My Favorite AP Biology Resources by Lee Ferguson

AP Bio Exam Information at AP Central

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 03:35:30 UTC

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_information/1996.html

AP Bio Course Information at AP Central

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 03:35:57 UTC

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/2117.html

HHMI Biointeractive

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 03:36:21 UTC

So many great things here--all aligned to AP Biology Curriculum Framework

https://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive

DNA Learning Center

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 03:37:11 UTC

I'm a fan of the resources at the DNALC--especially their DNA From the Beginning (dnaftb.org)
https://www.dnalc.org/

Learn Genetics at the University of Utah

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 03:38:16 UTC

Fantastic site with excellent resources for genetics, cell biology and other biology topics including cell communication and epigenetics.
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/

pHET Simulations at UC-Boulder

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 03:38:58 UTC

Some great simulations and models of biological phenomena here
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/biology

Action Potential Animation-Harvard Neuroscience

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 03:40:34 UTC

I use this as a tutorial for myself! It's no longer available on the Harvard website, but there is a video of it on YouTube.

Paul Andersen-Bozeman Science AP Biology Video Essentials

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 03:41:36 UTC

These videos produced by Paul Andersen are good summaries of content. Not completely in alignment to the current course framework (2025) but can serve as a resource for students.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFCE4D99C4124A27A

Pearson LabBench at the Biology Place

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 03:43:27 UTC

Aligned with the old "dirty dozen" AP Biology labs, these still make great pre-lab prep for inquiry-based versions of these labs
http://www.phschool.com/science/biology_place/labbench/

Understanding Evolution-UC Berkeley

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 03:45:18 UTC

An outstanding resource for teaching evolution and the nature of science for all levels
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_01

National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science-University at Buffalo

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 03:46:41 UTC

The case studies here are excellent ways to get students involved in the content while honing critical thinking skills. Case studies are freely available but keys are available for $25/annually.
http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/

Human Origins at the Smithsonian Institute

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 04:39:01 UTC

Fantastic resources here for teaching about human origins as well as human impact on Earth
http://humanorigins.si.edu/

How Bacteria "Talk"-Bonnie Bassler on Quorum Sensing

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 04:39:53 UTC

An excellent talk about how V. fisherii communicates with members of its own species and others
https://www.ted.com/talks/bonnie_bassler_on_how_bacteria_communicate

Global Population, Box by Box-Hans Rosling on Population Growth

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 04:41:08 UTC

An excellent TED talk about human population growth and its impact on Earth's resources
https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_on_global_population_growth

Signal Transduction Modeling

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:02:00 UTC

A series of simulations that models the behavior of signal transduction pathways.
http://ats.doit.wisc.edu/biology/ap/st/st.htm

Nobel Prize in Medicine-Educational Games

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:03:51 UTC

Lots of great games here that incorporate the work of Nobel Laureates, such as control of the cell cycle, animal behavior, blood typing and genetic code.

https://www.nobelprize.org/educational/

BBC Bitesize Biology

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:06:52 UTC

Even though it's specific to the British GCSE curriculum, biology is still biology--great resources here can be used to review concepts in biology.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/subjects/z9ddmp3

Scitable at Nature

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:18:22 UTC

A collection of resources by the folks at Nature Publishing Group. Be aware that it is archived and no longer updated.
http://www.nature.com/scitable

Crash Course Biology-Hank Green

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:19:22 UTC

This is Hank's collection of biology lessons.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3EED4C1D684D3ADF

PBS-Evolution

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:20:52 UTC

A collection of resources based on the PBS series Evolution.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/

NOVA-Evolution

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:21:58 UTC

Excellent resources here from PBS for teaching evolution, including simulations and games.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/

LabWrite at NCSU

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:23:13 UTC

Great resources for teaching students to write lab reports.
https://www.ncsu.edu/labwrite/

Purdue OWL-APA Guidelines

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:23:52 UTC

I use this to help teach my students how to properly cite their work.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

How Tumor Suppresors Block Cell Division-McGraw Hill

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:25:48 UTC

A YouTube recording of an old McGraw-Hill Flash animation about how tumor suppressors regulate the cell cycle.

