HARWICH HIGH SCHOOL
AP BIOLOGY WEBPAGE (2002-2003 Course outline)


Prerequisites:   Permission from science department and guidence department, grades of 90 or better in all previously taken science courses including biology and chemistry.

Teacher: Troy  Hopkins, email  hopkins@harwich.edu

Course description:
     This course includes an intensive study of biochemistry, cell biology, microbial genetics, DNA technology, plant and animal physiology, modes of reproduction, evolutionary mechanisms and ecological principles.  Extensive lab reports are required to support experimental investigations.  Students may receive college credit with successful Advanced Placement Test scores.  The expense for this exam is the responsibility of the student ($77.00). 

~ OUTLINE ~
1. Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life
 

I. THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE
2. The Chemical Context of Life
3. Water and the Fitness of the Environment
4. Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life
5. The Structure and Function of Macromolecules
6. An Introduction to Metabolism
 

II. THE CELL
7. A Tour of the Cell
8. Membrane Structure and Function
9. Cellular Respiration: Harvesting Chemical Energy
10. Photosynthesis
11. Cell Communication
12. The Cell Cycle
 

III. GENETICS
13. Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles
14. Mendel and the Gene Idea
15. The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
16. The Molecular Basis of Inheritance
17. From Gene to Protein
18. Microbial Models: The Genetics of Viruses and Bacteria
19. The Organization and Control of Eukaryotic Genomes
20. DNA Technology
21. The Genetic Basis of Development
 

IV. MECHANISMS OF EVOLUTION
22. Descent with Modification: A Darwinian View of Life
23. The Evolution of Populations
24. The Origin of Species
25. Tracing Phylogeny

 
V. THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
26. Early Earth and the Origin of Life
27. Prokaryotes and the Origins of Metabolic Diversity
28. The Origins of Eukaryotic Diversity
29. Plant Diversity I: The Colonization of Land 
30. Plant Diversity II: The Evolution of Seed Plants
31. Fungi
32. Introduction to Animal Evolution
33. Invertebrates
34. Vertebrate Evolution and Diversity
 

VI. PLANT FORM AND FUNCTION
35. Plant Structure and Growth
36. Transport in Plants
37. Plant Nutrition
38. Plant Reproduction and Development
39. Control Systems in Plants
 

VII. ANIMAL FORM AND FUNCTION
40. An Introduction to Animal Structure and Function
41. Animal Nutrition
42. Circulation and Gas Exchange
43. The Body's Defenses
44. Controlling the Internal Environment
45. Chemical Signals in Animals
46. Animal Reproduction
47. Animal Development
48. Nervous Systems
49. Sensory and Motor Mechanisms
 

VIII. ECOLOGY
50. An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere 
51. Behavioral Biology 
52. Population Ecology
53. Community Ecology
54. Ecosystems
55. Conservation Biology