Biology Syllabus

Textbooks and Related Materials

Text: Hillis, Sadava, Hill, Price. Principles of Life; Second Edition for the AP course. Sinauer Associates, Inc, 2014
College Board. AP Biology Lab Manual for Students.
AP Biology Exam Review Book (of your choice) Ex: Cliffs AP: Biology, 2nd edition. NY: IDG Books Worldwide, 2001. Or Barrons AP
Biology 4th Edition
4 Big Ideas
AP Biology takes a conceptual approach to address the vast scope of the subject. The course focuses on developing an enduring understanding
within each student of 4 Big Ideas and the essential content knowledge that supports them. Throughout the course, the following 4 Big Ideas are
emphasized and are integrated in the various units, as well as displayed in the classroom:
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 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.
Class Format
To address the learning objectives and science practices found in a 2-semester college level course, the class will move at a consistent pace.
Students are required to take notes, although I will provide handouts and outlines on occasion for difficult topics. Students are assigned to read
chapters in the textbook, as well as other articles and journals to further their understanding of the nature of research, and how we do biology. To
supplement the connections made throughout the lessons, students will read 2 articles a semester from a scientific magazine or journal. Each
student is asked to type a short summary of the article, state which Big Idea it falls under, and to describe how at least one of the Enduring
Understandings for that Big Idea is illustrated by the current event. In addition, students will be given many data-based questions and essays that
will help prepare them for the AP exam and other worksheets with sample multiple-choice questions. Lab participation is also an integral
component of the course. Scientific inquiry is emphasized and practiced. Furthermore, each test is constructed to be a mini-AP exam consisting
of multiple-choice, data sets, and free response questions.
Homework consists of readings, practice essays, pre-lab and post-lab write-ups, data analysis questions, and other projects and assignments as
seen fit. We will cover about 2 chapters a week and suggest that students read prior to the lecture so that they can better participate in class
discussion.
Approximately 2 weeks are allotted at the end of the second semester for exam review. In addition, a released AP exam is administered in class
and graded.

Laboratory
Scientific inquiry, guided and open, is emphasized throughout the course and is practiced as part of the laboratory component. A minimum of 25%
of the instructional time in the course will be devoted to laboratory experiences. For each of the 4 Big Ideas, a minimum of 2 labs will be
completed, plus additional labs that will enhance the curriculum and give students opportunities to work with the science practices. Labs are
conducted approximately once a week during our scheduled class time. However, some labs require large amounts of time so I may request that
students meet during lunch, which can extend into our regular class time, or at other designated times outside of class. Students are given plenty of
notice if this is necessary. Students are required to present their lab findings using a variety of methods including, but not limited to, PowerPoint
presentations, mini-posters, and formal lab reports. A formal lab report will include the following sections: background & hypothesis, materials,
procedure, data collection, data processing & analysis, and conclusion & evaluation. Each student will maintain a lab notebook throughout the
year as a record of their lab work. Lab assessments are due 1 week after all the results are obtained unless otherwise stated. Appropriate
behavior/technique in lab settings is mandatory, and I reserve the right to prohibit anyone from further lab work at any time I determine the
situation warrants such action. Lab safety and regulations will be reviewed in class and students will receive a general list of rules. Cooperative
group work is essential to the way in which scientific investigations proceed. Students are expected to work with each other in class activities.
While each student will compile his/her own data in cooperation with classmates, everyone is required to turn in original work.
In addition, the textbook provides Inquiry Figures that highlight how researchers designed an experiment and includes results and conclusions
that were drawn. Students will be given limited pieces of information from these inquiry figures and discuss what kinds of data were collected, the
reasons behind the collection, and what might be any future data that could be collected to answer any related questions.
To emphasize the study of biological science as a process, the labs, activities, and projects that students are assigned will address 7 Science
Practices (SP).
These include:
1. 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.
5. The student can perform data analysis and evaluation of evidence.
6. The student can work with scientific explanations and theories.
7. The student is able to connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts, and representations in and across domains.

The charts below highlight the main laboratory investigations & activities that students will participate in throughout the year and which Science
Practices are addressed in each.

