1. Miller Urey experiment (30 minutes)
I. Read about Miller and Urey’s experiment at this website:
http://www.chem.duke.edu/~jds/cruise_chem/Exobiology/miller.html
II. Then go to this website: http://www.ucsd.tv/miller-urey/ and do their experiment.
When you do the experiment, first vacuum out the chamber, then add the gases that you want to add, then add the boiling
water, then spark it. Try as many times as it takes to make the experiment work. Try other combinations of gases to see if
they work. Write a paragraph (4-6 sentences) on why your different experiments worked or didn’t work. If you have
RealPlayer, watch the video with Miller. It is pretty cool to see a real pioneer of science explain his ground breaking
scientific discovery!
2. Article (2 hours 20 minutes)
http://jeb.biologists.org/content/213/6/855.full.pdf
Article: Global Warming and the Arctic: a new world beyond the reach of the Grinnellian niche?
To help understand this article you will need to become familiar with the following terms:
Physiological responses
Morphological responses
Arctic amplification
Insolation
Boreal forest
high latitudes
Grinnellian niche
positive feedback
extant species
tundra
climactic envelope
albedo
ecotone
Please spend 20 minutes studying these terms and reading about them. DON’T spend more than that amount of time as it is not
needed. Take notes as needed to make sure you have a reasonable feel. The highlighted ones should be done first.
Read the questions below and then the article. Answer the questions to the best of your ability. Concentrate on quality over volume
of writing. Spend no more than 2 hours on this assignment of reading and answering. I want to see that you were thoughtful and
careful, but 100% is not needed if it means going over the 2 hours. Try to balance the reading, thinking, and writing time to be
relatively equal. Read 40 min, think 40 min, write 40 min. Again, it will be about showing a clear understanding or the best you can
muster, and NOT about volume of writing. Most of these can be answered with one or possibly two clear sentences.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
What areas of the world are most likely to have the most significant warming in the next century?
For the area that is most effected (question 1), what are two appreciable changes that are likely to occur?
What point is Figure 1 attempting to illustrate?
In degrees F, what change in temperature has been observed in the most Northern parts of Alaska since 1958? (F = 9/5C +
32)
In terms of percent change (new-old)/ old x 100, what is the percent change for the tundra coverage and northern ice
coverage anticipated over the next 85 years as illustrated by Figure 2.
How is the albedo expected to change over the next 85 years in Greenland, and how will this be part of a positive feedback
loop?
Why is the Grinnellian niche idea of a climatic envelope not going to work necessarily in the future as climatic change
occurs?
Since the past has no data to represent the type of change we expect to see in the next 100 years, what must we do to gather
data to make conclusions?
How long since the last ice age?
What is the difference in degrees C in Greenland, since the last ice age?
What is the range of carbon dioxide in ppm (parts per million) between the ice ages and interglacial times as we live in
today?
In the last 650,000 years what is the highest level of Carbon Dioxide?
What is it today in ppm?
What is expected by year 2100 in ppm?
Considering the predictions of Figure 3, how will temperature be effected on land vs ocean? Why might this be?
According to Figure 4, what percent change is expected on the Northern slopes in terms of vertical growth?
What factor may limit Northern Expansion of Boreal forest due to climate change?
What is the purpose of Figure 5?
Using Figure 7, what is the potential impact of climate change on crowberry, ligonberry, and bilberry as a group? Why might
that be important?
In the graphs for 4,5, and 7, what is the T shaped line on top of the bar representing? Why does it help us interpret data?
3. Words to know before starting AP Biology: (1.5 hours)
In the past students have suggested that vocabulary is the biggest challenge. Your summer assignment is to know the following definitions as given
below. You will be given a paraphrased version of the definition and you should be able to give the word being defined. I will give a quiz on the
second day of class on 20 of the words. These will be randomly chosen. Any student who does not earn at least an 85% on the quiz will be required
to come in at lunch to study and then retake the quiz to earn an 85 before moving on. It is important that we don’t have students starting in a hole.
Good Luck.
Alternation of generations: The life cycle of a plant that includes both a multicellular haploid form and a multicellular diploid form.
Amino Acids: The 20 molecules that are held together by peptide bonds to make up proteins.
