Welcome to AP Biology’s Summer Assignment
An evolving creation!
This summer you will delve into the world of biology like you never thought you would in those hot months! We will
explore many topics to wet your appetite for the coming year of hard work.
This summer assignment has been designed for five purposes:
 to get you to think during those summer months to keep your mind sharp, because I will expect a lot out of it
come September!
 to expand your vocabulary by familiarizing you with terms that we will be using in class.
 to introduce you to major concepts from AP Biology through non-classroom methods of learning.
 to have you earn two strong grades and begin the first quarter with confidence.
 to decrease the amount of new material that you will have to learn during the school year.
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Due Date
Mon., June 9th
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3
4
Mon. Aug 11th
Wed., Aug 13th
WED. Aug 13th
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Wed., Aug 20th
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Thurs, Aug 21st
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Tues., Sept 2rd
Assigned Task
1. Adopt A Plant- Pick up your Coleus seed from Mrs. Vertz’s
Room 2713
1. Send your e-mail “letter of Introduction” to Mrs. Vertz
Part 2 (photo collection) due
First class – held in room 2713 from 6:00-8:00pm
 Handout course materials/Go over course logistics
 Look at photo assignment-Vote Best photo collection
 Chapter 1 – Text overview and experimental design
 Pre-lab Animal Behavior Lab
Second class – held in room 2713 from 6:00-8:00pm
 Lab Safety
 Animal Behavior Lab
 Handout: Biochemistry Homework due Thurs.
Third class – held in room 27173from 6:00-8:00pm
 Bring your Coleus and plant questions
 Begin biochemistry
First Day of School – Let’s get rolling 
PLANT ASSIGNMENT: ADOPT A PLANT
Meet your new responsibilities: Coleus
Objective:
Experience plants as living, breathing, growing and responsive organisms.
Your Goal: Successfully nurture your plants throughout the summer: grow them, get them to branch, grow them big
and bushy! Coleus Details: A prize for the biggest, bushiest Coleus. Hint: You don’t want this plant to bloom!
Before Planting your Seeds. Learn about the Coleus Plants. Answer these questions.
1. How do I take care of a Coleus?
2. How do I transplant a Coleus?
3. How do I stop my Coleus from blooming?
4. How do I get my plant to branch and get bushier?
5. Do these plants like lots of sun or do they need some shade?
Bring your plant and your answers to the 3rd summer class, on August 21sst
Look it up! Do some research! Have fun.
Part 1 Summer Assignment
LETTER OF INTRODUCTION
Welcome to AP Biology!
We will spend a lot of time together next year, so it’s best if I get a head start on learning a bit about you. Also we will
use the Internet and the Web a lot next year for this course, so let’s get you used to communicating with me via e-mail.
Your first digital assignment is to successfully send me an e-mail.
Due date: Monday, August 11th
Draft an e-mail to me following these rules:
a. Use clearly written, full sentences. Do not abbreviate words like you are on AIM with a friend. Use spell check!
This is a professional communication like you would have with a college professor, so let’s practice for your rapidly
nearing future!
b. Address it to me at: bkvertz@pulaskischools.org
c. Make the Subject: “AP Bio: Introduction to <Insert Your Name Here>”
d. Begin the e-mail with a formal salutation, like “Mrs. Vertz,” or “Dear Mrs. Vertz,”
e. Now introduce yourself (your name) and tell me a little bit about yourself, like:
 What do you like to do (hobbies, sports, music, interests, etc.)?
 Do you have a job?
 Tell me a little bit about your family (Mom? Dad? Guardian? Siblings? Pets?)
 What do your parents do for a living? What do you want to do after high
school?
 Was there anything that you liked about your earlier biology class?
 What was the last book you read for fun?
 What are you looking forward to the most in AP Biology?
 What are you most anxious about in AP Biology?
ASSIGNMENT Part 2
BIOLOGY COLLECTION
For this part of your summer assignment, you will be familiarizing yourself with science terms that we will be using at
different points throughout the year. On the next page is the list of terms.
1. Select 20 terms
“Collect” 20 other items from this list of terms and bring this collection to class on Tuesday, August 13th.
When I say “collect”, I mean you should collect that item by finding it and taking a photograph (digital or paper
printed) of that item. You do not need to find the exact item on the list, say for example, if it is an internal part to an
organism, but you must apply the term to the specimen you find and explain how this specimen represents the term.
2. EXAMPLE: If you choose the term “phloem”, you could submit a photograph you have taken of a plant leaf or a
plant stem and then explain on the back of the picture what phloem is and specifically where phloem is in your
specimen.
3. ORIGINAL PHOTOS ONLY: You cannot use an image from any publication or the Web. You must have taken
the photograph yourself. To prove this you MUST place an item in all of your photographs that only you could have
added each time, something that you might usually have on you like a pen or a coin or a key or your phone, etc.
