AP Biology Syllabus 2014-2015 Instructor: Brianna Howland Email: bhowland@alvinisd.net Phone: 281-245-2232 Room: B206 Text: Biology, Campbell & Reese, 9 th ed. (2011) from Benjamin Cummings Course description AP Biology is demanding course, equivalent of an introductory college biology course. This course is meant to deepen your understanding of the unifying principles of biology using the principles of inquiry to guide you through. Content will be covered in more depth and greater expectations will be placed on interpretation and analysis of information than previous biology courses. In addition, A significant amount of studying must be completed at home to allow time for discussion, labs, and inquiry during class time. AP Biology is a course that aims to provide students with the conceptual framework, factual knowledge, and analytical skills necessary to deal critically with the rapidly changing science of biology. This course is designed to prepare students for the Biology College Board Advanced Placement Exam. There are four Big Ideas that the course centers around: Big Idea 1: Evolution the process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life Big Idea 2: Cellular Processes (Energy and Communication) Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow. Big Idea 3: Genetics and Information Transfer living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes Big Idea 4: Interactions Biological systems interact and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties. Material Requirements: 1. Textbook Campbell s AP Biology 2. Lab book composition book that will be used for all lab notes 3. Subject notebook with pocket or a folder used for notes and activities 4. Blue/black pens for labs, pencils, colored pencils 5. Basic Calculator only 4 functions (allowed on AP exam can only have + - \ * and can have square root) Class Expectations: Come to class prepared Maintain an organized notebook and lab notebook Attend Class Study at home No whining! This is a college level course. It will be challenging!! Grading: Grades are calculated on a percentage basis. The value of each individual assignment varies. Students earn a grade based on the quality and accuracy of the work they complete. 40% - Tests and Projects 20% - Quizzes, Homework, Classwork 40% - Labs and Lab Reports
Quizzes At a minimum, one quiz will be given per unit. Some quizzes will be announced and others will not. Quizzes will vary in format depending on the topic being covered. Homework: Students will have homework daily and be completed every night. It will consist of reading assignments, viewing lectures (Kahn Academy, Bozeman biology), taking notes, Vocabulary, and to finish labs. If a formal assignment hasn t been given the student is expected to study over current material. You need to invest the time outside of class to be successful in class. Students may occasionally need to come in early or stay after school to work on their lab, collect data, and monitor apparatus. Labs: The new curriculum includes more emphasis on inquiry based labs, which means you will design your own experimental procedures for a significant number of labs. You will keep a lab notebook to record procedures and observations during labs. All labs will be done in pen. Formal lab write ups will be completed for major labs. Lab notebooks will be reviewed for a graded periodically. The AP Examination: MONDAY, MAY 11, 2015 @ 8:00 am The exam is three hours in length and is designed to measure a student's knowledge and understanding of modern biology. On a 5 point scale, a score of 3 or better is passing. The following format will be used: Section I: Multiple-Choice Part A consists of 63 multiple-choice questions that represent the knowledge and science practices that you should understand and be able to apply. Part B includes 6 grid-in questions that require the integration of science and mathematical skills. Section II: Free-Response You should use the mandatory reading period to read and review the questions and begin planning your responses. This section contains two types of free-response questions (short and long), and you will have a total of 80 minutes to complete all of the questions. Section 1 Question Type Number of Questions Timing Part A Multiple Choice 63 90 mins Part B Grid In 6 Section II Question Type Number of Questions Timing Long Free Response 2 80 mins + 10 min reading period Short Free Response 6 Animals in classroom/lab There are periodically a variety of animals (reptiles, fish, and rodents) in the classroom, some of them on a permanent basis and some on a temporary basis. I believe that having animals in the classroom enhances science education and provides opportunities many students would never experience otherwise. However, there has to be specific safety precautions taken in order to protect the students and the animals. Anyone caught mishandling, or being abusive, toward the animals will be subject to disciplinary action.