Amniotic egg: The hard shelled egg that allows reptiles and birds to have internal fertilization, but not have to have the organism created form inside
the mother.
Antibodies: Proteins made by the B cells that immobilize antigens.
Anticodon: The three nucleotide combination on the transfer RNA that matches up with the three letter combination on the messenger RNA.
ATP: A high energy molecule that can be split apart to release energy for many different processes in living things.
Buffer: A chemical that can release or absorb hydrogen ions depending on the conditions and therefore can maintain the pH of a solution at a
constant level.
Cell Cycle: The continuous series of events that all somatic cells go through that includes mitosis, cytokinesis, and interphase.
Cholesterol: The steroid embedded in the cell membrane that keeps the membrane fluid and strong.
Chlorophyll: The steroid pigment that absorbs red and blue light for photosynthesis.
Chromatin: The unwound form of DNA that is accessible for making RNA.
Controlled variables: The many characteristics of the experimental group and control group which are held constant.
Control group: The group of specimens that are placed in the “normal” conditions for comparison to the experimental group to determine if there
was an effect based on the independent variable.
Covalent bond: An intramolecular bond where atoms are sharing electrons equally.
Cytokinesis: After mitosis or meiosis it is the “splitting” of the cytoplasm to form two or four new cells each with its own nucleus.
Dehydration synthesis: The type of reaction that links together monomers to make polymers and release water in the process.
Dependent variable: The resulting data from the experiment that should be quantitative so it can be analyzed with statistics.
Diploid: Cells that have two copies of each kind of chromosome.
Endosymbiosis: The theory that eukaryotic cells arose from prokaryotic cells that lived closely together to the point that we now call these former
cells “mitochondria” and “chloroplasts”.
Estuary: The biome created when freshwater mixes with salt water to form brackish water that is one of the most productive areas on Earth.
Enzyme: An organic catalyst that lowers the activation energy of chemical reactions in organisms thus increasing the rate of reaction.
Eukaryotic cell: A cell with a nucleus and membrane bound organelles.
Fruit: The ripened ovary of a plant.
Gene: The section of DNA that is responsible for the production of one polypeptide.
Genome: The entire complement of chromosomes in an individual.
Glycerol: The three carbon backbone molecule of the triglycerides.
Glycogen: The polysaccharide that is how animals store glucose in their liver.
Hydrogen bond: The weak intermolecular bond that forms between water molecules that causes them to “stick” to each other.
Hypothesis: A testable explanation for a question that is often written in if… then… form.
Independent variable: The one difference between the experimental group and the control group.
Insulin: The hormone that lowers blood sugar by having it stored as glycogen in the liver and increasing cellular uptake.
Logistic: The type of population growth where the population has reached the carrying capacity and stays at a relatively constant level as indicated
by a S curve.
Meiosis: The type of nuclear division that leads to four nuclei with a haploid complement of chromosomes produced from one diploid nucleus.
Mitosis: The type of nuclear division that leads to two nuclei with the entire diploid complement of chromosomes.
Natural selection: The theory that states explains how a population changes over time to reflect the individuals who are most successful.
Nucleotides: The monomer subunit that links together along the sugar phosphate backbone to form nucleic acids (DNA/RNA).
Polar bond: A bond where the atoms are sharing electrons unequally creating small negative and positive charges on the atoms.
Quantitative: Data that is measured to produce numbers and units.
Replication: The duplication of the DNA during the middle “s phase” of interphase during the cell cycle.
Ribosome: The part of the cell responsible for dehydration synthesis of proteins using the mRNA template.
RNA polymerase: The enzyme that makes RNA from DNA.
Species: A group of similar looking organisms that can reproduce to make fertile offspring.
Stomata: The small openings on the underside of leaves that allow for carbon dioxide to come in and oxygen to escape.
Symbiosis: A long term relationship between organisms of two different species where at least one of the organisms benefits.
Transcription: The making of RNA from DNA.
Translation: The process of making proteins from the mRNA template.
Transpiration: The evaporation of water from the stomata of a leaf that allows water to be pulled up a stem.
Uterus: The place where the blastocyst implants and grows in a human female.
Zygote: The fertilized egg.