AP Biology is concept-heavy and math-included. Good notes link cellular mechanisms to evolutionary reasoning and include the experimental design skills tested in FRQs.
Units 1–2: Chemistry of Life and Cell Structure
Water properties (hydrogen bonding, polarity, cohesion, adhesion), macromolecules (carbs, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids), enzyme kinetics (active site, substrate concentration, competitive vs. non-competitive inhibition), membrane structure (fluid mosaic model), transport (diffusion, osmosis, active transport, endocytosis).
Units 3–4: Cellular Energetics and Communication
Photosynthesis: light reactions (ATP/NADPH production) → Calvin cycle (carbon fixation). Cellular respiration: glycolysis → pyruvate oxidation → Krebs → oxidative phosphorylation. Signal transduction: reception → transduction → response. Cell cycle regulation: cyclin-CDK complexes, proto-oncogenes, tumor suppressors.
Units 5–6: Heredity and Gene Expression
Meiosis and genetic variation (crossing over, independent assortment), Mendelian genetics, chi-square test for inheritance patterns. DNA replication, transcription, translation, gene regulation (operons in prokaryotes, transcription factors in eukaryotes), epigenetics.
Units 7–8: Natural Selection and Ecology
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium conditions and equation (p² + 2pq + q² = 1), mechanisms of evolution (mutation, selection, drift, gene flow), speciation (allopatric vs. sympatric). Population ecology (exponential vs. logistic growth, carrying capacity), community ecology, energy flow (10% rule), nutrient cycling.
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