Wikipedia:AP Biology 2026

WP:APBIOWP:APBIO

Past Related Projects: Wikipedia:WikiProject AP Biology Bapst 2012, Wikipedia:WikiProject AP Biology Bapst 2013, Wikipedia:WikiProject AP Biology Bapst 2014, Wikipedia:WikiProject AP Biology Bapst 2015, Wikipedia:WikiProject AP Biology 2016, & Wikipedia:WikiProject AP Biology 2017, Wikipedia:WikiProject AP Biology 2018, Wikipedia:WikiProject AP Biology 2019, Wikipedia:AP Biology 2025

A high school class in Maine – will contribute images to Wikipedia article and the commons until June 15, 2026. The collective goal is to contribute excellent biology diagrams to the Commons and to corresponding Wikipedia articles. This is done as part of an Advanced Placement Biology course. The lead editor is Chris Packard. This project is inspired by the 2009 Wikipedia AP Biology Project. There are many basic and important diagrams missing from biological articles and we're doing our part to fix this.

Students will work alone, under my supervision.
The time frame will be three weeks.
Students will be required to write a summary of why they select a topic; hopefully, eliminating obscure, random topic selections. They also must create labels and captions for their images
They may add it to encyclopedia articles.
The best of the bunch will be submitted as Wikipedia featured pictures, see other candidates here. Featured images must be in .svg (vector graphic) format.

Feel free to [this project]. Please notify me of any concerns; especially if they involve the behavior of my students on Wikipedia. With a little patience, this should be an inspirational experience for all.

Goals / Motivation

To improve the images in Wikipedia's coverage of Biology articles.
To encourage promising students to write, create, learn, and contribute volunteer efforts through a service learning project.
The dreaded “Research Project” is a standard hurdle for most AP Programs. Rightfully so, being that many college courses require such publications to validate your existence. This new approach to constructing a scientific document, is far more authentic and interesting. Rather than researching for a paper that is destined for the teacher's eyes and then a one way trip to the circular bin, let us contribute to the world-wide data base for others to benefit. I hope this will be an interesting and memorable project and assessment. It's funny, I can remember a number of projects and papers I wrote during my own high school experience, but I can remember no tests whatsoever.

Contributions

As you upload your projects and add them to Wikipedia please add them to the gallery below. By adding a new line which begins with the word "File" and them follows the format of my sample image from last year. Make sure to include your caption.

