AP BIOLOGY
Yaacov Levy –
Welcome to AP Bio. This class will be hard. Not insane, but hard. You will need to study often. You will need to make study groups often. I will be very happy to help, call me, see me during lunch, but in the end of the day you will need to take responsibility and study. If you don't study you will fail. If you don't study you will fail. If you don't study you will fail.
In this class we will be learning many of the basic underpinnings that modern biology is based on. The curriculum is based on 4 major ideas.
1- Evolution is the driver of diversity
2- Energy is used for growth, reproduction and maintaining homeostasis
3-Living systems needs to store, retrieve and transmit information
4- Biological systems interact
These ideas will spread across all topics we learn
The topics we will cover are
Evolution
Ecology
The Cell
Mendelian genetics
Molecular Genetics
Respiration & Photosynthesis
Since this is a small class the one and only major responsibility we will have to each other is respect. Respect for each other and respect for the learning environment. All other ‘rules’ will be a natural outgrowth of this basic understanding and don't need to be spelled out.
HW
We will have HW on the mastering biology website on a regular basis. It will be a big percentage of your grade. If you don't do your HW you will fail.If you don't do your HW you will fail.If you don't do your HW you will fail.If you don't do your HW you will fail.If you don't do your HW you will fail.
Grading
Test-40%
HW-35%
Class participation- 15%
Other- 10%
AP Biology curriculum outline
Unit 1Biochemistry
Organic Chemistry, water
Macromolecules
Unit 2Cell
Prokaryotic & Eukaryotic cells
Membranes
Unit 3Metabolism &Cellular Engergetics
Metabolism, enzymes,coupled reactions
Cellular Respiration, fermentation,
Photosynthesis
Unit 4Mitosis & Meiosis
Eukaryotic chromosomes
Cell Cycle and its regulation
Meiosis and gametogenisis
Unit 5Ecology
Biosphere, behavioral biology
Population & community ecology
Ecosystems, conservation biology
Unit 6Genetics and Heredity
Mendelian Genetics
Inheritance Patterns
Unit 7Molecular Genetics I
DNA & RNA, protein synthesis
Mutations
Unit 8Biodiversity (Take Home Unit)
Early origin of life, taxonomy
Monera, Protista, Plants, Fungi
Unit 9Molecular Genetics II
Genetics of Bacteria and viruses
Eukaryotic genome organization and control
.
Unit 10Biotechnology & Bioethics
DNA technology, bioethics Developmental genetics
Unit 11Biological Evolution
Natural selection, Darwin
Population genetics, mechanisms of evolution
Unit 12Plant Structure & Function
Plant Anatomy & physiology
Growth, nutrition, transport
Reproduction, control
Unit 13Animal Evolution & Biodiversity
Invertebrate & vertebrate evol./diversity
Human Evolution