Annotated Course Outline

This list is not exhaustive; it is only a beginning, and we encourage teachers to write conceptual questions of their own. Students should be encouraged to focus on understanding important relationships, processes, mechanisms, and potential extensions and applications of concepts. Less important is the memorization of specialized terminology and technical details. For example, understanding how protein structure affects enzyme action is more important than memorizing a list of enzyme names. Questions on future Advanced Placement Biology Examinations will test students' abilities to explain, analyze, and interpret biological processes and phenomena more than their ability to recall specific facts.

I. Molecules and Cells questions

II. Heredity and Evolution questions

III. Organisms and Populations questions

I. Molecules and Cells: Cells are the structural and functional units of life; cellular processes are based on physical and chemical changes.

A. Chemistry of Life

1. Water
   How do the unique chemical and physical properties of water make life on earth possible?
2. Organic molecules in organisms
   What is the role of carbon in the molecular diversity of life?
   How do cells synthesize and break down?
   How do structures of biologically important molecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids) account for their functions?
3. Free energy changes
   How do the laws of thermodynamics relate to the biochemical processes that provide energy to living systems?
4. Enzymes
   How do enzymes regulate the rate of chemical reactions?
   How does the specificity of an enzyme depend on its structure?
   How is the activity of an enzyme regulated?

B. Cells

1. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
   What are their similarities and differences?
   What are their evolutionary relationships?
2. Membranes
   What is the current model of the molecular architecture of membranes?
   How do variations in this structure account for functional differences among membranes?
   How does the structural organization of membranes provide for transport and recognition?
   What are various mechanisms by which substances cross membranes?
3. Subcellular organization
   How does compartmentalization organize a cell's functions?
   How are the structures of the various subcellular organelles related to their functions?
   How do organelles function together in cellular processes?
   What factors limit cell size?
4. Cell cycle and its regulation
   How does the cell cycle assure genetic continuity?
   How does mitosis allow for the even distribution of genetic information to new cells?
   What are the mechanisms of cytokinesis?
   How is the cell cycle regulated?
   How can aberrations in the cell cycle lead to tumor formation?

C. Cellular Energetics

1. Coupled reactions
   What is the role of ATP in coupling the cell's anabolic and catabolic processes?
   How does chemiosmosis function in bioenergetics?
2. Fermentation and cellular respiration
   How are organic molecules broken down by catabolic pathways?
   What is the role of oxygen in energy-yielding pathways?
   How do cells generate ATP in the absence of oxygen?
3. Photosynthesis
   How does photosynthesis convert light energy into chemical energy?
   How are the chemical products of the light-trapping reactions coupled to the synthesis of carbohydrates?
   What kinds of photosynthetic adaptations have evolved in response to different environmental conditions?
   What interactions exist between photosynthesis and cellular respiration?

II. Heredity and Evolution: Hereditary events control the passage of structural and functional information from one generation to the next.

A. Heredity

1. Meiosis and gametogenesis
   What features of meiosis are important in sexual reproduction?
   Why is meiosis important in heredity?
   How is meiosis related to gametogenesis?
   What are the similarities and differences between gametogenesis in animals and gametogenesis in plants?
2. Eukaryotic chromosomes
   How is genetic information organized in the eukaryotic chromosome?
   How does this organization contribute to both continuity of and variability in the genetic information?
3. Inheritance patterns
   How did Mendel's work lay the foundation of modern genetics?
   What are the principal patterns of inheritance?

B. Molecular Genetics

1. RNA and DNA structure and function
   How do the structures of nucleic acids relate to their functions of information storage and protein synthesis?
   What are the similarities and differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes?
2. Gene regulation
   What are some mechanisms by which gene expression is regulated in prokaryotes and eukaryotes?
3. Mutation
   In what ways can genetic information be altered?
   What are some effects of these alterations?
4. Viral structure and replication
   What is the structure of viruses?
   What are the major steps in viral reproduction?
   How do viruses transfer genetic material between cells?
5. Nucleic acid technology and applications
   What are some current recombinant technologies?
   What are some practical applications of nucleic acid technology?
   What legal and ethical problems may arise from these applications?

C. Evolutionary Biology

1. Early evolution of life
   What are the current biological models for the origins of biological macromolecules?
   What are the current models for the origins of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?
2. Evidence for evolution
   What types of evidence support an evolutionary view of life?
3. Mechanisms of evolution
   What is the role of natural selection in the process of evolution?
   How are heredity and natural selection involved in the process of evolution?
   What mechanisms account for speciation and macroevolution?
   What different patterns of evolution have been identified and what mechanisms are responsible for each of these patterns?

III. Organisms and Populations: The relationship of structure to function is a theme that is common to all organisms; the interactions of organisms with their environment is the major theme in ecology.

A. Diversity of Organisms

1. Evolutionary patterns
   What are the major body plans of plants and animals?
2. Survey of the diversity of life
   What are representative organisms from the Monera, Fungi, and Protista?
   What are representative members of the major animal phyla and plant divisions?
3. Phylogenetic classification
   What are the distinguishing characteristics of each group (kingdoms and the major phyla and divisions of animals and plants)?
4. Evolutionary relationships
   What is some evidence that organisms are related to each other?
   How do scientists study evolutionary relationships among organisms?
   How is this information used in classification of organisms?

B. Structure and Function of Plants and Animals

1. Reproduction, growth, and development
   What patterns of reproduction and development are found in plants and animals and how are they regulated?
   What is the adaptive significance of alternation of generations in the major groups of plants?
2. Structural, physiological, and behavioral adaptations
   How does the organization of cells, tissues, and organs determine structure and function in plant and animal systems?
   How are structure and function related in the various organ systems?
   How do the organ systems of animals interact?
   What adaptive features have contributed to the success of various plants and animals on land?
3. Response to the environment
   What are the responses of plants and animals to environmental cues, and how do hormones mediate them?

C. Ecology

1. Population dynamics
   What models are useful in describing the growth of a population?
   How is population size regulated by abiotic and biotic factors?
2. Communities and ecosystems
   How is energy flow through an ecosystem related to trophic structure (trophic levels)?
   How do elements (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, oxygen) cycle through ecosystems?
   How do organisms affect the cycling of elements and water through the biosphere?
   How do biotic and abiotic factors affect community structure and ecosystem function?
3. Global issues
   In which ways are humans affecting biogeochemical cycles?