PLOS Biology

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:29:15 UTC

Open access scientific journal--I sometimes grab graphs/diagrams from here and create questions for students from them.
http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/

Guardian Science Twitter Feed

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:31:36 UTC

Science news posted by the British publication The Guardian.
https://twitter.com/guardianscience

New York Times Science Twitter Feed

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:34:37 UTC

Science news as reported by the New York Times.
https://twitter.com/NYTScience

Ed Yong at The Atlantic

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:37:27 UTC

One of my favorite science writers, Ed Yong, writes for The Atlantic here.
https://www.theatlantic.com/author/ed-yong/

John Kyrk's Animations

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:39:33 UTC

A collection of excellent animations of biological processes, down to the molecular level.
http://www.johnkyrk.com/

CellCraft-Carolina Biological

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:40:01 UTC

An online game that teaches students about cell organelles and their interactions.
http://www.carolina.com/teacher-resources/Interactive/online-game-cell-structure-cellcraft-biology/tr11062.tr

Flinn Scientific-Safety Contract for HS Students

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:42:17 UTC

This is our standard issue safety contract.
https://www.flinnsci.com/high-school-student-safety-contract---english/dc10494/

Bio-Rad Life Science Education Site

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:44:11 UTC

Definitely could not do the biotech labs we do without Bio-Rad and their kits and support!
http://www.bio-rad.com/en-us/education

Graph Choice Chart-Participatory Science

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:47:32 UTC

We give this to our students to help them figure out what kind of graph is appropriate for the data they collect in lab.
http://participatoryscience.org/sites/default/files/ML1-Graph%20Choice%20Chart_28Feb2013.pdf

The Power of Numbers-Learn Genetics

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 05:48:51 UTC

An excellent introduction to statistics and their utility in helping us to understand data.
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/math/numbers

Bozeman Science-Statistics and Graphing

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-23 13:59:47 UTC

An excellent collection of how-tos for descriptive statistics and how to graph data by Paul Andersen.
http://www.bozemanscience.com/statistics-graphing/

MIT Open CourseWare-High School Biology

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-24 21:38:59 UTC

A collection of resources for biology students aggregated from different courses offered by MIT.
https://ocw.mit.edu/high-school/biology/

Geologic and Biological Timeline of the Earth

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-24 21:40:44 UTC

A detailed account of major events in geologic time with a biological context.
http://www.scientificpsychic.com/etc/timeline/timeline.html

Understanding Surface Area to Volume Ratio

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-24 21:42:00 UTC

Great tutorial with data explaining the importance of this ratio for cells.
http://www.tiem.utk.edu/~gross/bioed/bealsmodules/area_volume.html

TimeTree

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-24 21:42:45 UTC

TimeTree is a public knowledge-base for information on the evolutionary timescale of life. Data from thousands of published studies are assembled into a searchable tree of life scaled to time.
http://timetree.org/

Virtual Cell Animation Collection

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-24 21:48:30 UTC

A collection of excellent animations for many cellular processes.
http://vcell.ndsu.edu/animations/

Your Inner Fish

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-24 21:50:32 UTC

Site hosted by the University of Chicago dedicated to the discovery of Tiktaalik.
http://tiktaalik.uchicago.edu/index.html

Tree of Life Project

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-24 21:55:03 UTC

Provides information about phylogeny and biodiversity for organisms on the evolutionary tree of life.
http://tolweb.org/tree/

Animation: The Winogradsky Column

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-24 22:00:47 UTC

Short animation describing how a Winogradsky column is set up and why the components included are placed where they are.
http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/winogradsky.html

The Learning Strategies Center-Cornell University

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-24 22:09:30 UTC

Outstanding resources for teaching students how to study.
http://lsc.cornell.edu/study-skills/read-about/

Nitrogen Cycle Animation

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-24 22:11:34 UTC

A great animation that gives an overview of the nitrogen cycle.
http://vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/pages/soilhealth_nitrogen-cycle

Photosynthesis Tutorial - HHMI BioInteractive

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-24 22:12:31 UTC

This is a really excellent video of the animated tutorial available from HHMI BioInteractive. I use this in both my AP and Honors Bio classes.