Labs
Altered Perception Lab (BrainU.org)

SP 1
X

SP 2

SP 3
X

SP 4
X

SP 5
X

SP 6

SP 7

Origins of Life (Carolina Biological kit)

Hardy Weinberg Lab (AP Biology Lab Manual College Board)
BLAST Lab (AP Biology Lab Manual College Board)
Artificial Selection Lab (AP Biology Lab Manual College Board)
Investigation of Limiting Factors on Yeast Population Growth
Town Hall Meeting: Human Impact on Environment - A Student
Designed Investigation
Investigating affect of environmental factor on catalase function
using Vernier Gas sensors
Enzymatic Digestion of Biological Molecules
Cell Respiration Lab
Photosynthesis Lab (AP Biology Lab Manual College Board)
Diffusion Osmosis Lab (AP Biology Lab Manual College Board)
Cell Division: Mitosis and Meiosis Lab (AP Biology Lab Manual
College Board)
pGlo Transformation Lab (Bio-Rad kit)
Restriction Enzyme Analysis and Pedigree Construction Lab
Fruit Fly Behavior Lab (AP Biology Lab Manual College Board)
Transpiration Lab (AP Biology Lab Manual College Board)
Respiration and Circulation

X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X

X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X

Activities

SP 1
X
X
X

SP 2
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

SP 3
X
X

SP 4

SP 5
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

SP 6
X
X

SP 7
X
X

X
X

X
X

X
X

X
X

X
X

Predator-Prey Student Simulation

The Habitable Planet Food web simulation & energy transfer

Toothpickase
Why finish your antibiotics?
PBS Online Simulation Activity: Sex & the Single Guppy
Sordaria flash card counts to determine recombination frequency
The Donors Dilemma from Biological Inquiry: A Workbook of
Investigative Cases
John Snow and the Cholera Epidemic
Case of Three-Spined Stickleback: A Model of Macroevolution

X
X
X
X

X
X
X

X
X
X
X

X
X
X

Course Outline
SEMESTER I
Unit 0: How to change your brain

Topics

A. What is learning?
-

Timeframe

Assessment

Labs & Activities

Readings

Videos

2.5 weeks

Quiz #1:
Anatomy of a
neuron

Altered Perception- Learning with goggles

- Graph performance
- Analyze learning curve
- Design own test

The brain that

changes itself
Chapter 2- Pg. 2744 by Norman
Doidge, MD

Synapse
ChangeBrainU.org/mo
vies

Plasticity of the brain

Learning Curving
What is thinking

B. Neurobiology
- Anatomy of a neuron
- Action potential

Unit 1: Evolution of Biodiversity

Topics

The following Enduring Understandings are addressed throughout the unit:

- 3.D- Cells communicate by generating, transmitting, and receiving chemical signals.
- 3.E- Transmission of information results in changes within and between biological systems.

TestNeurobiology

Sheep Brain Dissection

Chapter 34
Present Altered
Card Sort Activity
Perception
- Discuss how scientists collect
Inquiry
data to make hypotheses
The following Enduring Understandings are addressed throughout this unit:
1.A: Change in the genetic makeup of a population over time is evolution
1.B: Organisms are linked by lines of descent from common ancestry
1.C: Life continues to evolve within a changing environment
1.D: The origin of living systems is explained through natural processes
2.A: Growth, reproduction and maintenance of the organization of living systems require free energy and matter
2.B: Growth, reproduction and dynamic homeostasis require that cells create and maintain internal environments that are
different from their external environments
3.A: Heritable information provides continuity of life
3.C: The processing of genetic information is imperfect and is a source of genetic variation
4.A: Interactions within biological systems leads to complex properties
4.B: Competition and cooperation are important aspects of biological systems
4.C: Naturally occurring diversity among and between components within biological systems affects interactions within
the environment
Timeframe

Assessment

Labs & Activities

Readings

Videos

1. Origins of Life
a. Chemical Evolution
o Water
o Carbon
o Biological Molecules &
Origins
b. Heritable Material (Central
Dogma)
o RNA world
o DNA Structure &
Replication
o Protein Synthesis
o Mutations
c.

