AP Biology case studies
AP Biology · Put your knowledge to work in context.
AP Biology is a College Board Advanced Placement course and exam intended to mirror a two-semester college introductory biology sequence for biology majors; the source recommends prior high school coursework in biology and chemistry. The course spans eight units, from the chemistry of life and cell structure through cellular energetics, cell communication and the cell cycle, heredity, gene expression and regulation, natural selection, and ecology, with published exam-score ranges of roughly 8% to 20% per unit. The AP Biology case studies are 5 cases and about 1,791 words.
1Lactase Activity Under Two Buffers
A student homogenizes 2.0 g of calf intestinal mucosa in 20 mL of cold buffer and divides the filtrate into two tubes. Tube A is brought to pH 6.0; Tube B to pH 8.0.
436 words, about 2 min2Water Potential in a Root Hair
A root hair cell has a solute potential of −0.60 MPa and a pressure potential of +0.20 MPa. It sits in soil solution with a solute potential of −0.30 MPa and negligible pressure.
337 words, about 2 min3Respiration Rates in Germinating Seeds
A student places 10 g of germinating pea seeds in a sealed respirometer at 25 °C and measures O2 consumption and CO2 production over 20 minutes. Results: O2 consumed = 42 µmol; CO2 produced = 50 µmol.
359 words, about 2 min4A Mutated Receptor and a Checkpoint
A cultured cell line carries a mutation that removes the intracellular phosphatase domain from a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK). In normal cells, ligand binding causes receptor dimerization and autophosphorylation, followed by docking of signaling proteins and eventual transcription of a proliferation gene.
322 words, about 2 min5Allele Frequencies in a Fragmented Population
A population of 500 beetles lives in a forest fragment. A dominant allele A confers dark color; aa is light.
337 words, about 2 min