® AP BIOLOGY Course and Exam Description Revised edition Effective Fall 2015 ® AP BIOLOGY Course and Exam Description Revised Edition Effective Fall 2015 The College Board New York, NY About the College Board Te College Board is a mission-driven not-for-proft organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of more than 5,900 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success — including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement Program®. Te organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators, and schools. For further information, visit www.collegeboard.org. ® AP Equity and Access Policy Te College Board strongly encourages educators to make equitable access a guiding principle for their AP programs by giving all willing and academically prepared students the opportunity to participate in AP. We encourage the elimination of barriers that restrict access to AP for students from ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underserved. Schools should make every efort to ensure their AP classes refect the diversity of their student population. Te College Board also believes that all students should have access to academically challenging course work before they enroll in AP classes, which can prepare them for AP success. It is only through a commitment to equitable preparation and access that true equity and excellence can be achieved. Tis edition includes changes to the Curriculum Framework. See “About Tis Edition” on page v for a comprehensive list of changes. Second Reprint © 2015 Te College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, AP, AP Central, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. All other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org. ii Contents About This Edition v About AP® 1 Offering AP Courses and Enrolling Students 2 How AP Courses and Exams Are Developed 2 How AP Exams Are Scored 3 Using and Interpreting AP Scores 4 Additional Resources 4 AP Biology Curriculum Framework 5 Introduction 5 The Emphasis on Science Practices 5 Overview of the Concept Outline 6 The Concept Outline 8 Big Idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life. 8 Big Idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce and to maintain dynamic homeostasis. 21 Big Idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit and respond to information essential to life processes. 46 Big Idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties. 78 Science Practices for AP Biology 97 References 103 Appendix to the Curriculum Framework: AP Biology Concepts at a Glance 104 Index to the AP Biology Curriculum Framework 117 The Laboratory Investigations 121 Participating in the AP Course Audit 122 Curricular Requirements 122 Resource Requirements 123 Exam Information 124 How the Curriculum Framework Is Assessed 127 Demonstrating Understanding on the AP Biology Exam 127 Sample Multiple-Choice Questions 129 Answers to Multiple-Choice Questions 164 Sample Free-Response Questions 165 Scoring Guidelines 170 iii Appendix A: Preparing Students for Success in AP Biology 174 Appendix B: AP Biology Equations and Formulas 187 iv About This Edition Tis edition includes changes to the AP Biology Curriculum Framework, which are the result of review by the AP Biology community and the AP Biology Development Committee, in conjunction with ETS test developers. Tese changes, efective fall 2015, include corrections to errors, more precise language, and the addition of three new learning objectives, all of which serve to provide greater clarity to specifc areas within the curriculum framework. Te chart below outlines each change and identifes the relevant page number and the specifc location in the framework — that is, the learning objective (LO) or essential knowledge statement (EK) — where it appears. Please note: Tere are three new learning objectives, numbered to follow the existing learning objectives supporting Big Idea 2. Tese new learning objectives have been placed at the locations in the curriculum framework where they belong conceptually, not according to numerical order. Changes Effective Fall 2015 Page (in Location Change to the Curriculum Framework current and (indicated by bold or a strikethrough) previous editions) To foster student understanding of this concept, instructors can choose an illustrative example such as: 10 EK 1.A.1.h • Graphical analysis of allele frequencies in a population • Application of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium equation The student is able to evaluate evidence provided by data 11 LO 1.2 to qualitatively and/or quantitatively investigate the role of natural selection in evolution. [See SP 2.2, 5.3] The student is able to justify the selection of data from mathematical models based on the Hardy-Weinberg 12 LO 1.7 equilibrium to analyze genetic drift and the effects of selection in the evolution of specifc populations. [See SP 2.1, 4.1] The student is able to justify a scientifc claim that free energy is required for living systems to maintain 25 LO 2.2 organization, to grow, or to reproduce, but that multiple strategies for obtaining and using energy exist in different living systems. [See SP 6.1] The student is able to predict how changes in free 25 LO 2.3 energy availability affect organisms, populations, and/or ecosystems. [See SP 6.4] Continued Return to the Table of Contents v © 2015 e� College Board. Page (in Location Change to the Curriculum Framework current and (indicated by bold or a strikethrough) previous editions) LO 2.41 The student is able to evaluate data to New LO show the relationship between photosynthesis 28 under EK and respiration in the fow of free energy through a 2.A.2 system. [See SP 5.3, 7.1] The student is able to use representations and models to 34 LO 2.14 describe differences in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. [See SP 1.2, 1.4] LO 2.42 The student is able to pose a scientifc New LO question concerning the behavioral or physiological 36 under EK response of an organism to a change in its 2.C.2 environment. [See SP 3.1] Invertebrate immune systems have nonspecifc response 40 EK 2.D.4.a mechanisms, but they lack and may possess pathogen- specifc defense responses. Vertebrate immune systems have nonspecifc and 40 EK 2.D.4.a nonheritable defense mechanisms against pathogens. ✘ Memorization of the structures of specifc 41 EK 2.D.4.b antibodies is beyond the scope of the course and the AP Exam. New LO LO 2.43 The student is able to connect the concept of 41 under EK cell communication to the functioning of the immune 2.D.4 system. [See SP 7.2] The student is able to construct scientifc explanations that use the structures and mechanisms of DNA and 54 LO 3.1 RNA to support the claim that DNA and, in some cases, RNA are the primary sources of heritable information. [See SP 6.2, 6.5] The student can justify the claim that humans can manipulate heritable information by identifying at 54 LO 3.5 least two commonly used technologies. explain how heritable information can be manipulated using common technologies. [See SP 6.2, 6.4] The student is able to explain deviations from Mendel’s 59 LO 3.15 model of the inheritance of traits. [See SP 6.2, 6.5] The student is able to explain the connection between 65 LO 3.26 genetic variations in organisms and phenotypic variations in populations. The horizontal acquisitions of genetic information primarily in prokaryotes via transformation (uptake of naked DNA), transduction (viral transmission of genetic 65 EK 3.C.2.b information), conjugation (cell-to-cell transfer) and transposition (movement of DNA segments within and between DNA molecules) increase variation. [See also 1.B.3] Viral replication differs from other reproductive strategies 66 EK 3.C.3.a and generates genetic variation via various mechanisms. [See also 1.B.3] Viruses transmit DNA or RNA when they infect a host 66 EK 3.C.3.b cell. [See also 1.B.3] Continued Return to the Table of Contents vi © 2015 e� College Board. Page (in Location Change to the Curriculum Framework current and (indicated by bold or a strikethrough) previous editions) ✘ The role of this organelle in specifc phospholipid synthesis and the packaging of enzymatic 83 EK 4.A.2.c contents of lysosomes, peroxisomes and secretory vesicles are beyond the scope of the course and the AP Exam. The student is able to use data analysis to refne observations and measurements regarding the effect of 92 LO 4.19 population interactions on patterns of species distribution and abundance. [See SP 2.2, 5.2] The student is able to explain how the distribution of ecosystems changes over time by identifying large-scale 93 LO 4.20 events that have resulted in these changes in the past. [See SP 6.2, 6.3] The student is able to predict the effects of a change in an environmental factor on the genotypic expression 95 LO 4.24 of the phenotype gene expression and the resulting phenotype of an organism. [See SP 6.4] Return to the Table of Contents vii © 2015 e� College Board. THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK. About AP ® About AP AP® enables students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. Trough more than 30 courses, each culminating in a rigorous exam, AP provides willing and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit and/or advanced placement. Taking AP courses also demonstrates to college admission ofcers that students have sought out the most rigorous course work available to them. Each AP course is modeled upon a comparable college course, and college and university faculty play a vital role in ensuring that AP courses align with college-level standards. Talented and dedicated AP teachers help AP students in classrooms around the world develop and apply the content knowledge and skills they will need later in college. Each AP course concludes with a college-level assessment developed and scored by college and university faculty as well as experienced AP teachers. AP Exams are an essential part of the AP experience, enabling students to demonstrate their mastery of college-level course work. More than 90 percent of four-year colleges and universities in the United States grant students credit, placement, or both on the basis of successful AP Exam scores. Universities in more than 60 countries recognize AP Exam scores in the admission process and/or award credit and placement for qualifying scores. Visit www.collegeboard.org/ap/creditpolicy to view AP credit and placement policies at more than 1,000 colleges and universities. Performing well on an AP Exam means more than just the successful completion of a course; it is a gateway to success in college. Research consistently shows that students who score a 3 or higher on AP Exams typically experience greater academic success in college and have higher graduation rates than otherwise comparable non-AP peers.* Additional AP studies are available at www.collegeboard.org/research. * See the following research studies for more details: Linda Hargrove, Donn Godin, and Barbara Dodd, College Outcomes Comparisons by AP and Non-AP High School Experiences (New York: Te College Board, 2008). Chrys Dougherty, Lynn Mellor, and Shuling Jian, Te Relationship Between Advanced Placement and College Graduation (Austin, Texas: National Center for Educational Accountability, 2006). Return to the Table of Contents 1 © 5102 e� Co elgel Bo.d r a