Biological Evolution
- Cell Structure &
Function (prokaryotic
and eukaryotic cells)

3.5 weeks

Quiz on Part a.
Test on Part b
Quiz Part c

Data analysis Activity: Compare biological

elements with elements on Earths crust and
in the atmosphere.
Model Kits:
o Water Properties - students explore
using 3D model kit; perform miniactivities: # of drops of water on penny;
droplets on wax paper, jumping paper,
etc.
o Use 3D model kit with toobers to
illustrate levels of protein structure
Lab: Origins of Life
Activity: Endosymbiotic Theory Comic Strip
Creation using book Evolution: The Story of
Life on Earth by Jay Hosler

Text: Chapter 1-4;

10
A Short History of
Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson p.
270-273 (topic:
water)
Genes Hold Secret
of Survival of
Antarctic
Antifreeze fish
article from Science
Daily

Assignment: Mutation worksheet

The coldest place

on Earth
BBC- Earth

Blog/Creative Writing: View from the

primordial soup- Students will take the
viewpoint of a molecule or precursor to
describe its evolution to life

Chemist invent
new letters for
natures genetic
alphabet Emily
Singer
Volvox,
Chlamydomonas
, and the
Evolution of
MulticellularityNature paper

DNA Secret
of Life (topic:
Watson &
Cricks
discovery of
double helix)
Origins of
LifeNova-PBS

B. Genetic Variation in
Populations & the Evolution of
Biodiversity
a. Darwin & the Theory of
Natural Selection
b. Evolution of Populations
c. Speciation
d. Phylogeny

3 weeks

Test on Parts a-d

PowerPoint
presentation of
artificial selection
lab results

Lab: Artificial Selection Lab using

Wisconsin Fast Plants
Activity: Why finish your antibiotics?
Students will research one highly resistant
pathogen and simulate through this activity
how improper use of antibiotics contributes
to the development of antibiotic resistance
Assignment: After watching the video clip
from Great Transformations on whale
evolution, students will research 1 other
example of how plate tectonics may have
influenced speciation
Lab: Hardy Weinberg Population Genetics
Simulation
Assignment: Hardy Weinberg Population
Genetics problem set worksheet
Assignment: Students will read the
supplemental article on speciation in
Darwins finches by the Grants and analyze
the experiment and evaluate the evidence in
support of evolution.
Pre-lab Activity: Construct a Cladogram
using Amino Acid Sequences for
Cytochrome C (protein used in the ETC in
mitochondria showing how metabolic
processes are conserved across phyla)
Lab: BLAST Lab

Text: Ch. 15-18

Into the Jungle by
Sean Carroll
jigsaw reading Ch. 1
Mr. Wallaces
Line from Discover
Magazine 1997
The Secondary
Contact Phase of
Allopatric
Speciation in
Darwins Finches
by Peter and
Rosemary Grant
found in
Proceedings of the
National Academy
of Science
Evolution: The
Story of Life on
Earth by Jay Hosler
Brilliant Blunders
Chapter on Darwins
theory

PBS: Evolution
Video Series:
Great
Transformation
s - discussion
of plate
tectonics and
whale
evolution
What Darwin
Never Knew
NOVA DVD

Unit 2: Ecology Interactions and

Interdependence

Topics
A. Population Dynamics &
Limiting Factors
B. Community Relationships
C. Nutrient Cycling in
Ecosystems
D. Human Impact

The following Enduring Understandings are addressed throughout this unit:

1.C: Life continues to evolve within a changing environment
2.A: Growth, reproduction and maintenance of the organization of living systems require free energy and matter
2.D: Growth and dynamic homeostasis of a biological system are influenced by changes in the systems environment
2.E: Many biological processes involved in growth, reproduction and dynamic homeostasis include temporal regulation
and coordination
4.A: Interactions within biological systems leads to complex properties
4.B: Competition and cooperation are important aspects of biological systems
4.C: Naturally occurring diversity among and between components within biological systems affects interactions within
the environment

Timefra
me

Assessment

Labs & Activities

Readings

Videos

3 weeks

Test on Parts A-D

Lab: Investigation of limiting factors on

yeast population growth

Text: Ch. 53-56

Cane Toads
(topic:
introduction of
species)

Formal Lab Report

for Yeast Population
Growth Lab
Project: Town Hall
Meeting persuade
the community to
fund efforts to
alleviate your
chosen
environmental issue
and/or encourage
people to adopt
alternate way of
using a chosen
environmental
resource

