Welcome to Ms. Ramseth's Webpage
Welcome to my website. I created this site as a resource for my students and colleagues.
I strongly believe that science is a process rather than a set of facts. I hope to help my students tap into their scientific mind and natural curiosity. Science helps us to understand the world around us and can help us to make informed decisions. I hope that you will find the resources here useful!
"I have not failed. I've just found 10000 ways that won't work."
-Thomas A. Edison
"To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science.;
Learn how to see.
Realize that everything connects to everything else."
- Leonardo da Vinci
Welcome to the home of AP Biology at Apollo High School in St. Cloud. Thank you for stopping by! Here you will find many resources that we use to support and supplement the learning we do daily. Please feel free to browse around.
Welcome to Biology!
I’m very excited to be your biology teacher this year. I love biology and am looking forward to sharing many new discoveries with you. In my opinion, the most effective way to understand science and its processes is to be actively involved through lively discussions, creative projects, and hands-on labs and experiments. This is what I envision for our classroom. I hope you will find it challenging, stimulating, and lots of fun! I strive to be easily accessible to both students and parents. Please feel free to talk with me if you have any questions.. The best way to contact me (aside from in person) is through email.
A special welcome to all of my new students for the 2015-2016 school year. Welcome to Apollo and tenth grade Biology! Biology is the study of living organisms. This course is a requirement for graduation. Throughout the year we will study taxonomy, biodiversity, genetics, and ecology - along with many more topics. All assignments, projects, quizzes, tests and their respective due dates will be posted below and updated frequently.
I'm looking forward to a year full of inquiring minds, passionate learners, creative thinkers, and hard workers!
We are going to have a great time learning about the way life works, and how we examine and understand that world using scientific tools and skills. Welcome to AP Biology at Apollo High School!
Classroom Procedures
Every day will begin with a short warm-up assignment. You should quietly enter the room and begin working on the warm-up. After the warm-up, I will check homework or start an activity or interactive lecture. Most days will involve classroom discussions in which students are expected to respectfully participate. All work done for class should be kept in a biology notebook/binder. Assignments should be completed neatly and thoughtfully by the due date. Electronic devises (e.g., cell phones, iPods) must be put away before entering the classroom.
Expectations
I expect all students to adhere to Apollo High School’s rules and policies. My classroom rules are as follows:
* Students are expected to be prepared by reading required chapters PRIOR to our class period.
* This is a college level course in which no late work will be acepted.
* Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated.
* You are expected to be the 3R's: respectful, responsible, and RESOURCFUL
* Take the time to read, and review every night.
* You will get outof it what you put into it.
* "I don't know" and "This is too hard" will never be accepted.
Materials
If you are wondering what supplies you will need for this class, here you go:
** I recommend a three binder (I like the kind with the "view" on the front - where you can slide in your unit plan for quick viewing).
** Loose-leaf notebook paper or a notebook (you'll be tearing out the sheets for daily work)
** pens and pencils, of course (especially pencils for Scantrons)
** whatever calculator you have for math will work for AP Biology, as well (you will need a four function calulator for the exam)
** a set of earbuds or headphones that you can plug into an iPad for watching videos or animations during class or advisory.
** School issued MacBook Computer
** a box of Kleenex to contribute to the classroom stash, please, as our brown paper towels are way too scratchy for blowing your nose!!
** I strongly encourage you to purchase an AP Biology study guide from your local bookstore or onlne through Amazon.
Absences
If you miss class due to an excused absence, you will have three days to make up missed work. You are responsible for finding out about your assignments and asking for any materials you might need. Failure to make up missed work within three days will result in a zero for that assignment. If you need to make up a test, quiz, or a lab, it is your responsibility to come talk to me to schedule a time that will work for us both. I do not allow work to be made up from unexcused absences.
What is AP Biology?
