AP Biology Course Description
The AP Biology course is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester college introductory biology course usually taken by biology majors during their first year. After showing themselves to be qualified on the AP Examination, some students, as college freshmen, are permitted to undertake upper-level courses in biology or register for courses for which biology is a prerequisite. Other students may have fulfilled a basic requirement for a laboratory-science course and will be able to undertake other courses to pursue their majors.
AP Biology has shifted from a traditional content coverage course to one that focuses on conceptual understandings. Less time is spent on recall and more time is spent on inquiry-based learning of essential concepts. The key concepts and related content that define the AP Biology course and exam are organized around a few big ideas, including: 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. The Semester 1 Exam Study Guide/Topic List has been posted to Google Classroom AND handed out in class (paper copy).
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