Activity: Predator-Prey Student Simulation

Field Trip: River Watch/ Wilderness
Inquiry Water quality data collection to
assess pollution affects in region
And/or
Cedar Creek Ecological Reserve
Microscopic Lab Lichen/Symbiosis
Project: Students plan & implement data
collection strategies to determine the
environmental impact of a chosen human
behavior & report findings to the class using
a format of their choice as part of a mock
Town Hall Meeting.
Nitrogen cycle game (The N-game)
- Students practice the nitrogen
cycle using a board game that
highlights the biological
processes

Dancing at the Dead

Sea, by Alanna
Mitchell
Transgenic Pollen
Harms Monarch
Larvae, Nature,
1999 (discusses
implications of
genetically modified
organisms)
Mass Extinctions
Come To Ohio
Discover Magazine
1997 (human impact
on biodiversity)
The Odyssey
Aldo Leopold

An
Inconvenient
Truth with Al
Gore (topic:
global
warming)
Journey to
Planet Earth:
The State of
the Planet
Polluted
Waters

Unit 3: Energy Acquisition and

Utilization

Topics
A. Introduction to
Metabolism
- Catabolic and anabolic
systems
B. Enzymes
- Free energy
- Environmental factors

The following Enduring Understandings are addressed throughout this unit:

1.B: Organisms are linked by lines of descent from common ancestry
2.A: Growth, reproduction and maintenance of the organization of living systems require free energy and matter
2.D: Growth and dynamic homeostasis of a biological system are influenced by changes in the systems environment
4.A: Interactions within biological systems leads to complex properties
4.B: Competition and cooperation are important aspects of biological systems

Timefra
me

Assessment

Labs & Activities

Readings

3.5 weeks

Test on Parts A-B

Activity: Toothpicks
- students model enzyme-substrate
interactions and then design a model to
demonstrate how coenzymes,
competitive inhibitors, and abiotic
factors may influence enzymatic
function.

The onionEnzyme humbled

to play important
role in biochemical
reaction
http://www.theonion
.com/article/enzyme
-humbled-to-haveplayed-part-insuccessful-b-34368

Formal Lab ReportEnzymes lab due

Before Winter Break

Inquiry Lab: Enzymes

- Following the modeling
activity students will use of
Vernier gas pressure probe to
test how an abiotic factor of
their choice may influence
catalase function.
3 weeks
C. Cell Respiration
D. Autotrophic Nutrition
E. Energy Transfer
End of Semester II

Test Part C,D & E

before semester
final
Create a Mini-poster
to present PS and
Respiration of Algae
Submit Report to U
of M
Chlamydamonas
Group on
Bioreactors

Activity: Energy Transfer in a Food Chain

- students model the flow of energy
through a food chain by passing a
quantity of water along a chain of
students and calculating the %
efficiency of transfer
Activity: The Habitable Planet Simulation
- Students manipulate the
parameters of the model to analyze
how a food web operates & then
given data sets they will estimate
the % of energy transfer in a food
chain

Reading- article on
H-fuel cars

Videos

Video- H fuel
cars

Lab- PS and Respiration of Algae- Bio Rad

Unit 4: Maintenance of Growth

and Homeostasis

Topics

H-production Algae Bioreactor Kits

Inquiry Lab
- Students will observe the
production of H by the enzyme
hydrogenase after
photosynthesis is shut off by Sdepletion
- Students test different
environmental conditions to
optimize H production (H
fuel cells)
Guest Speaker/Demostration: Carolyn
Silflow: Plant Biology U of M
- Phototaxis mutations of
Chlamy
- Movement mutations
The following Enduring Understandings are addressed throughout this unit:
2.A: Growth, reproduction and maintenance of the organization of living systems require free energy and matter
2.B: Growth, reproduction and dynamic homeostasis require that cells create and maintain internal environments that are
different from their external environments
2.C: Organisms use feedback mechanisms to regulate growth and reproduction, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis
2.D: Growth and dynamic homeostasis of a biological system are influenced by changes in the systems environment
2.E: Many biological processes involved in growth, reproduction and dynamic homeostasis include temporal regulation
and coordination
3.A: Heritable information provides continuity of life
3.B: Expression of genetic information involves cellular and molecular mechanisms
3.C: The processing of genetic information is imperfect and is a source of genetic variation
3.D: Cells communicate by generating, transmitting and receiving chemical signals
3.E: Transmission of information results in changes within and between biological systems
4.A: Interactions within biological systems leads to complex properties\
4.B: Competition and cooperation are important aspects of biological systems
4.C: Naturally occurring diversity among and between components within biological systems affects interactions within
the environment

Timefra
me

Assessment

Labs & Activities

Readings

Videos

A.

