AP Biology Summer Assignment 2015-2016
WELCOME TO AP BIOLOGY! 
I hope you are looking forward to an interesting year. Since this is a college level course, it will
be rigorous and will require a lot of extra work inside the classroom and out. To get us off to a great
start and to help us cover the huge amount of material required by the Advanced Placement Biology
curriculum, the following 6 assignments will get a few things out of the way for other “stuff”. It will be
collected on the first day of school. Don’t wait until school starts to finish the assignment.
You will have a quiz on chapters 1,2 and taxonomy, first meeting of the second week of school.
I will periodically check my school email during the summer; so if you have any questions, let me
know! [email protected]
Enjoy your free time. Once school starts it will be limited!
Check
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2.
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5.
6.
List
Check out book from library.
Answered questions from chapter 1-5.
Finished Taxonomy Questions.
Read and Review Scientific Article
Complete the Cladogram worksheet
Contacted Mrs. Creviston during the
summer, just to make her feel needed.
7. Go to one movie
8. Sponge Bob Safety Rules
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Chapter 1: Introduction, Themes in the Study of Life
1. Diagram the hierarchy of structural levels in biology.
2. Explain how the properties of life emerge from complex organization.
3. Describe 7 emergent properties associated with life.
4. Distinguish between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
5. List and distinguish the 3 Domains of Life.
6. Briefly describe the 4 Kingdoms found in the Domain Eukarya.
7. Briefly describe how Darwin’s ideas contributed to the conceptual framework of biology.
8. Outline the scientific method.
9. Define Key Terms: population, community, ecosystem, biome, hypothesis, control group, variable,
experimental group, theory
Chapter 2: The Chemical Context of Life
(Since most of you have just completed a chemistry course, these questions should be easy for you!)
1. State 4 elements essential to life that make up 96% of living matter.
2. Describe the structure of an atom.
3. Distinguish between atomic number, atomic weight, mass number, and valence.
4. Explain why radioisotopes are important to biologists.
5. Describe the formation of a hydrogen bond and explain how it differs from a covalent or ionic bond.
Chapter 3: Water and the Fitness of the Environment
1. Describe how water contributes to the fitness of the environment to support life.
2. Describe the structure and geometry of a water molecule.
3. Draw 5 water molecules hydrogen-bonded together and indicate the slight negative and positive
charges that account for the formation of hydrogen bonds.
4. Describe the biological significance of the cohesiveness of water.
5. Explain how water’s high specific heat, high heat of vaporization, and expansion upon freezing affect
both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
6. Explain how the polarity of water makes it a versatile solvent.
7.
A.How many grams of lactic acid (C3H6O3) are in a 0.5M solution of lactic acid?
B. How many grams of salt (NaCl) must be dissolved in water to make 2 liters of a 2M salt
solution?
8. Explain how acids and bases directly or indirectly affect the hydrogen ion concentration of a
solution.
9. Using the bicoarbonate buffer system as an example, explain how buffers work.
10. Key Terms: hydrophilic, hydrophobic, cohesion, adhesion, solution, solvent, solute, surface tension
Chapter 4: Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life
1. What is organic chemistry?
2. Explain why carbon atoms are the most versatile building blocks of molecules.
3. Describe how carbon skeletons may vary, and explain how this variation contributes to the diversity
and complexity of organic molecules.
4. Distinguish between structural, geometric, and stereoisomers.
5. List and draw the major functional groups.
6. Key Terms: isomers, functional groups, aldehyde, ketone, amines, thiols
Chapter 5: The Structure and Function of Macromolecules
1. List the four main types of macromolecules
2. Describe the characteristics of carbohydrates and list the 3 main types.
3. Define a glycosidic linkage and give an example of one.
4. Describe the importance of polysaccharides.
5. Explain the difference between starch, cellulose, and glycogen.
6. Explain what distinguishes lipids from the other major classes of macromolecules.
7. List the unique properties of the 3 major groups of lipids: fats, phospholipids, and steroids.
8. Identify an ester linkage and how it is formed.
9. Distinguish between a saturated and unsaturated fat.
10. Describe the characteristics of proteins.
11. Explain what an amino acid is and how they make up proteins.
12. Explain what a peptide bond is and how it is formed.
13. List the 4 major types of protein conformations (levels) and describe each.
14. Explain how proteins may be denatured.
15. Define the characteristics of nucleic acids.
16. List the major components of a nucleotide.
17. Distinguish between a purine and a pyrimidine.
18. Key Terms: monomer, polymer, dehydration synthesis (condensation synthesis), hydrolysis, chitin
Scientific Article
Find a biological science article from a recent publication (within the last year). The article can be of
any length but you must attach a copy. Once you have read and understood the article, cite it
appropriately, summarize it in one paragraph, explain the significance of the article in a second
paragraph, and why you chose it in a third. (These 3 paragraphs should not take up more than one page
total!)