Information Regarding Notebooks You will need a Composition book for presenting your research findings and recording you assignments (from hereon called Lab Notebooks). Do the following to the pages in your Lab Notebooks before doing anything else: Page 1: Create a cover page for each of your notebooks in ink, colored pencils, or glue in a color printout anything but pencil (Only pens and/or colored pencils will be used in this book; except when creating a sketch to be colored in). It should be neat and include the following: Name, School Year,Teacher Name (Howland), and Period Page 2: (front side of next sheet in book) Title this page: Table of Contents. It is here you will be listing you labs/activities and be giving page numbers. So, you will want to neatly add columns like below: Lab Number Lab Title Page Number Grade Page 3: (front side of next sheet in book) Leave Blank. This is so if you need more room for table of contents you will have it. Page 4: (front side of next sheet in book) Pay attention! Here is where you will start numbering EVERY page in your book. You will start with 1 on the front side, 2 on the back side, 3 on next page, 4 on backside, and so on until you reach the very last page. All page numbers are put in the lower right hand corner of the page in ink! Composition Book Rules: 1. Black or blue ink only. Everything must be written in ink. 2. Keep your table of contents current! Make sure you skip lines in case you have to add a correction on one of those left hand pages and need to add it to your table of contents later. 3. Be as neat and organized as possible. Neatness and readability counts!!! 4. Before coming to lab to perform an experiment the following should be completed in your lab notebook for each lab experiment: i. Title and date of experiment ii. Introduction section iii. Materials and Method section iv. Results section: Data Table(s) should be prepared and ready to be filled in 5. Make sure you include all components requested in the instructions. Double check when you think you are done so that you don t miss anything. 6. Always use third person 7. Answer in full sentences. Re-phase the question and be as complete as possible. Err on the side of too much information 8. If you make a mistake, cross it out with one line. Do Not use white out. Do Not scribble out. Do Not tear out pages. 9. Portions of lab instructions may be cut out and included in notebook; however, they must be glued or taped in neatly in the appropriate place (no staples!). 10. Diagrams, graphs, charts are important. They may be hand drawn in your book, or you can make up in a program like Excel, print out and paste in your book. You can also print out graph paper for graphs on computer, or make one with a ruler.
Notes from Videos You will be asked to view a number of videos online throughout the semester in addition to or in lieu of lecture in class you will Title the page with the video title, URL for the video, and date viewed. You will take notes on key concepts presented in the video. You may record your notes however they are most useful to you (numbered, bulleted, graphically organized (flow chart, Venn diagram ) ). You may want to record diagrams as presented, or make a concept map. It must be neat! Following your notes, please title a section Summary Paragraph. Write at least one paragraph (including an introduction, and minimum 3 supporting facts) about what you learned in this video segment. Be specific and give examples. For example: Title: Enzyme Action URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndcxipii7- &list=pl7a750281106cd067&index=8&feature=plpp_video Date Viewed: 13 March, 2012 Notes: Enzymes are catalysts Enzymes speed up chemical reactions; decreasing energy needed for reaction Active site on enzyme substrate (reactant) goes into. Lock and Key analogy Summary Paragraph: Enzymes are proteins that function as catalysts. Enzymes speed up chemical reactions by decreasing the amount of energy required for a reaction to take place. Enzymes have an active site that the substrate acts on and forms a product. Enzymes work like a lock and key; if the key fits the door opens: if the substrate fits the active site then a chemical reaction takes place. Free Response writing Essay writing on the AP exam is very different than on English or history exams. You get no points for style, only for content. The essay portion of the exam is the second part of the test. After 10 min reading period you will have 80minutes to complete I suggest the following strategy: During the reading period: 1. You will be allowed to outline, but not write, during the reading period. This is to give you time to prepare your thoughts and avoid rambling essays 2. Prepare a graphic organizer/outline identifying what the question is asking. This will help you keep your answer on-topic when you begin to write. When writing: 1. Do NOT write an introductory paragraph or a concluding paragraph. This is a waste of time. 2. Dissect the question into its component questions. How many separate pieces of information is the author asking for and what are they? 3. Write logically using your graphic organizer as a reference. If the question asks for one example, choose your best example and fully explain it. Readers are trained to grade the first example given. Therefore, if the question asks for one example and your first example only earns one point, it doesn t matter that your second would earn two. 4. Avoid contradicting yourself. Although readers look for places to give points, contradictory statements can negate earned points. 5. Avoid fluff AP readers don t care about fancy writing and metaphors; they want to know that you know the information.