What is AP Biology?
AP Biology is a survey course of biological science equivalent to the introductory biology course for science majors taught at the university level. AP Biology covers topics in greater depth and at a much faster pace than the normal Biology course you most likely took freshmen year. You should have successfully completed both Biology and perferablly Chemistry before beginning this course.
This course is extremely fast-paced and requires a great deal of self-discipline to be successful. There is a heavy emphasis on science as inquiry and discovery; thus, a great deal of time is spent designing and performing laboratory investigations.
Our course is framed around four "Big Ideas" in Biology, as well as a set of Science Practices. They are:
Big Idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
Big Idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
Big Idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.
Big Idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.
Science Practice 1: You will use representations and models to communicate scientific phenomena and solve scientific problems.
Science Practice 2: You will use mathematics appropriately.
Science Practice 3: You will engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or to guide investigations within the context of our course.
Science Practice 4: You will plan and implement data collection strategies appropriate to a particular scientific question.
Science Practice 5: You will perform data analysis and evaluate evidence.
Science Practice 6: You will work with scientific explanations and theories.
Science Practice 7: You will connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts, and representations in and across domains.
This course is extremely fast-paced and requires a great deal of self-discipline to be successful. There is a heavy emphasis on science as inquiry and discovery; thus, a great deal of time is spent designing and performing laboratory investigations.
Our course is framed around four "Big Ideas" in Biology, as well as a set of Science Practices. They are:
Big Idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
Big Idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
Big Idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.
Big Idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.
Science Practice 1: You will use representations and models to communicate scientific phenomena and solve scientific problems.
Science Practice 2: You will use mathematics appropriately.
Science Practice 3: You will engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or to guide investigations within the context of our course.
Science Practice 4: You will plan and implement data collection strategies appropriate to a particular scientific question.
Science Practice 5: You will perform data analysis and evaluate evidence.
Science Practice 6: You will work with scientific explanations and theories.
Science Practice 7: You will connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts, and representations in and across domains.
The Successful AP Biology Student...
- Realizes this is a fast-paced course so they have excellent attendance.
- Shows up to class on time, ready to learn.
- Always has needed supplies: binder, notes, pens, pencils, and lab notebook.
- Prepares for class each day by watching lectures, reading assigned labs and taking notes.
- Reads assigned chapters, takes summary notes and writes clarifying questions about content they don't understand.
- Recognizes when they need help with learning a difficult concept or topic and comes in and asks for assistance.
- Uses the textbook as a learning tool, and remembers to read it each night.
- Sets learning goals and uses study skills and strategies to meet those goals.
- Lets the teacher know ahead of time when they will miss class for any reason.
- Completes and turns in assignments on time.
- Schedules tests & labs to be made up when they return from an absence.
- Always reads every lab before that lab day and any assigned pre-lab exercises.
- Organizes a binder just for AP Bio things with handouts, returned labs, returned quizzes and returned free response questions so that studying for tests and the AP exam is much, much easier!
- Studies and reads class notes and text a little each day, rather than waiting until the last minute.
- Does not let personal technology distract them from learning, whether they are in class or at home.
- Appropriately uses personal technology as a learning tool in class.
- Keeps neat & accurate lab data to be organized in lab reports.
- Follows instructions for all labs and activities assigned.
- Participates as an active learner in class each day.
