AP BIOLOGY SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 2011-2012
Dear Prospective AP Biology Student,
Welcome to AP Biology! This program has high expectations and doesn’t have any time
to waste, therefore, to ensure your success in this program and on the AP exam in May
we need to start with some work this summer.
The following is a list of required assignments to do over the summer:
Text Book: Biology 7th Edition by Campbell, Reece, Mitchell
©2005 by Benjamin Cummings, an imprint of Addison Wesley
Unit 8: Basic Ecology and Behaviors; Read each chapter and answer questions
• Chapter 50: An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere
• Chapter 51: Behavioral Biology
• Chapter 52: Population Ecology
• Chapter 53: Community Ecology
• Chapter 54: Ecosystems
• Chapter 55: Conservation Biology
Purpose: This assignment will allow students to become familiar in utilizing a collegelevel text to begin their study of Advanced Placement Biology. By completing this unit,
we will be able to move forward quickly in order to complete the necessary curriculum by
the May 14, 2012 AP Biology testing date.
What the students need to do: Students should read chapters 50-55 in the Ecology
Unit: Biology (7th ed.) by Campbell and Reece, and answer the objective questions below
that correspond to the study of Ecology. Students should answer the questions in detail
so that they will understand their responses later, since they will use these as a study
aid in preparation for the unit test in September and the AP Exam in May. Feel free to
consult sources other than your book, if you feel you need more information.
For each of the six chapters you need to:
1. Preview the chapter and focus on:
a. Key Concepts (noted at the beginning of the chapter)
b. Vocabulary Terms (in bold – see below, you might want to make some type
of vocabulary list or flashcards to use when you review for the AP Exam in May)
c. Figure Graphics (read the captions and see if you understand the)
2. Read thoroughly the Summary of Key Concepts at the end of each chapter. Check
your knowledge and understanding of concepts with the Self-Quiz at the end of each
chapter, Quiz answers can be found in appendix A
Please enjoy your time exploring the topics of ecology and animal behavior!
If you have any questions about the reading or guided questions during the summer, email me at: vtaylor@kusd.edu
Summer Reading; AP Biology Summer Assignment
Do not procrastinate! You will be overwhelmed if you try to complete this at the
beginning of school!!!
PART ONE:
Answer the following questions thoroughly and completely on a
separate piece of paper. Indicate the Chapter and question number for each
question. Be sure to include diagrams, graphs, or other figures as appropriate for
each question.
Chapter 50 Introduction to Ecology Objectives
1. Define ecology and identify the two features of organisms that ecologists try to
explain. Discuss examples of experiments that examine these features.
2. Distinguish between the abiotic and biotic components of the environment.
3. Describe the relationship between ecology and evolutionary biology.
4. Distinguish among organismal ecology, population ecology, community ecology,
ecosystem ecology, and landscape ecology.
5. Describe the flowchart of inquiry used to determine what limits the geographic
distribution of a particular species.
6. Describe the problem of introduced species and the specific problems posed by the
introduction of African bees and zebra mussels.
7. Explain the "tens rule."
8. Explain how habitat selection can limit the range of otherwise suitable habitats.
9. Describe and illustrate biotic and abiotic factors that affect the distribution of
organisms.
10. Explain how climate affects the geographic distribution of organisms.
11. Define and illustrate the concept of a microclimate.
12. Explain how the retreat of North American glaciers 16,000 years ago influenced the
distribution of trees.
13. Distinguish among the various zones found in aquatic biomes.
14. Define and compare the many types of freshwater and marine biomes.
15. Describe the characteristics of the major terrestrial biomes: tropical forest,
savanna, desert, chaparral, temperate grassland, temperate forest, taiga, and tundra.
(Create a chart with key characteristics for easy comparison)
16. Explain why the distribution of a species is not easily accounted for.
Chapter 51 Behavioral Ecology Objectives:
1. Define behavior.
2. Distinguish between proximate and ultimate questions about behavior.
3. Explain how genes and the environment contribute to behavior. Explain what is unique
about innate behavior.