The process of bridging the synaptic gap between neurons. (caption in description)
SAMPLE: Plant sensory stimulation mechanism-Plants respond to environmental stimuli through various directional growth behaviors known as tropisms. This diagram illustrates four key types:1.Phototropism Growth towards light. 2.Hydrotropism Root growth towards water. 3.Chemotropism Root growth towards higher nutrient concentrations. 4.Gravitropism (Geotropism) Roots grow downward in response to gravity. These help plants adapt and survive and stability in their environment.
In forensic entomology cases, the decomposition of insects is studied to determine a body's time of death. Entomology can be used to help determine the time of death. In cases where a body is found at the fresh or bloated stage, the stages of a black fly (Simuliidae) present in the body can be used to estimate the time of death based on their life cycle. The entire life cycle has a minimum of ten days after a fly has laid its eggs on the body. After the first fly lands on a body, it lays its eggs, which hatch after about 2-5 days. After hatching, the larva (first and second instar) takes between 3-10 days to develop into the third larval instar, allowing the instar to metamorphose into a pupa. The pupa stage lasts about 4-7 days, and then the grown flies emerge.
This is a picture of paracrine cell signaling. It shows the secretory cell secreting ligands. Additionally, it shows that the distance between 2 Cells can range from 0.02 micrometers to 500 micrometers. After traveling, it reaches the target cell and binds to the receptors. This binding of the receptor triggers the response, and in this scenario, it is muscle contraction.
This diagram shows the resting membrane potential of a cell membrane and the movement of ions across it. Sodium ions are concentrated outside the cell, while potassium ions and negatively charged proteins are more concentrated inside the cell. These unequal ion distributions create a resting membrane potential of approximately −70 mV, making the inside of the cell negatively charged relative to the outside. Depending on the cell, membrane potential can range from −20 to −200 mV.
Oryza rufipogon is the scientific name for brownbeard rice. This wild rice was first domesticated into Oryza sativa, and its subsequent divergence into japonica and indica subspecies, occurred through a long process of domestication, artificial selection, and hybridization. Domestication led to artificial selection of rice with a mutation that made seeds non-shattering. This forced grains to stay attached and made harvesting easier. The plant was also bred for vertical architecture in its growth to maximize field density, and the awns were selectively bred away to reduce bulk density. Oryza sativa then led to the creation of two subspecies, japonica and indica. Oryza sativa subsp. japonica was primarily grown in temperate and subtropical regions, the plant was shorter than indica and had darker leaves. Japonica grains are short, round, and plump, and have lower amylose content than indica. Oryza sativa subsp. indica was primarily grown in tropical and humid regions. Indica has a taller growth and lighter leaf color. The grains are thinner, longer, and have higher amylose content. Diagram Legend 1.a – Wild Rice (Oryza rufipogon) 1.b – Grains of Wild Rice (Oryza rufipogon) 2.a – Japanese Rice (Oryza sativa subsp. japonica) 2.b – Grains of Japanese Rice (Oryza sativa subsp. japonica) 3.a – Indian Rice (Oryza sativa subsp. indica) 3.b – Grains of Indian Rice (Oryza sativa subsp. indica)
In this drawing, there is a diagram of the placement of shark organs. From this model, we can see and distinguish the placement of organs compared with other species. EX. The testes of a shark are located on the ventral plane, near the fins, while a human's testes are located further down, near the bladder.
Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) are energetic particles that travel through space at almost the speed of light. This diagram shows the four key stages. 1. Origin in Space: A high energy particle is made by powerful cosmic events like supernovae, black holes, or active galaxies. 2. Travel Through Space: The cosmic ray travels across the universe carrying a lot of energy. 3. Atmospheric Collision: When entering Earth's atmosphere, the cosmic ray collides with air molecules about 20–30 km above the Earth's surface. 4. Particle Air Shower: The collision makes a cascade of secondary particles, like electrons, muons, photons, and neutrinos, which spread toward the ground. Earth's atmosphere absorbs most of the harmful radiation, protecting humans at the surface. Scientists study these particle showers to better understand the origins of cosmic rays.
Step-by-step process of grooming a horse to make them comfortable and clean.Step-by-step process of horse grooming to make them comfortable and clean. One of the most important things to take into account when brushing is following the grain of their hair. Going against the grain of a horse’s hair can be uncomfortable for the horse and aesthetically unappealing. Note: Sizing of brushes and horse and hoof are not to scale, and there are many different sizes of brushes and brush varieties. The black arrows show the direction of the horse's hair, and the white arrows show the direction the brush should be going. The following numbers correspond to the numbers on the diagram, and are a description of the processes within the diagram: 1. Use the hoof pick to get all the debris, like mud and poop, out of the horse's hoof. Avoid the frog of the horse hoof, which is the triangular-shaped region that has been labeled with an arrow. 2. Use the Curry comb all over the body in circular motions to release all the dirt from the horse's coat. When currying the face and ears, be extremely gentle and avoid the eyes 3. Use the hard brush (The brush with the stiff bristles) to flick off dust and excess mud on the horse's body. 4. Use the soft brush all over the body to smooth down the hairs and get even more excess hairs and debris off. 5. Finally, brush out the mane, tail, and forelock. When brushing out the tail, it is recommended to use a horse hair detangler.
