And We're Off....

Chapter 1: Themes in the Study of Life 

and

 Chapter 2: The Chemical Context of Life

Hello Everybody! I hope you're all having a great week. AP Bio is off to a great start! I've read chapters 1 and 2 so far, and I love my textbook (Campbell 8th Edition). It's conversational, has a TON of art (diagrams, charts, pictures, etc.) and is really "current" (it has a lot of modern day application). 

So, that being said, today's post is mostly going to consist of this: 

• My own thoughts about the material
• Useful Videos I found
• A Comic or Two :) 

(Keep in mind, this blog is mostly going to be a resource blog, if you're a student actually taking this class- I encourage you to have a textbook to go through, in addition to exploring the cool extras here.) 

So, here goes. 

My Thoughts: 

These two chapters were mainly review for me. It was basically an overview of the background knowledge needed to progress in the class. I'm pretty anxious to get to the "real" stuff (the new material). For now though, it's good to get my mind back into the biology mode. 

Here are some of the important concepts that have to be understood before we can get to the "meat" of AP Bio: 

• Hypothesis vs. Theory
• Form = Function 
• DNA
• Prokaryotic vs. Eukaryotic Cells
• Feedback systems (positive and negative)
• Evolution and Natural Selection
• Basics of the Atom
• Bonding (Hydrogen, Ionic, Covalent, etc.) 

In case this list is a bit daunting... here are some helpful videos to refresh your memory.... 

For DNA: 

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/evolution-and-natural-selection/v/dna

For Evolution: 

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/evolution-and-natural-selection/v/introduction-to-evolution-and-natural-selection

Parts of a Cell (basics) 

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/cell-division/v/parts-of-a-cell

Chemistry Refresher: 

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/introduction-to-the-atom/v/elements-and-atoms

Keep in mind, all of these videos are just to get the brain flowing. These concepts should be pretty well under your belt before you dive into AP Biology. And, if you watch 5 minutes of a 30 minute video, and get it- then you don't need to keep watching (at least that's how I approached them). 

And, to finish the post off,  Here's a cool comic I found.... 

And, that's all for today. Stay tuned for a post on Cells (functions, parts, processes, etc.) and Water (properties as related to bio).