Advanced Placement Biology Standards

A. INQUIRY SKILLS

Students will design and conduct scientific investigations Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations Use appropriate tools, technology, and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data Organize and maintain a journal showing all phases of investigations Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence and logic Use mathematics to explain, interpret, and improve investigations and communications Construct logical relationships between evidence and explanations Identify and analyze alternative explanations, models, and predictions Demonstrate understanding about scientific inquiry
Students will communicate scientific procedures and explanations Demonstrate effective methods to organize and display scientific concepts Present investigative procedures and results to others verbally, graphically, and in writing Communicate science concepts accurately and clearly, using scientific vocabulary

B. MOLECULES AND CELLS

Students will understand that cellular processes are based on physical and chemical changes Explain how the unique chemical and physical properties of water make life on earth possible Describe the role of carbon in the molecular diversity of life Explain how cells synthesize and break down macromolecules Describe how structures of biologically important molecules account for their functions (examples: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids) Relate the laws of thermodynamics to the biochemical processes that provide energy to living systems Explain how enzymes regulate the rate of chemical reactions and how the activity of an enzyme is regulated Describe how the specificity of an enzyme depend on its structure
Students will understand that cells are the structural and functional units of life Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells Describe the current model of the molecular architecture of membranes Explain how variations in membrane structure account for functional differences among membranes Describe how the structural organization of membranes provide for transport and recognition Explain the mechanisms by which substances cross membranes Explain the subcellar organization (role of compartmentalization, relation of various subcellular organelles to functions, and how organelles function together) Describe factors that regulate the cell cycle (role of mitosis, mechanisms of cytokinesis, causes for aberrations of the cell cycle, and how the cycle assures genetic continuity)
Students will explain cellular energetics Explain the role of ATP in coupling the cell's anabolic and catabolic processes Describe how chemiosmosis function in bioenergetics Explain cellular respiration and fermentation (how organic molecules are broken down by catabolic pathways, the role of oxygen in energy-yielding pathways, generation of ATP in the absence of oxygen) Explain photosynthesis (how is light energy converted into chemical energy, how are chemical products of the light-trapping reactions coupled to the synthesis of carbohydrates) Provide evidences of types of photosynthetic adaptations to environmental conditions Describe the interactions between photosynthesis and cellular respiration

C. HEREDITY AND EVOLUTION

Students will understand that hereditary events control the passage of structural and functional information to the next generation Explain the role of meiosis in sexual reproduction and heredity Describe the relationship of meiosis to gametogenesis Compare gametogenesis in animals and gametogenesis in plants Describe how genetic information is organized in the eukaryotic chromosome Explain how eukaryotic chromosomes contribute to continuity and variability in the genetic information Explain how Mendel's work provided the foundation of modern genetics Explain the principal patterns of inheritance

Students will understand the structures of molecular genetics Explain the structure and function of RNA and DNA How do the structures of nucleic acids relate to their functions for information storage and protein synthesis Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes Determine the mechanisms by which gene expression is regulated in prokaryotes and eukaryotes Describe mutation and potential effects Explain viral structure and replication Describe nucleic acid technology and applications (current recombinant technologies, legal and ethical problems arising from applications)

Students will explain the mechanism of evolutionary biology Explain the current biological models for the origins of biological macromolecules Describe the current models for the origins of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells Provide evidences that support an evolutionary view of life Describe the role of natural selection in the process of evolution Explain mechanisms that account for speciation and macroevolution

D. ORGANISMS AND POPULATIONS

Students will understand the diversity of organisms Determine the major evolutionary patterns of plants and animals Describe representative organisms from the Monera, Fungi, and Protista Describe representative members of the major animal phyla and plant divisions Compare the distinguishing characteristics of phylogenetic classification (kingdoms and the major phyla and divisions of animals and plants) Provide evolutionary evidence that organisms are related to each other Use evolutionary evidence and relationships to classify organisms
Students will explain the relationship between structure and function of plants and animals Explain patterns of reproduction and development in plants and animals and how they are regulated Describe the adaptive significance of alternation in major plant groups Investigate how the organization of cells, tissues, and organs determine structure and function in plant and animals Explain how organ systems of animals interact Determine adaptive features that contribute to the successful survival of plants and animals Describe the role of hormones in mediating the responses of plants and animals to environmental cues
Students will apply biological principles to the study of ecology Create models to describe the growth of a population Explain how population size is regulated by abiotic and biotic factors Determine how energy flow through an ecosystem relates to trophic structure Compare the cycles of elements within an ecosystem (examples: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, oxygen) Explain how organisms affect the cycling of elements and water through the biosphere Describe the biotic and abiotic factors that affect community structure and ecosystem function Determine human factors that affect the biogeochemical cycles