Pre-AP Biology
Pacing Power Standards Vocabulary Assessment Title
Quarter 1 Science
Practices
Big Ideas
Experimental Design College Board
AP Biology 1 -
7
College
Board AP
Biology 1 -
4
Statistical significance
Chi-squared value
Critical value
Experimental treatment
Control
Null hypothesis
Ultimate reason for animal behavior
Innate versus learned behavior
Altruism
Animal Behavior lab miniposter &
presentation
Experimental design and animal
behavior lab quiz
Ecological Interactions College Board
AP Biology 1 -
7
College
Board AP
Biology 1 -
4
Mean rate of population growth
Logistic population growth model
Exponential population growth
Disturbance & ecological succession
Carrying capacity
Keystone species
Biodiversity
Habitat fragmentation
Ecosystem services
Common garden design
Effect of climate on species assemblages
Ecological interactions exam
Arboretum service-learning trip for
Southwestern Experimental Garden
Array (SEGA) study design
introduction and discussion of climate
model data
Cell structure and
function
1 - 7 1 - 4 Cell theory (and historical context)
Factory model of cell
Origin of organelles and endosymbiosis
Xylem
Stomata
Unique properties of water (H-bonds)
Density calculation
Stomata lab quiz
Osmosis and diffusion lab report
Cell structure and function exam
Standard deviation
Standard error of the mean
Water transport/transpiration
Cell membrane model (and historical context)
Alveoli
Microvilli
Surface area to volume ratio
Diffusion
Osmosis
Concentration gradient
Mitochondria structure/function
Hypo-, Hyper, isotonic solutions
Pre-AP Biology
Pacing Power Standards Vocabulary Assessment Title
Quarter 2 Science
Practices
Big Ideas
Ecological Energy and
energy dynamics
College Board
AP Biology 1 -
7
College
Board AP
Biology 1 -
4
Density dependent pop. factors
Energy mismatch
Food webs and flow of energy
Trophic cascade
Trophic structure and efficiency
Bioaccumulation and biomagnification
Invasive nonnative species
Ecological energy mismatch
1st and 2nd law of thermodynamics
Conservation of matter/mass
Enzyme structure and function
Buffering and blood homeostasis
Fermentation
Chloroplast structure and function
Model organisms
Computer model: Rabbits, weeds,
grass
Online database (eBIRDS) inquiry
investigation about competition for
limited ecological energy
Photosynthesis lab quiz (calculation
of net primary productivity) from
student propagated plants
Enzyme lab report
Energy energy exam
Photosynthesis, primary productivity energy
calculations, and where the biomass comes from
Cellular respiration, connection to ATP cycle,
and where the matter goes
The Cell Cycle and
Cancer
College Board
AP Biology 1 -
7
College
Board AP
Biology 1 -
4
Chromosomes
Sister chromatids
Mitosis
G0, G1, G2, M-phase
Asexual reproduction strategy
Stem cells and cell differentiation
Hallmarks of cancer
Lab: calculation and comparison of
rate of mitosis in plant meristem and
animal blastulas & model mitosis
Cell cycle quiz
Quarter 3 Science
Practices
Big Ideas Vocabulary Assessment Title
Meiosis, sexual reproductive strategy, and Mendelian genetics
College Board
AP Biology 1 -
7
College
Board AP
Biology 1 -
4
Genetic recombination and diversity Homologous chromosomes/pairs Random assortment Crossing over Random fertilization Karyotype and chromosome abnormalities Allele Dominant and recessive Phenotype and genotype Punnett squares Monohybrid cross Dihybrid cross Sex chromosomes Sex-linked trait and inheritance Pedigree Genetic disorders/disease Genotype (DNA) testing The effect of environment on phenotype Polygenetic inheritance
Meiosis lab: model meiosis, summarize sources of genetic diversity, use karyotype analysis to diagnose chromosomal abnormalities, compare/contrast advantages of asexual and sexual reproduction Are you a supertaster lab report Polygenetic inheritance: skin color and heart disease with pedigree connection Genetics exam
DNA to trait and biotechnology
College Board
AP Biology 1 -
7
College
Board AP
Biology 1 -
DNA, double-helix, sugar, phosphate, nitrogenous base, hydrogen and covalent bonds Heavy vs. light isotopes and Meselson Stahl
Lab: Model the structure of DNA and connection to history