Commonly, 99.9% of lobsters are bluish-green or greenish-brown, but can also appear in the following varying colorations: albino (genetic mutation causing absence of melanin and other pigments), “cotton candy” (alterations of balance and distributions of shell pigments), blue (genetic defect causing overproduction in crustacyanin), calico (multiple pigment mutations simultaneously), orange (mutation reducing the amount or effectiveness of the blue pigment), split colored (caused by bilateral gynandromorphism or a cell division anomaly), “halloween” (combination of orange and black pigment mutations), red (caused due to excessive astaxanthin or less binding to crustacyanin), and yellow (pigment deposition mutation). These colors are fascinating in the prevalence in which they occur, but also in how they appear visually.
Gregor Mendel’s dihybrid cross experiment with pea plants. Dominant features are smooth and yellow and recessive features are rough and green. The parent generation, P, consists of a purebred dominant pea crossed with a homozygous recessive pea. The resulting offspring is called the F1 generation. All of the offspring will all be heterozygous and have the same phenotype, yellow and smooth. The F2 generation is produced by crossing two peas from the F1 generation. When these two heterozygous peas are crossed, the offspring will demonstrate a 9:3:3:1 ratio of 9 smooth yellow peas, 3 rough yellow peas, 3 smooth green peas, and 1 rough green pea.
Skin tanning occurs with melanin production when external UV light triggers surrounding skin cells to release α-MSH hormones, which bind to MC1R surface receptors on the melanocytes to activate pigment genes.Melanin production begins when external UV light triggers surrounding skin cells to release α-MSH hormones, which bind to MC1R surface receptors on the melanocytes to activate pigment genes. Inside the cell, empty stage I vesicles bud off from the Golgi Apparatus and gradually mature into oval stage II melanosomes containing parallel PMEL protein fibers which contain no melanin. The cell then pumps copper ions Cu2+ from the cytoplasm into the vesicles to shift the pH from acidic to neutral, which activates the copper-dependent tyrosine enzyme inside. Now, the stage III melanosomes convert the amino acid tyrosine into melanin, putting pigment into the fiber matrix. Finally, motor proteins transport melanosomes out along the tentacle dendrites, where they are transferred back to keratinocytes skin cells in the epidermis to form a protective layer.
IMage located here. The process of Fertilisation is where the sperm and an ovum unite to become a zygote. During fertilisation, sperm travel from the cervix, through the uterus, and into the fallopian tubes to reach the ovum. Once the ovum has been reached, the sperm will release two enzymes called hyaluronidase and acrosin (shown in yellow), which will help penetrate the outer membrane of the ovum so the sperm can enter through the corona radiata (shown in purple and blue) and the zona pellucida (shown in light blue and red), where the sperm will release their genetic material (shown in orange and yellow) into the cytoplasm of the ovum. The ovum's nucleus (shown in light pink and yellow) and the sperm's nucleus will combine and share genetic information.
Mosquitofish speciation caused by geographic isolation and mating preferences. Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) on Andros Island in the Bahamas show high levels of allopatric speciation that has led to reproductive isolation. Populations have bred in small ponds called blue holes that have become geographically isolated. As a result, mosquitofish habitats with more predatory fish have been selected for a wider, streamlined body type that allows them to swim faster (1). In ponds with less predation, mosquito fish have evolved to have a slimmer body type that allows them to swim steadily for longer periods of time (2). Research suggests that female mosquitofish have a preference for males with similar body shapes to them, causing reproductive isolation and reinforcement between the ponds.
Sequential stages of germination showing the radicle emerging followed by early stages of plant growth. Step 1: The dry seed remains dormant before germination begins. The seed coat protects the embryo inside. Step 2: The seed absorbs water through imbibition, causing the seed coat to soften and swell as the embryo becomes active. Step 3: Continued water absorption prepares the embryo for growth and development. Seed coat ruptures. Step 4: The radicle emerges first from the seed coat and begins growing downward to absorb water and nutrients. Step 5: The plumule begins to emerge and grow upward as the plant starts developing. Step 6: The root system expands and the cotyledons begin to grow. Step 7: The shoot continues upward growth as the hypocotyl elongates and lifts the cotyledons above the soil surface. The young seedling begins developing its first structures for continued growth. Step 8: The first true leaves emerge from the epicotyl. The cotyledons provide stored nutrients until the plant can sustain itself independently. Step 9: The first true leaves expand and become the primary site of photosynthesis. The epicotyl continues elongating to support upward growth while the root system develops further for increased water and nutrient absorption. The cotyledons fall off and the young plant is now self-sustaining.
The two primary processes in cell division are mitosis and meiosis, which differ significantly despite sounding similar.
The pellicle is a modified cell membrane found on some protozoa, typically ciliates and euglenozoans, that is composed of three layers. It consists of an inner membrane (B) surrounding the intracellular space (A) and an outer membrane (D). The middle layer between these two membranes varies between species. In ciliates like the Paramecium aurelia depicted, the middle layer is made of tightly packed vesicles called alveoli (C). Ciliates have cilia (E) that connect to the outer membrane. Alternatively, in euglenoids like the Euglena gracilis pictured, the center layer is composed of interlocking, spiraling strips of protein underlain with microtubules (F). The pellicle gives shape to the cell, and it varies from flexible to rigid.

