AP Biology
Advanced Placement Biology
AP Biology is a second year of biology for students planning to pursue a science-related
college curriculum or for those desiring college credit for biology. The course includes
such topics as molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, cellular energetics, heredity
and molecular genetics, organisms and populations. Some vertebrate physiology topics
as well as a brief survey of plants and animals are also covered.
Students will:
1. Identify the basis of the cell theory.
2. Analyze relationships among cell structure, function, and organization in
prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
Examples: prokaryote (archaebacteria, eubacteria), eukaryote (plants,
animals, protists, fungi)
3. Analyze the process by which cells become specialized even though DNA is
identical in every cell within an organism.
4. Relate cellular functions to specialized structures within cells.
 Active and passive transport of materials (osmosis, diffusion)
 Energy capture and release
 Protein synthesis
 Waste disposal
 Information feedback
 Movement
5. Analyze factors that can affect cellular activities.
 Molecular factors
Examples: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids
 Environmental factors
Examples: acidity, temperature extremes, light
 Structural factors
Examples: surface area, cell size
6. Differentiate among cells undergoing the stages of mitosis and meiosis.
7. Identify the levels of organization of living things.
 Cells
 Tissues
 Organs
 Systems
 Organisms
 Population
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 Community
8. Analyze the flow of matter and energy through different trophic levels and between
organisms and the physical environment.
 Food chain
 Food web
 Food pyramid
9. Describe selected biogeochemical cycles.
 Water
 Carbon
 Nitrogen
 Phosphorus
10. Discuss the atomic basis of matter.
11. Recognize the properties of water and the importance of water in biological
systems.
12. Identify organic structural formulas of biologically important compounds.
13. Describe the role of enzymes in the regulation of metabolic pathways.
14. Relate principles of thermodynamics to the flow of energy through living systems.
15. Analyze the relationships between anatomical structures and physiological
functions of systems in the human body.
 Integumentary
 Skeletal
 Muscular
 Nervous
 Digestive
 Respiratory
 Cardiovascular
 Immune system
 Excretory
 Endocrine
 Reproductive
16. Analyze the theory of evolution by natural selection.
 Identifying theoretical bases
Examples: comparative anatomy, DNA sequence, embryology
 Identifying types of adaptations to environmental conditions
Examples: behavioral, physiological, structural
 Identifying theoretical mechanisms
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Examples: genetic drift, isolation, acquired characteristics
17. Identify species by comparing molecular and anatomical evidence.
18. Use taxonomic groupings to differentiate structures, life cycles, and major
characteristics of each kingdom.
 Nonvascular plants
 Vascular plants
 Gymnosperms
 Angiosperms
 Invertebrates
 Vertebrates
 Protista
Examples: ciliates, flagellates, sarcodinas
 Fungi
Examples: bread molds, penicillin, mildew
 Moenra (Bacteria)
Examples: archaebacteria, eubacteria
19. Discuss the relationships among organisms as the basis for biological systems of
classification.
20. Understand why natural selection and genetic drift affect populations rather than
individuals.
21. Describe the use of isotopic dating in determining the geologic age of fossils.
22. Investigate the Hardy-Weinberg principle of population genetics.
23. Recognize heritable characteristics of organisms.
 Physical structure
 Chemical composition
 Behavior
24. Explain the transfer of information from parents to offspring through genes within
DNA molecules.
 Mitosis
 Meiosis
 Protein Synthesis
25. Apply Mendel’s laws to determine possible combinations of offspring.
 Monohybrid Cross
 Dihybrid Cross
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26. Identify the genetics in commonly inherited disorders.
 Sex linked disorders
Example: color blindness
 Sex influenced disorders
Example: patterned baldness
27. Analyze factors in the population that cause genetic mutations in an organism
and/or its offspring.
 Radiation
 Chemicals
 Chance
28. Predict positive and negative outcomes of biotechnology.
 Genetic alteration
 Selective breeding
 Cloning
 Treatments for disease
29. Apply the rules of probability and the Chi-square test to sample genetic crosses.
30. Discuss life cycles and alternation of generations.
31. Identify the causes of variation among sexually reproducing organisms.
32. Explain the genetic regulation of cell cycles and processes.
33. Describe prokaryotic and eukaryotic gene regulation.
Example: the lac operon
34. Relate the biotic and abiotic factors of the environment.
35. Discuss factors that affect the dynamic equilibrium of ecosystems.
 Disasters
Examples: fire, flood
 Climate changes
 Introduction of new species
 Activities of organisms
Examples: human impact – destruction, management, and conservation of
natural resources
 Succession
Examples: primary, secondary
36. Describe biomes.
Examples: salt and fresh water, deciduous forests, tropical rainforests,
tundra
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37. Explain different relationships among living organisms.
 Competition
 Symbiosis (mutualism, commensalisms, parasitism)
 Producer/consumer/decomposer (autotrophs, heterotrophs)
 Predator/prey (mimicry, camouflage)
38. Describe structure and characteristics of viruses as they relate to living systems.
Examples: HIV replication, bacteriophages
39. Discuss environmental limiting factors.