Major Themes & Topic Outline:

The following topic outline indicates the percentage of the course and of the AP Biology Exam that is devoted to each major subset of biology.  In addition, eight major themes will recur throughout the course.  Specific topics are connected by these unifying themes.

 

Major Themes

1.  Science as a Process
2.  Evolution
3.  Energy Transfer
4.  Continuity and Change
5.  Relationship of Structure to Function
6.  Regulation
7.  Interdependence in Nature
8.  Science, Technology, and Society

 

Topic Outline

Molecules and Cells 

(25%)

 


Heredity and Evolution 

(25%)

 

Organisms and Populations 

(50%)

 


 Chemistry of Life (7%)

  1. Water
  2. Organic molecules in organisms
  3. Free energy changes
  4. Enzymes

 Heredity (8%)

  1. Meiosis and gametogenesis
  2. Eukaryotic chromosomes
  3. Inheritance patterns


Diversity of Organisms (8%)

  1. Evolutionary patterns
  2. Survey of the diversity of life
  3. Phylogenetic classification
  4. Evolutionary relationships

 Cells (10%)

  1. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
  2. Membranes
  3. Subcellular organization
  4. Cell cycle and its regulation


 Molecular Genetics (9%)

  1. RNA and DNA structure and function
  2. Gene regulation
  3. Mutation
  4. Viral structure and replication
  5. Nucleic acid technology and applications


 Structure and Function of 
 Plants and Animals (32%)

  1. Reproduction, growth, and development
  2. Structural, physiological, and behavioral adaptations
  3. Response to the environment


 Cellular Energetics (8%)

  1. Coupled reactions
  2. Fermentation and cellular respiration
  3. Photosynthesis


 Evolutionary Biology (8%)

  1. Early evolution of life
  2. Evidence for evolution
  3. Mechanisms of evolution


 Ecology (10%)

  1. Population dynamics
  2. Communities and ecosystems
  3. Global issues