To find a detailed description of the Advanced
Placement Biology program design by the College Board follow this link!
AP Biology at University High School is a course designed for students that have a strong interest in, or desire to pursue a career in, the sciences. The AP Biology course is designed to offer students topics that are covered in a freshman Biology course at the university level. Students accepting the challenge of an Advanced Placement course will be required to actively participate in all lectures and laboratory activities that are conducted during the year.
To succeed in AP Biology students must be highly motivated to learn. Reading requirements for the course are rigorous and require a daily commitment in-order to stay caught up in the class. Exams generally cover 3 - 4 chapters in the text and occur every 2-3 weeks depending on the content being covered and the number of labs that are conducted during the unit. Laboratory activities suggested by the College Board are conducted to give the student a fair representation of a university-level Biology course. In addition to the College Board laboratories, the instructors add activities when they supplement the unit effectively.
Text Used:
Title: Biology, 7th edition. ISBN: 0-8053-7146-X (College Edition, cloth binding) or 0-8053-6777-2 (Student Edition w/CD, HS Binding) Authors: Neil Campbell and Jane Reece.
All students are required to purchase their own copy of the text.
Supplemental Texts:
- Student Study Guide: An Introduction to Concept Mapping for Campbell's Biology. 3rd Ed. Author: Martha R. Taylor. Publisher: Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Comp., Inc. Menlo Park, CA. ISBN 0-8053-1881-X.
This text provides students with sample multiple choice questions and a good outline of the content covered in each chapter of Campbell's text.
- Cliffs Advanced Placement Biology Examination Preparation Guide. Author: Phillip E. Pack, Ph.D. Publisher: Cliffs Notes, Inc. Lincoln, Nebraska. ISBN 0-8220-2301-6.