4. Define fixed action patterns and give examples in fish and humans.
5. Describe the evolutionary basis for behavioral ecology. Explain why these adaptations
may result in suboptimal behavior.
6. Explain why it is useful to use evolutionary principles as a guide to behavioral research.
7. Explain the optimal foraging theory and illustrate it with examples.
8. Explain how learning, maturation, and habituation influence behavior.
9. Define imprinting and explain the importance of the sensitive period. Illustrate these
concepts using examples from bird song.
10. Distinguish between classical conditioning and operant conditioning.
11. Define play and describe several possible adaptive advantages of this behavior.
12. Describe the ultimate bases of learning.
13. Describe and illustrate with examples kinesis, taxis, landmarks, cognitive maps, and
migration.
14. Define sociobiology and describe the development of this field of behavior.
15. Define agonistic behavior, dominance hierarchy, and territories; give examples of
each.
16. Describe the typical circumstances associated with the defense of territories.
17. Describe the advantages of courtship.
18. Explain how parental investment influences the different mating behaviors of males
and females.
19. Define and distinguish between monogamous and polygamous mating relationships and
between polygyny and polyandry.
20. Describe the various modes of communication.
21. Relate an animal's mode of communication to its lifestyle.
22. Explain how honeybees communicate information about the location of sources of
food.
23. Discuss why altruistic behavior might evolve.
24. Relate the coefficient of relatedness to the concept of altruism.
25. Define Hamilton's rule and the concept of kin selection.
26. Define reciprocal altruism.
Chapter 52 Population Ecology Objectives:
1. Define the scope of population ecology
2. Define and distinguish between density and dispersion.
3. Explain how ecologists measure the density of a species.
4. Describe conditions that may result in the clumped dispersion, uniform dispersion, and
random dispersion of populations.
5. Describe the characteristics of populations that exhibit Type I, Type II, and Type
III survivorship curves.
6. Explain how limited resources affect life histories.
7. Give examples of the trade-off between reproduction and survival.
8. Compare the geometric model of population growth with the logistic model.
9. Explain how an environment's carrying capacity affects the intrinsic rate of increase
of a population.
10. Distinguish between r-selected populations and K-selected populations.
11. Explain how a "stressful" environment may alter the standard r-selection and Kselection characteristics.
12. Explain how density-dependent factors affect population growth.
13. Explain how density-dependent and density-independent factors may work together
to control a population's growth.
14. Explain how predation can affect life history through natural selection.
15. Describe several boom-and-bust population cycles, noting possible causes and
consequences of the fluctuations.
16. Describe the history of human population growth.
17. Compare the age structures of Italy, Kenya, and the United States. Describe the
possible consequences for each country.
18. Describe the problems associated with estimating Earth's carrying capacity.
Chapter 53 Community Ecology Objectives:
1. Explain the relationship between species richness and relative abundance.
2. List four possible specific interactions and explain how the relationships affect the
population densities of the two species.
3. Explain how interspecific competition may affect community structure.
4. Describe the competitive exclusion principle and explain how competitive exclusion
may affect community structure.
5. Define an ecological niche and restate the competitive exclusion principle using the
niche concept.
6. Explain how resource partitioning can affect species diversity.
7. Define and compare predation, herbivory, and parasitism.
8. Relate some specific predatory adaptations to the properties of the prey.
9. Describe the defense mechanisms that evolved in plants to reduce predation by
herbivores.
10. Explain how cryptic coloration and warning coloration aid an animal in avoiding
predators.
11. Distinguish between Batesian mimicry and Müllerian mimicry.
12. Describe how predators use mimicry to obtain prey.
13. Distinguish among endoparasites, ectoparasites, and pathogens.
14. Distinguish among parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism.
15. Distinguish between a food chain and a food web. Describe the factors that
transform food chains into food webs.
16. Describe two ways to simplify food webs.
17. Summarize two hypotheses that explain why food chains are relatively short.
18. Explain how dominant and keystone species exert strong control on community
structure. Give several examples of each.