4. NATURAL ITEMS ONLY: Some specimens may be used for more than one item, but all must be from something
that you have found in nature. Take a walk around your yard, neighborhood, and town. DON’T SPEND ANY
MONEY! Research what the term means and in what organisms it can be found... and then go out and find one.
5. TEAM WORK: You may work with other students in the class to complete this project, but each student must
turn in his or her own project with a unique set of terms chosen. There are 75 choices... probability says there is a
very small chance that any two students will have most of the same 20 terms chosen.
BIOLOGY COLLECTION TERMS
1. adaptation of an animal
2. adaptation of a plant
3. actin
4. conifer leaf
5. amniotic egg
6. radial symmetry
7. angiosperm
8. animal that is segmented
9. annelid
10. anther & filament of stamen
11. arthropod
12. archaebacteria
13. autotroph
14. auxin
15. sporophyte
16. Batesian mimicry
17. bioaccumulation
18. bryophyte
19. C 4 plant
20. Calvin cycle
21. mutualism
22. cambium
23. cellulose
24. chitin
25. chlorophyll
26. cnidarian
27. coelomate
28. pollen
29. commensalism
30. connective tissue
31. cuticle layer of a plant
32. deciduous leaf
33. deuterostome
34. dicot plant with flower & leaf
35. diploid
36. echinoderm
37. ectotherm
38. endosperm
39. endotherm
40. enzyme
41. epithelial tissue
42. ethylene
43. eubacteria
44. eukaryote
45. exoskeleton
46. fermentation
47. flower ovary
48. frond
49. fruit – dry with seed
50. fruit – fleshy with seed
51. gametophyte
52. gastropod
53. genetically modified organism
54. gibberellins
55. glycogen
56. gymnosperm cone
57. xylem
58. heartwood
59. hermaphrodite
60. insect
61. K-strategist
62. niche
63. leaf – gymnosperm
64. parasite
65. lichen
66. lignin
67. lipid used for energy storage
68. littoral zone organism
69. long-day plant
70. meristem
71. unicellular
72. vascular plant tissue
73. platyhelminthes
74. monocot vs dicot
75. muscle fiber – striated
AP Biology Summer Assignment Part 3
Summer Reading Assignment: (If you are in APES you are not allowed to read and complete the project on the
same book). Book Report: Three pages typed not including the title page.
Choose one of the following books to read and then complete a book report on that book according to the following
guidelines. Use- 12 font—1-inch margins to type this report.
1. Write a one-page summary of the story or events.
2. What biological issue is presented in the book? Write a one-page position paper on the issue. (Note a position paper
presents both sides to the biological issue—this is not your view—this is the author’s view and then explain the
opposite view point).
3. Write one half page discussing your personal opinion concerning the biological issue discussed in the book. Defend
your position.
4. Write one half page and discuss if you liked/disliked the book. Would you recommend this book –defend your
position. Lastly, discuss the author in this part of the report. (Give a brief biography of approximately 6-8 sentences).
5. Title page must include the following items: Title of the book, Author, Student’s Name, Date Due—September 2,
2012-no exceptions: be prepared to discuss the book you read
**If you find a different book that you are interested in, email the title to me and I will approve it**** I have several
books available to be read – if you would like to borrow a copy, please see me!
AP Biology Suggested Reading List
*The Monkeywrench Gang
The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science
A Walk in the Woods
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Chromosome 6
The Andromeda Strain
The Selfish Gene
To Know a Fly
The Cell Builders
The Third Chimpanzee
Tropical Nature
The Heat is On
Biotechnology Unzipped: Promises and Realities
Unravelling DNA
The Los Angeles River
Tragedy of the Commons (1968)
Ravens in Winter
Legacy of Luna
Prairie Kepper
*A Sand County Almanac (1949)
Green Delusions
The Triple Helix
King Soloman's Ring
Beyond the Limits
Killer Algae
The Song of the Dodo
Genome: The Autobiography of a Species
Island of the Colorblind
Song for the Blue Ocean
Rosalind Franklin and DNA
Abby, Ed
Angier, Natalie
Bryson, Bill
Bryson, Bill
Cook, Robin
Crichton, Michael
Dawkins, Richard
Dethier, Vincent
DeYoung, H. Garrett
Diamond, Jared
Forsythe
Gelbspan, Ross
Grace, Eric S.
Grank-Kamenetskii, Maxim
Gumprecht, Blake
Hardin, Garret
Heinrich, Bernard
Hill, Julia Butterfly
Houle, Marcy
Leopold, Aldo
Lewis, Martin W.
Lewontin, Richard C.
Lorenz, Konrad Z.
Meadows, Donella H.
Meinesz, Alexander
Quammen, David
Ridely, Mark
Sacks, Oliver
Sarfina, Carl
Sayre, Anne
The Lives of a Cell
Thomas, Lewis