Science
The course emphasizes the four “Big Ideas” from the AP Biology curriculum. Topics and concepts are those found in most university modern biology courses taught throughout the United States. The big ideas are: the process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life; biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis; living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes; biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties. The course is divided into eight essential units: biochemistry, cells, enzymes and metabolism, heredity, molecular genetics, evolution, organism form and function, and ecology. Scientific practices are assessed through inquiry experiments, which include at least two laboratory activities under each big idea. Students will be required to attend two 3-hour sessions outside of class time to engage in laboratory work each semester.Students enrolled will be expected to take the College Board exam in May.
