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Lower Merion School District

Off-Canvas

Biology Courses

(Including AP and Biology Electives)

Biology

  • Length/credit: 1 year - 1.0 credit
  • Grade: 9
  • Course Number: 04010202

The course stresses basic biological facts and principles and strives to broaden the students’ experience in biology. Major topics are the chemistry of life, evolution of populations, cell biology, genetics, DNA technology, and ecology. Other cellular topics will include protein synthesis, mitosis, meiosis, and DNA replication. Discussions, lectures, projects and laboratory work are used extensively throughout the course. Students enrolled in this course are required to take the Biology Keystone Exam at the end of the year.

**The Keystone Biology exam will be given every May. Students enrolled in Biology will take the Keystone exam at that time.

Biology H

  • Length/credit: 1 year - 1.0 credit
  • Grade: 9
  • Prerequisite: It is recommended that students have earned a grade of “A” or “B” on assessments in 8th grade Science.
  • Course Number: 04010303

The course is designed to provide the students with opportunities for strategic and extended thinking regarding the major biological principles, concepts, and ideas. Major topics are the chemistry of life, evolution of populations, cell biology, genetics, DNA technology, and ecology. Other cellular topics will include protein synthesis, mitosis, meiosis, and DNA replication. Discussions, lectures, projects, and laboratory work are used extensively throughout the course. Students enrolled in this course are required to take the Biology Keystone Exam at the end of the year.

**The Keystone Biology exam will be given every May. Students enrolled in Biology will take the Keystone exam at that time.

AP Biology

  • Length/credit: 1 year - 1.0 credit
  • Grade(s): 11, 12
  • Prerequisite: Students must have successfully completed Biology Honors and Chemistry Honors. It is recommended that students have earned a grade of “A” or “B” on assessments in these courses.
  • Course Number: 04010404

The Advanced Placement Biology course is designed to prepare the student for both the AP Biology Examination as well as future courses in the biological sciences at the college level. Students are encouraged to take the AP exam. Over the course of the year, the students are exposed to a wide variety of topics which include, but are not limited to, cell and molecular biology, classical and molecular genetics, evolution, anatomy and physiology, basic aspects of organic and biochemistry, and ecology. These topics will be studied through lecture, discussion, and laboratory activities, and the analysis of assigned readings. Please be advised that the depth and rate at which material is studied in this course requires the student to be highly motivated and willing to devote additional time out of the classroom in order to prepare for regular assessments such as weekly quizzes and multi- chapter examinations. The assessments are designed to challenge the student to apply his or her knowledge to tasks such as data interpretation and critical analysis.

Human Anatomy and Physiology

  • Length/credit: 1 year - 1.0 credit
  • Grade(s): 10, 11, 12
  • Prerequisite: Students must have successfully completed Biology. It is recommended that students have earned an A or B on assessments in Biology.
  • Course Number: 04010802

Human Anatomy and Physiology is a full-year course that introduces students to the anatomy and function of the human body. Topics that will be covered include Introduction to the Human Body, Basic Chemistry, Cells and Tissues, Skin and Body Membranes, The Skeleton, Nervous System, Senses, Blood and Cardiovascular System, Defense against Disease, Respiratory System, Digestion and Metabolism, Urinary and Reproductive Systems. The course will also discuss significant fields related to human health, such as disease and epidemics and bioethical issues. NOTE: This course contains a strong lab component, which will include dissections of mammalian specimens. Anatomy and Physiology course is targeted for students with a wide range of interests, abilities, and backgrounds who are interested in learning about the human body either out of curiosity or to pursue certain types of health-related careers.

Human Anatomy and Physiology H

  • Length/credit: 1 year - 1.0 credit
  • Grade(s): 10, 11, 12
  • Prerequisite: Students must have successfully completed Biology. It is recommended that students have earned an “A” or “B” on assessments in Biology Honors or an A on assessments in Biology College Prep. Students must have successfully completed Chemistry or be taking Chemistry concurrently.
  • Course Number: 04010803

Human Anatomy and Physiology is a full-year course concerned with a detailed study of the anatomical structure and function of the human body from the cell level up to the interdependence and coordination of all body systems. Topics that are covered include: Levels of Organization, Support and Movement, Control and Regulation, Fluids and Transport, Exchange of Materials, and Continuity of Life. The course will also discuss significant fields related to human health, such as recent history of modern medicine, disease and epidemics, genetic disorders, recent developments in medicine/biosciences and bioethical issues. NOTE: This course contains a strong lab component, which will include dissections of mammalian specimens. The Honors level course is aimed at students currently taking Honors or AP sciences and who are interested in an intensive study of the human anatomy and its physiology, possibly to prepare for a pre-med college program or a career in the health sciences.

Genetics H

  • Length/credit: 1 year - 1.0 credit
  • Grade(s): 10, 11, 12
  • Prerequisite: Students must have successfully completed Biology. Students must have successfully completed Chemistry or be concurrently taking Chemistry.
  • Course Number: 04011003

This elective course has been designed to provide the student with a more in-depth understanding of how the many classical discoveries of the past have served to define both our present understanding of genetics as well as the direction of future research in this discipline. The topics covered during this year-long course will include, but not be limited to, the molecular attributes of the cell, the classical aspects of inheritance, the Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance, the biochemical attributes of gene expression, the molecular basis of disease, gene therapies, the molecular aspects of bacterial and viral genetics, cloning and genetic engineering, and the theory of evolution. This course is being offered in the large group lecture format (two meetings per cycle) so as to replicate the learning environment being employed at some universities. The material presented in these lectures are reinforced during separate recitation sections (one meeting per cycle). This course also features a laboratory component that allows the students to explore genetics by utilizing some of the same techniques employed in the more classical areas of genetics (e.g. fruit fly crosses, blood group simulations, etc.) as well as those molecular techniques often associated with such fields as the forensic sciences (e.g. gel electrophoresis, DNA extraction, etc.). Computer simulations, lectures, assigned readings from popular texts (e.g., The Beak of the Finch), assigned readings from primary sources, and classroom discussions are all employed in order to help reinforce classroom concepts.