The Laboratory Component
The integration of laboratory exercises that are representative of the laboratory experiments being
done
at the college introductory level is extremely important. Including lab work in the AP Biology
program
increases students’ chances for receiving lab credit in addition to course credit for their AP work. In
an
effort to ensure that AP Biology teachers incorporate appropriate lab exercises into their curriculum,
the
College Board developed the AP Biology Lab Manual for Students and an accompanying publication
for
teachers, the AP Biology Lab Manual for Teachers. The AP Lab Manual contains 12 labs that
complement
the topic outline.
Lab 1. Diffusion and Osmosis. The experiments in this first lab include diffusion across a
semipermeable membrane, using dialysis tubing to determine the rate of diffusion of various
concentrations of sucrose solutions, determining the water potential of potato cells, and
observing plasmolysis in onion cells.
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About AP Biology
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Lab 2. Enzyme Catalysis. This lab uses catalase as the enzyme in the decomposition reaction of
hydrogen peroxide. Students determine the amount of hydrogen peroxide that remains after
different periods of time by titration with potassium permanganate and then calculate the rate of
decomposition.
Lab 3. Mitosis and Meiosis. Students work on three exercises: calculating the amount of time cells
spend in each phase of mitosis by examining an onion root tip, calculating the distance between
a gene locus and the centromere in Sordaria fimicola, and using beads to simulate the process of
meiosis.
Lab 4. Plant Pigments and Photosynthesis. In the first exercise students use paper chromatography
to
determine the Rf
value of various plant pigments found in leaves. In the second exercise they use
a chloroplast suspension and an indicator DPIP to investigate what factors affect the rate of the
light-dependent reaction (Hill reaction).
Lab 5. Cell Respiration. This experiment determines the rate of cellular respiration of dormant and
germinating peas at two different temperatures.
Lab 6. Molecular Biology. Students conduct two experiments. The first is a transformation
experiment
in which students insert an engineered plasmid into E. coli. In the second lab students digest
lambda bacteriophage DNA with selected restricted enzymes and determine the length of DNA
fragments with electrophoresis equipment.
Lab 7. Genetics of Organisms. This extended experiment involves using Drosophila melanogaster in
genetic crosses. Students are expected to use the chi-square test when analyzing the results. This
lab may take one to two days a week during a four- to six-week period to complete.
Lab 8. Population Genetics and Evolution. This simulation involves applying the Hardy-Weinberg
equilibrium equation to collected data and modeling the effect of different factors on allele
frequencies.
Lab 9. Transpiration. Students conduct two experiments. In the first they use a potometer to
investigate
the transpiration of an herbaceous plant under various conditions. In the second they assemble,
stain, and examine wet mounts of thin stem sections.
Lab 10. Physiology of the Circulatory System. This lab consists of two experiments. The first
measures
the heart rate and blood pressure in a volunteer to determine that person’s fitness index. The
second uses Daphnia to investigate the effect of temperature on heart rate.
Lab 11. Animal Behavior. In this inquiry lab, students study the behavior of pill bugs as they respond
to different environmental factors, and they observe the mating behaviors of Drosophila
melanogaster.
Lab 12. Dissolved Oxygen and Aquatic Primary Productivity. Students determine the gross and net
primary productivity of a given aquatic ecosystem as a function of differences in dissolved
oxygen over time.
