AP Biology Course Syllabus and Pacing Guide

Myesia Morrison-Instructor

Overview of Course

The AP Biology course is designed to offer students a solid curriculum in general biology concepts. By utilizing the big idea statements, enduring understandings, and science practices to guide biology instruction, I assist students in developing an appreciation for the study of life. The learning objectives and science practices in the AP Biology Curriculum Framework help to guide the selection of instructional activities and assessments. Students entering AP Biology have taken full-year courses in introductory biology and chemistry. I make it a point to investigate the progress of the students through those courses by communicating with their previous teachers. I also use a questionnaire found at to survey the learning styles of the students entering the course. The goal of instruction is to help students deepen their understanding of biological concepts, be able to apply all of the science practices, and prepare themselves for advanced studies in biology in the college and university settings. Due to the differences in learning styles, students reach this understanding in a variety of ways. My challenge is to develop activities that provide diverse ways for students to learn and be confident in the application of this knowledge. For example, the use of physical models helps visual and kinesthetic learners to better grasp a process or concept, extend their thinking, and pose questions. My questionnaire helps me to make sure I select activities that address the learning styles of my students. I plan lectures, class discussions, inquiry-based instructional activities, and open-ended laboratory investigations that are inclusive of the learning objectives and science practices for the course. I look for additional resources that provide or help me develop laboratory investigations and activities that will interest students, relate to their lives, and challenge them as they learn biology. Although inquiry-based laboratory investigations provide experiences that naturally enable students to engage in science practices, other activities such as case studies, models, discussions, role-play, and videos also give students opportunities to engage in scientific inquiry and reasoning. Formative assessments throughout the units check for student understanding.

Using this approach allows students to better see the progression and interrelatedness of these major themes of biology.

  • Big Idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
  • Big Idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
  • Big Idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.
  • Big Idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.

Classes meet for 75 minutes a day, five days a week. Typically, four of the five days are spent lecturing and doing activities and the fifth day is spent doing laboratory investigations. However, this is subject to change. In order to cover most if not all of the required 13 labs for AP Biology students may be required to meet outside of the scheduled classroom time after school. My classroom is equipped with most if not all of the needed data collecting equipment needed to perform all of the 13 required labs.

Textbook and Supplemental Materials

  1. Biology, Campbell and Reese 9th edition
  2. Mastering Biology Online-Colorations to the Campbell textbook
  3. AP Biology Investigative Labs: An Inquiry-Based Approach, published by the College Board
  4. Readings from peer-reviewed scientific journals and other relevant current event topics
  5. Web-based investigations

Student Evaluations and Assessment

Summative assessments are given at the end of each unit of study during the grading period. There are 6units of study for this course. These tests consist of 32 multiple choice questions, 3 math problems ( if applicable) , 1 long free response, and 2 short free response questions that are a reflection of what will be on the AP exam. The unit exams will take one -two 75-minute class periods to administer. Students are also given formative assessments in the form of laboratory assessments, quizzes, clicker-questions, math-set problems.

Laboratory Component

The AP Biology Lab Manual will serve as the source for many of the labs. Some of these laboratory investigations are modified to meet the time restrictions of the course or modified to allow the incorporation of probe ware. The course devotes 25% of the instructional time to laboratory exercises. The majority of the laboratory investigations are inquiry based at a variety of levels, from guided to open inquiry. Students will be engaged in a number of additional investigations that supplement the curriculum for this course.

An emphasis is placed on integrating the use of mathematical analysis into the course. Basic, yet essential statistical tools will be utilized to analyze the data collected as laboratory investigations are performed. Example calculations include but are not limited to Chi-square, standard deviation, standard error and the T-test. Additionally, students need to understand the importance of identifying mathematic trends such as generating a line of best fit for appropriate data collected.

