AP Biology
AP® Biology is a fun but challenging course. It provides an opportunity to develop a conceptual framework for modern biology, emphasizing applications of biological knowledge and critical thinking to environmental and social concerns. This is a college-level course, and you will be held to high expectations and mature responsibilities just like a college freshman taking Introduction to Biology.
There are four Big Ideas of AP Biology (put forth by the College Board) that we will continually discuss throughout the year. Most can be applied to each unit we will study.
1. The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
2. Biological systems utilize free energy & molecular building blocks to grow, reproduce & maintain dynamic homeostasis.
3. Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.
4. Biological systems interact and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.
Of these, evolution is the underlying foundation for all modern biological thought, and this is emphasized in every unit. While science as a process provides a conceptual framework for how science is done, evolution is the common thread that links everything together. As Thoedosius Dobzhansky said once, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.”
There are four Big Ideas of AP Biology (put forth by the College Board) that we will continually discuss throughout the year. Most can be applied to each unit we will study.
1. The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
2. Biological systems utilize free energy & molecular building blocks to grow, reproduce & maintain dynamic homeostasis.
3. Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.
4. Biological systems interact and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.
Of these, evolution is the underlying foundation for all modern biological thought, and this is emphasized in every unit. While science as a process provides a conceptual framework for how science is done, evolution is the common thread that links everything together. As Thoedosius Dobzhansky said once, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.”