ADVANCED PLACEMENT BIOLOGY
Summer Assignment
In order to cover the entire AP Biology Curriculum, you are
expected to deal with certain selected topics independently, during the summer
and during school vacations. In
September, after a very brief review of the summer assignments, you will be
tested on Unit 8, Ecology, in your text.
I recommend that you read it carefully and take good notes. Your notes will be very important in your
preparation for the AP Exam next May.
All assigned questions legibly handwritten
in a dedicated AP Biology notebook.
Text:
Biology: Neil A. Campbell & Jane B. Reece, Seventh Edition, 2005.
ISBN 0-8053-6777-2
Assignment:
Read Chapters 50-55. This material will be tested within the first few days of class in September. Make a note of any questions which need clarification. I will not actively teach the Ecology Unit.
Chapter50--Introduction to
Ecology and the Biosphere: Concentrate on basic definitions, (population,
community, etc.) so that they are completely
familiar to you. Know characteristics of
all major terrestrial and aquatic biomes but don’t overload on details. Recognize and distinguish between abiotic and
biotic factors. Pay particular attention
to
Chapter 51-- Behavioral Ecology: A totally different
subject—Animal Behavior. Distinguish
between ultimate and proximate causes of behavior; be able to associate the work of ethologists Skinner, Pavlov, Tinbergen, von Frisch, and Lorenz
with their respective work. Learn the
definitions and principal characteristics of different types of learning. In order to do that, you have to be able to
clearly distinguish between things like a sign stimulus, a releaser, a fixed
action pattern, etc. and see their relatedness.
Spend some time with it and it will become clear to you. Read this entire chapter. You don’t need to know the details of the
bird song model, but recognize the characteristics of learning that make it a
“model”.
Chapter 52-- Population
Biology: Again,
concentrate on becoming familiar with basic vocabulary. Distinguish density from dispersion and
recognize patterns. Be able to interpret
survivorship curves and explain the life history pattern associated with each
type of curve. Distinguish models of
population growth and relate thee types of limiting factors that control
them. Skip over the mathematical
formulas—except to recognize and define what each letter (r, K, etc) stands
for.
Chapter 53--Community Ecology: This chapter contains lots of basic and important definitions, many of which should
be familiar to you from Bio I (food chains, food webs, etc.). Make sure you know them all!!!! You may skim the details of the Succession in
Chapter 54—Ecosystems: The entire chapter is important. Much of it should be familiar to you. We will do a required AP Lab on Primary
Productivity early in the year so be sure you are clear on this concept(pages 1186-1190).
Be able to account for the loss of energy between trophic
levels within communities and explain the pyramids which describe this. The Biogeochemical Cycles are
especially important and you must know them in detail, especially the Nitrogen
Cycle. Describe the disruption
of these cycles by human activities.
Chapter 55—Conservation and Restoration Biology: Again, many of the concepts in this Chapter will be
familiar from your previous course in Biology
Be able to distinguish between the goals of each and the major threats
that make both of these programs necessary.
Know and describe both the challenges and strategies that appear to be
successful in meeting them. Be familiar
with the case studies.
Answer “Self Quiz” questions at the end of each
chapter in addition to the “Concept Check” Questions within each chapter. I recognize that the answers are given in the
book. For the Multiple Choice Questions, I expect you to explain why each is
the correct answer based on having read the chapter. For the Short Answer Questions, I expect you
to expand on the answer given in the book.
AP Biology draws heavily, especially in the first semester, on your Chemistry background.
Chapters 1, 2, 3 & 4 in the
You are expected to spend a little time, in the last weeks before school starts, reviewing this material and answering the Chapter Questions. We will briefly review functional groups as we move into Chapter 5 on the structure and function of major biomolecules at the beginning or the fall semester. You can expect a test on Chapters 1-5 within the first few weeks of school.
Again, please have a notebook (I recommend a loose leaf
binder) exclusively for AP Biology and have notes and Chapter Question answers
ready for me to see on the FIRST DAY of the 2008-2009 school year.
In the meantime, have a GREAT SUMMER. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you next year.