AP Biology Summer Packet
This packet includes:
1. Welcome Letter/ Qualities of an AP student
2. Summer Assignments:
• Letter of Introduction
• Survival of the Sickest
• Class Materials
Dear AP Biology Student,
Although it is the end of the school year, and not the beginning, I would like to take a moment to welcome you to next year’s AP Biology class, and help you prepare for this upcoming challenge. AP Biology involves a lot of hard work, but it can be incredibly rewarding. We have a lot of fascinating labs planned, and I am looking forward to an exciting year with all of you.
This summer you will delve into the world of biology like you never thought you would in those hot months! We will explore many topics to whet your appetite for the coming year of hard work.
This summer assignment has been designed for five purposes:
1. to get you to think during the summer and keep your mind sharp, because I will expect a lot out of it come August!
2. to introduce you to major concepts from AP Biology through non-classroom methods of learning.
3. to have you earn two strong grades to help you begin the first 9-weeks with confidence.
4. to decrease the amount of new material that you will have to learn during the school year. You will become familiar with the extensive vocabulary of biology in a hands-on manner.
The information in this packet can be accessed digitally through my school webpage (ths.tomballisd.net or goo.gl/NMX4NZ). Please look for AP Biology information under the AP biology page. You can also email me at . Once school starts, we will use Google Classroom frequently. Feel free to contact me over the summer via email. I will try to respond within a few days at most.
Please remember that this is a college level science course. I am attaching some guidelines to follow in order to be a successful AP or DC student. Please let me know if you have any questions!
Have a great summer! / Schedule of Due Dates:Dr. Moritz / AP Biology Supplies – Friday, August 25, 2017
Letter of Introduction – Friday, August 25, 2017 (daily grade)
Scavenger Hunt – Friday, August 25, 2017 (major grade)
/ Survival of the Sickest – Friday, September 8, 2017 (major)
Assigment #1: Letter of Introduction
Welcome to AP Biology!
We are going to spend a lot of time together next year, so it’s best to get a head start on learning a bit about you. Also we will use the Internet and the Web a lot next year for this course, so let’s get you used to communicating via e-mail. Your first digital assignment is to successfully send an e-mail to your AP Biology teacher. This will be your first daily grade.
Due date: Friday, August 25, 2017, emailed to
Draft an e-mail to me following these rules:
a. Use clearly written, full sentences. Do not abbreviate words like you are texting with a friend. Use spell check! This is a professional communication like you would have with a college professor, so let’s practice for your rapidly nearing future!
b. Address it to the appropriate teacher:
c. Make the Subject: “AP Bio: Introduction to <Insert Your Name Here>” (Do not include the quote marks or the brackets, just the words. Put your name in the appropriate place.)
d. Begin the e-mail with a formal salutation, like “To Dr. Moritz,” or “Dear Dr. Moritz,”
e. Now introduce yourself (your name) and tell me a little bit about yourself, like:
• What do you like to do (hobbies, sports, music, interests, etc.)?
• Do you have a job?
• Tell me a little bit about your family (Mom? Dad? Guardian? Siblings? Pets?) What do your parents do for a living?
• Was there anything that you liked about your earlier biology class?
• What was the last book you read for fun?
• What are you looking forward to the most in AP Biology?
• What are you most anxious about in AP Biology?
f. End the e-mail with a formal closing: “Cordially”, “Sincerely”, “Warm regards”, etc. and add your name as if you signed a letter.
ASSIGNMENT #2 – AP Biology Supplies
Please use the summer as your opportunity to get your supplies for AP Biology early! Come in prepared on Day 1.
Due date: Friday, August 25, 2017 (at the latest!)
MATERIALS
1. 3-ring class notebook/binder (2.5 – 3 inch) for handouts (Yes, I know that’s BIG, but you will fill it more than once!).
2. Some loose-leaf paper or a composition book for note-taking
3. Carbonless lab notebook, which makes turning in labs much easier. Some examples are found at amazon.com; just search “carbonless lab notebook 100”. You would want one that has at least 100 original pages (200 total, since each page makes a carbonless copy). You can also find these at a college bookstore.
