WHS AP Biology Curriculum Guide

AP Biology is a college level course that covers a typical introductory college biology and laboratory class.  Students will practice critical thinking and writing skills, data analysis skills, experimental design and test-taking strategies.  Students are expected to take the AP Biology exam in May, where students may earn college credit with a qualifying score.  

Unit

Time-
frame

Driving Questions

Major Learning Experiences from Unit 

1: Chemistry of Life

Sept

  • How would living systems function without the polarity of the water molecule?

  • What is the role of energy in the making and breaking of polymers?

  • How do living systems transmit information in order to ensure their survival?

  • Properties of Water Lab

  • Macromolecule Model Building

  • Protein Folding Activity

2: Cell Structure & Function

Oct

  • Defend the origin of eukaryotic cells

  • How do the mechanisms for transport across membranes support energy conservation?

  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of cellular compartmentalization?

  • How are living systems affected by the presence or absence of subcellular components?

  • Why are cells so small? Lab

  • Organelles Speed Dating

  • Cell Membrane Lab

  • Models of Osmosis

  • Mystery Molarities Lab

3: Cellular Energetics

Nov

  • How is energy captured and then used by a living system?

  • How do organisms use energy or conserve energy to respond to environmental stimuli?

  • Case Studies

  • Lactase Lab

  • Toothpickase Lab

  • Algae Bead Lab

4: Cell Communication & Cell Cycle

Dec

  • In what ways do cells use energy to communicate with one another?

  • How does the cell cycle aid in the conservation of genetic information?

  • Why and in what ways do cells communicate with one another?

  • Diabetes case study

  • Taste Test Experiment

  • Disease Project

  • Modeling Mitosis

5: Heredity

Dec

  • How is our understanding of evolution influenced by our knowledge of genetics?

  • Why is it important that not all inherited characteristics get expressed in the next generation?

  • How would Mendel’s laws have been affected if he had studied a different type of plant?

  • Modeling Meiosis

  • Practice Problems

  • Case Studies

6: Gene Expression & Regulation

Jan-
Feb

  • How does gene regulation relate to the continuity of life?

  • How is a species’ genetic information diversified from generation to generation?

  • Strawberry DNA Lab

  • Case Studies

  • Modeling Operons

  • Gel Electrophoresis Lab

  • Bacterial Transformation Lab

7: Natural Selection

March

  • What conditions in a population make it more or less likely to evolve?

  • Scientifically defend the theory of evolution

  • How does species interaction encourage or slow changes in species?

  • Antibiotic Resistance Lab

  • Hardy-Weinberg Practice Problems

  • Natural Selection Lab

8: Ecology

April

  • How does diversity among and between species in a biological system affect the evolution of species with the system?

  • How does the acquisition of energy relate to the health of a biological system?

  • How do communities and ecosystems change, for better or worse, due to biological disruption?

  • How does a disruption of a biological system affect genetic information storage and transmission?

  • How do species interactions affect the survival of an ecosystem?

  • Animal Behavior Lab

  • Survivorship Lab

  • Biodiversity Lab

  • Pond Disaster Case Study

9. Independent Research Project

May-

June

Students identify an “in the news” biological topic of their choosing and research and present their topic in a variety of formats.  Research includes scientific journal articles, news articles and government websites.

  • Read and interpret scientific journal articles

  • Topic presentations