AP Biology Summer Assignment Ms. Sanelli and Mrs. Jasko
Summer 2016
Biology is an exciting science to study - relevant and ever changing. During the course of the year,
we will discuss, experiment, question and analyze. The summer reading assignments have 3
purposes. First, the AP Biology curriculum is extensive and intensive. Your summer work will allow us
to proceed at a more reasonable pace through the year. Secondly, ecological concepts form a basis
for many of the curriculum topics. Having a firm foundation in ecology will be beneficial to you as we
proceed through the rest of the curriculum. Thirdly, this assignment will help you discover useful ways
to master the required material.
Assignment #1: Read and study chapters 52 - 56
A. Create a login for Mastering Biology to complete the assignments listed. Go to
pearsonschool.com/access to create a login. You are joining a science course with text
Campbell/Reese Biology 8th edition. You will need ONE of the following access codes (if
the first is full, try the second): SSNAST-SMELL-BLOOD-WANNA-NADIR-FAMES or
SSNAST-SMELL-BLOOD-WANNA-MINOT-VOTES . Pay attention to the due dates: the
first assignment is due 6/30 and the others are due BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS. You will
need course ID MBJASKO2016 and should see the course name APBIOJASKO2016 on
your new homepage. If you have trouble, email [email protected] or try customer service.
B. Notice the list of chapter key concepts at the end of each chapter. Think about these
concepts and the world around you. For each chapter, take an original photograph (NOT
from the internet), which illustrates one of the chapter key concepts. Print your pictures
(there should be 5) and for each photo, note the date, time, and location of the photo. Write
down the key concept from Campbell and compose a paragraph explaining why you chose
this photo to illustrate this concept. Discuss the concept in detail, utilizing at least 5 chapter
vocabulary words. Vocabulary words are to be underlined. Please place the photo on the
same page as your explanation.
Assignment #2: A. Take one Concept (e.g.”53.2”) from each of the 5 assigned chapters and utilize
one of the following note-taking techniques on that section. Use a different technique for each
section.
1. concept map/mind map
(http://www.alextech.edu/en/collegeservices/SupportServices/StudySkills/LectureNoteT
aking/MethodsOfNoteTaking.aspx)
2. outline
3. Cornell notes (http://coe.jmu.edu/LearningToolbox/printer/cornellnotes.pdf)
4. Xerox the section and highlight key ideas and terms
5. Repeat one of the above or choose another method you like.
B. Briefly describe your reaction to each of the techniques. What technique did you find the
most appropriate for your learning style and WHY?
Assignments 1 and 2 will become your project grade for first marking period. This grade will be 10%
of the first marking period grade. Watch your due dates and show us your best work!
Assignment #3: One of the first four ecology AP Biology essays will appear on your first test. The
essays will be on the district summer work webpage, if they are not attached to this document. That
test will be given within the first 2 weeks of the school year. You should be prepared to answer any of
the questions fully. You are not required to hand anything in about these essays at this point.
School supplies: You will need a lab notebook, which will remain in the lab at all times. You have
several choices of notebook. Please bring this notebook the first day of school.
You can get a formal lab notebook such as the carbonless ones found at
http://www.hmpublishing.com/products/life-science.html or
http://www.barbakam.com/productcart/pc/home.asp . You will need about 50 pages. It doesn’t
matter whether the cover says chemistry or life or environmental sciences. These notebooks have a
tear-out copy page that you will be able to take home to complete your lab.
The other alternative is to get a composition notebook, take photos of your pages and print out (full
size) those pages to hand in with your labs.
Good luck, have a great summer and we look forward to exploring biology with you next year!
AP Biology Essays - Ecology
1) A scientist working with Bursatella leacfui, a sea slug that lives in an intertidal habitat in the coastal
waters of Puerto Rico, gathered the following information about the distribution of the sea slugs
within a ten-meter square plot over a 10-day period.
DISTRIBUTION OF SLUGS WITHIN A TEN-METER SQUARE PLOT
Average distance between
Time of day
Individuals (cm)
Midnight
4 AM
8 AM
NOON
4 PM
8 PM
Midnight
8.0
8.9
44.8
174.0
350.5
60.5
8.0
For the data above, provide information on each of the following.
• Summarize the pattern.
•
'
• Identify THREE physiological or environmental variables that could cause the slugs to vary their distance
from each other.
• Explain how the variable could bring about the observed pattern of distribution.
Choose ONE of the variables that you identified and design a controlled experiment to test your hypothetical
explanation. Describe results that would support or refute your hypothesis.|
2) Living organisms play an important role in the recycling of many elements within an ecosystem.
Discuss how various types of organisms and their biochemical reactions contribute to the
recycling of either carbon or nitrogen in an ecosystem. Include in your answer one way in which
human activity has an impact on the nutrient cycle you have chosen.
3) Interdependence in nature is illustrated by the transfer of energy through trophic levels. The
diagram below depicts the transfer of energy in a food web of an Arctic lake located in Alaska.
a) Choosing organisms from four different trophic levels of this food web as examples, explain
how energy is obtained at each trophic level.
.
.
b) Describe the efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels and discuss how the amount of
energy available at each trophic level affects the structure of the ecosystem.
c) If the cells in the dead terrestrial plant material that washed into the lake contained a
commercially produced toxin, what would be the likely effects of this toxin on this food web?
Explain.
4. Many populations exhibit the following growth curve:
A) Describe what is occurring in the population during phase A.
B) Discuss THREE factors that might cause the fluctuations shown in phase B.
C) Organisms demonstrate exponential (“r”) or logistic (“K”) reproductive strategies. Explain
these two strategies and discuss how they affect population size over time.