Note for lab write ups: It is best if you keep the original, written by hand. Turn in the carbon copy to me for grading. Then you have a written record that you participated in and completed analysis of the major AP Biology labs. This can help if you need to petition for credit for the Biology course at college.
4. Blue or black pens and pencils to be brought to class EVERY day
5. The book for the required readings:
Moalem, Sharon. Survival of the Sickest. New York: HarperCollins, 2007. ISBN-13 9780060889661
Skloot, Rebecca. (can be purchased at the Book Attic in Tomball)
Optional but STRONGLY recommended
6. AP Biology review book: I like 5 Steps to a 5: AP Biology. Kaplan, Barron and Princeton Review also have good review books. Be sure to get the newest edition, since the exam changed in 2013.
Assignment #3: Summer reading – Survival of the Sickest (major grade)
Moalem, Sharon. Survival of the Sickest. New York: HarperCollins, 2007. ISBN-13 9780060889661
You will be reading Survival of Sickest by Sharon Moalem this summer. The book retails for $13.99 but you can find it online for much less. I recommend the store ‘The Book Attic’ in Tomball (by the Premiere Cinema). I let the owner know that we will be reading this book over the summer, so she will order in some copies. You can also order from sources online for inexpensive used copies. Barnes and Noble usually stocks the book.
This is not a textbook! This is a book about biology written for the general public. Yes, there are people who like science so much that they read about it for pleasure. Read the entire book and answer the questions included here on your own paper. You may type the answers but that is not necessary. You do not need to write the questions. Please label your answers clearly with the question numbers.
Due date: Friday, September 8, 2017, may be submitted via email or to Google classroom (you will get the code the first day of class).
Survival of the Sickest Questions: Introduction
1. What is the “big” question the book will attempt to answer?
Chapter I
2. The author points out many ways in which iron impacts life. Identify/describe at least five.
3. In the context of this chapter, explain the author’s reference to Bruce Lee and to the barber pole.
Chapter II
4. Distinguish between each of the three types of diabetes.
5. What did the ice cores of 1989 reveal about the Younger Dryas?
6. Describe the body’s “arsenal of natural defenses” against cold.
7. Describe the connection between Rana sylvatica and diabetes.
8. In Chapters I and II several inherited disorders were discussed. Create and complete a chart with the following information: Disease/Disorder, Symptoms, Evolutionary Advantage (blank chart at the end).
Chapter III
9. Why do we need Vitamin D? Cholesterol? Folic acid?
10. Briefly describe the connection between the two concepts:
a. tanning beds; birth defects
b. sunglasses; sunburn
c. hypertension; slave trade
d. Asian flush; drinking water
e. skull shape; climate
f. body hair; malaria
11. What’s so fishy about the Inuits’ skin color?
12. Explain the good and the bad of ApoE4.
Chapter IV
13. Explain the role of G6PO.
14. Briefly describe the connection between the two concepts:
a. European clover; Australian sheep breeding crisis of the 1940s
b. Capsaicin; birds and mammals
c. Malaria; air conditioning
d. Favism; fava beans
15. Explain the following statement found on page 87: “Life is such a compromise.”
Chapter V: “Of Microbes and Men”
16. Complete Parasite Chart (Go to end of assignment.)
17. Identify 3 ways in which microbes/parasites move from host to host.
18. For each pathway listed in question #2, explain the relationship of the mode of transmission to the virulence of the invader.
19. What is our advantage in the survive-and-produce race?
Chapter VI: “Jump Into the Gene Pool”
20. Briefly discuss the following terms/scientists:
a) Jenner
b) vaccine
c) antibodies
d) B-cells
e) “junk DNA”
f) Lamarck
g) McClintock
h) retroviruses
21. What is the Weissman barrier?
22. Make connections between the following terms:
a. transposons; viruses; evolution
b. sunspots; flu epidemics
23. Humans have about 25,000 genes and more than a million different antibodies. How is this possible?
24. What is a persisting virus?
Chapter VII: “Methyl Madness”
25. Make connections between the following terms:
a) vitamin supplement; agouti mice
b) snakes; long-tailed lizards
c) Barker Hypothesis; fathers who smoke
d) Smoking grandmothers; asthmatic children
e) Betel nut chewing; cancer
26. Epigenesis may be partially responsible for the childhood epidemic of obesity. Explain.
27. “Good times mean more boys. Tough times mean more girls.” Explain.