A variety of modes are used throughout the course that allows students to present the results of laboratory investigations. These include constructing and presenting mini-posters, developing PowerPoint presentations, conducting peer reviews, and developing traditional laboratory reports. Complete laboratory reports include an introduction, hypothesis, procedure, organized data, a complete statistical analysis of the data, a conclusion with both limitations and recommendations for further investigations. The seven science practices are incorporated into varying laboratory investigations throughout the course.
The seven science practices are outlined below:

  1. The student can use representations and models to communicate scientific phenomena and solve scientific problems.
  2. The student can use mathematics appropriately.
  3. The student can engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or guide investigations within the context of the AP course.
  4. The student can plant and implement data collection strategies appropriate to a particular scientific question.
  5. The student can perform data analysis and evaluation of evidence.
  6. The student can work with scientific explanations and theories.
  7. The student is able to connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts and representations in and across domains.

Grading

Students will be required to complete both summative (written and oral test, major projects, major laboratory reports), and formative (daily grades, such as study guide questions, supplemental lab reports). 40% of grade will come from summative work, 40% of grade will come from formative work, and 20% of grade will come from class participation, mastering biology and weekly quizzes.

The culmination of the course is the AP Biology exam (5/11/15-8:00 a.m.) All students are required to take the exam. All or most of the cost will be covered by a Grant from the National Math Science Initiative (NMSI). Through this grant we will also offer after-school and Saturday school tutoring and Exam prep. Dates will be announced at a later time. General afterschool tutoring will be offered on a weekly bases.

Curriculum and Pacing

We will cover 6 Units during the course. They are:

  • Unit 1: Introduction to Biology and the Chemistry of Life-4 weeks
  • Unit 2: Cells and Cellular Processes-8 weeks
  • Unit 3: The Genetic Basis of Life-6 weeks
  • Unit 4: Evolutionary Biology-6 weeks
  • Unit 5:Organism Form and Function-3 weeks
  • Unit 6: Ecology-4 weeks

Each unit contains Essential Questions statements which serve to let students know what knowledge is needed to support the unit. Learning objectives provide clear and detailed articulation of what students should know and be able to do. Imbedded into each unit are Science Practices. The science practices enable students to establish lines of evidence and use them to develop and refine testable explanations and predictions of natural phenomena. Because content, inquiry and reasoning are equally important in AP Biology, each learning objective described in the concept outline combines content with inquiry and reasoning skills described in the science practices.

1st Trimester: 8/25-11/14/2014

Unit 1: Introduction to Biology and the Chemistry of Life 8/25-9/19/2014
Essential Questions:
  • What kind of data is needed to answer scientific questions about how organisms respond to their external environment?
  • What types of molecules do organisms use for building blocks and excrete as wastes?
  • How do structures of biologically important molecules (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids) account for their function?

Learning Objectives:
Justify the selection of the kind of data needed to answer scientific questions about the relevant mechanism that organisms use to respond to changes in their external environment. [LO 2.21, SP 4.1]
Justify the selection of data regarding the types of molecules an animal, plant, or bacterium will take up as necessary building blocks and excrete as waste products.[LO 2.8, SP 4.1]
Construct explanations of the influence ofenvironmental factors on the phenotype of anorganism. [LO 4.23, SP 6.2]
Predict the effects of a change in anenvironmental factor on the genotypicexpression of the phenotype. [LO 4.24, SP 6.4]
Explain the connection between the sequence and the subcomponents of a biological polymer and its properties. [LO 4.1, SP 7.1]
Refine representations and models to explain how the subcomponents of a biological polymer and their sequence determine the properties of that polymer. [LO 4.2, SP 1.3]
Use models to predict and justify that changes in the subcomponents of a biological polymer affect the functionality of the molecule. [LO 4.3, SP 6.1, SP 6.4]
Construct explanations based on evidence of how variation in molecular units provides cells with a wider range of functions.[
LO 4.22, SP 6.2]
Connecting The Big Ideas:
  • A discussion of how evolution impacts changes in DNA structure which ultimately alters the structure of a protein (Big Ideas #1 and #2)
  • A discussion of how monomers combine to form polymers and how this affects the properties of the polymer (Big Idea #4)