Exchanging Materials
with the Environment
a. Cell Membrane Structure &
Transport
b. Plant Structure & Transport
c. Animal Circulation
(interaction with Human
Respiratory and Digestive
Systems)
d. Osmoregulation &
Excretion

3.5 weeks

Test Part a

Assignment: Osmosis is Serious Business

Buffalo Case Study

Mini-poster
presentation of
Transpiration Lab

Lab: Osmosis Inquiry Find the molarity of

sweet potato versus white potato

Quiz Part b

Lab Transpiration

Test Parts c & d

Lab: Investigate the influence of one factor

on an aspect of the respiratory system and/or
circulatory system using Pasco probes
Lab: Enzymatic Digestion of Biological
Molecules - connects free energy to form &
function of enzymes (Big Ideas 2 & 4) Students will examine the function of
various digestive enzymes and attempt to
determine what types of environmental
conditions increase/decrease rate of reaction)

B.

Responding to the
Environment
a. Cell Communication &
Signaling
b. Defense Against Pathogens
- Immune System
- Plant Defenses
c. Homeostasis & Feedback
Mechanisms
- Endocrine System
- Nervous System
d. Animal Behavior

5 weeks

Test Parts a & b

Test Part c week of
Quiz Part d & e
Formal Lab Report
Fruit Fly Behavior
Lab

Field Trip: Fistulated Cow at U of M: St.

Paul
- Students will get to observe the
enzymatic reactions by
microbes within the rumen of a
cow.
- Discussion of single-celled
organism symbiosis with multicelled organisms.
Assignment: Students will watch Bonnie
Basslers TED talk on how bacteria
communicate. Discussion of quorum sensing
will follow and supplemental reading of
cheating bacteria article. (connects 3.D.1 to
2.E.2)
Activity: John Snow and the Cholera
Epidemic (hydroville.org curriculum project)
illustrates for students a real life application
of the science practices

Text: Ch. 24-28, 2935

TerraDaily article by
staff writers from
5/31/11 on cheating
bacteria studies of
M. xanthus

Excerpts from
Survival of the

Bonnie Bassler
TED talk on
quorum
sensing
Clips from
Basslers
lectures found
on HHMI
DVD:
Exploring
Biodiversity:

e.

Plant Responses

Activity: The Donors Dilemma from

Biological Inquiry: A Workbook of
Investigative Cases (Campbell/Reece)
West Nile Virus transmission & replication

Sickest by Sharon
Moalem Chapter IV
- Hey, Bud, Can
You do Me a Fava?

The Search for

New
Medicines
Video clip
from HHMI
DVD: AIDS:
Evolution of an
Epidemic (HIV
life cycle)

Assignment: Animal Behavior Reading

Students will read the supplemental article
from Nature found in Inquiry in Action:
Interpreting Scientific Papers by
Campbell/Reece and answer questions to
address the scientific question Does the
Presence of Poisonous Coral Snakes Affect
Predation Rates on Their Mimics, King
Snakes?
Lab: Fruit Fly Animal Behavior study
inquiry into animal taxis
>Dr. Silflow- Chlamydamonas phototaxis
demo

Unit 5: Reproduction and

Development

The Origin of Fruit

Ripening Scientific
American 2009
(students read article
and come up with
questions and
propose
investigation
method for their
question)

A.D.A.M.
Interact Phys
neuromuscular
junction

(Benjamin/
Cummings)
Freq-dependent
Batesian mimicry
found in Nature
2001

Assignment: Plant Hormone Data Analysis

students use data sets and perform statistical
analysis (ex: t test) to determine if the
application of gibberellin to dwarf rosette
fast plants has a significant effect on stem
elongation.
The following Enduring Understandings are addressed throughout this unit:
1.A: Change in the genetic makeup of a population over time is evolution
1.B: Organisms are linked by lines of descent from common ancestry
2.A: Growth, reproduction and maintenance of the organization of living systems require free energy and matter
2.C: Organisms use feedback mechanisms to regulate growth and reproduction, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis
2.E: Many biological processes involved in growth, reproduction and dynamic homeostasis include temporal regulation

and coordination
3.A: Heritable information provides continuity of life
3.B: Expression of genetic information involves cellular and molecular mechanisms
3.C: The processing of genetic information is imperfect and is a source of genetic variation
4.A: Interactions within biological systems leads to complex properties
4.C: Naturally occurring diversity among and between components within biological systems affects interactions within
the environment

Topics

Timefra
me

Assessment

Labs & Activities

Readings

Videos

A.