Taxomony
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Look up Panthera tigris, Panthera leo and Panthera pardus on the internet. What
are they?
a. The first word in their scientific names are the same. Are they the same?
b. Are they alike?
c. The first name refers to what Scientists’ have called a group genus. The
second name is called a species name.
d. So, how many words in a scientific name?
e. What does the first name tell you?
f. What does the second name tell you?
Look at the way scientific names are written.
a. Ex: Homo sapiens
Gorilla gorilla
Amoeba proteus
Plasmodium falcapurm
Canis lupus
b. Looking at the names, what are the rules for writing scientific names?
If a wolf has the scientific name Canis lupus, what do you think your dog’s genus
name might be?
Who was the man who developed this system of naming?
Scientists have been screwing around with taxonomy for years. They now have all
living organisms divided into three Domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. Tell me
a little about each Domain.(pg 536)
What domain are you found in and what other types of organisms do you share this
domain with?
Sponge Bob Safety Rules
The Bikini Bottom gang has been learning safety rules during science
class. Read the paragraphs below to find the broken safety rules and
number and underline each one. How many can you find? On the back
of your sheet, write the number and the CORRECT safety procedure
that should have been used.
SpongeBob, Patrick, and Gary were thrilled when Mr. Krabbs
gave their teacher a chemistry set! Mr. Krabbs warned them to be
careful and reminded them to follow the safety rules they had learned in
science class. The teacher passed out the materials and provided each
person with an experiment book. SpongeBob and Gary flipped through the
book and decided to test the properties of a mystery substance. Since
the teacher did not tell them to wear the safety goggles, they left them
on the table.
SpongeBob lit the Bunsen burner, and then reached
across the flame to get a test tube from Gary. In the process, he
knocked over a bottle of the mystery substance and a little bit splashed
on Gary. SpongeBob poured some of the substance into a test tube and
began to heat it. When it started to bubble he looked into the test tube
to see what was happening and pointed it towards Gary so he could see.
Gary thought it smelled weird so he took a deep whiff of it. He didn’t
think it smelled poisonous and tasted a little bit of the substance.
They were worried about running out of time, so they
left the test tube and materials on the table and moved to a different
station to try another experiment. Patrick didn’t want to waste any time
reading the directions, so he put on some safety goggles and picked a
couple different substances. He tested them with vinegar (a weak acid)
to see what would happen even though he didn’t have permission to
experiment on his own. He noticed that one of the substances did not do
anything, but the other one fizzed. He also mixed two substances
together to see what would happen, but didn’t notice anything. He saw
SpongeBob and Gary heating something in a test tube and decided to do
that test. He ran over to that station and knocked over a couple bottles
that SpongeBob had left open. After cleaning up the spills, he read the
directions and found the materials he needed. The only test tube he could
find had a small crack in it, but he decided to use it anyway. He lit the
Bunsen burner and used tongs to hold the test tube over the flame. He
forgot to move his notebook away from the flame and almost caught it on
fire.
Before they could do another experiment, the bell rang and
they rushed to put everything away. Since they didn’t have much time,
Patrick didn’t clean out his test tube before putting it in the cabinet.
SpongeBob noticed that he had a small cut on his finger, but decided he
didn’t have time to tell the teacher about it. Since they were late, they
skipped washing their hands and hurried to the next class.
Evolution & Nature of Science Institutes (ENSI/SENSI) Lesson Plan: Making Cladograms
MAKING CLADOGRAMS: Background and Procedures
Phylogeny, Evolution, and Comparative Anatomy
A. Concept: Modern classification is based on evolution theory.
B. Background: One way to discover how groups of organisms are related to
each other (phylogeny) is to compare the anatomical structures (body organs
and parts) of many different organisms.
Corresponding organs and other body parts that are alike in basic structure and
origin are said to be homologous structures (for example, the front legs of a
horse, wings of a bird, flippers of a whale, and the arms of a person are all
homologous to each other). When different organisms share a large number of
homologous structures, it is considered strong evidence that they are related to
each other.
