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AP BIOLOGY- GRADING POLICY & SYLLABUS

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to provide the student with the conceptual framework, factual knowledge and analytical skills necessary to deal critically with the rapidly changing science of biology. The two main goals of AP Biology is to help students develop a conceptual framework for modern biology and an appreciation as science as a process. AP Biology is a college course taught in a high school setting.

MATERIALS:

Text: Campbell, Reece and Mitchell Biology, 5th ed. Illinois: Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley 1999.

Laboratory Manual: Advanced Placement Laboratory Manual. The College Board and Educational Testing Service, 1997.

Web site:

Each student is expected to bring the following to class every day: a three ring binder notebook, a writing utensil, a supply of lined paper, and any handouts that pertain to the day’s activities. Each student will receive one copy of any handout. If the student loses that copy it is their responsibility to obtain another copy from their classmates. A separate, bound notebook is required for the recording of laboratory data on lab days.

HOMEWORK: Homework will consist of reading assignments from Biology as well as pre-lab questions. Reading assignment grades will be based upon the degree of completion of chapter outlines. Students will receive an outline for almost every chapter we cover. Homework will be checked frequently with or without notice.

LABORATORY EXERCISES: We will be performing 12 quantitative laboratory exercises that have been designed by The College Board. The labs are the equivalent of what you would expect to find in a college course. These exercises are advanced in nature and students need to study the procedures carefully before attempting to perform the lab. Students must have completed a pre-lab sheet (which I will hand out) before you begin the lab. Students lacking the required sheet will complete it in the prep room before they can begin the lab. You will not be given additional time to complete the lab exercise. Failure to bring your completed pre-lab will seriously jeopardize your lab grade. The day the lab is due, a lab quiz will take place which will be inclusive to lab report grade.

LAB REPORTS: Once a laboratory exercise is completed, the laboratory report will be due on the next lab day. This will allow you time to ask me questions about your report. Handing a report in late will result in a 10 point grade deduction for each day late. Reports will not be accepted if they are more than four days late.

TESTS: Tests will be announced at least one week in advance of the actual test date. The tests will include material from lectures, assigned readings and lab exercises. Most of the questions, both multiple choice and essay, will be taken from actual AP exams.

CLASSTIME: We will meet three times a week for forty eight minutes and once a week for 84 minutes. The 84 minute period will be dedicated to hands on labs. The forty eight minutes periods will be dedicated to lectures. Please be on time for class – our time together is very limited and we must continue on in order to finish all of the material necessary for the AP exam in May.

ESSAYS: Essay questions from previous AP Exams will be assigned throughout the year. These essays will be counted as quizzes.

QUIZZES: Quizzes on reading material and homework will be given with or without notice.

MAKE-UPS: If a student is absent it is his/her responsibility to make up notes, homework, essays or exams missed during the absence. The student has the same number of days to make up the work, as he/she was absent. Please note: Absence the day before an exam or quiz will not excuse you from taking the exam or quiz. Any work not made up will result in a zero for the assignment.

TERM GRADES: Your term grade will be computed as follows:

60% Exams/Quizzes

35% Laboratory reports

5% Homework

MID TERM: A mid term will be given and will follow the policy outlined in the student handbook.

YEAR GRADE: It is expected that you will take the AP exam in May. Taking the exam will exempt you from a final exam in June. The grade for the year is determined by the following means: each term grade will contribute 22.5% and the mid term will contribute 10% of the of the year grade.

CHEATING: I am truly sorry to have to mention this topic but previous experience has shown me that it is one that needs to be dealt with. According to the Student Handbook “cheating consists of any schoolwork a student submits for evaluation that is not done by him or her.” Schoolwork includes homework, lab exercises, quizzes and exams. If I find that you are cheating you will receive a “0” for that assignment regardless of whether the assignment in question is a piece of homework or an exam. I understand that data gathered by lab partners will be the same but answers to summary questions should not be identical. Submission of homework assignments or lab reports that have been copied from another student will result in both parties receiving a “0”.

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS: As you can see by the syllabus that follows, this course moves at a fast and furious pace. Some weeks we cover as many as five chapters. You cannot afford to fall behind! I need to be clear, about several aspects as the course, from the outset:

• At times you will be tested on materials that have been assigned but not necessarily covered in class.

• I will make every attempt to explain any topic in as many ways as possible to help you gain an understanding of the material. There does come a point, however, when I will have to move on. Further help can be gained by seeing me after school.

• I am available, most days, after school for extra help. Sometimes, an occasional faculty meeting will prevent me from meeting with students immediately after school, but I will be available after the meeting ends. I know many students have rehearsals, practices, games and meets. You will need to plan ahead to make sure you get any help you may need. I will gladly sign passes to practices and rehearsals. The time to come and get your questions answered is not the afternoon before the exam!