Chapter VIII: “That’s Life: Why You and Your iPod Must Die”
28. Make connections between the following terms:
a) Progeria; Lamin A
b) Hayflick limit; telomeres
c) Cancer cells; stem cells
d) Size; life expectancy
e) Risky child birth; big brains and bipedalism
29. Explain the author’s iPod and aging analogy.
30. Identify the 5 lines of cancer defense.
31. What are the two accomplishments of biogenic obsolescence?
32. Compare and contrast the Savanna and aquatic ape hypotheses.
Conclusion
33. The author hopes that you will come away from this book with an appreciation of three things:
a) Life is in a constant state of creation
b) Nothing in our world exists in isolation
c) Our relationship with disease is often much more complex than we may have previously realized.
On a personal note, what would you add to his list?
34. “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” How does the book, Survival of the Sickest, support this quote by Theodosius Dobzhansky, a noted evolutionary biologist?
Survival of the Sickest Parasite Chart
Parasite / Host/s / Manipulative / EvolutionaryAdaptation / Advantage
Dracunculus
metinensis
Guinea worm
Hymenoepimecis
argyraphaga
wasp
Dicrocoelium
dentriticum
Liver fluke
Spinochordodes tellinii
Hairworm
Rabies virus
Toxoplasma gondii
Pin worms
Cholera
Plasmodium
Malaria
Inherited Genetic Disorders
Disease/Disorder / Symptoms / Evolutionary AdvantageAssignment #4: Scavenger Hunt Items: (major grade)
Due date: Friday, August 25, 2017, may be submitted via email or to Google classroom (you will get the code the first day of class).
1. List the kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species for each of the following:
a. Bluebonnet
b. Attwater prairie chicken
c. Houston toad
d. Dogwood tree
e. Whitetail deer
2. Scientific name of 2 fish species considered aquatic nuisance species in Texas; scientific name of 1 bivalve that is considered an aquatic nuisance species in Texas; scientific name of 1 invertebrate that is considered a nuisance species in Texas
3. URL link to a biology related virtual lab
4. A microscopic image of the following bacteria: Salmonella, Micrococcus luteus, Spirillum volutans, Helicobacter pylori, Clostridium tetani, Treponema pallidum, Klebsiella pneumoniae
5. Link to a podcast that focuses on a biology-related topic. Include a paragraph (5 sentences) of your personal reflection.
6. Identify 5 enzymes and their function.
7. Title of a biology article from http://www.sciencedaily.com. Include a paragraph (5 sentences) of your personal reflection.
8. Find a picture of James Watson and Francis Crick, by their model of the double helix. Cite the source.
9. Sketch a prokaryotic cell and an animal cell and identify the organelles present in each.
10. Find microscopic images taken using the following: fluorescence microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and label the specimen being observed.
11. Find the names and chemical structures of the 20 amino acids used to synthesize proteins.
12. Copy and paste the link of a college lecture notes on DNA replication.
13. A photograph of a cell experiencing the following conditions – hypotonic, hypertonic, and isotonic. Label each. Cite the source.
14. A diagram showing the general pathways of viral infection. Be sure to show both lytic and lysogenic infections.
15. A diagram of the visible light spectrum with measurements in nanometers. Cite the source.
16. A photograph of a flower with the formula for photosynthesis next to it.
17. A detailed illustration of the Calvin cycle. Cite the source.
18. A detailed illustration of glycolysis. Cite the source.
19. A detailed illustration of Krebs cycle. Cite the source.
20. The name of a food made from lactic acid fermentation.
21. Bacteria are used to make and process many common foods and important chemicals. List 5 bacteria that are used in industry and describe their function.
22. A recent scientific article about genetically modified organisms. Be sure to include the paper and date of the article. And include a paragraph summary (5 sentences) of the article.
23. A picture showing a normal human karyotype, Monosomy X (Turner’s syndrome), and a trisomy X karyotype disorder. Cite the source.
24. A recent scientific article that explains research done with evolutionary biology. Be sure to include the source of the article and the date of the article. Include a paragraph summary (5 sentences) of the article.