To: AP Biology Students 2016-2017
From: Dr. Whaley
AP Biology Summer Assignment
It is important to set goals when studying AP Biology. The goal of this
summer assignment is to introduce you to the great adventure of Biology.
This adventure will take you from the depths of the sea to the top of the
world, and you will find out some interesting biological facts about yourself
along the way.
Part I: Short Essay
Due first day of class
Biology researcher Neil Shubin has written, “One of the joys of being
a scientist is that the natural world has the power to amaze and
surprise.”
Reflect on ways in which you have been amazed or surprised by the
natural world. Provide an example from an experience you had
being “in nature” or learning some fascinating new fact or observing
the forces of nature. Write a paragraph or two to communicate your
enthusiasm for learning about the natural world!
Part II: Design Your Own Lab: Transpiration in Plants
Due first day of class
Scientific inquiry is an important part of every science class. It involves
much more than simply following the “scientific method”. Your ability to
ask a scientific question based on observations and background
information, to state and test a hypothesis, to carry out an investigation,
and to analyze the results shows that you are mastering the process of
inquiry. The AP Biology course integrates scientific inquiry within the
framework of Four Big Ideas: Evolution, Energy, Information and
Interactions. In this assignment, you will design and carry out an
investigation to study transpiration in plants, a topic that we will study
further as we explore “Interactions”.
Online Textbook Resource: To learn the background about transpiration
go to http://wps.aw.com/bc_campbell_biology_7/
LOG IN Login name: MAStudent157 password: apbiology1 SELECT A CHAPTER – DROP DOWN MENU…CHOOSE CHAPTER 3 (WATER) THEN CHAPTER 36 (TRANSPORT IN PLANTS) E-­BOOK – CHOOSE CAMPBELL BIOLOGY 7TH EDITION E-­‐BOOK, THEN STUDY CHAPTERS 3 AND 36 Use these resources to learn about the properties of water that make it important for life (Chapter 3), and to learn how a plant accomplishes the task of absorbing water from the soil, transporting it up to its leaves, and allowing water to evaporate back into the atmosphere through the process of transpiration (Chapter 36). AP Biology Lab Manual Resource Attached to this handout you will find an excerpt from the AP Biology Lab Manual describing Investigation 11: Transpiration. Read the background information and look up any new terms. Your assignment is to investigate an environmental variable that might affect the rate of transpiration in plants. Things you will need to do… • Understand transpiration • Decide on which environmental variable you will study (temperature, light, humidity, pH…etc) • State the hypothesis with a justification (If…then…because) • Design the experiment (independent variable, dependent variable, control, constants, multiple trials, averages) • Gather lab materials • Set up the experiment (include photos) • Collect data (include data table) • Analyze data (include graph) • Write a conclusion Lab Procedure Data Collection • Take photos of your experimental set-­‐up. • Determine the mass of each plant and then its mass for several days under your environmental condition. Since transpiration is a measure of water loss, you can assume that loss of mass is due to loss of water indicating that transpiration has occurred. • Average the data from multiple plants and/or trials. • Report your data in a table and a graph made on graph paper or using a computer. Lab Report The typed report should include… • Title: include the name of the plant • Brief introduction: what was the purpose of the experiment? • Experimental design: hypothesis with justification, independent variable, dependent variable, control, constants, trials • Results: data table, graph, pictures of experiment • Conclusion/Discussion: revisit the hypothesis, explain results, sources of error, next steps