AP Biology Summer Assignment 2015
Welcome to Ms. Ranney’s AP Biology Class
Congratulations! You have registered for AP Biology for the 2015-2016 school year. I am so excited to
teach you more about Biology, one of the most fascinating and useful of all modern sciences. AP
Biology is structured around four Big Ideas as described in the “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.
Big Idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit and respond to information essential to life
processes.
Big Idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex
properties.
These four ideas (shortened to Evolution, Energy Processes, Information, and Interactions)
encompass the core scientific principles, theories, and processes governing living organisms and
biological systems.
Some of you have received the textbook for the class, Reece, J.B. et al: Campbell Biology AP Edition, 9th
edition, which includes a CD-ROM. (If you have not received the textbook, please email me and I will
leave a copy in the main office with your name on it.) In the beginning of August, I will send each of you
the log-in information for you to register with the MasteringBiology online website. Many of the
assignments I will give you throughout the year will be done directly through this website so that I can
track your studying and progress.
Assignment:
The summer assignment has been designed to keep you thinking during the summer months and help
you review some of your past Biology knowledge so that we can cover the introductory unit more
quickly. You DO NOT need the textbook to do the summer assignment.
Part 1. Curriculum Framework
Please download onto your home computer (or device) and become familiar with the document entitled
AP Biology Course and Exam Description on the AP Biology website.
https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse/ap-biology#/
It is your “bible” for this class. You don’t need to print it out now. (I will give you a copy during the first
week of school.) You also don’t need to read it all right now. Just read the introductory paragraphs for
each of the Big Ideas.
Part 2. Biology in the Movies
Hollywood movies have long incorporated biology as a plot mechanism. From Lion King and
Finding Nemo, to Frankenstein and Gattaca, films have entertained us with biology facts (about
ecology and DNA) capitalized on our fascination with the mysteries of life, and exploited our fears about
new technologies. These “biology” films are a disseminator of both scientific facts and of
misinformation.
Choose one feature film (from the 4 above, the list below, or another…) that you have seen recently or
view one on Youtube, Netflix, etc. Write a minimum 2-pg essay on the movie and its connection to one
(or more) of the four AP Biology Big Ideas; Evolution, Energy Processes (including feedback and
homeostasis), Information (DNA) and Interactions (from cells to ecosystems). Identify and
completely explain 2-3 biological concepts that are explained well in the film by citing specific
examples from the movie and specific information from the AP Biology Curriculum Framework, the
textbook, or your own research. Identify 2-3 fallacies or misinformation presented in the film
and discuss why they are fallacies based on specific information from the AP Biology Curriculum
Framework, the textbook, or your own research.
All work must be your OWN, original work, typed in complete sentences (double space, Times, 12
font).
Possible Movies: Jurasic World or Jurasic Park, I Am Legend, Fern Gully, Beautiful Mind, Alien, Lucy,
X-men movies, Andromedra Strain, Contagion, Happy Feet, Gorillas in the Mist, Wall-E, I Am
Legend, Inherit the Wind, Ice Age, Judgement Day, Lorenzo’s Oil, March of the Penquins, My Sisters
Keeper, Outbreak, Silence of the Bees, Spiderman movies, Supersize Me, District 9, A Bugs Life, The
Bee Movie, Awakening, Inner Space, Osmosis Jones, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Curious Case of
Benjamin Button, Blade Runner, The Island, The Cover, Ice Age movies, Jaws, Charlotte’s Web,
Flatliners, Terminator…
Part 3. Response to Review Questions (Attachment 1)
Review Attachment 1 which contains a summary of two areas of Biology “Essential Knowledge”, Cells
and Matter/Energy, that you are expected to know from your K-12 education (prior to taking AP
Biology). Using your prior knowledge and/or research from print or electronic resources, provide brief
responses to each performance question/task listed at the end of each section.
Copies of Attachment 1 are in the school office. You may type or handwrite your answers on Attachment
1 or on a separate sheet of paper. Some questions will require you to draw diagrams or construct tables,
probably easiest to do by hand.
Essay and Attachment1 Responses are Due September 8th, 2015 (first day of school). Each
will be graded as a minor assessment.
Be prepared for a summary test on some of the Attachment 1 questions during the week of
September 15th. This will be your first test grade.
If you have any questions, please email me at colleen_ranney@kenilworthschools.com. Please try to
have a restful and safe summer!
Ms. Ranney