AP Biology Summer Assignment
Your AP Biology assignment has two parts. The first part will be to set up a WordPress blog that
will serve as an educational tool that you will use throughout the year to reflect on, collaborate on and
process the AP Biology curriculum. This platform will allow you to communicate with your peers and
consolidate your knowledge into one place according to College Board required standards. This will
make the studying process easier as we approach the spring, as your reflections and meta-analyses will
be sorted according to enduring understandings and only a few, short navigations away.
In order to set up your WordPress blog, I have created by own. You may access my AP Biology
blog by going to charlesmdunn.wordpress.com or visiting my school webpage
(http://bisd303.org/bhs/staff/dunn) and then clicking on the link the AP Biology Resources section
under AP Biology (Note: you must sign in to see this information). My webpage will serve as a template
for the construction of your own website. Once you have completed your WordPress Blog, you may
email me your URL so that I may add it to the class list. Once we start school, you and your peers will be
making good use of these. These Blogs are to be set up and the URL emailed to me no later than
August 31, 2016 (the last day of summer).
The second part of our summer assignment will be the first installment of your blog but should
not take much time. In an effort to keep us thinking about science over the summer, introduce us to
some of the language we will see throughout the year and show you that biology is something that’s
DUNN (get it?) and not just memorized, we will be constructing a photo blog. During your adventures
over the summer, whether you’re off to Japan or the furthest you make it is taking out the trash, you
will “collect” 25 photographic examples of biological terms/concepts and post them to your WordPress
with the tag “photoblog”.
Directions for the Photo Blog:
1. “Collect” an item by taking a picture of it. Define, in your own words, the biological term/concept.
Also within a couple of statements, explain how the picture represents the term or concept. Use the
attached Biological Collection List to select terms/concepts for your blog.
2. Upload the photos, definitions, and explanations to the WordPress you have created for the class.
3. Be creative. If you choose an item that is internal to a plant or animal, like phloem, you could submit a
photograph of the whole organism or a close up of one part, and then explain on the blog what
phloem is and specifically where phloem is in the specimen.
4. Use original photos ONLY. You cannot use an image from any publication or from the internet. You
must take the photo yourself. The best way to prove that the photo is your work is to have something
in your picture that represents you. This could be a key chain, pen, bracelet, small toy, etc. Submit a
picture of you with your proof object when you hand in your summer work.
5. You should only use natural items. Take a walk in your neighborhood, go to the zoo, go for a hike in
the woods, etc. Humans are natural items and may be used, but only for a few entries.
6. This is an individual project. While brainstorming, discussing, and even going on collecting adventures
together is welcome, your items and photos are to be unique. With over 90 concept choices,
probability says there is a very slim chance that any two students will have the same items chosen
from their list.
7. Be careful and respectful! Never touch plants or animals you are unfamiliar with. Don’t kill or hurt any
organisms. Don’t remove any organisms from the natural environment.
8. Blog safely. There are a few general rules at the end of this handout.
Your photo blog is worth a maximum of 150 points (125 points for your photo blog (5 points for each
photo blog entry) and 25 points for a completed Blog Table of Contents)
Other teachers who have blogged with their classes have come up with a list of guidelines for student
bloggers. One of them, Bud Hunt, has these suggestions, among others:
Students using blogs are expected to treat blogspaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is
inappropriate for class is not appropriate for our blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and
conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of
a representative of this school.
Never EVER EVER give out or record personal information on our blog. Our blog exists as a public
space on the Internet. Don’t share anything that you don’t want the world to know. For your safety, be
careful what you say, too. Don’t give out your phone number or home address. This is particularly
important to remember if you have a personal online journal or blog elsewhere.
Again, your blog is a public space. And if you put it on the Internet, odds are really good that it
will stay on the Internet. Always. That means ten years from now when you are looking for a job, it
might be possible for an employer to discover some really hateful and immature things you said when
you were younger and more prone to foolish things. Be sure that anything you write you are proud of. It
can come back to haunt you if you don’t.
Never link to something you haven’t read. While it isn’t your job to police the Internet, when
you link to something, you should make sure it is something that you really want to be associated with.
If a link contains material that might be creepy or make some people uncomfortable, you should
probably try a different source.
Keep all of these in mind as you create you Biological Collection Photo Blog for AP Biology. Email
me if you have questions or concerns about blogging.
Example Entry for Photo Blog
Note the toy giraffe- an example of a proof item demonstrating that this person took this photo.
1. adaptation of an animal
2. adaptation of a plant
3. abscisic acid
4. actin
5. amniotic egg
6. amylase
7. angiosperm
8. animal that has a
segmented body
9. annelid
10. anther & filament of
stamen
11. arthropod
12. archaebacteria
13. autotroph
14. auxin producing area of a
plant
15. basidiomycete
16. Batesian mimicry
17. biological magnification
18. bryophyte
19. Calvin cycle
20. carbohydrate -fibrous
21. cambium
22. CAM plant
23. cellulose
24. chitin
25. chlorophyta
26. cnidarian
27. coelomate
28. conifer leaf
29. commensalism
30. connective tissue
31. cuticle layer of a plant
32. deciduous leaf
33. deuterostome
34. dicot plant with flower &
leaf
35. diploid chromosome
number
36. echinoderm
37. ectotherm
38. endosperm
39. endotherm
40. enzyme
41. epithelial tissue
42. ethylene
43. eubacteria
44. eukaryote
45. exoskeleton
46. fermentation
47. flower ovary
48. frond
49. fruit – dry with seed
50. fruit – fleshy with seed
51. gametophyte
52. gastropod
53. genetically modified
organism
54. gibberellins
55. glycogen
56. gymnosperm cone
57. haploid chromosome
number
58. heartwood
59. hermaphrodite
60. insect
61. K-strategist
62. keratin
63. leaf – gymnosperm
64. lepidoptera
65. lichen
66. lignin
67. lipid used for energy
storage
68. littoral zone organism
69. long-day plant
70. meristem
71. modified leaf of a plant
72. modified root of a
plant
73. modified stem of a
plant
74. monocot plant with
flower & leaf
75. muscle fiber – striated
76. mutualism
77. mycelium
78. mycorrhizae
79. myosin
80. nematode
81. niche
82. nymph stage of an
insect
83. parasite
84. parenchyma cells
85. phloem
86. pine cone – female
87. platyhelminthes
88. pollen
89. pollinator
90. porifera
91. prokaryote
92. protein – fibrous
93. protein – globular
94. protostome
95. pteridophyte
96. r-strategist
97. radial symmetry
98. rhizome
99. seed dispersal
100. spore
101. sporophyte
102. stem – herbaceous
103. stem – woody
104. stigma & style of carpel
105. taxis
106. tendril of a plant
107. tropism
108. unicellular organism
109. vestigial structure
110. vascular plant tissue
111. xerophyte
112. xylem