19. Describe and distinguish between the bottom-up and top-down models of community
organization. Also, describe some models that are intermediate between those two
extremes.
20. Describe how disturbances affect community structure and composition. Illustrate
this point with several well-studied examples.
21. Give examples of humans as widespread agents of disturbance.
22. Describe and distinguish between primary and secondary succession.
23. Describe the process and pattern of succession on moraines in Glacier Bay.
24. Describe and distinguish between species richness and relative abundance.
25. Describe the data necessary to measure biodiversity.
26. Describe and explain how species richness varies along the equatorial-polar gradient.
27. Explain how species richness on islands varies according to island size and distance
from the mainland.
Chapter 54 Ecosystems Objectives:
1. Describe the relationship between autotrophs and heterotrophs in an ecosystem.
2. Explain how decomposition connects all trophic levels in an ecosystem.
3. Explain how the first and second laws of thermodynamics apply to ecosystems.
4. Explain why the amount of energy used in photosynthesis is so much less than the
amount of solar energy that reaches Earth.
5. Define and compare gross primary production and net primary production.
6. Compare primary productivity in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems.
7. Explain why energy is said to “flow” rather than cycle within ecosystems. Use the
example of insect caterpillars to illustrate energy flow.
8. Define, compare, and illustrate the concepts of production efficiency and trophic
efficiency.
9. Distinguish between energy pyramids and biomass pyramids. Explain why both
relationships are in the form of pyramids. Explain the special circumstances of inverted
biomass pyramids.
10. Explain why food pyramids usually have only four or five trophic levels
11. Define the pyramid of numbers.
12. Explain why worldwide agriculture could feed more people if all humans consumed only
plant material.
13. Explain the green-world hypothesis. Describe six factors that keep herbivores in
check.
14. Explain why it is difficult to trace elements through biogeochemical cycles.
15. Describe the hydrologic water cycle.
16. Describe the nitrogen cycle and explain the importance of nitrogen fixation to all
living organisms.
17. Describe the phosphorus cycle and explain how phosphorus is recycled locally in most
ecosystems.
18. Explain how decomposition affects the rate of nutrient cycling in ecosystems.
19. Describe the experiments at Hubbard Brook that revealed the key role that plants
play in regulating nutrient cycles.
20. Describe how agricultural practices can interfere with nitrogen cycling.
21. Explain how "cultural eutrophication" can alter freshwater ecosystems.
22. Describe the causes and consequences of acid precipitation.
23. Explain why toxic compounds usually have the greatest effect on top-level
carnivores.
24. Describe how increased atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide could affect
Earth.
Chapter 55 Objectives:
Write a two to four paragraph summary of this chapter after reading it.
PART TWO:
Our first unit covered in class will be Chemistry (Chapters 2-5). We will spend about 10
days on this unit. Some of the information will be review from Sophmore chemistry and
some will be new information. You can pre-read any of the chapters to prepare for the
first weeks of class, but it is not required and you do not need to answer any questions
this summer.
Part II: Organic Chemistry Preparation
Assignment 2: Flashcards (9) of Essential Elements, page 37
(Front) Name of Element and periodic block information
(Back) Draw the electron dot diagram for each of the following elements on the back of
each note card. Include the correct number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in the
correct location
a. Hydrogen
b. Carbon
c. Nitrogen
d. Oxygen
e. Sodium
f. Phosphorous
g. Sulfur
h. Chlorine
i. Potassium
Example: Fluorine
9
F
19 amu
9p+
10n
9eAssignment 3: Fundamental Functional Groups (17) Flashcards
(Front) Name of functional group
(Back) Draw the chemical formula for each of the following functional groups
or monomers.
a. Hydroxyl
b. Ethanol
c. Amino group
d. Carboxyl
e. Carbonyl
f. Aldehyde
g. Ketone
h. Phosphate
i. Methyl
j. Thiol
k. Glucose (alpha and beta)
l. Fructose
m. Saturated fatty acid
n. Unsaturated fatty acid
o. Amino acid
p. Nucleotide
You may use online resources such as Google to find necessary diagrams of elements and
functional groups.