2013 – 2014 Course Outline All items in the following course outline are subject to additions or deletions as needed. Days Essential Questions Required Reading/videos Possible Activities/Materials Science as a Process 5 days (additional days for exp design) 8/26- 8/30 How is scientific knowledge generated and validated? What is science? How do we know what to believe in science?? Pre-requisite Reading Ch 1-2 Book selection Mastering biology Administrative/Paperwork “Ants that Count” video BILL set-up :Biology Interactive Learning Log Introduction to Inquiry: Carpet Stain experimental design lab -Experimental Design FRQ Practice AP Pre-test of Prior Knowledge Unit 1 – Biochemistry (4 weeks) 20 days (additional days may be necessary for exp. design) 9/3 – 10/1 How are biological molecules necessary for organisms to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain organization? How do the subcomponents of biological molecules determine the properties of that molecule? In what ways do DNA and RNA molecules have similarities and differences that define their function? What interactions between molecules affect their structure and function? Ch 3: “Water and the Fitness of the Environment” Ch 5: “The Structure and Function of Macromolecules” Ch 8: “An Introduction to Metabolism Ch 41: “Animal Nutrition” Molecule Model kits Properties of Water Lab Water FRQ Carbon Cycle GO/poster Macromolecule Lab Toothpickase Activity Enzyme Catalyst Lab Protein FRQ Unit 2 - Cells 3 1/2 weeks Campbell and Reece Diffusion & Osmosis Lab
16 days (additional days may be necessary for exp. design) 10/2- 10/25 How do conserved cellular processes support the idea that all organisms are linked by lines of descent from common ancestry? How do cells create and maintain internal environments that are different from their external environments? How do structure and function of subcellular components and their interactions provide essential cellular processes? How do cells maintain dynamic homeostasis by the movement of molecules across membranes? How are external signals converted into cellular responses? How do cells communicate, transmit, and receive chemical signals, and how does signal transmission within and between cells mediate gene expression and cell function? Ch 6: “A Tour of the Cell” Ch 27: “Prokaryotes” CH 7: “Membrane Structure and Function. Ch 42: “Circulation and Gas Exchange” Ch 44: “Osmoregulation and Excretion” Ch 11: “Cell Communication” Ch 45: “Hormones and the Endocrine System” Ch 48: “Neurons, Synapses, and Signaling” Ch 39: “Plant Responses to Internal and External Signals” -S/A & Cell Size Cell Membrane Model Cell Organelle Campaign MP3 Tutor/ BioFlix Eukaryote/Prokaryote FRQ Cell Membrane FRQ Cell Transport FRQ Web X-2 Park Ride “The Inside Story of Cell Communication” “An Example of Cell Communication: The Fight or Flight Response” (video) Dropping Signals – web activity G-protein model Shh: Silencing the Hedgehog Pathway – inquiry-based case study Unit 3 – Cell Processes: Energy & Cell Cycle 3 1/2 weeks 15 days How do biological systems utilize free energy to grow, Ch 8: “Introduction to Metabolism” Bean Brew – case study
24 days (additional days may be necessary for exp. design) 2/3 – 3/7 How does evolution by natural selection drive the diversity and unity of life? What scientific evidence from many disciplines, including mathematics, supports models about the origin of life on Earth and biological evolution? How can phylogenetic and cladograms be used to graphically model evolutionary history among species? Ch 22: “Descent with Modification: A Darwinian View of Life” Ch 23: “Evolution of Populations” Ch 24: “The Origin of Species” Ch 25:The History of Life on Earth” Ch 26:“Phylogeny and the Tree of Life” Ch 29: “ How Plants Colonized Land” Ch 30: “The Evolution of Seed Plants” Ch 32: “An Introduction to Animal Diversity” Ch 47: “Animal Development” Artificial Selection Lab– fast plants Hardy-Weinberg mathematical modeling lab Comparing DNA sequences lab Speciation Web Activity Rock pocket mouse case study Tree Thinking Investigative case study “GEOLogic: The Big Five Mass Extinctions” web activity Unit 6 – Biodiversity & Ecology 6 weeks 42 days (additional days may be necessary for exp. design) 3/10- 4/18 How are growth and homeostasis of a biological system influenced by the system’s environment? How do interactions among living systems and with their environment result in the movement of matter and energy? How do interactions between and within populations influence patterns of species distribution and abundance? How does human activity affect the biodiversity of ecosystems? Ch 52: “An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere” Ch 53: “Population Ecology” Ch 54: “Community Ecology” Ch 55: “Ecosystems” Ch 39: “Plant Responses to Internal and External Signals” Ch 40: “Basic Principles of Animal Form and Function” Animal Behavior Lab Dissolved Oxygen Lab Magazine Project Energy Dynamics Lab Transpiration Lab Life series clips