AP BIOLOGY
Dear Prospective AP Biology Student,
Welcome to AP Biology! This is an honors level course offered to meet the needs of our more able students. The
text, labs, demos and other materials are selected from those presently in use at our nation’s top colleges and
universities.
AP Biology is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester college biology course usually taken by biology
majors during their freshman year. At Phoenix Christian High School AP Biology is an elective science course for
students who are highly motivated and have a strong interest in biology and medicine. Major topics of study
include biochemistry, cells, cellular energetics, genetics, evolution/creation, classification, organism
structure/function, and ecology. As in a college biology course, the AP Biology course is designed to have both a
lecture and a lab component. Labs conducted by AP Biology students are the equivalent of those experienced by
college biology students. At the completion of this course, students are expected to take the College Board’s
scheduled AP Biology exam in May. Some students may earn college credit if they achieve high enough marks on
this exam. You are not required to take the AP Exam, but if you do not, it will not be tagged as AP on your
transcript. To assist students in their preparation for this test, the format of the assessments used throughout this
course are similar to the AP Biology exam’s assessments.
This course is fast-paced, intensive, and requires more at-home study time than the standard college-prep courses.
The class is a yearlong biology course for high school students. Emphasis is directed towards topics covered during
a first year college biology course for science majors.
The goal of this course is for students to understand biology to the extent that they are able to pass the AP Biology
exam given each May. Students enrolled in AP Biology are strongly urged to take the AP Exam. Students passing
the exam are often given biology credit upon entering college.
Materials and Textbook: The book for this course is Campbell’s, Biology, 9th edition. Teacher made questions
will accompany each unit of study. Students are required to have a 3-ring notebook for these notes and handouts.
A separate notebook is also required for the lab. I will go over this with you the first class day. There are 12
required labs that will be the source of some of the questions on the AP exam and are an essential part of the
course. Along with the 12 required labs, students will perform other teacher generated labs and projects that will
serve to enforce biological concepts.
On the second week of class this coming fall, you will be given an exam on the first 4 chapters.
I check my school email regularly, so if you have questions be sure that the subject says “AP Biology” so I will
know it deals with this class. I strongly encourage you to get in the practice of visiting my website that has been set
up for all of my classes, http://www.wolfesscience.com. On the site I will be posting information throughout the
summer and school year, useful information that you will need to be successful in this class. You will find
information for the material that you are covering over the summer and should view it and take notes on the
material from the chapters.
I know you have worked hard this year and deserve a break. Do keep up with the summer reading though. It will
make your school year considerable less stressful. See you in the fall. Feel free to email me over the summer if
you have any questions or concerns.
J. Wolfe
A.P. Biology Teacher
jimwolfe@phoenixchristian.org
AP BIOLOGY
SUMMER ASSINGMENT 2014
This assignment will help to prepare you for AP biology next year by introducing some of the important chemical
concepts you will need to know as well as some introduction into biological world.
Your summer assignment is to read the first two chapters and answer the assigned problems. This is a hand written
assignment done in black ink only. Typed work will not be accepted. Use a separate sheet of clean lined paper per
chapter and write only on one side. Be sure to clearly label each sheet of paper as to what chapter it is and what
page it is. Be sure to number each question. Leave a space between the end of one question and the beginning of
the next question. Complete the review after you have finished the work in the book. Staple all your work together
in the correct order.
*Though not required, I’d strongly recommend that you take additional notes in a separate notebook (writing down
anything you need clarified on the first days of class) on each of the chapters and try the Self-Quiz problems at the
end of each section.
Please complete this entire assignment. Your work will be collected on the first day of class. I will not accept this
packet for a grade after that date. All questions for each chapter must be completed. You will not receive any
credit on any chapter in which all questions are not answered. This is considered incomplete work which is not
acceptable at this level. You do not want to start off the year with a 0 on your first assignment. The first days of
school we will spend discussing and reviewing the topics in the first 2 chapters and preparing for the exam at the
next class meeting as well as setting up for lab work. Lab procedures and information will be posted on my
website.
There will be an exam the second day we meet of school covering these 2 chapters.
Text: Campbell Biology , 9th edition. (High School edition). Author: Neil Campbell, Jane B. Reece. Publisher:
Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Comp. Inc.
You will cover the first 2 chapters during the summer. You should read each chapter and take notes on the
material. I suggest you use the chapter review at the end of each chapter to help you. Answer keys are found in
Appendix A.
You must answer and turn in the following Questions per Chapter and write a definition for each of the key
terms listed. Hand written in black ink only and on one side of the paper only.
CHAPTER 1: Introduction, Themes in the Study of Life.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Diagram the hierarchy of structural levels in biology.
Explain how the properties of life emerge from complex organization.
Describe seven emergent properties associated with life.
Distinguish between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
Explain, in your own words, what is meant by “form fits function”
List and distinguish among the five kingdoms of life.
Briefly describe how Charles Darwin’s ideas contributed to the conceptual framework of biology.
Outline the scientific method.
Distinguish between inductive and deductive reasoning.
Explain how science and technology are interdependent.
Key Terms: population, community, ecosystem, biome, hypothesis, control group, variable, experimental
group.
CHAPTER 2: The Chemical Context of Life
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
State four elements essential to life that make up 96% of living matter.
Describe the structure of an atom.
Distinguish among atomic number, mass number, atomic weight and valence.
Explain why radioisotopes are important to biologists.
Explain the octet rule.
Explain why the noble gases are so unreactive.
Distinguish among nonpolar covalent, polar covalent and ionic bonds.
Describe the formation of a hydrogen bond and explain how it differs from a covalent or ionic bond.
Sketch a water molecule, showing oxygen’s electron shells and the covalently shared electrons. Indicate
the areas with slight negative and positive charges that enable a water molecule to form hydrogen bonds
with other polar molecules.
20. Explain why weak bonds are important to living organisms.
21. Fill in the missing coefficients for respiration, the conversion of glucose and oxygen to carbon dioxide and
water, so that all atoms are conserved in the chemical reaction.
C6H12O6 + _____O2
_____CO2 + _____ H20
22. Describe the chemical conditions on early Earth and explain how they are different from today.
Key Terms: element, compound, atom, proton, neutron, electron, hydrogen bond, molecule, ion, cation,
anion, isotope, half life.