Duration of Unit: 4 Weeks: 8/25-9/19/2014
Textbook Chapters: 1-5
Instructional Activities and Assessments:
  • Constructing models of various organic compounds
    (SP 1.1-3)
  • AP Lab 13: Enzyme Activity: modified enzyme lab using catalyses to capture oxygen directly. Students use a guided inquiry approach to investigate variables of their choosing and determine their effects on reactions rates.
    (SP 2.1, 2.2, 2.3; SP 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4; SP 5.1, 5.2, 5.3; SP 7.2)
  • Constructing models to illustrate the various levels of proteins structure.
    (SP 1.1-3)
  • Examining models of enzymes and demonstrating competitive and noncompetitive inhibition.
    (SP 1.1-3)
  • Animal Behavior Lab
  • CHNOPS Modeling Activity
  • How does pH influence the phenotype of plants
  • “What’s in you Food”-Lab Activity
  • “A Can of Bull” Do Energy drinks really provide a source of energy-Case Study
Assessment:
  • Quiz I: 9/3/14
  • Quiz II: 9/10/14
  • Quiz III: 9/17/14
  • Unit Exam: 9/22-23/14

Unit 2: Cells and Cellular Processes
Essential Questions:
  • How does cell structure and function help to maintain dynamic homeostasis in living organisms?
  • Why dogrowth, reproduction, and maintenance of the organization of living systems require free energy and matter?
  • What mechanisms and structural features of cells allow organisms to capture, store, and use free energy?

Learning Objectives:
Use calculated surface area-to-volume ratios to predict which cell(s) might eliminate wastes or procure nutrients faster by diffusion. [LO 2.6, SP 2.2]
Explain how cell size and shape affect the overall rate of nutrient intake and the rate of waste elimination. [LO 2.7, SP 6.2] Explain how internal membranes and organelles contribute to cell functions.[LO 2.13, SP 6.2]
Use representations and models to describe differences in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. [LO 2.14, SP 1.4]
Make a prediction about the interactions of subcellular organelles. [LO 4.4, SP 6.4]
Use representations and models to analyze situations qualitatively to describe howinteractions of subcellular structures, which
possess specialized functions, provide essential functions. [LO 4.6, SP 1.4]
Pose scientific questions that correctly identify essential properties of shared, core life processes that provide insights into the
history of life on Earth. [LO 1.14, SP 3.1]
Justify the scientific claim that organisms share many conserved core processesand features that evolved and are widely
distributed among organisms today.[LO 1.16, SP 6.1]
Describe specific examples of conserved core biological processes and features shared by all domains or within one domain of life, and how these shared, conserved core processes and features support the concept of common ancestry for all organisms. [LO 1.15, SP 7.2]
Construct models that connect the movement of molecules across membranes with membrane structure and function.
[LO 2.11, SP 1.1, SP 7.1, SP 7.2]
Construct models that connect the movement of molecules across membranes with membrane structure and function.
[LO 2.11, SP 1.1, SP 7.1, SP 7.2]
Justify the selection of data regarding the types of molecules that an animal, plant, or bacterium will take up as necessary building blocks and excrete as waste products. [LO 2.8, SP 4.1]
Use representations and models to pose scientific questions about the properties of cell membranes and selective permeability
based on molecular structure.[LO 2.10, SP 1.4, SP 3.1]
Use representations and models to analyze situations or solve problems qualitatively and quantitatively to investigate whether dynamic homeostasis is maintained by the active movement of molecules across membranes.[LO 2.12, SP 1.4]
Justify a scientific claim that free energy is required for living systems to maintain organization, to grow, or to reproduce, but
that multiple strategies exist in different living systems. [LO 2.2, SP 6.1]
Design a plan for collecting data to show that all biological systems (cells, organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems) are affected by complex biotic and abiotic interactions. [LO 2.23, SP 4.2, SP 7.2]
Use models to predict and justify that changes in the subcomponents of a biological polymer affect the functionality of the
molecule. [LO 4.3, SP 6.1, SP 6.4]
Analyze data to identify how molecular interactions affect structure and function.[LO 4.17, SP 5.1] Construct explanations of the mechanisms and structural features of cells that allow organisms to capture, store, or use free energy. [LO 2.5, SP 6.2]
Justify the scientific claim that organisms share many conserved core processes and features that evolved and are widely
distributed among organisms today.[LO 1.16, SP 6.1]
Describe specific examples of conserved corebiological processes and features shared by all domains or within one domain of life, and how these shared, conserved core processes and features support the concept of common ancestry for all organisms. [LO 1.15, SP 7.2]
Justify a scientific claim that free energy is required for living systems to maintain organization, to grow, or to reproduce, but
that multiple strategies exist in different living systems. [LO 2.2, SP 6.1]
Use representations to pose scientific questions about what mechanisms and structural features allow organisms to capture, store, and use free energy.[LO 2.4, SP 1.4, SP 3.1]
Construct explanations based on scientific evidence as to how interactions of subcellular structures provide essential functions. Evaluate data-based evidence that describes evolutionary changes in the genetic makeupof a population over time. [LO 1.4, SP 5.3]
Evaluate evidence provided by a data set in conjunction with a phylogenetic tree or a simple cladogram to determine evolutionary history and speciation. [LO 1.18, SP 5.3]
Evaluate evidence provided by data frommany scientific disciplines that supportbiological evolution. [LO 1.9, SP 5.3]
Construct and/or justify mathematical models, diagrams, or simulations that represent processes of biological evolution.
[LO 1.13, SP 1.1, SP 2.1]
Create a phylogentic tree or simple cladogramthat correctly represents evolutionary history and speciation from a provided data set.[LO 1.19, SP 1.1]
Construct scientific explanations that use the structures and mechanisms of DNA and RNA to support the claim that DNA and, in some cases, that RNA are the primary sources of heritable information. [LO 3.1, SP 6.5][LO 4.5, SP 6.2]
Apply mathematical routines to quantities that describe interactions among living systems and their environment, which result
in the movement of matter and energy.[LO 4.14, SP 2.2]
Connecting the Big Ideas:
  • A discussion of how organisms must exchange matter with the environment in order to grow and reproduce and that these exchanges can have an effect on cell specialization (Big Ideas #2 and #3)
  • A discussion of the origin and evolution of restriction enzymes and how they function (Big Ideas #1 and #2)
  • A discussion of how organisms must exchange matter with the environment in order to grow and reproduce and that these exchanges can effect on phenotypic expression (Big Ideas #2 and #3)

