AP BIOLOGY COURSE SYLLABUS_2_

							AP BIOLOGY COURSE SYLLABUS
AP BIOLOGY Mr. Herman ADVANCED PLACEMENT BIOLOGY SYLLABUS & COURSE DESCRIPTION IOWA CITY WEST HIGH SCHOOL

Text: Biology, Campbell & Reece, 6th ed. Accompanying website with answers, key terms, and extension activities:
http://www.campbellbiology.com and the CD in the back of the textbook are excellent resources.

Prerequisite: General Biology and completion of or concurrent enrollment in Chemistry AP Biology is a second year course that explores several specific aspects of biology in greater depth. Major topics include those listed below by trimester. This course includes many of the key aspects of college level biology classes including a strong lab component. The course is designed for motivated students who have an interest in knowing more about and pursuing post-secondary degrees in the sciences. Concepts covered in AP Biology will serve to prepare you for the AP Biology Exam given in the spring of the year. Students are encouraged to take this exam and I will help you prepare for it. You are by no means obligated to take the exam and will not be pressured to take it by the instructor. ADDITIONAL LEARNING AIDS: 1. I will try and list several good websites that can assist you in studying and preparing for class and labs. 2.Several other advanced level books are available in the lab and my office and you may check them out for use any time. The rule is simple and its an honor system folks. If you check one out use it and bring it back in a timely manner. If you loose it you must buy another copy! 3.An excellent learning aid for this course as well as other subjects are the Cliff Notes books. There is a Cliff Notes to AP Biology and I highly recommend it as a great way to read and learn from summaries. It is usually available in bookstores all over. 4. I recommend you get a three ring binder to keep all notes and lab information in. I will give out many handouts through the year and this is an excellent way to organize your life in here. I have also found that some colleges want to see evidence that you have successfully completed a course like this and a well kept notebook is good evidence to present to them. 5. Always make sure you have a supply of pens and pencils. I have extras if you need some. 6. Buy yourself a few 3 ½” computer discs for use in class. We will use a computer several times this year and you will find them very valuable. 7. If you have a TI (Texas Instrument) calculator you will find it very valuable also. I recommend the TI83plus. I will show you several very niffy things we can do with it in the lab.

ASSIGNMENTS All work must be handed in on the due date. Any late material will earn ½ credit if turned in one day late and no credit after that. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to get any assignments and class notes. If you are absent on a test/quiz day( excused) then you will be expected to make up the test or quiz on the day you return. If consecutive days are missed for any reason the makeup may be pushed back accordingly. Make sure you always check with me concerning your absences. We will work things out for you but please keep in mind you are responsible for your work. GRADING Students will be assessed through a combination of homework scores, lab write-ups, exams and projects. The percentages amount to about 60% exams and 40% through labs, projects and other scores. You will probably find fewer grades being given compared to other courses you may take so when we prepare for exams and get projects and labs ready for grading we must do it well. If you find studying difficult see me for help at any time. One way students have found success in this course is to form study groups and work out problems together. Just keep in mind that I am always here for you and will be glad to work with you all the time. The grading scale I use will be 90%-80%-70%-60%.. I keep my grades on computer and update it often so your progress can be checked at anytime. Check your returned papers against the posted grades and keep a record of your progress. Even though I may post your grade on a paper as a letter with a + or – you should realize that the policy here at West High does not incorporate the +/- on the final grade. Exams will consist of multiple choice and matching items and some short answer essays. The day of/or after the exam you will have an essay question over one or more of the concepts in that unit. These questions will require you to synthesize material from the unit and possibly form other areas we have studied and write a response. These questions must be answered in approximately 22 min. One of the purposes in doing this is to assist you in practicing this type of writing for the spring AP exam. The main purpose however is to check your understanding of the main topics covered in the unit. IF YOU NEED HELP If you need help pertaining to the class or anything else you would like to visit about please feel free to stop by my office anytime. I have _______ hours open, and will be here at school from 7am until after 4pm everyday.

AP BIOLOGY MR. HERMAN 1st TRIMESTER Introduction & Experimental Design Biochemistry Cell Biology Cell Energetics & Photosynthesis 2nd TRIMESTER Heredity Molecular Genetics Evolution Diversity 3rd TRIMESTER Organisms Anatomy & Physiology in Plants & Animals Ecology

TOPICS COVERED

LABS Designing an Experiment Osmosis-Diffusion Mitosis/Meiosis Enzymes, Cell Respiration, Photosynthesis&Plant pigments

Corn Genetics, Fast Plants, Fruit Flies ALU-Hyman DNA Fingerprint Molecular Biology lab, Biotech Population Genetics-H-W Lab

Physiology of Circulation Neurobiology labs Mammalian Anatomy Transpiration Animal Behavior Aquatic Productivity

You will be given a reading list of chapters and pages in Campbell’s , Biology as well as other supplementary texts that are helpful concerning the above topics as we cover them in lecture and lab. You will find yourself spending considerable time in lab and analyzing lab data. Some of the labs will require a formal report where others will just consist of a brief abstract of the information. In all cases you must read the labs prior to coming to lab or your group will not get finished with the days work