AP® Biology Instructor: Alexander Coke Smith
Syllabus Term: 2009-2010 Academic Year
Personal Philosophy
Biology is without a doubt one of the most fascinating and most important scientific disciplines. There was once a time when a scientist could claim to be an expert in virtually every field but currently the knowledge base within the biological sciences is so vast that being an expert in simply one area of study could require a lifetime commitment. But in order to be scientifically literate in today’s scientifically demanding society, it is important to have a general knowledge of many areas of the biological sciences. It is with this in mind that I have presented a broad course of studies that covers in good depth many of the fascinating areas of this wonderful subject.
Course Overview
Classes meet daily for approximately 56 minutes. Depending on our complicated schedule, we will have lab activities that may carry over in to after school hours. This makes it possible to not only do all of the 12 labs in the AP Lab Manual for Students but many additional labs and activities as well, resulting in a diverse and interesting hands-on laboratory program.
Our course is organized around the eight themes from the AP Biology Curricular requirements. Students are required to read the textbook chapters listed on the syllabus, and take a test at the end of each unit. The course textbook is the 8th edition of Neil A. Campbell and Jane B. Reese’s Biology.
All students who take the AP Biology course are required to do an independent research project outside of class time. I assign this in September and it is due at and of February. Students do most of the work on it independently - at the library and at home.
I spend very little in-class time on preparation for the AP Exam other than to discuss some test-taking strategies. AP Biology Released Exams will be made available to students to aid in their preparation for the AP examination. After school study-sessions will be available starting at the end of February.
Required Text: 8th edition of Neil A. Campbell and Jane B. Reese’s Biology.
& Jane B. Reese, Biology, 8th Addition
AP Biology Includes and Emphasizes:
Science as Process
Evolution
Energy Transfer
Continuity and Change
Relationship of structure to function
Regulation
Interdependence in nature
Science, Technology and society
In addition to the above: Diversity of life & the structure and function of plants and animals.
Course Planner
AP Biology is divided in to 11 units that vary in length from two to three weeks. Every unit includes a hands-on laboratory exercise designed to integrate the topic of that unit into the eight major themes of the AP Biology Course Description. Throughout the time spent on each unit, we will discuss as a class how the topic at hand relates to and fits within each theme, and how these themes transcend all of the unit topics.
Theme 1 – Science as Process – Students engage in a project (Radish Seed Experiment) demonstrating the use of scientific reasoning to solve a problem.
Theme 2 – Evolution – Students compare ecological time with evolutionary time and examine how they correspond. Students will explore the concept of change over time as well as the diversity of life (with a survey of living things ranging from viruses, bacteria to higher plants and animals) produced through evolutionary processes.
Theme 3 – Energy transfer – Students are asked to describe the movement, conversion, and storage of energy within an ecosystem, usually originating with the sun, then stored and converted to chemical energy by autotrophs, then passed on to heterotrophs and/or dissipated as heat.
Theme 4 – Continuity and change – Students are asked to consider how specific changes to an ecosystem (geological, climatic, introduction of new organisms, etc.) can affect the organisms that live within it.
Theme 5 – Relationship of Structure to Function – Students consider how organisms are physically adapted to survive and reproduce in their environment. Detailed studies of plant and animal structure and function will be part of the curriculum as well.
Theme 6 – Regulation – Students are to understand how an organism’s regulatory mechanisms (such as those that control body temperature) serve to aid or hinder its survival in particular environments. (This should be considered as further study of the structure and function of plants and animals.)
Theme 7 – Interdependence in Nature – The very key to ecology – how organisms interact within their environment, and how they cannot survive without such interactions.
Theme 8 – Science, Technology and Society – Students are asked to consider how the population growth of human beings has influenced local ecosystems throughout history, and how it continues to do so, even to the extent of affecting the entire biosphere.