4 experiment Semiconservative model of replication DNA replication, DNA polymerase RNA structure Transcription, RNA polymerase Ribosome tRNA Translation Codons Messenger RNA Mutation: definition, substitution, silent, frame-shift, positive, negative, neutral Mutagen Sickle-cell mutation case-study SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) DNA sequencing, genomes Restriction enzymes Gel electrophoresis RFLP analysis (DNA fingerprinting) Recombinant DNA technology Bacterial transformation
Models: DNA replication, transcription, and translation Sickle-cell case-study and connection to natural selection Gel electrophoresis lab: lab procedures and crime-scene simulation DNA and biotechnology Exam
Quarter 4 Science
Practices
Big Ideas Vocabulary Assessment Title
Evolution College Board
AP Biology 1 -
7
College
Board AP
Biology 1 -
4
Homology: definition, morphological, embryological, molecular Transitional fossil, Tiktaalik Common ancestry/ancestor Phylogenies, trees, cladogram Artificial selection Natural selection: survival and reproductive advantage, fitness Antibiotics Genetic resistance Sexual selection Types of selection: directional, stabilizing, disruptive Allele frequency calculation and change in Microevolution
Lab: Natural selection - antibiotic resistance in bacteria Lab: Artificial selection - selection for tall rapid plants Lab: Solving a Phylogenetic Puzzle (lizards of the Canary Islands) Model: Population Genetics Evolution exam
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium Gene pool Gene flow Genetic diversity Genetic drift: genetic bottleneck Mechanisms of evolution: natural selection and genetic drift Inbreeding and risk of small population size Loss of genetic diversity and risks of Translocation experiments
Animal Physiology College Board
AP Biology 1 -
7
College
Board AP
Biology 1 -
4
Zoonosis, zoonotic disease, evolution of Disease transmission Vector diagram Virus: structure, why not living, replication, lytic cycle, keys, host species and cell-type specificity, evolution rate, influenza, Hemagglutinin, and neuraminidase genes, HIV Genetic resistance in humans - CCR5 mutation Macrophage and phagocytosis Antibody and antigen interaction B-cells, memory B-cells, and immunological memory Primary and secondary immune response Quorum sensing in bacteria Signal transduction pathway: signal molecule (hormone), protein receptor, reception, relay molecules, transduction, response Blood glucose homeostasis Insulin Glucagon Negative feedback diagram Diabetes Neuron structure and function: dendrites, cell body, axon, Schwann cell, myelin sheath, nodes of Ranvier, axon terminals, synaptic cleft, synapse, presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons Action potential: Na+ and K+ channels, Na/K pump
Discussion answers to Jared Diamond's article: Arrow of Disease Animal physiology Quiz
Neurotransmitters and dopamine Neurotransmission The effects of drugs on neurotransmission
College Board AP Biology
The 4 Big Ideas This course is structured around four big ideas identified in the 2012 College Board curriculum framework for biology. Each unit will integrate all four big ideas. 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 Practices (S.P.) Science practices enable students to establish lines of evidence and use them to develop and refine testable explanations and predictions of natural phenomena. Each lesson will require that students apply one or more science practices. Over the course on any given unit, students will have applied all seven science practices multiple times. The science practices identified in the 2012 College Board curriculum framework for biology include:
1. Students will create, describe, refine, and use scientific representations and models of scientific phenomena to analyze situations or solve problems.
2. Students will justify the use of mathematical routines to solve problems, apply a mathematical routine to a data set, and apply appropriate estimation techniques.
3. Students will engage in scientific questioning by posing, refining, and evaluating scientific questions.
4. Students will plan and implement data collection strategies by selecting the type of data necessary to answer a question, designing a plan for data collection, collecting data, and/or evaluating sources of data.
