AP Biology
Mr. Johnson
Course Overview
The class meets every other day for 90 minutes. The students also have the opportunity to
extend each class period by 60 minutes during their seminar time. This 150 minute period is especially useful
as they complete the 12 labs in the AP Lab Manual for Students and the
additional research work the students do at the school nature center and the
Konza. Students have required reading
out of
AP Biology students are required to enter the Regional Science Fair hosted
by our school district. Often their
projects are extensions of work that they encounter in the AP Lab Manual or
research projects they do at one of the prairie centers.
Course Outline
The course in organized into 11 units with the AP Biology themes examined
in each unit. Students are asked to
discuss the themes in their learning journal for each unit. Students also have content and skill lists
for each unit from the district curriculum map.
AP Biology themes and explanations that students use in their learning
journals:
Theme 1 Science as Process – Science is a way for us to learn about the
things and events in our world.
Theme 2 Evolution – Evolution is change over time. It is driven by a number of natural
processes.
Theme 3 Energy transfer – Energy is the ability to do work. In living systems energy is controlled by a
variety of physical structures and biochemical reactions.
Theme 4 Continuity and change – Organisms tend to maintain a high fidelity
in the genetic information that is passed from generation to generation. However, external and internal factors can
affect the level of fidelity.
Theme 5 Relationship of structure to function – Form and function affect
each other and the ability of an organism to survive.
Theme 6 Regulation – Living organisms must have regulation of chemical and
behavioral mechanisms.
Theme 7 Interdependence in Nature – At some level all biotic and abiotic
factors effect each other.
Theme 8 Science, Technology and Society – Science, Technology and Society
do not exist in separate spheres. There
is positive and negative interaction between them.
Evaluation:
50% the semester grade is based on
summative evaluations of class content skills.
40% of the
semester grade is based on lab work (lab reports, contributions to department
collections, science fair project, and digital projects). 10% is based on the semester final exam
grade.
Fall and Spring Reading
schedule