1. AP Biology
AP BIOLOGY
BIG IDEAS

2. AP Biology
BIG IDEA #1
The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
1A – Change in the genetic makeup of a population over time is evolution.
1B – Organisms are linked by lines of descent from common ancestry.
1C – Life continues to evolve within a changing environment.
1D – The origin of living systems is explained by natural processes.

3. Organisms don’t adapt; Organisms have adaptations.
AP Biology
Natural selection
Evolutionary change is a product of the process of natural selection
Organisms don’t adapt; Organisms have adaptations.

4. Evolution explains unity & diversity
AP Biology
Evolution explains unity & diversity
Unity
what do organisms have in common & why do similarities exist?
common biochemistry & physiology
evolutionary relationships
connected through common ancestor
Diversity
but why are there differences?
natural selection
adaptations allow different individuals to survive in different environments

5. "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution."
AP Biology
"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution."
Theodosius Dobzhansky: Integrating Genetics and Evolution
Theodosius Dobzhansky, a Russian geneticist who moved to the United States, provided laboratory evidence for natural selection and variation where previously there had been only field observation. Dobzhansky's work with Drosophila, or fruit flies, provided new evidence that supported Darwin's theory that natural selection, acting on genetic variation in populations, is a driving force in evolution.
-- Theodosius Dobzhansky March 1973
Geneticist, Columbia University
( )

6. AP Biology
BIG IDEA #2
Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
2A – Growth, reproduction and maintenance of the organization of living systems require free energy and matter.
2B – Growth, reproduction and dynamic homeostasis require that cells create and maintain internal environments that are different from their external environments.
2C – Organisms use feedback mechanisms to regulate growth and reproduction, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
2D – Growth and dynamic homeostasis of a biological system are influenced by changes in the system’s environment.
2E – Many biological processes involved in growth, reproduction and dynamic homeostasis include temporal regulation and coordination.

7. Energy transfer Life is an open system DECOMPOSERS RULE, too!
AP Biology
Energy transfer
Life is an open system
need input of energy
energy flows through
energy is captured and stored in molecules via photosynthesis
energy is released as heat and through cellular respiration
need input of materials
nutrients are recycled
nutrients
ENTROPY RULES!
DECOMPOSERS RULE, too!

8. You think they’re eating… They’re harvesting energy!
AP Biology
Energy utilization
Homeostasis
Growth
Reproduction
You think they’re eating… They’re harvesting energy!

9. AP Biology
Form follows function
The alignment of structure & function is seen at all levels of biology
organ
organism
cell
organelle

10. Membranes
Membranes separate the internal from external AND compartmentalize the internal environment.

11. Regulation
AP Biology
Organisms need to maintain a “steady state” in the face of changing conditions
maintain homeostasis
achieve this through feedback
monitor the body like a thermostat
turn on when it’s needed, off when its not

13. Complex Interactions
From cells to ecosystems – all life is influenced by biotic and abiotic factors.
Life is universal
common biochemistry & physiology
Photosynthesis, Cellular Respiration
Feedback loops
Life is diverse
natural selection
adaptations allow different individuals to survive in different environments

14. Timing All life follows a tempo
There is a specific sequence of timing and coordination that allows for life to develop, grow and reproduce.

15. BIG IDEA #3
Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
3A – Heritable information provides for continuity of life.
3B – Expression of genetic information involves cellular and molecular mechanisms.
3C – The processing of genetic information is imperfect and is a source of genetic variation.
3D – Cells communicate by generating, transmitting and receiving chemical signals.
3E – Transmission of information results in changes within and between biological systems.

16. You can make more, a lot like you!
AP Biology
Continuity & change
Continuity of life is based on heritable information in the form of DNA
DNA – the genetic material – carries biological information from one generation to the next T R A I
You can make more, a lot like you!

17. Communication

18. BIG IDEA #4
Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
4A – Interactions within biological systems lead to complex properties.
4B – Competition and cooperation are important aspects of biological systems.
4C – Naturally occurring diversity among and between components within biological systems affects interactions with the environment.

19. Organization Molecular Level Cellular Level Organism Level
Monomers Polymers
Cellular Level
Nucleus, ribosomes, ER, Golgi App…
Organism Level
Cell, Tissue, Organ, Organ System
Ecological Level
Organism (individual), population, community, ecosystem

20. Interdependence All parts of the whole are interdependent
AP Biology
All parts of the whole are interdependent
Cell needs organelles…
Polymers needs monomers…
Populations need other populations in a community…

21. Organizing systems Eastern gray squirrel
AP Biology
Making sense out of the diversity
Hierarchical scheme
Eastern gray squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis

22. AP Biology