When organisms are related to each other, it means they must have had a
common ancestor at some time in the past. If there are specific modifications of
those features shared by different groups of organisms, we say that those
features are “shared derived characters”.
When we do studies in comparative anatomy, and find different numbers of
shared derived characters exist between different groups, we can draw a
diagram of branching lines which connect those groups, showing their different
degrees of relationship. These diagrams look like trees and are called
"phylogenetic trees" or "cladograms" (CLAY-doe-grams); see examples provided
by your teacher. The organisms are at the tips of the stems. The shared derived
features of the homologous structures are shown on the cladogram by solid
square boxes along the branches, and common ancestors are shown by open
circles. The more derived structures two organisms share, the closer is their
evolutionary relationship -- that is, the more recently their common ancestor
lived. On the cladogram, close relationships are shown by a recent fork from the
supporting branch. The closer the fork in the branch between two organisms, the
closer is their relationship.
C. Objectives: Given some groups of organisms and some of their distinguishing
characteristics, you will construct a cladogram, and properly interpret and
analyze that cladogram in terms of how it shows common ancestry and degrees
of evolutionary relationship.
D. Procedure:
Step 1. Using your textbook and the explanations below, determine which of the
characteristics each animal has. In the Data Table provided (on your Cladogram
Worksheet), place an "x" in the box if the animal has the characteristic.
Explanations of Characteristics:
set #1:
set #2:
set #3:
set #4:
set #5:
set #6:
set #7:
Dorsal nerve cord (running along the back or "dorsal" body surface)
Notochord (a flexible but supporting cartilage-like rod running along
the back or "dorsal" surface)
Paired appendages (legs, arms, wings, fins, flippers, antennae)
Vertebral column ("backbone")
Paired legs
Amnion (a membrane that holds in the amniotic fluid surrounding
the embryo; may or may not be inside an egg shell)
Mammary glands (milk-secreting glands that nourish the young)
Placenta (structure attached to inside of uterus of mother, and
joined to the embryo by the umbilical cord; provides nourishment
and oxygen to the embryo)
Canine teeth short (same length as other teeth)
Foramen magnum forward (spinal cord opening, located forward,
under skull)
Step 2: Below the Data Table on your Worksheet, make a Venn diagram, placing
your seven animals in groups to illustrate those characteristics which different
animals have in common. See example below:
Human: Foramen magnum forward
Horse: Placenta
Tuna: Backbone
Step 3: Using the Venn diagram of the groupings just completed (as a guide),
draw a cladogram on the back of your Worksheet to illustrate the ancestry of
these animals. The diagram should reflect shared characteristics as time
proceeds. An example is shown below. Notice how the different animals are all at
the same time level (across the top) since they all live today.
Example of Cladogram
TUNA
HORSE
HUMAN
TIME
Foramen magnum
forward
Placenta
Backbone
# OF SHARED CHARACTERISTICS
E. Summary: On the back of your Worksheet, explain at least three types of
information which can be obtained from a cladogram.
F. Application: Three previously unknown vertebrates have been discovered in
a rain forest in South America. One animal is very similar to an iguana lizard.
The second animal resembles a large rat. The third is similar to a goldfish. Place
these animals on your cladogram and explain why you placed them where you
did (on back of the Worksheet).
G. Extension: If you need further practice, your teacher may provide you with
another set of organisms and their distinguishing characteristics. On a separate
sheet, prepare a table for analyzing the data, draw a Venn diagram, and draw a
cladogram for those organisms, similar to the work done above.
Name_______________________________SN____ Date_________ Per.____
CLADOGRAM WORKSHEET
Step 1: DATA TABLE
Animals
SETS
TRAITS
SET 1
Dorsal Nerve
Cord
Notochord
SET 2
Paired
Appendages
Vertebral
column
SET 3
Paired legs
SET 4
Amnion
(Amniotic sac)
SET 5
Mammary
Glands
SET 6
Placenta
SET 7
Canine teeth
short
Foramen
magnum fwd
Kangaroo
TOTALS of Xs-------->
Step 2: Venn Diagram:
Lamprey
Rhesus
Monkey
Bullfrog
Human
Snapping
Turtle
Tuna
Step 3: Cladogram:
E. Summary: Three types of new information shown by a cladogram:
1. Shows ...
2. Shows ...
3. Shows ...
F. Application: (For each new vertebrate, add its branch line and name in the
appropriate place in the cladogram drawn above).
Reason for placing each branch where you did:
"Iguana-like" animal:
"Rat-like" animal:
"Goldfish-like" animal: