WELCOME TO AP BIOLOGYSelect a seat - that will be your seat for the year

NEW CURRICULUM

Focus on 4 Big Ideas in Biology1. The process of evolution drives the diversity

and unity of life2. Biological Systems utilize free energy and

molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis

3. Living systems store, retrieve, transmit and respond to information essential to life processes

4. Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties

NEW CURRICULUM

Focus on 7 science practices1. The student can use representations and

models to communicate scientific phenomena and solve scientific problems

2. The student can use mathematics appropriately

3. The student can engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or to guide investigations within the context of the AP course

4. The student can plan and implement data collection strategies appropriate to a particular scientific question

NEW CURRICULUM

Science practices continued….

5. The student can perform data analysis and evaluation of evidence6. The student can work with scientific explanations and theories7. The student is able to connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts, and representations in and across domains

NEW CURRICULUM

Focus on Inquiry Laboratory Experiences 25% of the class is required to be spent in lab

Many labs have multiple components, one of which will be inquiry

Required to do a minimum of two AP bio labs per Big Idea

LABORATORY EXPERIENCE

Work in small groups of 2 to 4 people

Each person is required to have a Lab Log book (can be purchased at Staples for $1 or use the one I provide)

Information reported via log book, lab report, and/or mini poster

BREAK

Getting to know you…

Using your electronic device or a laptop, complete the AP Biology Student Survey found on my website under the “Survey” tab on the left hand side of the screen.

“THE TEST”

Last year (2013/14) my class average was 3.850!

During 2012/13 my class average was 3.818!

During 2011/12 my class average was 4.25!!!

OVERALL SCORE DISTRIBUTION 2013-14

Score 1 2 3 4 5

% of my students

0.0 10.0 25.0 35.0 30.0

% of students globally

8.9 27.4 35.1 22.1 6.5

CHANGES TO THE TEST

Section 1 – 90 minutes Part A: 63 Multiple Choice (reading intensive but

only 4 choices) Part B: 6 Grid-In (math – formula sheet provided,

can use 4 function calculator) Section 2 – 80 minutes + 10 minute reading

period 2 Long Free Response 10pts each (same as old

test) 6 Short Free Response 3-4pt and 3-3pt questions

(new)

NEW MULTIPLE CHOICE STYLESection 1 Example:

By discharging electric sparks into a laboratory chamber atmosphere that consisted of water vapor, hydrogen gas, methane, and ammonia, Stanley Miller obtained data that showed that a number of organic molecules, including many amino acids, could be synthesized. Miller was attempting to model early Earth conditions as understood in the 1950s. The results of Miller’s experiments best support which of the following hypotheses?

(A) The molecules essential to life today did not exist at the time Earth was first formed.

(B) The molecules essential to life today could not have been carried to the primordial Earth by a comet or meteorite.

(C) The molecules essential to life today could have formed under early Earth conditions.

(D) The molecules essential to life today were initially self-replicating proteins that were synthesized approximately four billion years ago

NEW MATH QUESTIONS

Section 2 Example:In a certain species of flowering plant, the purple allele

P is dominant to the yellow allele p.

A student performed a cross between a purple-flowered plant and a yellow-flowered plant. When planted, the 146 seeds that were produced from the cross matured into 87 plants with purple flowers and 59 plants with yellow flowers.

Calculate the chi-squared value for the null hypothesis that the purple-flowered parent was heterozygous for the flower-color gene. Give your answer to the nearest tenth.

10 POINT FREE RESPONSEPlants lose water from their aboveground surfaces in the process of transpiration. Most of this water is

lost from stomata, microscopic openings in the leaves. Excess water loss can have a negative effect on the growth, development, and reproduction of a plant. Severe water loss can be fatal. Environmental factors have a major impact on the rate of plant transpiration.

TRANSPIRATION RATE VERSUS TEMPERATURE

Temperature (°C) 20 23 27 28

Transpiration rate (mmol/m2• sec) 1.5 3 5 4.5

(a) Using the data above and the axes provided, draw a graph showing the effect of temperature change on the rate of transpiration. Explain the shape of the curve from 23 degrees to 28 degrees.

(b) Humidity is an environmental factor that affects transpiration rate. Using the axes provided, draw a curve that illustrates what you predict would be the rate of transpiration with increasing humidity and constant temperature. Justify the shape of the curve based on your prediction.

(c) The curve below illustrates the rate of transpiration related to the percent of open stomata on the leaf of a particular plant. Explain why the curve levels off with increasing percentage of open stomata per area of the leaf. (Graph would be present on actual test)

(d) The data below show the density of stomata on the leaf surfaces of three different species of plants. Describe the environments in which each plant most likely evolved. Justify your Descriptions.

Stomata Density (# of stomata/mm2)

Plant In Upper Epidermis In Lower Epidermis

Anacharis 0 0

Water lily 420 0

Black walnut 0 465

3 TO 4 POINT FREE RESPONSE

Populations of a plant species have been found growing in the mountains at altitudes above 2,500 meters. Populations of a plant that appears similar, with slight differences, have been found in the same mountains at altitudes below 2,300 meters.

(a) Describe TWO kinds of data that could be collected to provide a direct answer to the question, do the populations growing above 2,500 meters and the populations growing below 2,300 meters represent a single species?

(b) Explain how the data you suggested in part (a) would provide a direct answer to the question.

BREAK

Getting to know you…

Let’s play “2 truths and 1 lie”

1. I was married outside in a thunderstorm – Mt. Gretna, PA.

2. My hands and feet are certified lethal weapons – 1st degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

3. This summer my family and I vacationed at the Galapagos Islands.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS CLASS

Desire to learn biology

You will read your textbook

Complete assignments

Participate in class

1 Research Paper – DNA DAY essay contest

Read “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”

GRADING

Tests and Quizzes 55%

Lab 25%

Projects 10%

Homework 10%

UNITS

1. Intro/Nature of Science & Chemistry/Biochemistry

2. Cells, Cell Membranes & Cell Transport3. Energy, ATP & Cellular Respiration4. Photosynthesis & Plants5. Cellular Reproduction6. Genetics7. Molecular Genetics / Biotechnology8. Evolution9. Cell Signaling & Animal Systems 10. Ecology

TEXTBOOK

Campbell, Reece, et al., AP Edition Campbell Biology, 9th edition, Benjamin Cummings, 2011.

On-line access code – I will have this for you soon.

1ST HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

View Bozeman Biology video 005 “Essential Characteristics of Life” (http://www.bozemanscience.com/005-essential-characteristics-of-life) and complete video worksheet. Due Tuesday 8/26/14 - Start of class.

Read & Sign Lab Safety Contract. Get parent/guardian signature on Lab Safety Contract. Due Thursday 8/28/14 – Start of Class.

Ask your parent to complete the “AP Biology Parent Survey” found on my website. Due Tuesday 9/2/14 – by 7:34 am.