5. Students will perform data analysis and evaluate evidence by searching for patterns and relationships, refining observations and measurements based on these, and evaluate data presented in data sets in relation to a scientific question.
6. Students will justify claims using scientific evidence, construct explanations based on evidence, make predictions, evaluate alternative scientific explanations, and explain why scientific explanations are refined or replaced.
7. Students will connect knowledge of phenomena and models across both spatial and temporal scales and connect concepts across domains.
Pacing Power Standards
Quarter 1 Learning Objectives
Ecology Big idea 4 and 2
Energy dynamics Science Practices 1 -7
Pacing Power Standards
Quarter 2 Learning Objectives
Molecules to cells Big ideas 3 and 4
Mitosis and meiosis Science Practices 1 -7
Genetics
Pacing Power Standards
Quarter 3 Learning Objectives
DNA to protein Big ideas 1 and 3
Biotechnology Science Practices 1 -7
Evolution started
Pacing Power Standards
Quarter 4 Learning Objectives
Evolution continued Big ideas 1 and 4
Homeostasis Science Practices 1 - 7
Human disease and immunity
Nervous system and drug connection
AP Biology
Unit I: Ecological Interactions (three weeks)
Topics Readings Activities/Labs & Assessment
A. Population ecology:
abiotic, biotic & density-
dependent factors, need
for free energy, growth
curves, demographics,
life history and trade-off
B. Species interactions:
types of interactions,
trophic structure,
diversity and stability,
disturbance
C. Ecosystems and
energy: laws of
conservation, limiting
factors, energy transfer,
biological and
geochemical processes
cycle nutrients
40.3 – 40.6
43.5
Read: Binkley article
41.1 – 41.5, 43.1 & 43.3
42.1 – 42.4 & P. 899
· Discuss Binkley article (Kaibab deer population)
· Discuss life-history patterns and trade-offs
· Science skills exercise: can mycorrhizae help plants cope with high-temperature soils?
· Use multiple resources to discuss patterns of biodiversity
· Science skills exercise: How efficient is energy transfer in a salt marsh ecosystem?
· Host guest-speaker from Northern Arizona University to introduce the Southwest
experimental Garden Array (SEGA) project
· Explore climate change models for the Flagstaff region and make predictions about
changes in vegetation structure, fire intensity/frequency, and economic impacts
· Discuss data on ecological mismatch (due to climate change)
· Summarize patterns of terrestrial and aquatic primary production
AP Lab #10: Energy Dynamics
Assessment: lab quiz, FRQ, multiple-choice & grid-in questions
* Service-learning trip for fire-management data collection: Walnut Canyon
* Optional 5-day service-learning trip to N. Rim of the Grand Canyon
Unit II: Plant Form and Function (three weeks)
A. H-bonding and
properties of water,
evolution of terrestrial
plants, water transport in
plants, transpiration
mechanism and trade-offs,
stomata regulation
B. Lipids, membrane
structure and function,
C. Diffusion, osmosis,
and water potential, types
of cellular transport
D. Signal transduction,
plant responses to internal
and external factors:
tropisms, response to
light, drought & common
garden experiments
2.5, 26.1, 26.2, 29.1, 29.3 –
29.6
3.4, 5.1 – 5.2
5.3, 5.4, 29.2, 32.3
5.3 – 5.4, 29.2, 32.3, P.
617 – 619, 624, 626 – 635
· Scientific skills exercise: Using a scale-bar to calculate surface area and volume of a
cell
· Create artificial membranes and view under the microscope. Connect to abiogenesis.
· Discuss the structure of the phospholipid, connect to the phosphorous cycle, and
diagram the structure/function of the plasma membrane
· Scientific skills exercise: Is glucose-uptake affected by cell age?
AP Lab #4: Diffusion and Osmosis
· Kinesthetically model transpiration
AP Lab #11 Transpiration
· Watch/discuss: Bonnie Bassler’s TED Talk on quorum sensing
· Kinesthetically act out the steps in a signal transduction pathway
· Case-study of negative feedback: stomata regulation
· Scientific skills exercise: Do drought-stressed plants communicate their condition to
their neighbors?
