contextualize, and explain science. This is not something that is natural, but rather something that is practiced. Practice verbally explaining your understanding and write it down too. This is an important skill for you to have as scientists.

6. Before you ask a question, ask yourself what you do know and what you do not yet know but want to know. Understanding what you know before asking a question will allow you to understand why you're asking the question, what you're hoping to understand from the answer, and how it fits into your existing knowledge.

7. Take notes that are legible, understandable, and concise! Don't write everything down. Do not rewrite the textbook. Summarize it in your own words and in your own understanding.