Links Course Topics, Concepts, and Themes Topics, concepts, and themes all give structure to an AP Biology course. Topics are the subject areas in biology. An example of a topic is cellular respiration.
Concepts are the most important ideas that form our current understanding of a particular topic.
In a conceptual approach to the topic of cellular respiration, for example, it is important to understand how membranes couple ATP synthesis to the energy released by electron transport. This key concept stands above discrete facts, such as the role of a particular cytochrome in electron transport. Emphasizing concepts over facts makes the content of a biology course less overwhelming and more meaningful. A biology course has more structure and meaning when the key concepts for each topic are placed in the broader context of unifying themes. AP Biology defines a theme as an overarching feature of biology that applies throughout the curriculum.