· Scientific skills exercise: Nature versus nurture – why are leaves from northern red
maples “toothier” than leaves from southern red maples?
· Seed-dormancy inquiry discussion
Assessment: lab quiz, FRQ, multiple-choice & grid-in questions
A. Carbon, monomers
and polymers,
carbohydrates
B. Thermodynamics:
conservation of energy
and mass, entropy, energy
transformations, free
energy, ATP, connection
back to ecosystems
C. Enzymes: structure,
function and regulation,
lysosomes, phenotype
determined through
protein activities,
buffering
D. Photosynthesis:
chloroplast structure and
function, light-reactions,
Calvin Cycle
E. Cellular Respiration:
mitochondrion structure
and function, glycolysis,
Krebs Cycle and
Oxidative phosphorylation
F. Connections:
endothermy, exothermy,
energy needs,
reproduction, the origins
3.1 – 3.3
6.1 – 6.4
3.5, 6.4, 6.5
8.1 – 8.3
7.1 – 7.6
32.1, 33.1 - 33.5, 42.1, P.
610, 679 – 681, 731, 25.2,
· Inquiry activity: Carbon’s role in organic molecules, monomers to polymer, and
starch versus glycogen
· Diagram analysis: conservation of matter, laws of thermodynamics, energy
transformations, ATP-cycle
· Diagram analysis: nitrogen-cycle, amino acids, peptide bonds
· Model primary protein structure with colored pop-beads and through quaternary
structure with pipe-cleaners
· Scientific skills exercise: Does glucose 6-phosphatase activity change over time in
isolated liver cells?
· Science skills exercise: does the inactivation of the PCSK9 enzyme lower LDL levels
in humans?
· Discuss structure and function of lysosomes
AP Lab #13: Enzyme Activity
· Discuss the significance of the oxygen revolution
· Plant pigment inquiry investigation using spectrophotometer
· Science skills exercise: does atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration affect the
productivity of crops?
· Explore evidence that oxygen arises from the splitting of water
· Play a role in the photosynthesis play
AP Lab #5: Photosynthesis
· Discuss and model mitochondrion & chloroplast structure and function in the
mechanism of chemiosmosis
· Scientific skills exercise: Which prokaryotes are most closely related to mitochondria
(endosymbiosis)?
· Play a role in the cellular respiration play
AP Lab #6: Cellular Respiration
· Science skills exercise: does thyroid hormone level affect oxygen consumption in
cells?
· Graphical analysis: exo- vs. endothermy
· Science skills exercise: what are the energy costs of locomotion?
· Watch/discuss TED Talk on the “secret” of weight loss
· Science skills exercise: what are the roles of the ob and db genes in appetite
regulation?
of multicellularity,
hierarchy of organization,
ruminant digestion
Assessment: lab quiz, FRQ, multiple-choice & grid-in questions
A. Role of cell-division,
mitosis, regulation, cancer
B. Asexual versus sexual
reproduction, homologous
chromosomes, meiosis,
genetic diversity
C. Mendelian patterns of
inheritance, complex
patterns, human genetic
disorders, pedigree
analysis
D. Chromosomes, sex-
linked inheritance, linked
genes and map distance,
alteration in chromosomes
25.2, 33.3, 33.4
9.1 – 9.3, 36.1, 10.1 – 10.4,
24.3, 30.2, P. 412-413
11.1 – 11.4
12.1 – 12.4
· Science skills exercise: at what phase is the cell cycle arrested by an inhibitor?
AP Lab #7: Cell Division: Mitosis and Meiosis
· Science skills exercise: do monkey flower species differ in allocating energy to
sexual versus asexual reproduction?
· Science skills exercise: does DNA content change as budding yeast cells proceed
through meiosis?
· Model independent assortment
· NCCSTS case-study: Why sex is good?
· Sexual selection inquiry: are males accurately advertising the quality of their genes?
· Discuss representations of genetic recombination in bacteria
· Given a data set, determine the pattern of inheritance
· Identify and describe nonmendelian patterns of inheritance
· Apply the chi-squared test to genetics data
· Science skills exercise: what is the distribution of phenotypes among offspring of two
parents who are both heterozygous for three additive genes?