Contributors

Add your user name here in the appropriate sections following my example. Just add this template with your username instead of the line: {{user|username}} and then, if your username is not identifiable, your real first name.

Teacher

Earthdirt (talk · contribs) – Chris (AKA Mr. Packard) – IMAGE TOPIC NAME HERE in article Image

Mods 1–3

Norahnilan (talk · contribs) – Norah – Mosquito Fish Speciation
Loopy353 (talk · contribs) – Lucy – Excitatory synapse
LolaWilley1 (talk · contribs) – Lola – Fertilisation
Leronnguyen123 (talk · contribs) – leron – Shark Anatomy
Biolover67 (talk · contribs) – Chase – Lactase Persistence Mutations Around The World
Serenaweston (talk · contribs) – Serena – Mendel's Peas
Edn0987 (talk · contribs) – Emma – Mitosis vs. Meiosis
Charlotter0824 (talk · contribs) – Charlotte – Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays

Mods 14–16

Biogun3 (talk · contribs) – Lucas – Rice Selective Breeding

HudsonFlagg (talk · contribs) – Hudson – Bean Germination

Avarigler (talk · contribs) – Ava – Pellicle

Bunga67 (talk · contribs) – Daniel – Cell Signaling

Sarah.eWall (talk · contribs) – Sarah – Medicated Abortion

Lylajune2009 (talk · contribs) – Lyla – Horse Grooming

JacksonDineen (talk · contribs) – Jackson – Membrane Potential Membrane potential

Wesleyfthai (talk · contribs) – Wesley – Frequency of Lobster Colorations

CamrynKnights (talk · contribs) – Camryn – Melanogenesis

Ramcheer (talk · contribs) – Ava – Forensic Entomology

Uploading

In order to complete the assignment and reap all the benefits of your hard work (such as a good grade) you MUST complete all of the following steps. If you need help, just ask.

How to, step by step

Step 1: Create a Wikipedia Global account by clicking "Login/create account" in the upper right hand corner of this page. Then sign up for a topic on here and in class by submitting a proposal.
Step 2: Click here to use the WikiCommons File Upload Wizard
Step 3: If you didn't do it in the Wizard, categorize your image by adding a one or more [[Category:_______]] tags at the bottom of the page (fill in the name of the category in the _______.) You might use Category:Biology diagrams (but that's not a very helpful category) or something more specific like Category:Molecular biology or something else appropriate.
Step 4: If you didn't do it in the Wizard you should also now add your labels and your caption information in the description to your upload page in the Commons.
Step 5: Your image is now available in all Wiki Projects, including Wikipedia. So let's add it to the article! Go to the article you want to add your donated image to. In the top of the section of the article or the subheading you want to add the image to add something like this:

[[File:MY IMAGE NAME.png|right|thumb|200px|The [[caption]] of '''my image'''.]]
That's not too hard is it? For your caption you'll need to follow Wikipedia style and use some mark up to do this – it's kind of like a micro-essay. The [[ ]] creates a link to the given page on Wikipedia and the ''' ''' make the word bold, in Wikipedia it's appropriate to bold the title of the article the first time it's used in the text or in a caption."

Step 6: Wow you've done it! Now you just have to turn in your work by adding it to gallery in the section above here called "Contributions". Just follow the model I provided in the first entry. Make sure that your entry is between the <gallery> and </gallery> tags or it won't show up. Your caption will likely have to be shorter than your description, see the style advice below.

Style guides

To get past the stumbling blocks of editing Wikipedia, articles will have to conform to the Wikipedia style guides. The largest barriers are:

Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Images – The basic overview of images (the Wikipedia:Picture tutorial is also useful.
Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Captions – Writing a good caption may be harder than you think.
Wikipedia:Copyrights – Make sure to post a license on your image which releases all copyrights and makes it free use image AND don't use images from anywhere except the Commons if your image integrates other images.
Wikipedia:File names – Pick the right name for your file.
Wikipedia:Preparing images for upload – Pick the right file type (images created using entirely Google Draw should be saved as .SVG, whereas most other images you make will be saved as a .PNG in rare cases an a .JPG or .JPEG can be used)
Wikipedia:Uploading images or WikiCommons Uploading Images – Do it right the first time (or just use the Wizard).
Wikipedia:Ten things you may not know about images on Wikipedia – Kind of interesting.

