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Introductions
Welcome to AP Biology! An overview of the course and an introduction to the recurring themes that are woven throughout the fabric of this subject.
AP Biology is a rigorous, demanding, stimulating, rewarding course. Here's what to expect & how to succeed. (9/5/2007)
 Biology is an ever-expanding body of knowledge and there are too many details to memorize it all, so we need to create a framework of over-arching themes upon which to organize new knowledge. (9/6/2007)
Unit 1 Evolution
A Darwinian view of life! Darwin gave biology its unifying principle -- evolution by natural selection -- explaining both the unity and diveristy of life on Earth. By attributing the diversity of life to natural causes rather than to supernatural creation, Darwin gave biology a strong, scientific, testable foundation.
Our introduction to Darwin the man & the scientist, his ideas, and the inspiration for them. (9/10/2007)
Let's delve deeper into how natural selection acts on individuals. (9/12/2007)
What evidence supports this Darwinian view of change over time? What has allowed scientists to elevate Darwin's hypothesis to a biological principle? (9/17/2007)
Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection gave scientists the ability to craft testable hypotheses. Here are two extraordinary cases that test the underpinnings of evolution. (9/24/2007)
Natural selection acts on individuals, but populations evolve. Evolution really means changing how much an allele shows up in a population. What factors alter allele frequencies in populations?
How do you measure/calculate the allele frequencies in a population -- and what does that tell us about the evolutionary forces acting on a population? Watch out, here comes the math!
How do new species arise? What mechanisms divide and isolate populations and send them on separate evolutionary paths.
The history and evolution of life can be documented with evidence already discussed in previous chapters. The origin of life on Earth is quite another story! Let's see what we hypothesize and what we have experimental evidence to support.
Unit 2 Classification
Humans have been trying to make sense out of the the diversity of life for a long time. A formal system of classification began wth Carolus Linnaeus and taxonomists have been trying to perfect it ever since. Our current technology of DNA sequencing has allowed us to make better sense of our groupings, but this field is very much in flux.
Life began as one-celled organisms without organelles and this group has continued to be very successful through the ages... and we couldn't live without them! Actually there are more bacteria in YOUR body right now than all the humans that have ever lived! So let's meet our original ancestors. Here is an overview of our present understanding of the evolutionary relationships aomongst the Prokaryotes.
Protists are the "junk drawer" of the Eukaryotic Kingdoms. Taxonomists are actively working on sorting this group out to make better evolutionary sense. Here is an overview of our present understanding of the evolutionary relationships aomongst the Protists.
The Fungi help our world to continue by recycling the nutrients locked up in dead bodies. Here is an overview of our present understanding of the evolutionary relationships aomongst the Fungi.
The Plants have radically changed this planet and animals have them to thank for the world they were able to evolve in. Here is an overview of our present understanding of the evolutionary relationships aomongst the Plants.
The Animals have been able to radiate out and evolve to fill niiches in every biome on this planet. Here is an overview of our present understanding of the evolutionary relationships aomongst the Animals.
Unit 3 Ecology
No individual is an island unto itself. All organisms exist within an interconnected Web of dependent relationships, extending throughout this small spaceship, we call Earth. This is the study of ecology & human impact on a global-scale.
All organisms exhibit "behavior". They react to to stimuli that comes from others of their kind and from their environment. How much of this behavior is innate and how much is learned? What aspects of this behavior is acted upon by natural selection?
How do populations change over time?
What factors affect population density, distribution & age structure? How is the human population faring on this spaceship Earth?
How do populations interact to build communities of interacting and interdependent organisms? How do these communities change over time?
Now, let's put it all together and investigate how communities interact in larger systems ~~ ecosystems. How do ecosystems function and what human activities affect ecosystems on both a local & global scale.
Oh my, what have we done! Let's look at the major environmental issues facing the world today -- all of them unfortunately caused by human action.
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