4370 Advanced Placement Biology Course Description
Advanced Placement Biology is designed to be the equivalent of a first year introduction college biology course. Students should have successfully completed foundation courses in biology and chemistry. This course aims to provide students with the conceptual framework, factual knowledge, and analytical skills necessary to deal critically with the rapidly changing science of biology. Primary emphasis of the course is on developing an understanding of concepts rather than on memorizing terms and technical details. As part of the course work, students will participate in a variety of hands-on and virtual labs that meet the laboratory objectives for Advanced Placement Biology as required by the College Board. Local school science educators will supervise hands-on laboratories. Student work will be required outside of class time.
Lab Format: The lab component of the Virtual Virginia Advanced Placement Biology course consumes approximately 25% of the coursework and consists of a combination of virtual and hands-on "kitchen labs." Due to the nature of the course, the twelve required Advanced Placement Labs have been modified so that students can complete them by using safe substances rather than the original chemicals. The "kitchen labs" are modifications of the original lab and meet the same objectives. When a "kitchen lab" is not available, virtual labs are used to meet the objective of the laboratory component of the course. The virtual labs are interactive and ensure correct and comprehensive learning. When possible, both virtual and hands-on labs are used to complete a laboratory exercise. A third approach to teaching the laboratory objectives is data analysis activities, from which students read, interpret, graph, and make conclusions on sample data.
Prerequisites
Required - successful completion of at least two laboratory sciences including Biology I and Chemistry I with a demonstration of mastery of skills in both courses
Required - successful completion of Algebra and Geometry