College of DuPage Biology 1151

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-24 22:14:39 UTC

Great as a reference for an intro biology course. Uses Campbell's 8th edition as the basis for info, so proceed with caution if using for AP Bio.

http://bio1151.nicerweb.com/

Wisconsin FastPlants

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-26 20:00:01 UTC

An absolute must if you're wanting to use FastPlants in the classroom.
http://www.fastplants.org/

Understanding Science

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-26 22:39:48 UTC

Outstanding resources on the nature of science.
http://undsci.berkeley.edu/

Concord Consortium

mrsleeferg — 2016-12-27 01:05:12 UTC

Some great online models for various topics in biology here.
https://concord.org/stem-resources/subject/biology

Data Nuggets

mrsleeferg — 2017-01-01 21:18:15 UTC

A site containing data sets from research done by scientists at Michigan State University. You can have students manipulate these to practice quantitative skills.
http://datanuggets.org/

AP Biology Quantitative Skills Guide

mrsleeferg — 2017-01-06 03:43:49 UTC

Everything you ever wanted to know about teaching the quantitative skills needed for AP Biology.
http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/AP_Bio_Quantitative_Skills_Guide-2ndPrinting_lkd.pdf

Pedigree Easy Draw

mrsleeferg — 2017-02-05 22:50:32 UTC

A great online tool for drawing pedigrees for nearly every kind of inheritance! Best--it's free: http://www.free-pedigree-online.com/

Importance of HeLa Cells

mrsleeferg — 2017-07-27 20:38:55 UTC

Information from Johns Hopkins about the importance of HeLa cells, and the history of their use, bioethics of their origin, and the role of Johns Hopkins hospital in the history of the HeLa cell line.

Origami Organelles

mrsleeferg — 2017-07-27 21:53:59 UTC

Want a cheap way to construct models of concepts students struggle with, like DNA replication, CRISPR, mitochondrial structure, chromosome structure? Origami Organelles has a ton of templates for paper models your students can make to illustrate these concepts.

Statistics for Biologists

mrsleeferg — 2017-07-31 00:07:30 UTC

This collection of resources from Nature is an in-depth exploration of the math we use as biologists.
https://www.nature.com/collections/qghhqm

Science in the Classroom

mrsleeferg — 2017-07-31 00:14:39 UTC

Great resource from AAAS to use when teaching students how to read scientific papers.
http://www.scienceintheclassroom.org/

BioNinja

mrsleeferg — 2017-07-31 00:17:08 UTC

Fantastic site for both SL and HL Biology.
http://www.ib.bioninja.com.au/welcome-to-the-bioninja/

Biology For Life

mrsleeferg — 2017-07-31 00:17:54 UTC

Gretel vonBargen's IB Biology website for students at Skyline HS, Sammamish, WA
http://www.biologyforlife.com/

Bioknowledgy

mrsleeferg — 2017-07-31 00:19:16 UTC

Chris Paine's excellent site for SL and HL Biology--lots of great resources for teaching IB Biology here!
http://www.bioknowledgy.info/

i-Biology

mrsleeferg — 2017-07-31 00:21:21 UTC

Stephen Taylor's IB Biology site with great resources for teaching SL or HL Biology.
https://i-biology.net/ibdpbio/

The Up-Goer Five Text Editor

mrsleeferg — 2019-10-29 04:48:55 UTC

Teach students to write concisely by using this tool.

