AP Biology Course Description from the College Board
Anything you may wish to know about the official course including course content, focus, the AP Biology exam, and other relevant information.
New AP Biology Course Description Handbook.pdf
AP Biology Course Description - Palatka High School
This course is organized into three major instructional areas:
Molecules and Cells (25%)
Heredity and Evolution (25%)
Organisms and Populations (50%)
The material covered and its sequence reflect the course outline suggested by the authors of the AP Biology Exam.
Prerequisites: Biology I or Honors Biology (final grade of A or B)
Chemistry I (final grade of A or B)
Textbook: Starr and Taggart’s Biology - The Unity and Diversity of Life, Eleventh Edition
Recommended: Cliff’s Notes for AP Biology (an AP Biology Preparation Guide) - any other study guide for AP Biology
Requirements: Prompt and regular attendance to class
Prior reading of each chapter
Take notes on reading
Take tests in class (formatted after the AP Exam)
Prepare for and participate in laboratory activities and compete laboratory write-ups
Keep an AP Biology notebook with sections for classwork and lab work
Bring textbook to class and have supplies in order to participate in class
Homework assignments (half credit for late work)
Article reviews once each six weeks
You will receive grades for tests, homework, labs, chapter notes, quizzes, and article reviews.
You will be assigned a take-home assignment over the Christmas and Spring breaks. These will be similar to the summer assignment that you completed this year, only shorter.
I will award .5 class participation points for each day that you are in class promptly. I will subtract 5 points each time you are tardy, unexcused. These points will serve as extra credit, and are not part of the required points for your final grade.
AP Biology Topic Outline
Percentage of Course
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 cells
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 gametogenesis
2. Eukaryotic chromosomes
3. Inheritance patterns
B. Molecular Genetics ..............................................................................................9%
1. RNA and DNA structure and function
2. Gene regulation
3. Mutation
4. Viral structure and replication
5. Nucleic acid technology and applications
C. Evolutionary Biology ...........................................................................................8%
1. Early evolution of life
2. Evidence for evolution
3. Mechanisms 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 .....................................................32%
1. Reproduction, growth and development
2. Structural, physiological, and behavioral adaptations
3. Response to the environment
C. Ecology ...............................................................................................................10%
1. Population dynamics
2. Communities and ecosystems
3. Global issues