AP Biology Syllabus
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Dates
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Unit
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Topics
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Chapter Readings
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First Semester, First Term
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Sept. 3–30
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1
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Ecology and Behavior
First-Term Project: Radish Seed Experiment
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50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55
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Oct. 2–21
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2
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Atoms and Molecules, Bonds, Water Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, Nucleic Acids, Enzymes
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2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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Oct. 23–Nov. 10
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3
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Cells, Cell Membranes, Transport, Cell Communications
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7, 8, 11
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Second Term
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Nov. 13–Dec. 2
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4
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DNA Structure and Replication, DNA, RNA, Protein, Protein Synthesis, Viruses, Bacterial Genetics, Biotechnology
Second-Term Project: Original DNA/Genetic Code Papers Presentation
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16, 17, 18, 19 (pp. 356-68), 20
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Dec. 4–18
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5
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Cell Respiration and Photosynthesis
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9, 10
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Jan. 4–27
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6
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Mitosis, Meiosis, Classical Genetics
Third-Term Project: Human Karyotype
Construction (completed and graded during the third term)
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12, 13, 14, 15, 19 (pp. 354-56)
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Second Semester, Third Term
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Jan. 29– Feb 17
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7
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Evolution
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22, 23, 24, 25, 26
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Feb. 26–Mar. 17
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8
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Three Domains, Phylogenetic Trees, Prokaryote and Eukaryote Diversity, Animal Phylogeny and Diversity, Animal Development (Diversity of Life)
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21, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34, 47
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Mar. 19–Apr. 2
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9
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Plants (Structure and function of plants)
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29, 30, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39
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Fourth Term
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Apr. 12–May 19
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10
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Digestion, Circulation, Gas Exchange, Homeostasis (excretory systems), Immune System (Structure and function of animal systems)
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40, 41, 42, 43, 44
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May 21–June 18
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11
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Hormones and Reproduction, Nerves, Muscles, Sense Organs (Continuation of structure and function of animal systems)
Fourth-Term Project: Owl Pellet Investigation
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45, 46, 48, 49
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Lab Schedule
Unit 1
• Dissolved O2
Students complete AP Lab 12, Exercise 12A, “Dissolved Oxygen and Temperature.” We will also include measurement of aquatic primary productivity.
• Choice Chambers
Students complete AP Lab 11, Exercise 11A, “General Observation of Behaviors.”
• Biomes
Students examine biomes in this lab based on teacher generated materials.
Unit 2
• Acids, Bases, and Buffers
In this lab, students test various substances to determine how resistant they are to changes in pH.
• Molecular Models
Students use the “Design Your Own” Custom Molecular Model Kit 530A from Lab-Aids to build fatty acids, fats, amino acids, and simple proteins using molecular models.
• Enzyme Catalysis Activity
Students complete AP Lab 2, “Enzyme Catalysis.”
Unit 3
• Use of the Microscope/Microscopic Measurement
Letter “e,” starch grains, cork, onion, cheek, Elodea.
• Prokaryotic versus Eukaryotic Cells
A comparison of Elodea (a eukaryotic plant) and Anabaena (a cyanobacterium, a prokaryote).
• Examining Protists
Amoeba, Euglena, Paramecium, Stentor, Blepharisma. These protists will be observed and described in this lab activity.
• Diffusion and Osmosis
Students complete AP Lab 1, “Diffusion and Osmosis.”
• Cell Membrane Model Building
Working in pairs, students build a model of a cell membrane, a phospholipid bilayer.
• Properties of Water
How many drops of water can fit on a penny? We also do simple demonstrations of capillary action in this teacher-generated lab.
Unit 4
• Transformation
Students will explore the concept of transformation.
• Gel Electrophoresis
Students complete AP Lab 6, “Molecular Biology.”
• DNA Extraction from Onion Cells
Students extract DNA from onion cells or fruit fly salivary glands in thisUnit 5
• Photosynthesis
Students complete AP Lab 4, Exercise 4B, “Photosynthesis/The Light Reaction.”
• Plant Pigment Chromatography
Students complete AP Lab 4, Exercise 4A, “Plant Pigment Chromatography.”
• Examining Stomates in Zebrina Leaves
Students will observe the functions and structure of stomata on Zebrina leaves
• Examining Xylem
Students put celery (about one-inch lengths of stalk) in red food coloring and watch the food coloring move up the xylem.
Unit 6
• Fruit Fly Lab
Students complete AP Lab 7, “Genetics of Organisms.”
