Advanced Placement Biology

Mrs. Lydia Doubleday

WELCOME TO AP BIOLOGY
Since 1955, the College Board AP Biology program has provided eager and able students with an
opportunity to pursue and earn credit for college-level coursework. Even if credit is not awarded,
admissions offices recognize the difficulty of AP courses on a transcript and may factor them in
when determining college acceptance. AP students are also well prepared and confident about
handling advanced work because they have already been performing at that level.
We begin our coursework for the coming school year by completing a review of basic chemistry
ideas and concepts. To ensure your success in this class, it is imperative that you have a proper
foundation in basic Biology and Chemistry I.
Summer Assignment#1
1. Find and locate a copy of the textbook, Campbell and Reeces Biology 9th Edition. You
may use an earlier edition of the text, but please do not use any edition earlier than the 8 th.
2. Read and outline the first 3 chapters of the textbook.
3. Define each of the following terms and provide specific examples of how each concept
pertains to living organisms. In other words, try to explain why each concept is
important to life.
a. Ionic bonds
b. Covalent bonds
i. Polar covalent
ii. Nonpolar covalent
c. Hydrogen bonds
d. IMAFs
4. Explain and define the properties of water in the following ways:
a. As a universal solvent (WHY/HOW?)
b. In terms of capillary action (HOW?)
i. Adhesion
ii. Cohesion
c. Surface tension
d. Specific heat
e. Boiling point/freezing point
f. As an evaporative coolant (HOW/WHY?)
5. Define acids, bases and buffers and explain their significance in living organisms.
This reading assignment will be due the first day of AP Bio class. It may be typed or handwritten. Be prepared to be tested on this material on the first day of class.
Summer Assignment #2
1. Create a Prezi or similar informational graphic displaying the levels of organization
among living things. It must include all of the levels seen in the textbook from biosphere
to cell and each level must be defined. Please include an example for each level.
2. You will submit this document/ link to me via my school email address at:
doubleda@uiwtx.edu no later than1159pm July 10, 2016.
3. Failure to do so will result in a zero that cannot be made up.

Summer Assignment #3
1. Sign up for UTeHW if you have not already done so through your chemistry class.
2. Enroll in the section entitled AP Bio with unique course name: Dday Bio.
3. Complete the UTeHW assignment covering the first three chapters of the text before
1159pm July 10, 2016.
4. Failure to do so will result in a zero that cannot be made up.
Note- If you have difficulty managing your time over the summer, perhaps AP Biology is not the
class for you. This class will demand that you devote much of your time to reading not only our
text, but additional supplemental materials provided for you. You will also research articles on
your own that relate to our studies. This class will also demand your attention each and every
night in order to help retain the large volumes of information necessary to be successful in this
class and on this AP exam.
Extra credit assignment
If you would like to receive up to two bonus grades to be counted as a quizzes during the first
semester, you may read one or more of the following books from the list below and submit a
review. Your review must include a summary and a personal reflection/reaction to the book at
least 2 pages in length. It must be typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font size 12 and
must contain references to the book with the appropriate MLA formatting. A works cited page
must also be included. This must be submitted on the first day of class in August. No late work
will be accepted.
Awesome Books for you to enjoy:
Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin (any version). The original text that got the
whole evolutionary ball rolling. If you can, read an abridged version as the full text
delves way too much into pigeonsunless that is your thing.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Written for the everyday
human interested in a narrative account of how the worlds most famous cell line came
into existence. This book provides not only pertinent info on cell biology, but serves as
an eye opener to civil rights, or lack thereof, in this country.**
The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story by Richard Preston. A nonfiction account of the
very first time the Ebola virus snuck across our US borders. It documents first recorded
cases, the horrifying symptoms, and the actions of the CDC and members of the US
military and their heroic attempts to stop the outbreak before it became a global
menace.**
The Seven Daughters of Eve: The Science that Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry by Brian
Sykes. A dry, but thorough look into how research with mitochondrial DNA can trace the
lineage of 90% of todays modern European population to just seven women who lived
between 45,000 and 10,000 years ago.
Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5 Billion Year History of the Human Body by Neil
Shubin. The co-discoverer of Tiktaalik, a 375 million year old fish fossil whose flat skull
and bone layout link fish to the earliest land dwellers. **
**Doubleday faves!!!