**Note: You will need to check out an AP Biology textbook from Mrs. Bias before the last day of school!
AP/Dual Enrollment Biology: Summer Assignment 2015
Paul G. Blazer High School
Instructor: Mrs. Katie Bias
E-mail: katie.bias@ashland.kyschools.us
Congratulations on choosing AP/DE Biology as an elective course for the 2015-2016 school year! AP Biology is
designed to be reflective of an introductory college course for freshmen biology majors; therefore, it differs significantly
both in the amount of work and effort required of a high school science student and in the breadth and depth of biology
content covered by the instructor. The AP Biology course curriculum has been revised by the College Board, and the
changes primarily include an increased emphasis on scientific inquiry and scientific analytical skills and a slight reduction
in the breadth of content that will be tested on the AP Biology exam. Below is a breakdown of the new 4 Big Ideas
outlined in the AP Biology Curriculum Framework:
Big Idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
Big Idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce,
and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
Essential Knowledge Standards:
2.A.1 – All living systems require constant input of free energy.
2.C.1 – Organisms use feedback mechanisms to maintain their internal environments and
respond to external environmental changes.
2.C.2 – Organisms respond to changes in their external environments.
2.D.2 – Homeostatic mechanisms reflect both common ancestry and divergence due to
adaptation in different environments.
2.D.3 – Biological systems are affected by disruptions to their dynamic homeostasis.
2.E.3 – Timing and coordination of behavior are regulated by various mechanisms and are
important in natural selection.
Big Idea 3: Living systems store, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.
Essential Knowledge Standards:
3.E.1 – Individuals can act on information and communicate with others.
Big Idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex
properties.
Essential Knowledge Standards:
4.B.2 – Cooperative interactions within organisms promote efficiency in the use of energy and
matter.
In order for this class to successfully cover all topics and concepts outlined in the complete AP Biology
Curriculum Framework and for students to be successful on the AP Biology exam, the pace of this course must be
fast and some content must be covered outside of the instructional year. Therefore, your summer assignment is
designed to give us a head start on the AP Biology curriculum before we begin work in class in August. This year, you
will be working on assignments that cover the Essential Knowledge Standards outlined in both bold and italics above
which correspond with the following major topics: Animal Behavior & Animal Form and Function.
Your main resource for completing the AP Biology summer assignment will be the Campbell/Reece Biology
textbook, 8th edition. Before Friday, May 22 you must visit my classroom (room 316) and check out an AP Biology
textbook. Without the textbook you will not be able to complete the summer assignment. Please come and see me
personally to check out a textbook before the last day of school.
If you have any questions and/or concerns about the summer assignment during any portion of summer break, please do
not hesitate to contact me. I will check my school e-mail at least 2-3 times per week during the summer, so that will be
the best way to reach me.
Have a wonderful summer break! 
The Summer Assignment
Your summer assignment will cover two important topics: Animal Form & Function and Animal Behavior.
Your AP Biology textbook covers these topics in two different chapters: Chapter 40: Basic Principles of Animal Form &
Function, and Chapter 51: Animal Behavior. All components of your summer assignment must be handwritten –
typed assignments will not be accepted! Also, you will not be tested on this material upon your immediate return to
school, but you can expect to have an exam on these topics within the first 9 weeks of school. Therefore, carefully
reading the chapters and doing quality work this summer will lead to greater success when you are assessed on this
material in the fall. All AP Biology summer assignments are due on the first day of school – no exceptions!
AP Biology Textbook Readings with Corresponding Guided Readings
You will need to read Chapters 40 and 51 in your AP Biology textbook and complete the Guided Reading
questions which will serve as a guide through the reading and comprehension processes. Carefully reading the
text and studying the diagrams is and will be an essential part of learning AP Biology concepts. The quantity of
questions in your Guided Readings has been kept to a minimum; therefore I expect quality, thorough work when
you answer these questions. Keep the following guidelines in mind while completing this assignment:
 Only handwritten assignments will be accepted; typed will not.
 You must write thoughtfully composed answers, answer all parts of each question, and in
complete sentences; answers written in sentence fragments will not receive full credit.
 Because I am expecting high quality work from you, your answers will be graded carefully for
correctness.
 For many questions, you will not have sufficient space on the worksheet to write an appropriate
response. For these questions, write your answers on a separate piece of notebook paper.
Exceptions would be questions that require you to fill in the components of a table, which you
can do on the worksheet itself.
 If your answers are identical to one or more of your classmates, you will receive no credit for that
portion of the assignment.
 At the end of each Guided Reading you will find a series of blanks for “Self Quiz” answers. You
are not being given the chapter self quizzes as part of your summer assignment, so ignore this at
the end of the Guided Reading worksheets. You don’t have to do anything with it!
 Not only should you put forth your best effort to earn the best grade possible on this assignment,
but how much effort you put into this assignment will determine how prepared you will be for
the exam on this material. We will be working on other things once the school year begins, so
learn this material now as opposed to trying to learn it for the first time once school is in
session.