Duration of Unit: 8 Weeks: 9/24-11/14/2014
Textbook Chapters: 6-12
Instructional Activities and Assessment:
  • AP Lab 4 Diffusion and Osmosis: Examination of semi-permeable membranes, passive diffusion and osmosis, cell size, plasmolysis, calculations of water potential of different types of tissues
    (SP .1.-5; SP 2.1-3, SP 4.3; SP 5.1-3, SP 6.2, 6.4; SP 7.1-2)
  • Constructing models of various types of transport
    (SP 1.1-3)
  • Constructing a model of the cell membrane. Students will compare and contrast their membrane with other students’ membrane.
    (SP 1.1-3)
  • Making models of various types of cell communication
    (SP 1.1-3)
  • Cell Type Survey- Student inquiry into a survey of various cells and proper staining technique
    (SP 1.1.-4)
  • HHMI Case Study
  • Cell Modeling
  • Concept Mapping
Assessment:
  • Quiz I: 10/1/14
  • Quiz II: 10/8/14
  • Quiz III: 10/15/14
  • Quiz IV: 10/22/14
  • Quiz IV: 10/29/14
  • Quiz V: 11/5/14
  • Unit Exam:11/12-13/14

2nd Trimester: 11/17/2014-2/27/2015

Unit 3: The Genetic Bases of Life
Essential Questions:
  • How is heritable information passed to the next generation via processes that include the cell cycle and mitosisand meiosis plus fertilization?
  • How does the chromosomal basis of inheritance provide an understandingof the pattern passage (transmission) of genes from parent to offspring?
  • What is the primary source ofheritable information, and how are cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the expression of this heritableinformation?
  • How can genetic engineering techniques manipulate the heritable information of DNA?

Learning Objectives:
Make predictions about natural phenomena occurring during the cell cycle. [LO 3.7, SP 6.4]
Describe events that occur in the cell cycle.[LO 3.8, SP 1.2]
Construct an explanation, using visual representations or narratives, as to how DNA in chromosomes is transmitted to the next generation via mitosis, or meiosis followed by fertilization. [LO 3.9, SP 6.2]