• Mitosis and Meiosis
Students complete AP Lab 3, “Mitosis and Meiosis.”
• Probability I
Students flip a coin 100 times in groups of 10 to show that in probability, as numbers become larger, you more closely approximate your predicted ratio.
• Probability II
Students do an M&M’s® and chi-square lab.
Unit 7
• Hardy-Weinberg Law of Genetic Equilibrium
Students complete AP Lab 8, “Population Genetics and Evolution.”
• Timeline
Students create a timeline—1,000 mm of time.
• Evolution Round Table Lab
This lab involves a serious of stations that will exhibit various aspects of evolution and natural selection. This lab will be completed in approximately one week of intense lab time.
Unit 8
• Earthworm Dissection
• Crayfish Dissection
• Zoology Roundtable Survey: “Diversity of Animal Life”
This lab involves a series of stations that show and discuss various phyla of organisms. These stations will discuss and exhibit the various structures and characteristics that differentiate the various groups being presented. Specimens and amazing images will be presented to illustrate example species from each phylum. In this lab, we will also explore the simplest of life forms – the viruses and bacteria to help present a wholistic view of living things and the progression to ever-increasing complexity.
(If time permits)
Unit 9
• Transpiration
Students complete AP Lab 9, “Transpiration.”
• Flower Dissection
Students will study the various parts of the flower through a standard dissection to further understand the structure and function of these sexual parts.
• Fruits
Students will study various examples of fruits.
Units 10 and 11
• Pulse Rates
Students complete AP Lab 10, Exercise 10A, “Measuring Blood Pressure,” and Exercise 10B, “A Test of Fitness.”
• Heart Rate and Temperature
Students complete AP Lab Manual Exercise 10C, “Heart Rate and Temperature”.
Students will complete AP Biology Lab #5, “Cellular Respiration”.
Teaching Strategies
This course will be divided in to four general teaching modalities:
Hands-on Student-centered Lab Activitie
Lecture
Group work
Independent Discovery
The scope and sequence of the course will follow the basic themes presented above as well as the detailed timeline syllabus.
As often as possible I recycle previously-covered concepts and make a conscience effort to relate concepts covered in previous units to newer units to instill an “everything-is-interconnected” conceptualization of the biological sciences in my students. For example, the concepts of evolution, biochemistry, ecology, while being themes in and of themselves, will be interwoven throughout the course.
Lab Component
Working in pairs, students will do every lab exercise in the AP Biology Lab Manual for Students. They also do a variety of labs I have written myself or modified over the years from various sources.
Students do a lab every week, and they are required to turn in a write-up for each one. The level of these write-ups will vary depending on the lab. Some labs require only well-organized data summary and brief conclusions. Others, such as dissections and microscope labs, merely consist of a well-drawn diagram of what students saw. For labs that come from the AP Lab Manual, students must complete the graphs and answer the questions in the manual and present their findings in a specifically formatted manner. Independent research projects require a full lab report.
Students have one week from the completion of a lab to turn in their reports.
Student Evaluation
Unit tests = 65 % of final grade
Independent research project = 10 % of final grade
Lab reports, homework, and quizzes = 10-15% of final grade
Term Projects – 10% of final grade
Term Projects
Each term students complete a project that requires them to do independent work and turn in a report.
• First-Term: Radish Seed Experiment (Unit 1). Students design and carry out an experiment at home that tests whether radishes grow better in the light or the dark. This project emphasizes the elements of experimental design, as well as how to make graphs and tables for data presentation. Students submit a written lab report, which will be graded on experimental design, presentation and discussion of data.
• Second-Term: Original DNA/Genetic Code Papers (Unit 4). Students read one of the original papers on the discovery of DNA or the genetic code and give an oral presentation (and written report) to the class.
• Third-Term: Human Karyote Construction (Unit 6). Students prepare a human karyotype on paper at home.
• Fourth-Term: Owl Pellet Investigation (Unit 11). Students will reconstruct an owl pellet in the lab after the AP Exam. They are required to reconstruct the skeletons of all the animals the owl ate that are present in its pellet. This lab emphasizes comparative anatomy, and homology among mammals, as well as scientific reasoning.
