The College Board AP* Biology Course Description booklet (Acorn book) describes 12 recommended laboratory experiments. Data show that student scores on the AP Biology Exam improves with increased time spent doing these experiments.
| AP Lab and Objectives |
Experiment |
Lab 1: Diffusion and Osmosis
- Relate osmotic potential to solute concentration and water potential.
- Measure the water potential of a solution in a controlled experiment.
- Determine the osmotic concentration of living tissue or an unknown solution from experimental data.
- Describe the effects of water gain or loss in animal and plant cells.
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Experiment 1A: Diffusion
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Experiment 1B: Osmosis
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Lab 2: Enzyme Catalysis
- Measure the effects of changes in temperature, pH, and enzyme concentration on reaction rates of an enzyme catalyzed reaction in a controlled experiment.
- Explain how environmental factors affect the rate of enzyme-catalyzed reactions.
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Experiment 2A: Enzyme Action Testing Catalase Activity
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Lab 3: Mitosis and Meiosis
- Recognize the stages of mitosis in a plant or animal cell.
- Calculate the relative duration of the cell cycle stages.
- Compare and contrast the results of meiosis and mitosis in plant cells.
- Compare and contrast the results of meiosis and mitosis in animal cells.
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Experiment 3: Mitosis and Meiosis
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Lab 4: Plant Pigments and Photosynthesis
- Compare photosynthetic rates at different light intensities.
- Separate pigments and calculate their Rf values.
- Describe a technique to determine photosynthetic rates.
- Explain why the rate of photosynthesis varies under different environmental conditions.
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Experiment 4B: Photosynthesis
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Lab 5: Cell Respiration
- Calculate the rate of cell respiration from experimental data.
- Relate gas production to respiration rate.
- Test the effect of temperature on the rate of cell respiration in non-germinated versus germinated seeds in a controlled experiment.
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Experiment 5: Cell Respiration
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Lab 6: Molecular Biology
- Use plasmids as vectors to transform bacteria with a gene for antibiotic resistance in a controlled experiment.
- Describe the biological process of transformation in bacteria.
- Calculate transformation efficiency.
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Experiment 6A: Transformations
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Experiment 6B: Restriction Enzymes and lambda DNA
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Lab 7: Genetics of Organisms
- Investigate the independent assortment of two genes and determine weather the two genes are autosomal or sex-linked using multigeneration experiment.
- Analyze the data from your genetic crosses using chi-squared analysis techniques.
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Experiment 7: Genetics
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Lab 8: Population Genetics and Evolution
- Calculate the frequencies of alleles and genotypes in the gene pool of a population using the Hardy-Weinberg formula.
- Discuss natural selection and other causes of microevolution as deviations from the conditions required to maintain Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
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Experiment 8: Population Genetics
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Lab 9: Transpiration
- Test the effects of environmental variables on rates of transpiration using a controlled experiment.
- Make thin sections of stem, identify xylem and phloem cells, and relate the function of these vascular tissues to the structures of their cells.
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Experiment 9: Transpiration
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Lab 10: Physiology of the Circulatory System
- Measure the heart rate and blood pressure in a human volunteer.
- Describe the effect of changing body position on heart rate.
- Explain how exercise changes heart rate.
- Determine a human’s fitness index.
- Analyze cardiovascular data collected by the entire class.
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Experiment 10A: Heart Rate and Physical Fitness
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Experiment 10B: Blood Pressure as a Vital Sign
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Lab 11: Animal Behavior
- Describe some aspects of animal behavior, such as orientation behavior, agonistic behavior, dominance display, or mating behavior.
- Understand the adaptiveness of the behaviors you studied.
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Experiment 11: Animal Behavior
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Lab 12: Dissolved Oxygen and Aquatic Primary Production
- Measure primary productivity based on changes in dissolved oxygen in a controlled experiment.
- Investigate the effects of changing light intensity on primary productivity in a controlled experiment.
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Experiment 12A: Dissolved Oxygen in Water
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Experiment 12B: Primary Productivity
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