AP Biology is a survey course of biological science equivalent to the introductory biology course for science majors taught at the university level. AP Biology covers topics in greater depth and at a much faster pace than the General Biology course..
This course is fast-paced and requires a great deal of self-discipline to be successful. There is a heavy emphasis on science as inquiry and discovery; thus, a great deal of time is spent designing and performing laboratory investigations.
This course is heavily regulated by the College Board. The College Board has redesigned the AP Biology curriculum. You should familiarize yourself with the website: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing.ap/sub_bio.html
Team Work
I view this course as a team effort. While each person needs to complete and hand in their own work, study groups and cooperative effort are strongly encouraged. You never learn as well as when you have to explain it to someone else.
Our course is framed around four "Big Ideas" in Biology, as well as a set of "Science Practices*. They are:
Big Idea 1: Evolution The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
Big Idea 2: Cellular Processes: Energy and Communication Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to
reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
Big Idea 3: Genetics and Information Transfer Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.
Big Idea 4: Interactions Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.
Science Practice 1: You will use representations and models to communicate scientific phenomena and solve scientific problems.
Science Practice 2: You will use mathematics appropriately.
Science Practice 3: You will engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or to guide investigations within the context of our course.
Science Practice 4: You will plan and implement data collection strategies appropriate to a particular scientific question.
Science Practice 5: You will perform data analysis and evaluate evidence.
Science Practice 6: You will work with scientific explanations and theories.
Science Practice 7: You will connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts, and representations in and across domains.
Major Themes covered in the old AP Biology course:
These have been revised to crete the 4 "big ideas" listed above. They are still a good reference.
* Science as a Process
* Evolution
* Energy Transfer
* Continuity of Change
* Relationship of Structure and Function
* Interdependence in Nature
* Science, Technology, and Society
Textbook: Biology - Neil A. Campbell, Jane B Reese, Benjamin Cummings; 8th Edition This should be checked out through the library and left at home for nightly use.
My colleague, Paul Andersen of Bozeman High School in Bozeman, Montana, gives a wonderful summary of the course here:
Campbell 8th edition textbook will be used for AP Biology
Period 1- AP Biology
Period 2- AP Biology
Period 3- AP Biology
Period 4- Biology/Lunch C
Period 5- Biology
Period 6- Biology
Period 7- Prep
The Ap Exam
The exam is three hours in length and is designed to measure a student's knowledge and understanding of modern biology. On a 5 point scale, a score of 3 or better is passing. The following format will be used:
Section 1: Multiple Choice
Part A consists of 63 multiple-choice questions that represent the knowledge and science practices that you should understand and be able to apply. Part B includes 6 grid-in questions that require the integration of science and mathematical skills. For the grid-in questions, you will need to calculate the correct answer for each question and enter it in a grid on that section of the answer sheet. You will have a total of 90 minutes to complete this section.
Section 2: Free-Response
You should use the mandatory reading period to read and review the questions and begin planning your responses. This section contains two types of free-response questions (6 short and 2 long), and you will have a total of 80 minutes to complete all of the questions.
Class Information
Students will be assessed on daily work, labs, class participation, quizzes, and exams. All grades are weighed equally and grades are based on total points. Extra credit will be given at the teachers discretion.
Students are expected to have near perfect attendance and be on time to class. If a student misses class it is his/her responsibility to make up the work as soon as possible. It is expected that all assignments are completed and turned in on time.
Throughout the year, if you have any questions about my grading or late work policies or any other questions please contact me via e-mail.
[email protected]
Click here to go to the Learning Style Quiz
Cellular Respiration DATA for Period 1- 74 71, 63, 68, 61, 70, 58, 55, 54, 49 Analaze your classes data- explain why squeezes would go up or down
Cellular Respiration DATA for Period 3- 71, 68, 63, 68, 64, 70, 59, 57, 49, 46
Cellular Respiration DATA for Period 3- 71, 68, 63, 68, 64, 70, 59, 57, 49, 46