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Mr. Eeds AP Biology Summer Assignment
Assignment 1: Please read The Hot Zone by Richard Preston.
The Hot Zone tells the true story of a highly infectious, deadly virus from central Africa
appearing in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The virus kills its victims in a horrifying
manner and it is potentially unstoppable.
Other Requirements:
Part 1:
I would like you to keep a journal while you read. The book is separated into four parts and
you should have at least one entry for each part of the book. Please address the following in
your journal entries:
A brief summary about what you have been reading
The major scientific Biological concepts covered (explain and relate the concepts)
Reflections about the book
Part 2:
There is an interesting conversation between Preston and Karl Johnson in Part One of the
book.
During the conversation, Johnson states, “A virus can be useful to a species by thinning it
out.” First, address this conversation, summarizing it in your own terms. Next, choose one
of the following learning goals for our Biology course below and explain the significance of
this discussion in relation to the goal.
Goal 1- Understand and describe how the maintenance of a relatively stable internal
environment is required for the continuation of life and explain how stability is challenged by
changing physical, chemical, and environmental conditions, as well as the presence of
disease agents.
Goal 2- Describe how ecosystems can be reasonably stable over hundreds or thousands of
years. Understand that if a disaster such as flood or fire occurs, the damaged ecosystem is
likely to recover in stages that eventually result in a system similar to the original one. (You
may consider a virus as the “disaster”.)
Goal 3- Recognize and describe that a great diversity of species increases the chance that at
least some living things will survive in the face of large changes in the environment.
** You may utilize outside sources to supplement your position, however, be sure to cite any resources that you
use. There is not a minimum length for either of these assignments, but know that you will be graded based on
your thoroughness and depth of thought. **
Assignment 2: Complete the Guided Reading Assignments for Chapters 1-5
The AP course will begin with a review of chemistry topics. Chapters 2-5 should be a review
for those that have already had Chemistry and will require extra time and effort for those
that will be concurrently enrolled in a chemistry course. Due to time constraints, we will hit
the road running and will have an exam over these chapters on the first Friday we return,
August the 28th . We will spend the first few days reviewing concepts that you feel need
further explanation. The review packet will count as 5 daily grades, one grade for each
chapter guided reading. The guided readings will be due on the exam day.
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Mr. Eeds AP Biology Summer Assignment