Bullitt Central High School



Bullitt Central High School

Department: Science

Course Title: AP Biology

Term: 2016-2017

Text: AP Edition Biology (5th Edition - Campbell)

Lab Text: AP Biology Investigative Labs Student Manual (CollegeBoard)

Teacher: Mr. Taylor

E-mail: roy.taylor@bullitt.kyschools.us

Credit: One

Prerequisites: Integrated Science, Biology, preferably Chemistry

Course Description: AP (Advanced Placement) Biology is intended to be commensurate with a two semester, college-level introductory biology course. The students then are expected to work accordingly to this level and develop study skills and educational ethics that will benefit them in institutes of higher learning. AP Biology differs greatly from the standard biology course in terms of academic expectations, lab work and depth of content covered. Therefore, students are required to dedicate a considerable amount of time, energy and effort to the course to ensure success in terms of mastery in the subject area. The course will focus on, and is designed to encompass, four central themes throughout the year.

• Big idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life. (Evolution)

• Big idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce and to maintain dynamic homeostasis. (Cellular Processes: Energy and Communication)

• Big idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit and respond to information essential to life processes. (Genetics and Information Transfer)

• Big idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties. (Interactions)

Course Goal: The short term goals of this course are preparation for the AP Biology Exam in the spring and development of study skills, critical thinking and laboratory etiquette that will be beneficial in any future content class. The long term goal is to foster a desire for knowledge of the biological world beyond the scope and duration of the classroom, leading to lifelong, scientifically-literate learners.

Connections: The four big ideas of AP Biology, like all living organisms, are interrelated, and they will not be taught in isolation. The course will connect the enduring understandings from one big idea with those of the others wherever practical. You will maintain a curricular map of the big ideas and enduring understanding showing connections as they are made in activities ranging from Socratic seminars to lab activities. How are they connected, you may ask? For example:

Mitochondria – these organelles are the site of respiration, a process that will be studied in a lab later this year (see on the next page). While it might be easy to simply says that their function is only applicable to Big Idea #2, for their ability to produce ATP is a process that the cell is highly dependent on to grow, it would drastically limit the scope of our course (and in turn, understanding of the subject). The research of Lynn Margulis (we’ll talk about the endosymbiotic theory later this year) led to a greater understanding of cellular evolution, for it seems that this organelle was, at one point in time, a freely-existing bacterium that, over time, developed a symbiotic relationship with cells that was so integral it eventually became an indispensable component of eukaryotic cells. Thus, you not only link to Big Idea #1, but Big Idea #4 as well. Furthermore, a large piece of evidence to support the endosymbiotic theory is that mitochondria replicate independently of the cell during mitosis, aided by their own, circular DNA (characteristic of bacteria). This DNA is pivotal in the study of metabolic, genetic disorders (you can thank your mother if you have such a disorder – we’ll come to that later this year as well). Thus, we connect up to Big Idea #3. In short, all topics and labs of this course will connect to these four ideas, and to successfully synthesize all the information within the course, it is recommended that you carry out this habit with all labs, Socratic seminars and other activities.

Course Requirements: In order for the student to be successful in this course, he/she must meet the following expectations.

1. The student must attend class daily and on time.

2. The student must pay close, intelligent attention in class. Classroom discussion is required.

3. The student must take detailed notes during lectures, reading assignments, laboratory exercises and other presentations. The student must also be prepared to dedicate at least an hour of study for this course outside of school.

4. The student must participate in all laboratory and cooperative learning experiences, including satisfactory completion of the thirteen designated AP Biology labs (see course outline below).

5. The student must satisfactorily complete all projects and/or homework on time. No late work will be accepted.

6. The student must satisfactorily complete all quizzes and chapter tests.

7. In order for the student to receive a weighted grade they must take the AP exam.

Criteria Included for Evaluation and Determination of Grade:

1. Chapter Tests

2. Daily Quizzes over assigned reading.

3. Participation in laboratories – the course will engage in 1-2 lab days per week on average (including the thirteen mandatory labs for AP designation) and as a result, 25-40% of the class time will be spent on labs.

