Advance Placement Biology

Course Description
The goal of the biology course is to provide a learning environment that enables students to develop understanding of the principal concepts in biology. The course and the examinations will stress the basic facts and the synthesis of these facts into major concepts and themes.

Click here for an introduction letter from the teacher to all new students and their parents.

Topic Outline (Percentage of Course)

The following guidelines are offered to help students focus on unifying themes and key concepts.

I. Molecules and Cells (25%)
    A. Chemistry of Life (7%)
        1. Water
        2.Organic molecules in organisms
        3.Free energy changes
        4.Enzymes

    B. Cells (10%)
        1. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell
        2. Membranes
        3.Subcellular organization
        4.Cell cycle and its regulation

    C. Cellular Energetics (8%)
        1. Coupled reactions
        2. Fermentation and cellular respiration
        3. Photosynthesis

II. Heredity and Evolution (25%)
    A. Heredity (8%)
        1. Meiosis and gamtogenesis
        2. Eukaryotic chromosomes
        3. Inheritance patterns

    B. Molecular Genetics (9%)
        1. RNA and DNA structure and functions
        2. Gene regulation
        3. Mutation
        4. Viral structure and replication
        5.Nucleic acid technology and application

   C. Evolutionary Biology (8%)
        1. Early evolution of life
        2. Evidence for evolution
        3. Mechanism of evolution

III. Organisms and Populations (50%)
     A. Diversity of Organisms (8%)
        1. Evolutionary patterns
        2. Survey of the diversity of life
        3. Phylogenetic classification
        4. Evolutionary relationships

    B. Structure and Function of Plants and Animals
        1. Reproduction, growth, and development
        2. Structural, physiological, and behavioral adaptation
        3. Response to the environment

    C. Ecology (10%)
        1. Population dynamics
        2. Communities and ecosystems
        3. Global issues

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