concepts in and across domain(s) to generalize or extrapolate in and/or across enduring understandings and/or big ideas. Topic Outline for the Year The AP Biology curriculum is framed around four Big Ideas. For each of these Big Ideas, there is a set of core concepts called Enduring Understandings, which will be used to guide the AP Biology course curriculum. Below is an outline of the AP Biology Curriculum Big Ideas and Enduring Understandings topics covered in this course. AP Biology is a rigorous course that demands personal responsibility from the student. In order for students to plan effectively, they will be provided with due dates for all major projects, labs, article abstracts and tests. Students are strongly encouraged to complete nightly readings and study each day’s lecture notes on their own time. The tentative time allocations are intended to permit adequate review prior to the AP Exam in May. The instructor reserves the right to adjust the syllabus as warranted for instructional benefit. Big Idea Discussion Topics/Duration Enduring Understanding AP Lab/ Science Practice Campbell (9th Ed.) Chapter Unit One: Evolution The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life. Natural Selection (10 days) Evolutionary Biology (14 days) Change in the genetic makeup of a population over time is evolution. Organisms are linked by lines of descent from common ancestry. Live continues to evolve within a changing environment. The origin of living systems is explained by natural processes. Lab 2: Hardy- Weinberg Lab 3: Comparing DNA Sequences to Understand Evolutionary Relationships with BLAST Science Practices: 1,2, 3, 5, 6, 7 Ch. 22 - 27 Unit Two: Cellular Processes – Energy and Communication Biological systems utilize energy and molecular building blocks to grow, reproduce, and maintain homeostasis. Chemistry of Life (14 days) (18 days) Cell Energy and Metabolism (20 days) Growth, reproduction, and maintenance of the organization of living systems require free energy and matter. Growth, reproduction, and dynamic homeostasis require Lab 13: Enzyme Activity Lab 4: Diffusion and Osmosis Lab 5: Photosynthesis Lab 6: Transpiration Ch. 3 – 11; 45, 48, & 49
that cells create and maintain internal environments that are different from their external environments. Organisms use feedback mechanisms to regulate growth and reproduction, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis. Growth and dynamic homeostasis of a biological system are influenced by changes in the system’s environment. Many biological processes involved in growth, reproduction, and dynamic homeostasis include temporal regulation and coordination. Science Practices: 1 – 7 Unit Three: Genetics and Information Transfer Living systems retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes. Mitosis and Meiosis (8 days) Mendelian Genetics (12 days) Molecular Genetics (12 days) (16 days) Heritable information provides for continuity of life. Expression of genetic information involves cellular and molecular mechanisms. The processing of genetic information is imperfect and is a source of genetic variation. Cells communicate by generating, transmitting, and receiving chemical signals. Lab 7: Mitosis and Meiosis Lab 8: Bacterial Transformation Lab 9: Restriction Enzyme Analysis of DNA Science Practices: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 Ch. 12 – 21; 27