Dear Future AP Biology Student,
Although it is the end of the school year, and not the beginning, I would like to take a moment to
welcome you to next year’s AP Biology class, and help you prepare for this upcoming challenge. AP
Biology involves a lot of hard work, but it can be incredibly rewarding. We have a lot of fascinating
labs planned, and I am looking forward to an exciting year with all of you. Summer assignments:
1. Summer reading: You will be reading one book this summer. It is written at a college-level, but
is engaging and interestingly written.
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Moalem, Sharon. Survival of the Sickest. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.
While the book is very readable and intended for a general audience, I would allow
yourself two weeks of reading 15-20 minutes a day to complete the assignment.
Many students require far less time.
The Mann Media Center has 30 books for Checkout. Also, Amazon has the best
prices on the book.
Your reading guide for this assignment is attached.
Due August 24th, after this date 10 points will be deducted.
2. Photo Scavenger Hunt assignment: For this assignment, you will find and photograph or sketch
15 of the vocabulary words listed on the last page. This will introduce you not only to the
language of biology, but also emphasize that biology is something that’s DONE not just
memorized. The list of vocab words and requirements are attached. I would suggest allowing 5
items per week for 3 weeks during the summer to spread the work out. Photo assignment:
Due August 24.
Assignments may be emailed to me, shared on Google Docs (be sure to SHARE with
hprovost@greenville.k12.sc.us) or printed out and handed in during class.
Students who fail to complete the summer assignments in a satisfactory manner will be counseled
to transfer out of AP Biology. Feel free to contact me as necessary over the summer via email. You
can email me at hprovost@greenville.k12.sc.us. I will try to respond within a week, but will respond
generally sooner.
Have a great summer!
Mrs. Provost
hprovost@greenville.k12.sc.us
Advice From Students Who Have Been Through AP Biology
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While some lab reports can seem daunting at first glance, if you break them down into bitesized chunks you will find them very manageable. They already are split into results, analysis,
and conclusion sections, so tackling each section on its own can make lab reports a breeze.
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The reading assignment from “Survival of the Sickest” was very beneficial though out the whole
school year with helping me understanding key concepts of biology. The topics discussed in the
book were all brought up in class at one point and gave me the advantage in class discussions.
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Listen to Mrs. Provost! If she tells you that you should start on an assignment a week before,
then you should definitely start on it the night you go home.
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One more thing that I must say is, to have fun. This is a class where you get to explore and go
deeper into science. You get to design your own experiments, and work with different
technology. Have fun, and open your mind, so that you can absorb information.
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AP Biology, like many AP courses, covers a lot of material quickly and you must be careful not to
get behind in the class. Missing only a class or two can set you behind in the class easily and you
have to work hard to make up what you missed.
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There are videos online concerning the course material. Watch them a day or two or three
before your quizzes and tests. They’re good, quick reviews. Use your textbook CD-ROM. It has
videos and activity quizzes to help you review the material and see how much you know.
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Study hard. Don’t think that the taking notes in class are enough to pass the test or that studying
a day before the test is a way to successfully get a high score on a quiz.
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Ask for help. Always ask for help even if you kind of get the information given to you because
your understanding of the material is not clear until you fully get the information.
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You should also be aware that just like any other AP classes there is a lot of work and you need
to spend or devote an hour or two to biology every night in order to be successful in this class.
In other words, every school night you should do something biology-related and catch up on the
weekends what you could not do during the week.
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Acting out and modeling really helped me remember a lot of processes. When I think about
photosynthesis and respiration I remember modeling it out with Legos. Word roots from the
beginning of the year were also very important to remember. By just knowing the root of the
word you can possibly guess the definition and function of the word.
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It requires commitment and determination. Once you have decided to take the course, you have
to prepare for the work ahead of you. This especially goes for seniors. Do not expect you can
relax after the first semester. AP Biology does not work well that way.
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When you get a quiz or a test back and it says in big capital letters “SEE ME,” go see Mrs. Provost
as soon as you can and also use the mistakes you made in quizzes to correct yourself before the
test. I GUARANTEE this will help.
How to Survive AP Biology
Before you panic about the amount of work and material in AP Biology, here are a few
things to try. All of these methods have been suggested by students successful in the AP
Biology Course:
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Tape/staple this at the beginning of your notebook!
Stay organized! There will be a LOT of handouts for this course. Keep them in dated
order, secured (not just shoved into your notebook) in folders, and review them
before quizzes/tests.
Extra help: Extra help for the course is available from Mrs. Provost most mornings
and one afternoon a week.
Do your reading guides! These guides are linked to each unit. Rather than filling out
the diagrams by copying from the book, fill them out from memory and correct them
using the book.