AP Biology Course and Exam Description

mrsleeferg — 2019-10-29 04:50:22 UTC

The revised CED, effective August 2025

Turner's Graph of the Week

mrsleeferg — 2019-10-29 04:52:05 UTC

Teach students to analyze all sorts of graphs with this resource--lots of possibilities here for bellwork!

Sapiens.org

mrsleeferg — 2020-01-02 05:20:56 UTC

Great resource about human evolution here--the interactive about Neanderthal bodies is fascinating!

Sampling and Normal Distribution

mrsleeferg — 2020-01-03 23:51:48 UTC

If you're teaching students intro to stats, this is a great place to start.

How Science Works

mrsleeferg — 2020-01-03 23:53:08 UTC

This is one of my favorite Biointeractive resources. I use it with my IB students as they begin to plan their IAs--from inception to execution. Really excellent tool for students embarking on inquiry-based student driven long term investigations.

Flipgrid

mrsleeferg — 2020-01-03 23:54:46 UTC

I love using Flipgrid with students because it allows them another way to communicate what they know about a topic we've studied or a lab that we've done. Integrates with Canvas LMS really nicely too!

Cell Biology - Thermodynamics

mrsleeferg — 2020-01-03 23:57:16 UTC

Great series of interactive lessons on thermodynamics in biology.

Analyze This!: Science News for Students

mrsleeferg — 2020-01-03 23:58:40 UTC

Great stash of articles here that can be used to build science practice skills in students: analysis of data, graphs, reading comprehension.

Health and Science Pipeline Initiative

mrsleeferg — 2020-02-25 15:23:25 UTC

HASPI provides free curriculum resources for teachers—all you need to do is register to access the password-protected site. Resources here are geared toward students on a health careers pathway.

Paper Chromatography Simulation

mrsleeferg — 2020-04-27 17:34:16 UTC

Great for when you don't have access to solvents, or as a pre-lab activity.

Geogebra: Modeling SA:V ratios of a sphere

mrsleeferg — 2020-05-14 05:10:53 UTC

You can use this to have students explore the relationship between surface area and volume of a sphere. Great tool to use for teaching importance of SA:V ratios for cells.

Geogebra: Modeling SA:V ratios of a cube

mrsleeferg — 2020-05-14 05:11:53 UTC

Use this to let students explore the relationship between the surface area and volume of a cube. They can conduct their own inquiry about the relationship and how this applies to cells.

Philpot Education: Support Site for IB DP Biology

mrsleeferg — 2020-05-14 23:40:24 UTC

I've used this to supplement my HL Bio lessons. There are great graphics here.

DataClassroom

mrsleeferg — 2020-05-14 23:42:52 UTC

Great app that allows students to manipulate data and create visual representations of data sets. The free version isn't as robust as the paid version but is still great.

Ecology and Population Dynamics

mrsleeferg — 2020-05-14 23:44:22 UTC

This online simulator shows students how population growth equations are derived. I use this to teach my AP students how both the logistic and exponential formulas are derived.

Biologysimulations.com

mrsleeferg — 2020-05-14 23:46:20 UTC

This site has some great online simulations that allow students to explore some key concepts in biology, including natural selection, biodiversity, energy exchanges and inheritance of traits.

Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell Medicine and Biology Playlist

mrsleeferg — 2020-05-15 04:38:13 UTC

Some really great concise video explanations about complex biological concepts.

Chubbyemu Medical Case Study Videos Playlist

mrsleeferg — 2020-05-15 04:39:18 UTC

A professor of medicine walks through case studies found in the medical literature in short videos that explain the biology, biochemistry and physiology behind the ailments described. Personal favorites: the farmer who cut out his own cancer, the woman who drank 3 gallons of water in 2 hours.

Harlem DNA Lab Center Virtual Bacterial Transformation Lab

mrsleeferg — 2020-05-15 04:43:58 UTC

Can't do a pGLO lab with students? Use this as a supplement or a substitute. Note: uses Flash.

