Chapter 20: DNA Technology and Genomics

Advice for Future AP Biology Students

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Campbell and Reece. AP Biology. 7th Edition
Dear AP Biology Student,

If you are viewing this website, you are on your way to becoming a successful AP Biology student because it is key to do outside research in addition to your class assignments. Biology is a dynamic subject, and as new ideas and technologies develop, information and topic connections change.

I would like to stress how important it is to actually READ THE TEXTBOOK. Many students run through the course without ever sitting down to read the text. They simply listen to class lectures, skim over the pictures and diagrams in the textbook, and then expect to do well in the class. That is not the way it works. All AP courses require students to be self sufficient. Teachers are learning aids to answer ambiguities, but the students should be able to learn the information themselves from the resources at their disposal.

A good tool for this course is flashcards. I personally did flashcards for EVERY chapter in the textbook and they are the reason to my success in the class (A+) and on the AP Exam. Go beyond the normal vocabulary word plus definition flashcards. I did flashcards of all vocabulary words, but in addition to defintions, I also added key details of how they connect to other concepts. The flashcards will help you study before a unit test, and it will also be perfect review during the weeks leading up to the AP Exam. Highschool AP students are often involved in sports, arts, clubs, and jobs, so studying needs to be made mobile. Flashcards grouped together by chapter enable the student to study while on the go between activities.

It is key to not slack off at any point during the year. The subject builds and students are continually required to draw on past information in order to understand new concepts. Not passing a couple assignments in may have a larger significance than not getting a few homework points because the information may show up on the unit test, in later chapters, and ultimately the AP Exam. (Don't blow off the concept of the AP Exam because that is the main reason you are in this course...plus its 86 dollars you could have spent on something else.)

Most of all, I hope you actually enjoy the course. Taking AP courses are choices that students get to make and thus are usually courses they are interested in. Working through the chapters may seem tiring at some points, but the new technologies, concepts, and ideas should spark some excitement within you - at least sometimes. If it doesn't, then you are in the wrong course. I personally love Biology, espceially Genetics, and I found information very interesting. 

                                                                                                                                                  Good luck,

                                                                                                                                                  Tuhina Bhattacharya (Website author)


Works Cited

"Biotechnology Lab." 2005. Pearson Education Inc. 19 May 2009

       <http://media.pearsoncmg.com/bc/bc_campbell_biology_7/media/videos/BiotechnologyLab-V.html>.

 

Campbell, Neil, and Jane Reece. AP Biology. 7th. San Francisco: Pearson Education, 2005. Print.

 

"Cloning Cartoons." CSL Cartoon Stock. 2009. 20 May 2009

       <http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/mba/lowres/mban1450l.jpg>.

 

"DNA Forensics." Discover Channel Video. Discovery Channel. 19 May 2009

       <http://media.pearsoncmg.com/bc/bc_campbell_essentials_3/disvids/_htm/index.htm?info_text=c7e_dna_forensics>.

 

Feldmann, Richard. Visuals Online. 2001. National Cancer Institute. 20 May 2009

       <http://visualsonline.cancer.gov/preview.cfm?imageid=2130&fileformat=jpg>.

 

"Gene Cloning." Discovery Channel Video. Discovery Channel. 19 May 2009

       <http://media.pearsoncmg.com/bc/bc_campbell_essentials_3/disvids/_htm/index.htm?info_text=c7e_cloning>.

 

Holzer, Gunther. "Recombinant DNA, Genetic Engineering." 2002. Georgia Institute of

       Technology. 20 May 2009 <http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gh19/b1510/dolly.gif>.

 

Marrs, Kathleen. "Recombinant DNA and Genetic Engineering." 2000. Indiana Univerisity

       Purdue University of Indianapolis. 20 May 2009 <http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100H/images/15ghmice.gif>.

 

Ocean Explorer. 2005. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 20 May 2009

       <http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03bio/logs/sept10/media/lasonolide3_600.jpg>.