Materials: For this class students will need a five subject notebook, a computer with CD-rom drive, internet access at home and/or school, and a carbon-less college level lab notebook. I will be purchasing these and they cost 12.00 per copy.
Procedures: Your class notebook may be arranged as follows: The left side of the notebook will be for any classroom notes that we take during the course of the year. The right side of your notebook will be a reflective area where you will record your thoughts as we discuss each topic. THIS is where you should record any information that you will need to research further, any questions that you have, and any info that you wish to add to the notes given to you. Ex: pictures, sketches, page numbers, etc. this format is suggested when reflection is needed.
Lab notebook: It will be your responsibility to read and write up the lab reports the night before they are scheduled in class. Lab material will be given to you as a hard copy (student lab manuals) but will also be available on the AP website (lab bench) which is accessible off of the school web page. Lab report info that should be prepared at home is: The purpose of the lab, the materials needed, the procedures, and any blank data tables.
In class we will conduct the labs and you will be responsible for recording data, analyzing it and making conclusions. Completed lab work MUST BE handed in within a week of the day we complete the lab. I will collect the yellow copy of everyone�s lab report; if any calculations need to be done outside of class you will have the info recorded on your white copy to help assist you. If a lab does not work out correctly, you will need to come up with a valid reason for its error.
Tests: Tests will be given based upon one chapter, several chapters, or by unit. You are expected to not only read all the chapters in the book, but work on practice exercises available on the student CD-rom and on the Campbell biology website. Various websites will be posted on my webpage throughout the year to assist you also.
Scientific American articles: Over the course of the year you will be asked to read and discuss fourteen Scientific American articles. These are available in the library and also electronically through search.ebscohost.com. There is a link for Ebsco on my website. Username: Bogota password: student
Articles must relate to one of the themes of AP biology. You must do one article for each theme before repeating themes. You must print out the original article and hand it in. More info will be posted on this in October.
Homework: Homework will be in the form of section and chapter review questions. Lab reports are also to be prepared for homework. Most homework is in the form of reading and review.
AP Exam and Research Paper: The AP exam is usually administered during the first or second week of May. Review sessions will be given prior to the test after school. After the AP exam we will watch a few movies, work on a research paper, and possibly read a book as a class. The research paper will be on some type of human disease (genetic or infectious). The paper must be 10 pages long and follow all rules of MLA or APA. Your bibliography must include at least 10 different sources; most of these should be medical journals). This paper will be due the second week in June. This will also be the majority of your grade for the fourth marking period.
ATTENTION ALL AP BIO STUDENTS:
We will use the account that I set up to access campbell online. Follow the link on this page and enter the following info:
username: Bogotahighschool
password: I will give you this in class today.