LearnGenetics: Lick Your Rats

mrsleeferg — 2020-05-15 04:45:11 UTC

Teach students about the influence that environment has on gene expression with the information here. The animation has been retired since it was Flash, but I'm told the team at GSLC plans to bring it back (pending funding availability).

AP Biology LiveStream FRQ Strategies Review

mrsleeferg — 2020-05-18 17:16:41 UTC

I present some strategies for answering free response questions. These are specific to the 2020 exam but in the future I'll do videos for the other question types (2, 3, 5, 6).

Chemix.org

mrsleeferg — 2020-06-08 17:34:03 UTC

Use this site to create diagrams of lab set-ups. Can be used by students designing independent investigations, or for pre-lab work.

Bio-Rad Explorer Classroom Resources

mrsleeferg — 2020-06-30 21:34:56 UTC

The folks at Bio-Rad have put together a bank of editable presentations that you can use with their lab kits.

Population Genetics Simulation (non-Flash)

mrsleeferg — 2020-07-07 05:23:22 UTC

This is Bob Sheehy's (Radford U) Hardy-Weinberg simulator, retooled without Flash!

LabXchange

mrsleeferg — 2020-07-09 05:54:45 UTC

Some really outstanding lab simulations here!

Orb Farm

mrsleeferg — 2020-07-22 03:27:03 UTC

Great online ecosystem building simulator!

AllEd: Differentiated Instruction

mrsleeferg — 2021-06-14 05:49:06 UTC

Great resources for differentiating instruction for all learners.

HHMI BioInteractive Data Explorer

mrsleeferg — 2021-07-15 14:40:08 UTC

Fantastic tool for working with data sets...best part: it's FREE.

The Biology Space

mrsleeferg — 2021-07-15 14:47:37 UTC

It would be silly if I didn't list my own website here. Lots of FREE curriculum resources for AP Bio teachers here, some that I have created, some that I have adapted from others.

AP Biology LiveStream Reviews

mrsleeferg — 2021-07-15 14:50:38 UTC

These reviews were conducted by me and several other teachers from across the country in the spring of 2020. Great way to review a TON of content in a short amount of time.

MI Genetics Resource Center

mrsleeferg — 2022-01-22 03:48:36 UTC

Great resources for teaching patterns of inheritance, pedigrees, and genomics.

Science Education Research Center at Carleton College

mrsleeferg — 2022-07-13 20:37:37 UTC

Lots of great resources for teaching all types of science courses here.

LearnGenetics: Dropping Signals

mrsleeferg — 2022-07-14 04:34:15 UTC

Learn about the varied effects of ligand molecules on the responses of various cell types.

The Trouble With Lagging Strands

mrsleeferg — 2023-08-02 16:19:00 UTC

Chi Klein's lesson on teaching DNA replication--great interactive activity here

Cell Membrane: Just Passing Through

mrsleeferg — 2023-10-22 05:37:18 UTC

Excellent visualization of diffusion here--this helps students better see how various small molecules traverse the cell membrane.

Membrane Transport Simulator

mrsleeferg — 2023-10-22 05:39:29 UTC

This is another great membrane transport simulator that can be used to show students how particle size and temperature can influence molecular motion across the membrane.

What's Going on in this Graph?

mrsleeferg — 2025-07-18 13:19:36 UTC

A resource from The New York Times that can be used to teach students about data literacy. Great for having students practice data interpretation and argumentation.

OpenStax for AP Biology

mrsleeferg — 2025-07-18 13:27:47 UTC

An online text that can be used in AP Biology courses--it is on the College Board approved list of textbooks. It's free if used online.

HHMI BioInteractive Population Genetics Explorer

mrsleeferg — 2025-07-19 03:13:23 UTC

A great tool that allows students to examine the effects of selection, genetic drift, mutation, migration and random mating on allele and genotype frequencies.