Use 5 Steps to a Five, or other review book, throughout the year! (Make sure your
edition is after 2013 because the standards have changed since then.) The book has
great review questions, summaries, etc. and will help you focus on what’s important.
Use the CDROM that comes with the Campbell textbook – it has got HUNDREDS of
videos/quizzes/etc. If you don’t have a CD drive on your computer, talk with Mrs.
Provost.
Use the following video resources – many of these use YouTube, so will have to
accessed via a non-school site:
o Bozeman Biology – GREAT video reviews of specific topics in biology.
 http://www.youtube.com/user/bozemanbiology#g/u
o Khan Academy – GREAT video reviews of specific topics in biology. The
biology section is the equivalent of AP Biology.
 http://www.khanacademy.org/#biology
o OpenStax offers a FREE comprehensive online textbook including quizzes
and animations.
 http://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/biology
 http://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/biology/resources
Review the homework questions. Questions similar to homework and review
questions will appear on tests/quizzes.
Many students choose to buy additional review books and/or flashcards. Make sure
any review book you buy is for the course revision.
Summer Reading Assignment
First MAJOR Grade of the Year!
Due August 24
Assignment Information
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Include your name and title of the assignment as your heading at the top.
Your responses must be typed (12 font) and answers clearly labeled and numbered for
each chapter.
Use good grammar and spelling while being clear and concise. Your answers should be in
your own words even if the page is referenced. (Do NOT copy word for word from the
book!)
You need to start talking and writing like a biologist. By this I mean your answers need to
use appropriate biological terms and demonstrate thorough understanding of the key
concepts. Incomplete sentences, answers of a single sentence or a few words, answers that
just skim the surface WILL NOT WORK FOR THIS COURSE!
Another key skill you will need to develop in your writing in science is how to use evidence
to support what you claim. In science your opinion holds very little weight, you must
provide evidence to support whatever claim you make in response to a question. For this
assignment you must provide evidence from the book to support your responses to the
questions. This does not mean copy something from the book word for word. What I would
like you to do is whenever you cite specific evidence or facts from the book, that you did not
already know, I want you to reference the page number from where you pulled that
information in parentheses. For example, I might make the following claim from the book
and reference the page as follows;
In the 1300s people with hemochromatosis were more likely to survive and reproduce because of their
iron-starved macrophages. This means people with the mutation for hemochromatosis were more likely to
pass on the defective gene to their children. So generation after generation, more and more people had
the gene for hemochromatosis and possibly explains how the plague died out by 1350. (p. 15)
Notice I did NOT copy word for word, but paraphrased it and put it in my own words.
Survival of the Sickest
Introduction
1. What is the “big” question the book will attempt to answer?
Chapter I
2. “What does not kill us, makes us stronger.” From an evolutionary standpoint, explain what this
statement means.
3. Describe two examples from chapter one that either support or refute the statement.
Chapter II
4. Describe the body’s “arsenal of natural defenses” against cold.
5. Explain the authors view as to how diabetes came into the human population.
6. In Chapters I and II several inherited disorders were discussed. Create and complete a chart
with the following information: Disease/Disorder, Symptoms, Evolutionary Advantage.
Chapter III
7. Why do we need Vitamin D? Cholesterol? Folic acid?
8. Briefly describe the connection between the two concepts:
a. tanning beds; birth defects
b. sunglasses; sunburn
c. hypertension; slave trade
d. body hair; malaria
9. Explain the good and the bad of ApoE4.
Chapter IV
10. Briefly describe the connection between the two concepts:
a. Capsaisin; birds and mammals
b. Malaria; air conditioning
c. Favism; fava beans
11. Explain the following statement found on page 87: “Life is such a compromise.” Describe two
examples from chapter one that either support or refute the statement.
Chapter V: “Of Microbes and Men”
12. Complete Parasite Chart (Go to end of assignment.)
13. What is our advantage in the survive-and -produce race? Provide evidence from the book that
supports this idea.
Chapter VI: “Jump Into the Gene Pool”
14. Make connections between the following terms:
a. transposons; viruses; evolution
b. sunspots; flu epidemics
15. Humans have about 25,000 genes and more than a million different antibodies. How is this
possible?
16. What is a persisting virus?
Chapter VII: “Methyl Madness”
17. Epigenesis may be partially responsible for the childhood epidemic of obesity.
Explain and use evidence from the book.
18. “Good times mean more boys. Tough times mean more girls.” Explain.