1 week

Quiz

Modeling: Mitosis

Text: Ch. 12, 18

Lab: Using the onion root tip students will

compare lectin treated and control roots to
analyze mitotic rate in cells; discussion of
cancer follows

The Immortal Life

of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot
(discussion of
cancer research)

DNA Secret
of Life (topic:
Watson &
Cricks
discovery of
double helix)

Cell Growth,
Reproduction, & Regulation
a. Overview of Cell Cycle
b. Mitosis & Cell Division
c. Regulation of the Cell
Cycle- discussion of cancer
d. Development and
Embryology

B. Heredity: Continuity of Life

a.

b.
c.
d.
e.

Meiosis
- Evolution and
Comparison of Asexual
vs. Sexual
Reproduction
Mendelian Patterns of
Inheritance
Other Patterns of
Inheritance
Special Mechanisms of
Inheritance (mitochondrial
DNA)
Genetic Diseases

Pre-lab Activity: Chi-square with M&Ms

2.5 weeks

How to build a
human:
http://ibiology.net/201
4/12/21/howto-build-ahumananimated-gif/

Quiz Part a

Modeling: Meiosis

Text: Ch. 7-11

Test Parts b-e week

Students compare and contrast asexual and

sexual reproduction and explain how these
processes developed through evolution using
the supplemental readings, video clips, and
following activities:
- PBS Online Simulation Activity: Sex &
the Single Guppy

Fly by Martin
Brookes (pg. 38-49;
topic: sex-linkage)

Activity: Sordaria Flash Cards &

Recombination
Assignment: Students analyze data sets to
determine if genes are linked and if so what

Dr. Tatianas Sex

Advice to All
Creation by Olivia
Judson (pg. 212232; topic: asexual
reproduction in
bdelloid rotifer)

PBS: Evolution
Video Series
Why Sex?
The Way of
All Flesh by
Adam Curtis
(Henrietta
Lacks)

C. Gene Regulation &

Development
a.
Prokaryotic Gene
Regulation
b.
Eukaryotic Gene
Regulation
- Cell Differentiation &
Animal Development

1 week

Quiz

is the map distance between those genes

Modeling: Operon Model Construction
(Kristin Dottis Catalyst Learning Curr.)

Text: Chapter 12, 14

Assignment: Students search scientific

literature to find one article addressing a
method of gene regulation in eukaryotic cells
(e.g. histone modifications, methylation,
RNAi, etc) and will summarize and pose at
least one unanswered question.

Clips from
HHMI DVD
Evolution:
Constant
Change and
Common
Threads

Activity: Case of Three-Spined Stickleback:

A Model of Macroevolution by James Platt
(Connects 1A and 3B & 3C - Data analysis
links genetics and the Evo-Devo work on
regulatory DNA, in which mutations can
change where and when a gene is expressed,
producing changes in specific morphology
on which natural selection can act)
D. Advances in Molecular
Genetics
a. Study Genomes &
Biotechnology
b. Applications and
Ethical/Societal Issues in
Molecular Genetics

1.5 weeks

Project: Prezi
presentations to
debate pros & cons
of ethical issues
(e.g., patenting of
genes, newborn
screening, genetic
discrimination, etc.)

Animation
from HHMI
DVD The
Double Life of
RNA (RNAi
and gene
regulation)

What Darwin
Never Knew
NOVA DVD Epigenetics

Lab: pGlo Transformation (Bio-Rad)

Text: Ch. 13

Modeling: Cloning Paper Plasmid (Kim

Foglia:
http://www.bio.kimunity.com/ap_biology/)

Case Studies
(NOVA Online)

Pre-lab assignment: Gel Electrophoresis

Simulation
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sheppard/
analyze.html)
Extension: formation of an iGEM project
and lay ground work for creating iGEM
team: https://www.igem.org/Main_Page

Exam Review
After Exam

2 weeks
Possible Dissections

Gattaca