4. Completion of classroom activities, projects and homework assignments

5. Participation in classroom discussions – specifically Socratic seminars. Another large portion of the course requires that students connect their biological and scientific knowledge to major social issues, and we will do this with weekly discussions of articles taken from current, scientific journals focused on current advances in the biological field

Final grade is determined by a compilation of all chapter tests, classroom activities, homework, quizzes, projects, and a comprehensive exam each semester. Students who take the AP exam will receive a weighted grade.

Rules and Expectations of the Class:

1. Be prepared and on time.

2. Keep up with the material and assignments in class. Remember: you only get out of this class what you put in. “No mental pain, no mental gain!”

3. Respect your classmates, your teacher and yourself.

4. Show respect for the property of others.

5. No headphones, CD players, hand-held video games, cell phones or other electronics are permitted in the classroom. You’re big kids, you know this.

Materials Needed for Class:

1. A composition notebook (likely two) dedicated solely to lab reports

2. A binder or folder for papers returned

3. Pencils or pens (something to write with)

4. Loose leaf paper or notebook (something to write on for class notes and what have you)

5. Scientific calculator.

6. $15.00 lab fee for consumable/nonrenewable lab materials.

7. While it is not necessary, if you are planning on taking the AP exam, which I HIGHLY recommend (since you are taking an AP course), then I also highly recommend the Barron’s AP Biology Test Prep book. It runs for ten bucks on Amazon.

Labs: The students will be engaged in investigative laboratory work for 1-2 days per week (averaging out to 25-40% for the year). These labs will be inquiry based, student-directed investigations. There will be at least two laboratory experiences per big idea selected from the list below from the AP Biology Investigative Lab Manual: An inquiry-based approach (2012). These labs will be spread throughout the school year and other labs pertaining to these big ideas will also be incorporated into the class (i.e. you aren’t limited to those found in the book). The descriptions below summarize the student inquiry portion of the investigation. Details on these labs can be found in the Lab Manual.

Big idea 1: Evolution

• BLAST Activity: Students use NCBI to compare DNA and protein

• sequences for organisms to test student-generated hypotheses on their

• relatedness.

• Hardy-Weinberg: Spreadsheet development to investigate factors affecting

• Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium.

• Artificial Selection: Students will grow organisms such as Fast Plants and

• select for specific traits over several generations.

Big idea 2: Cellular Processes; Energy and Matter

• Cellular Respiration: Students investigate some aspect of cellular

• respiration in organisms.

• Photosynthesis Students investigate photosynthetic rate under a variety of

• student selected conditions.

• Diffusion/Osmosis: Students investigate diffusion and osmosis in model

• systems and in plant tissue.

Big idea 3: Genetics and Information Transfer

• Cell Division: Mitosis and Meiosis. Students compare mitotic rate after

• exposure to lectin or other substances presumed to affect mitotic rate.

• Bacterial Transformation: Students investigate bacterial transformation.

• Restriction Enzyme Analysis: Students investigate restriction enzyme

• analysis.

Big idea 4: Interactions

• Energy Dynamics: Students develop and analyze model systems that

• describe energy flow.

• Fruit Fly Behavior: Students investigate chemotaxis in fruit flies.

• Transpiration: Students investigate the movement of water through plants

• in a model system.

• Enzyme Investigation: In an open inquiry lab, students will investigate and

• quantify factors that affect enzyme action.

Lab Reports: You will be required to keep a separate notebook reserved exclusively for lab reports (which will be required, but aren’t limited to, all the aforementioned labs). This will be a means by which you can develop an ongoing record of all investigations conducted in this class. Digital cameras, while not required, are recommended for illustrative documentation of set-ups. Two notebooks are also recommended should I still be grading a previous lab report when a new lab begins. Note: Preparation is key for this class, and as such, all students are required to have their procedure fully documented and detailed within their notebooks before beginning an investigation. Just a head’s up.

In closing, while this is a challenging class, I feel you’ll also find it highly rewarding. If you begin to struggle, please see a classmate or me. Remember: the thing to be “conquered” within this classroom is not the instructor or your peers, but the material. Slaying a dragon is far simpler with someone at your side.

* The instructor reserves the right to change the class syllabus as deemed necessary.

Course syllabus and outline adapted from various examples found at:

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