Chapter VIII: “That’s Life: Why You and Your iPod Must Die”
19. Make connections between the following terms:
a) Hayflick limit; telomeres
b) Cancer cells; stem cells
c) Size; life expectancy
20. Explain the author’s iPod and aging analogy.
21. Identify the 5 lines of cancer defense.
22. Compare and contrast the Savanna and aquatic ape hypotheses.
Conclusion
The author hopes that you will come away from this book with an appreciation of three things:
a) Life is in a constant state of creation
b) Nothing in our world exists in isolation
c) Our relationship with disease is more complex than we may have previously realized.
23. “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” How does the book, Survival
of the Sickest, support this quote by Theodosius Dobzhansky, a noted evolutionary biologist?
Due August 24
Biological Scavenger Hunt
Your assignment is to catalogue 15 of the biological items on the following list during the summer.
Your quiz grade will be the point value of the items you collect.
To prove that you’ve seen the items, you must submit:
 A photograph of the object with a picture of you or your thumb by it; or
 A newspaper or magazine article that has that object as its primary subject; or
 An internet article/image of the organism (limited to 3 submissions maximum); or
 A sketch of that object if you do not have a camera, though this needs to be cleared with me in
advance.
 Every organism submitted must be labeled with the properly formatted scientific name
and the location of the organism.
o For example, a dog at SWW would be labeled as Canis familiaris; 2130 G Street NW,
Washington, DC.
o A properly formatted scientific name includes:
 Genus – first and capitalized
 Species – second and lower case
 Italics
 It is NOT the common name simply italicized.
 You also need to include a sentence or two explaining how that item fits a given term.
For instance, if you have a dog, which is “warm-blooded,” this would fit term
“endotherm.”
 Newspaper and magazine articles must include a correct MLA citation for the article and the
article must have been written during the summer (June to August 2015).
 Never touch plants or animals with exposed fingers. Avoid touching the organisms but if you
must, use gloves and/or forceps. Remember, we don't want to deplete the environment.
Don’t kill organisms. Organisms should be photographed or drawn in their native habitat.
 Some places to begin: The Greenville Zoo, Falls Park, Cleveland Park, your neighborhood, the
supermarket, the farmers market, etc.
 For help with scientific names: http://www.itis.gov/
 For help with locations: GOOGLE MAPS! http://www.google.com/maps
 If you need help identifying/classifying organisms, please shoot me an email.
Submit it as a packet of drawings, photos, articles, etc., with a TABLE OF CONTENTS indicating
which term each item fulfills and the NUMBER of the item.
Specimen List: Below are the items you are to collect as photos. An individual organism can only
be used once. Humans are acceptable for one category only. You may use internet-based images for
no more than 3 of these items. MLA citation is required for these images.
Grade breakdown:
2 points for each specimen,
1 point for each formatted scientific name,
1 point for location, and
2 points for description = 90 points + 10 points for turning in on time = 100 points
List of Terms for PhotoScavenger Hunt
1. adaptation of an animal
2. adaptation of a plant
3. amniotic egg
4. angiosperm
5. animal that has a
segmented body
6. annelid
7. anther & filament of
stamen
8. arthropod
9. archaebacteria
10. autotroph
11. auxin producing area of
a plant
12. Batesian mimicry
13. bryophyte
14. C4 plant
15. cambium
16. chitin
17. cnidarian
18. coelomate
19. conifer leaf
20. commensalism
21. deciduous leaf
22. deuterostome
23. dicot plant with flower
& leaf
24. echinoderm
25. ectotherm
26. endosperm
27. endotherm
28. epithelial tissue
29. eukaryote
30. exoskeleton
31. fermentation
32. flower ovary
33. gametophyte
34. gastropod
35. genetically modified
organism
36. gymnosperm cone
37. haploid chromosome
number
38. K-strategist
39. leaf - gymnosperm
40. lepidoptera
41. lichen
42. littoral zone organism
43. meristem
44. modified leaf of a plant
45. modified root of a plant
46. modified stem of a plant
47. monocot plant with
flower & leaf
48. muscle fiber - striated
49. mutualism
50. mycelium
51. mycorrhizae
52. myosin
53. nematode
54. niche
55. nymph stage of an
insect
56. parasite
57. parenchyma cells
58. phloem
59. platyhelminthes
60. pollen
61. pollinator
62. porifera
63. prokaryote
64. protostome
65. pteridophyte
66. r-strategist
67. radial symmetry
68. rhizome
69. scale from animal with
two-chambered heart
70. spore
71. sporophyte
72. stem - herbaceous
73. stem - woody
74. stigma & style of carpel
75. tendril of a plant
76. unicellular organism
77. xerophyte
78. xylem
79. ecological succession
80. keystone species