About Our Advanced Biology Course

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Unit 1 contains information that is essential to life. Topics include: the structure of water, osmosis, water potential, types of bonds, polymers, and biological macromolecules.

Unit 2 will cover DNA, RNA, DNA replication, transcription, translation, regulation of gene expression, DNA methylation, meiosis, and more! Generally, Unit 2 covers the storage, transmission, and usage of genetic information.

Unit 3 will cover many genetics topics including Mendelian genetics, non-mendelian genetics, inheritance, gene expression, genotype and phenotype, inheritance probability, chi-squared test, and how to read pedigrees. 

Unit 4 will teach all about the basic unit of life: cells. Topics will include: homeostasis, membranes, cell walls, subcellular compartmentalization, organelles, cell structure, cell size, and facilitated diffusion.

Unit 5 will focus on how cells require, acquire, and use energy. Topics will include: how cells use energy to communicate, why cells require energy, photosynthesis, cell respiration, energy use, enzyme structure, enzyme function, and how the environment affects enzymes. 

Unit 6 will cover communication including: transduction pathways, cell signaling, cell surface receptors, feedback loops, cell cycle & regulation, apoptosis, and single- v.s. multi-cellular organisms. 

Unit 7 will cover many topics related to evolution including: the ring of life, natural selection, artificial selection, the Hardy-Weinburg Equation, evidence of evolution, and causes of evolution.

Unit 8 will cover many examples that show our understanding of the origins of life, and our understanding of other main divergent points in evolution. Some of those examples are the Miller experiment, ribozymes, hemoglobin, slime molds, embryo development, and some more detail on energetics within cells. 

Unit 9 will focus on ecology and especially on how it relates to the other topics in this course. Topics will include: system interaction, how energy flows through systems, success of a species within a system, biodiversity, and disruption to ecosystems. 

Our curriculum is aligned with the AP Biology curriculum in that it covers all of the same material. The structure in which the material is presented is very different because I, as a student, found that this flow of information would make the most sense to learn.