AP Biology Summer Assignment
Purpose: Students will learn how to locate and relate essential information from book chapters
Instructions: Read Chapters 1 – 5 (pages 1 – 89 in Campbell Biology 10th edition), use the
following questions as a guide to essential information, and answer each to the best of your
ability. Most importantly, have fun! :D
Chapter 1: Evolution, themes of biology, scientific inquiry
1. Evolution, Emergent properties, Systems Biology. How are these concepts are defined alone
and as a group?
2. Diagram Prokaryotic vs. Eukaryotic cells (how does their structure impact the organism?)
*Get creative if you want! Use anything for your cell constructions and take a picture, or simply
make a diagram in powerpoint, paint, etc.*
3. How do DNA, genes, and genomes, relate to each other, and to gene expression and
genomics?
4. Contrast producer and consumers. What’s a food web? (give an example)
5. Describe positive and negative feedback.
6. What are the 3 domains of life? (How do they differ?)
7. What is natural selection? Tell me how it pertains to Darwin’s finches.
8. What is a common ancestor? How does this impact evolution?
9. What are the steps of the scientific process? What’s it for? How is it flexible?
10. What is a theory? Why do scientists use model organisms?
Chapter 2: The chemical context of life
1. What are the four main elements that make up the majority of living matter? (Memorize these
guys – they will be very important if you continue on with biology!)
2. What are trace elements? Tell me something interesting about trace elements.
3. Diagram an atom.
4. How many neutrons are in C, O, H, and N? Show your work.
5. How can scientists use radioactive isotopes?
6. Contrast energy and potential energy.
7. Explain the organization of the periodic table. Why are elements organized in a specific
column or row?
8. What are the strongest bonds? What are the weakest bonds? What are they used for in general?
9. Why are chemical reactions important? Does equilibrium mean reactants = products? Explain.
Chapter 3: Water and Life
1. What kind of bonds are present in water molecules and, what roles do they play in cohesion
and adhesion?
2. How do kinetic energy, thermal energy, temperature, and heat relate to each other?
3. Why is it important that water has a high specific heat?
4. Why is dry and hot weather more comfortable than humid and hot weather?
5. Why is it important that ice floats? Give three examples of benefits to life.
6. Why is water a great solvent?
7. Contrast hydrophilic and hydrophobic. Why is the hydrophobic nature of the cell membrane
important?
8. How many grams of salt do you need to make 1 L of a 1 M salt solution?
9. What is an acid vs. a base? How do they relate to pH?
10. How do living cells maintain an optimal pH?
11. Describe ocean acidification. Give a real-world example (try searching with Google!) on how
ocean acidification impacts marine ecosystems.
Chapter 4: Carbon and the molecular diversity of life
1. What characteristics make carbon the “backbone of life”?
2. What was the Miller Urey experiment and what does it mean in terms of evolution?
3. What are hydrocarbons and why are they important? Give two examples of their importance.
4. Do all types of isomers have the same function? Why is the structure of molecules important?
*5. Functional groups: make flash cards or a study tool of your choice to learn these and some
examples. (No need to show your work, but these will be important later in the year when we
discuss metabolism, energy, and protein synthesis)
6. How is ATP different from ADP? In which is potential energy stored?
Chapter 5: Structure and function of large biological molecules
1. Contrast dehydration vs. hydrolysis reactions? Describe in regards to polymers.
2. What contributes to macromolecule diversity and why is it important?
3. Carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins are all unique and diverse macromolecules. Outline the
individual building blocks, major groups, and general function of each of these macromolecules.
(Here’s your opportunity build a “study guide” on macromolecules! Future assignments will rely
on your ability to recognize general concepts in the midst of lots of details.)
4. Briefly describe the 8 functions of proteins. Pick one function, and provide a specific protein
example that interests you. Try Google!
For example, I like GFP, or green fluorescent protein, which functions as an enzyme in the jelly fish
Aequorea victoria. It’s so cool because it breaks down luciferin (a molecule found in bioluminescent
organisms) to release light! This makes the organism glow! GFP can also be put into other organisms by
scientists. If you’ve ever seen gloFish (neon glowing fish at the pet store) you’ve seen GFP in action.
5. What are the four levels of protein structure? Summarize the concepts you feel are important
from Figure 5.18 (pg. 80-81). Hint: units, bonds
6. Incorrect protein structure can have negative consequences. Explain how protein structure
effects people with sickle-cell disease (common example on the AP bio exam!).
7. What kinds of things can cause proteins to denature? Why do you think having a high fever is
so dangerous to human health?
8. The is the role of a chaperonin?
9. How do DNA and RNA differ? Describe their structure, bonds, and primary roles in the cell.
10. Nucleotides are either purines (A, G) or pyrimidines (C, U, T). What are the general
characteristics of these groups? (Make flash cards to recognize the structure of each nucleotide.
This is a common multiple choice question on the AP exam!)
11. Genomic and proteomic approaches study large (or even whole) gene or protein sets. Why
are these approaches useful for the study of evolution? Would you use genetic information or
fossil records to study the evolution of an organism? (Explain your reasoning).