· Science skills exercise: are two genes linked or unlinked?
· Explore & discuss a case-study of a human genetic disorder
· Karyotype on-line activities
Assessment: lab quiz, FRQ, multiple-choice & grid-in questions
A. Historic studies:
Avery-MacLeod-
McCarty, Hershey-
Chase, Watson and
Crick, nucleotide
structure and
directionality, DNA
& RNA structure and
function, replication
B. From gene to
protein: transcription,
RNA polymerase,
RNA processing, role
of ribosomes and
rough ER,
translation, mutation
C. Biotechnology:
PCR, restriction
enzymes, gel
electrophoresis,
operons,
transformation
Watson and Crick’s 1953
Nature article
3.6, 13.1 - 13.3
4.3 – 4.4, 3.5, 14.1 – 14.5,
34.7
13.4, 24.3, 30.3
15.1
· Discuss the abiogenesis of RNA nucleotides and the DNA-world hypothesis
· NCCSTS case-study: Classic experiments in molecular biology: The transforming
principle: Identifying the molecule of inheritance
· Inquiry activity: Meselson-Stahl experiment
· Model: replication, transcription, and translation using physical manipulatives and
diagram analysis
· Discuss the structure, function, and relationship between the nucleus, endoplasmic
reticulum, ribosome, and golgi
· Identify the mutation and discuss the possible consequences
· NIH Human genetic variation discussion
AP Lab #9: Biotechnology: Restriction Enzyme Analysis of DNA
· Create and critique a model of the operon
· Model recombinant plasmids with pop-beads
· Discuss uses of recombinant DNA technology
AP Lab #8: Biotechnology: Bacterial Transformation
Assessment: FRQ, multiple-choice & grid-in questions
A. Regulating gene
expression:
regulatory sequences,
inducers, repressors,
negative & positive
control, transcription
factors, operons,
RNAi
B. Development:
cell differentiation,
apoptosis, homeotic
genes
C. Viruses:
replication and
recombination, rapid
evolution,
retroviruses
D. Genomes and
their evolution:
noncoding DNA,
multigene families,
chromosome
duplication,
arrangement,
comparison of
sequences
15. 2 – 15. 4
16.1 - 16.3
17.1 - 17.3
18.4 – 18.6, 23.3, 23.4
· Science skills exercise: DNA deletion experiments
· Use on-line manipulatives that illustrates gene-regulation and development and cell
differentiation
· Discuss antibiotic resistance with MRSA case-study
· Science skills exercise: analyzing quantitative and spacial gene expression data
· Explore on-line tutorials on cloning and stem cells
· Discuss case-study of FOXP2 gene
· Watch/discuss: The making of the fittest: evolving bodies evolving switches
· Watch/discuss video clips from Your Inner Fish
· Watch/discuss video clip from Great Transformation on homeotic genes
· Explore the stickle-back development case-study
· Discuss hemoglobin as a case-study of multigene family
· Got lactase video and activities
· Explore: Diet and Evolution of Salivary Amylase
· Watch & discuss ice fish video
· Science skills exercise: analyzing a DNA sequence-based phylogenetic tree to
understand viral evolution
· Case-study: Resistance Is Futile ... or Is It? The Immunity System and HIV Infection
· NCCSTA case study: Murder by HIV?
A. Natural selection
and evidence:
biogeography,
morphology, fossils,
molecular, genetic,
mathematical models
and simulations
B. Phylogeny: tree
of life, morphological
and molecular data,
phylogenetic trees,
horizontal gene
transfer
C. Significance of
genetic variation,
description of the
mechanism, graphical
analysis of allele
frequencies in a
population, Hardy-
Weinberg
equilibrium, Genetic
Drift, genetic bottle-
neck, founder-effect,
significance to
rare/endangered
species
D. Speciation:
biological species
concept, reproduction
19.1 – 19.3
20.1 – 20.5
21.1, 21.4
22.1 – 22.4,
23.1 – 23.2
AP lab #1: Artificial Selection
· Discuss the Stanley Miller experiments: past and present
· Scientific skills exercise: can a native predator species adapt rapidly to an introduced
prey species?
· Run a natural selection computer simulation
· Science skills exercise: how much does camouflage affect predation on mice by owls
with and without moonlight?
· Read/discuss: Fish of a Different Color article
· Case-study: The Evolution of Human Skin Color
· Science skills exercise: interpreting data in a phylogenetic tree
· Science skills exercise: is there evidence of selection for defensive adaptations in
mollusk populations exposed to predators?
· Science skills exercise: are Rhesus monkeys or gibbons more closely related to
humans?
· Case-study: The Evolution of Color Vision in Monkeys: From Nucleotides to
Ecology
AP lab #3: BLAST
· Model genetic drift (population bottleneck, founder effect)
· Science skills exercise: using the Hardy-Weinberg equation to interpret data and
make predictions
AP lab #2: Mathematical Modeling Hardy-Weinberg
· Pair-share articles: genetic bottleneck in endangered species
· Discuss ring species case-study: California salamanders
· Science skills exercise: does distance between salamander populations increase their
reproductive isolation?
· Case-study: As the worm turns - the apple maggot fly
· Project: Create a speciation story in comic-strip form
· Science skills exercise: estimating quantitative data from a graph and developing
hypotheses
· Case-study: Reproductive isolation in columbines
· Argument-driven inquiry: How Has Biodiversity on Earth Changed Over Time? (use
Excel data file)
· Watch/discuss: The Day the Mesozoic Died
isolation and
allopatric/sympatric
speciation,
polyploidy
E. Macroevolution:
broad patterns in
speciation and
extinction
· Activity: weighing the evidence for a mass extinction in the ocean
Assessment: FRQ, multiple-choice & grid-in questions
A. Immune system: plant
responses, nonspecific
immune response, specific
immune response, MHC
proteins, create
representations and
models to describe
immune response
B. Hormones and
feedback: regulating the
internal environment
C. Osmoregulation
D. Nervous system:
neuron structure, action
potential, Na+/K+ pump,
synapse, neurotransmitters
(stimulatory and
inhibitory), response,
brain regions
E. Behavioral ecology:
role of natural selection in
behavior, cooperation and
altruism, innate vs.
learned behavior
31.4, 35.1 – 35.3
27.1 – 27.5, 34.5, 34.7, 5.6,
32.1 – 32.4, 33.5
P. 101, 32.3, P. 661 - 662
37.1 – 37.4, 38.1 – 38.3
39.3 – 39.6, P. 312 –
414, P. 426 - 427
· Kinesthetic model of specific immune response with different colored balloons,
stickers, toothpicks
· Interpret representations of the humoral and cell-mediated specific immune responses
· Watch the Nobel Prize video on the immune system
· Science skills exercise: how does the immune system respond to a changing
pathogen?
· Science skills: do soil microorganisms protect against crop diseases?
· Read/discuss article that summarizes how many human diseases are the result of cell-
communication failures
· Case-study: Diabetes and Insulin Signaling
· Kinesthetic acting out of an action potential and release of neurotransmitter
· Understanding neurobiology through the study of addition (NIH) Lesson 3 Drugs
Change the Way Neurons Communicate
· Science skills: does the brain have specific protein receptors for opiates?
· Science skills: does the SCN control the circadian rhythm in hamsters
· Create and present a representation of negative feedback
· Science skills exercise: what role do hormones play in making a mammal or female?
· Science skills exercise: How do desert mice maintain osmotic homeostasis?
· Case-study: Muscleman: A Surprising Case of Shrinkage
· NCCSTS case study: My brother’s keeper (kin-selection)
· Discuss Seyfarth article on vervet monkey predator warning calls
· NCCSTS clicker-case: given a set of scenarios, identify the proximate and ultimate
cause of behavior
· LabBench Lab 11: Animal behavior
AP lab#12: Fruit fly behavior
Assessment: FRQ, multiple-choice & grid-in questions