Advanced Placement Biology
Advanced Placement Biology is a college-level introductory biology course offered to juniors and seniors. The purpose of this course is to give students an overview of college-level, introductory biology in the confines of a supportive and interactive classroom. Students are urged to participate in class discussion, think critically about scientific questions, formulate hypotheses, perform laboratory procedures, and create reports with their peers. The ultimate goal is for students to regard science as a process, of which they are an active part.
The course is designed to be the equivalent of an introductory college biology course, usually taken during the first college year. Topics studied include biological chemistry, cells, energy transformations, molecular genetics, and ecology. Laboratory work is experimental and quantitative, rather than descriptive. Assigned reading includes a widely used college text, Biology by Campbell, as well as selected reprints from Scientific American and other journals and books.
Central to the AP Biology curriculum are the “Four Big Ideas:”
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 to 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.
The course is designed to be the equivalent of an introductory college biology course, usually taken during the first college year. Topics studied include biological chemistry, cells, energy transformations, molecular genetics, and ecology. Laboratory work is experimental and quantitative, rather than descriptive. Assigned reading includes a widely used college text, Biology by Campbell, as well as selected reprints from Scientific American and other journals and books.
Central to the AP Biology curriculum are the “Four Big Ideas:”
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 to 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.
Regents Biology
Any student who has successfully completed Physics 9 and Chemistry should consider enrolling in Biology Regents. Students should have average or above average reading skills and should have a solid knowledge of chemistry. Biology Regents follows a course of study that is built upon the NYS Living Environment curriculum. In addition to the syllabus of that course, the course involves biochemistry, molecular biology, and the anatomy and physiology of living organisms. You will be expected to take notes regularly, to perform lab investigations, and to write lab reports. You may expect that to adequately complete homework and lab assignments you will need to spend a minimum of two hours per week on preparation outside the classroom. Students will be required to take the NYS Living Environment Regents in June. Students must complete 30 periods of laboratory work, including several required labs in order to sit for the Regents examination.
Anatomy and Physiology
Anatomy and Physiology is a science elective course that investigates the human body and its systems. This course provides detailed study of the anatomy and physiology of human organ systems. It is intended primarily for students interested in medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, sports medicine, but is also appropriate for students who wish to gain a better understanding of their own physical body. Material concerning the clinical aspects of body structure and function will be included. There will also be comparisons made between homeostasis and pathophysiology.