AP Biology Full Curriculum Recap

Introduction

• Presented by Melanie King from The Absolute Recap.
• Covers all 8 units of the AP Bio curriculum.
• Key focus on terms, concepts, and equations.
• Use a triage method to prioritize study topics (stoplight method: red, yellow, green).

Unit 1: Chemistry of Life

• Water properties: Polar molecule, hydrogen bonding, cohesion, adhesion, surface tension, high specific heat, and universal solvent.
• Common elements: C, H, N, O, P, S.
• Biological molecules:
  • Carbohydrates: C:H:O ratio 1:2:1, energy storage, structural materials.
  • Lipids: Nonpolar, hydrocarbon chains, steroid rings, fatty acid tails (saturated/unsaturated).
  • Proteins: Polypeptides, diverse roles (enzymes, transport, receptors).
  • Nucleic Acids: DNA and RNA, will be discussed more in Unit 6.
• Reactions: Dehydration synthesis and hydrolysis.

Unit 2: Cell Structure and Function

• Cell types: Prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic, importance of surface area to volume ratio.
• Organelles: Membrane-bound (ER, Golgi) vs. non-membrane-bound (ribosomes, mitochondria, chloroplasts).
• Endosymbiosis Theory.
• Transport types:
  • Active transport: Uses ATP, moves molecules against gradient.
  • Passive transport: Diffusion and facilitated diffusion.
  • Osmosis: Water movement.
  • Vesicular transport: Endocytosis and exocytosis.

Unit 3: Cellular Energetics

• Enzymes: Proteins that decrease activation energy, not consumed by reactions.
• Photosynthesis: Chlorophyll captures energy, occurs in thylakoid membranes and stroma.
• Cellular respiration: Occurs in cytoplasm, mitochondrial matrix, and cristae. Fermentation in absence of oxygen.
• Fitness: Better suited organisms survive and reproduce.

Unit 4: Cell Communication and Cell Cycle

• Communication types: Autocrine, paracrine, endocrine.
• Signal transduction: Reception, transduction, response.
• Feedback mechanisms: Positive (away from homeostasis) and negative (towards homeostasis).
• Cell cycle: Interphase (G1, S, G2), Mitosis (prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase), regulated by cyclins and cdks.

Unit 5: Heredity

• Meiosis: Division forming gametes, genetic diversity through crossing over, independent assortment.
• Inheritance patterns: Mendelian (3:1, 9:3:3:1) and Non-Mendelian (incomplete dominance, co-dominance).
• Genetic disorders: Non-disjunction, deletion, inversion, translocation.
• Probability and analysis: Punnett squares, chi-square analysis.

Unit 6: Gene Expression and Regulation

• DNA & RNA: Double/single stranded, sugar types, base pairing.
• Replication: Semi-conservative, continuous and okazaki fragments.
• Central Dogma: Transcription and translation processes, mRNA processing.
• Gene regulation: Operons in prokaryotes, transcription factors in eukaryotes.
• Biotechnology: PCR, gel electrophoresis, bacterial transformation, DNA sequencing.

Unit 7: Natural Selection

• Natural selection basics: Variation, survival, reproduction.
• Evolution: Allele frequency changes, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
• Evidence for evolution: Fossils, biogeography, molecular comparisons.
• Speciation and extinction.

Unit 8: Ecology

• Organism communication: Impact on fitness and environment.
• Energy flow: Food webs, trophic levels.
• Population growth: Limiting factors, carrying capacity, relevant equations.
• Community relationships: Niche roles, symbiosis.
• Human impact: Habitat modification, extinctions.

Conclusion

• Review the units and prioritize based on the stoplight method (red, yellow, green).
• Additional study resources available through linked materials.