You can always ask for help at:

The Graphics Lab or The SVG Help Page or The Help Desk or

Writing a good image caption

There are several criteria for a good caption. A good caption:

clearly identifies the subject of the picture, without detailing the obvious.
is succinct (that means short).
establishes the picture's relevance to the article.
provides context for the picture.
draws the reader into the article.

Different people read articles different ways. Some people start at the top and read each word until the end. Others read the first paragraph and scan through for other interesting information, looking especially at pictures and captions. For those readers, even if the information is adjacent in the text, they will not find it unless it is in the caption—but do not tell the whole story in the caption—use the caption to make the reader curious about the subject.

Another way of approaching the job: imagine you're giving a lecture based on the encyclopedia article, and you are using the image to illustrate the lecture. What would you say while attention is on the image? What do you want your audience to notice in the image, and why? Corollary: if you have got nothing to say, then the image probably does not belong in the article.

Image guidelines

The most important thing about an image is that you created – you may not use an image you got from the internet or that someone else created, that is copyright violation, illegal and thus banned from Wikipedia. Additionally you may not use software to alter another person's image for use with, including "vectorizing" a photograph into an SVG.

Three types of image types are allowed for this project:

Vector Diagrams – in SVG format – vector images are 2D line and shape based images rather than 1D pixel-based raster images. Vector images are best for diagrams because they have no resolution and can be scaled infinitely large or small without loosing quality. Most diagrams should be in this format. Google Drawings, Adobe Illustrator, or Inkscape are examples of vector based drawing programs. Most photo-editing, drawing, or painting programs should not be used because most are raster based images.
Animations – GIF – these are like the animations we created only they self advance. They need to flow smoothly and look like an animation not a slide show.
Photographs of actual biological objects – in some cases it would be appropriate to create and upload a photograph of biological material, organisms, or ecosystems. These should be high resolution and have good composition. If they are for a series or collage they need to be framed identically. Take extra photographs with different angles, it's better to have too many and not use some then to not have what you need. Certain videos might also be acceptable.

Images for the lead

It is very common to use an appropriate representative image for the lead of an article, often as part of an infobox. The image helps to provide a visual association for the topic, and allows readers to quickly assess if they have arrived at the right page. For most topics, the selection of a lead image is plainly obvious: a photograph or artistic work of a person, photographs of a city, or a cover of a book or album, to name a few.

Image selection for other topics may be more difficult and several possible choices could be made. While Wikipedia is not censored, as outlined in the above section on offensive images, the selection of the lead image should be made with some care with respect to this advice. Lead images are loaded and shown upon navigating to the page, and are one of the first things that readers will see. Editors should avoid using images that readers would not have expected to see when navigating to the page. Unlike other content on a page that falls below the lead, the lead image should be chosen with these considerations in mind.

Some advice on selecting a lead image include the following:

Lead images should be images that are natural and appropriate visual representations of the topic; they not only should be illustrating the topic specifically, but should also be the type of image that is used for similar purposes in high-quality reference works, and therefore what our readers will expect to see. Lead images are not required, and not having a lead image may be the best solution if there is no easy representation of the topic.
Lead images should be selected to be of least shock value; if an alternative image exists that still is an accurate representation of the topic but without shock value, it should always be preferred. For example, using an image of deportees being subjected to selection as the lead image at this version of Holocaust is far preferable to the appropriate images that appear later in the article that show the treatment of the prisoners or corpses from the camps.
Sometimes it is impossible to avoid the use of a lead image with perceived shock value if the topic itself is of that nature, for example in articles on various parts of human genitalia. It should be anticipated, through Wikipedia:Content disclaimer, that readers will be aware they will be exposed to potentially shocking images when navigating to articles on such topics.

Planning and resources

Talk pages

These are places where you can leave and receive messages and questions, every page has one. Whenever you edit these pages, make sure that you are signed in. Also, add four tildes ~~~~ to the end of all comments you make on talk pages. This will let people know who is talking.