AP Biology

CED topics 1.1 Structure of Water and Hydrogen Bonding, 1.2 Elements of Life. Covers water properties (cohesion, adhesion, surface tension, specific heat), hydrogen bonding, and the four essential elements (CHON) plus other important elements.

CED topics 1.3 Carbohydrates, 1.4 Lipids. Covers monosaccharides, disaccharides, polysaccharides, structure and function of carbohydrates, fatty acids, triglycerides, phospholipids, and steroids.

CED topics 1.5 Nucleic Acids, 1.6 Proteins. Covers DNA/RNA structure, nucleotides, protein structure (primary through quaternary), amino acids, peptide bonds, and denaturation.

CED topics 2.1 Cell Structure: Subcellular Components, 2.2 Cell Structure and Function. Covers organelles (nucleus, ribosomes, ER, Golgi, lysosomes, vacuoles, mitochondria, chloroplasts), their functions, and relationships between structure and function.

CED topics 2.3 Cell Size, 2.4 Plasma Membranes. Covers surface-area-to-volume ratio constraints on cell size, and the fluid mosaic model of membrane structure.

CED topics 2.5 Membrane Permeability, 2.6 Membrane Transport. Covers selective permeability, passive transport (diffusion, osmosis, facilitated diffusion), and active transport (pumps, endocytosis, exocytosis).

CED topics 2.7 Facilitated Diffusion, 2.8 Tonicity and Osmoregulation. Covers channel and carrier proteins, hypertonic/hypotonic/isotonic solutions, water potential, and osmoregulation in different environments.

CED topics 2.9 Cell Compartmentalization, 2.10 Origins of Cell Compartmentalization. Covers how organelles create specialized environments, advantages of compartmentalization, and endosymbiotic theory for mitochondria and chloroplasts.

CED topics 3.1 Enzyme Structure, 3.2 Enzyme Catalysis. Covers enzyme structure, active sites, induced fit, activation energy, competitive and noncompetitive inhibition, and cofactors/coenzymes.

CED topics 3.3 Environmental Impacts on Enzyme Function, 3.4 Cellular Energy. Covers effects of temperature, pH, and concentration on enzyme activity; ATP as energy currency; and coupled reactions.

CED topics 3.5 Photosynthesis, 3.6 Cellular Respiration. Covers light-dependent and light-independent reactions (Calvin cycle), glycolysis, Krebs cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, and fermentation.

CED topics 4.1 Cell Communication, 4.2 Introduction to Signal Transduction. Covers local and long-distance signaling, ligands, receptors, and the three stages of signal transduction (reception, transduction, response).

CED topics 4.3 Signal Transduction, 4.4 Changes in Signal Transduction Pathways. Covers amplification, specificity, and how mutations or disruptions in pathways can affect cellular responses.

CED topic 4.5 Feedback. Covers positive and negative feedback mechanisms in maintaining homeostasis, with examples from blood sugar regulation and other biological systems.

CED topics 4.6 Cell Cycle, 4.7 Regulation of Cell Cycle. Covers interphase (G1, S, G2), mitosis, cytokinesis, checkpoints, cyclins and CDKs, and apoptosis. Consequences of unchecked cell division (cancer).

CED topics 5.1 Meiosis, 5.2 Meiosis and Genetic Diversity. Covers stages of meiosis I and II, crossing over, independent assortment, and how meiosis contributes to genetic variation.

CED topics 5.3 Mendelian Genetics, 5.4 Non-Mendelian Genetics. Covers Mendel's laws (segregation, independent assortment), Punnett squares, incomplete dominance, codominance, multiple alleles, epistasis, polygenic inheritance, and sex-linked traits.

CED topic 5.5 Environmental Effects on Phenotype. Covers how environmental factors (temperature, nutrition, light, chemicals) influence gene expression and phenotype, with examples like temperature-dependent sex determination and phenylketonuria.

CED topics 6.1 DNA and RNA Structure, 6.2 Replication. Covers nucleotide structure, double helix, base pairing, DNA vs RNA, DNA replication (leading/lagging strands, Okazaki fragments), and proofreading.

CED topics 6.3 Transcription and RNA Processing, 6.4 Translation. Covers transcription (initiation, elongation, termination), RNA processing (splicing, 5' cap, poly-A tail), the genetic code, and translation (ribosomes, tRNA, initiation, elongation, termination).

CED topics 6.5 Regulation of Gene Expression, 6.6 Gene Expression and Cell Specialization. Covers operons (lac, trp), transcription factors, epigenetic regulation, and how differential gene expression leads to cell specialization.

CED topics 6.7 Mutations, 6.8 Biotechnology. Covers types of mutations (point, frameshift, missense, nonsense, silent), causes and consequences of mutations, and biotechnology techniques (PCR, gel electrophoresis, recombinant DNA, CRISPR).

CED topics 7.1 Natural Selection, 7.2 Artificial Selection. Covers Darwin's theory, fitness, directional/stabilizing/disruptive selection, and selective breeding by humans.

CED topics 7.3 Population Genetics, 7.4 Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. Covers allele frequencies, gene pools, genetic drift, gene flow, the Hardy-Weinberg equation (p² + 2pq + q² = 1), and conditions for equilibrium.

CED topics 7.5 Evidence of Evolution, 7.6 Phylogeny. Covers fossil record, homologous/analogous structures, molecular evidence, phylogenetic trees, cladistics, and shared ancestry.

CED topics 7.7 Speciation, 7.8 Variations in Populations. Covers allopatric and sympatric speciation, reproductive isolation mechanisms, and sources of variation in populations.

CED topic 7.9 Origin of Life on Earth. Covers theories on the origin of life, the RNA world hypothesis, Miller-Urey experiment, endosymbiotic theory, and the fossil timeline.

CED topics 8.1 Responses to the Environment, 8.2 Energy Flow Through Ecosystems. Covers tropisms, circadian rhythms, behavioral responses, trophic levels, energy transfer, and the 10% rule.

CED topics 8.3 Population Ecology, 8.4 Population Density. Covers exponential and logistic growth models, carrying capacity, density-dependent and density-independent factors, and population dynamics.

CED topics 8.5 Community Ecology, 8.6 Biodiversity. Covers species interactions (competition, predation, symbiosis), ecological niches, keystone species, and biodiversity measurement.

CED topic 8.7 Disruptions in Ecosystems. Covers invasive species, habitat fragmentation, climate change impacts, pollution, and ecological resilience.