• I will hold several evening review sessions before each exam. I do not hold morning review sessions.

• One month before the AP Exam we will have weekly, optional, evening review sessions.

This course requires a lot of work but it covers such fascinating material. Welcome aboard!

The following outline is from “Topic Outline,” page 5, Course Description for AP Biology, published by the College Board:

Major Themes:

1. Science as a process

2. Evolution

3. Energy Transfer

4. Continuity and Change

5. Relationship of structure and Function

6. Regulation

7. Interdependence of nature

8. Science, Technology and Society

During the year, AP Biology students will be applying these themes to a wide range of topics. In fact, the College Board has created a topic outline to illustrate the topics that make up a typical college biology course – and so should form the basis for AP Biology courses. The percentages in parentheses show how much of the course should be spent on particular topics

1. Molecules and Cells (25%)

a. Chemistry of Life (7%)

i. Water

ii. Organic molecules in organisms

iii. Free Energy changes

iv. Enzymes

b. Cells (10%)

i. Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells

ii. Membranes

iii. Subcellular organization

iv. Cell cycle and its regulation

c. Cellular Energetics (8%)

i. Coupled Reactions

ii. Fermentation and cellular respiration

iii. Photosynthesis

2. Heredity and Evolution (25%)

a. Heredity (8%)

i. Meiosis and gametogenesis

ii. Eukaryotic chromosomes

iii. Inheritance Patterns

b. Molecular genetics (9%)

i. RNA and DNA structure and function

ii. Gene Regulation

iii. Viral structure and replication

iv. Nucelic Acid Technology and applications

c. Evolutionary Biology (8%)

i. Early evidence of life

ii. Evidence of evolution

iii. Mechanisms of Evolution

3. Organisms and Populations

a. Diversity of Organsism (8%)

i. Evoltuionary patterns

ii. Survey of the diversity of life

iii. Phylogenetic classification

iv. Evoltuionary relationships

b. Structure and Function of Animals (32%)

i. Reproduction, Growth and Development

ii. Structural, physiological, and behavioral adaptations

iii. Response to the environment

c. Ecology (10%)

i. Population Dynamics

ii. Communities and Ecosystems

iii. Global Issues

Advanced Placement Biology Curriculum

|Unit |Concepts |Labs |Chapters in Biology |

|Ecology |Population Ecology |Lab 11: Animal Behavior |50-55 |

| |Community Ecology |Lab 12: D.O. & Aquatic Productivity| |

| |Ecosystems | | |

| |Conservation Biology | | |

|Evolution |Darwin |Lab 8: Population Genetics & |22-25 |

| |Microevolution |Evolution | |

| |Macroevolution | | |

| |Classification | | |

|Biochemistry |Characteristics of Life |Lab 2: Enzyme Catalysis |1-6 |

| |Chemical Concepts | | |

| |Water | | |

| |Carbon | | |

| |Biochemistry | | |

| |Metabolism | | |

|Cells |Cell Structure |Lab 1: Diffusion & Osmosis |7,8,11 |

| |Membranes | | |

| |Cell Transport | | |

| |Cell Communication | | |

|Energy Transformation |Photosynthesis |Lab 4: Plant Pigments & |11,10 |

| |Respiration |Photosynthesis | |

| | |Lab5: Cell Respiration | |

|Cell Reproduction |Mitosis |Lab 3: Mitosis & Meiosis |12-13 |

| |Meiosis | | |

|Christmas vacation |Genetics |Genetics packet | |

|Heredity |Genetics |Lab 7: Genetics of Drosophila |14-16 |

| |Chromosomes | | |

|Midyear | | | |

|Nature of the Gene |DNA |DNA extraction |16-17 |

|Part 1 |Protein synthesis | | |

|Nature of the Gene |Viruses |Lab 6: Molecular Biology |18-21 |

|Part 2 |Bacteria | | |

| |DNA Technology | | |

| |Genetics of Development | | |

|February Vacation |Plant |Plant Packet |29,30, 35-39 |

|Plants |Classification |Lab 9: Transpiration Lab |29,30,35-39 |

| |Structure | | |

| |Functions | | |

| |Reproduction & Development | | |

|April Vacation |Classification |Parade through the Kingdoms |27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34 |

|Animal Systems |Systems: |Lab 10: Physiology of the |40-49 |

| |Digestive |Circulatory System | |

| |Circulatory & Respiratory | | |

| |Immune | | |

| |Endocrine & Excretory | | |

| |Nervous & Sense | | |

| |Muscular | | |

| |Reproductive | | |

| |Animal Development | | |

|AP Exam |AP Exam | | |

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