AP Biology
Summer Assignment 2015
This summer you will choose one of the following books to read: Your Inner Fish, by Neil Shubin, Survival of the Sickest,
by Dr. Sharon Moalem, or The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot.
The AP Biology curriculum has gone through a complete overhaul. In the past, the course was framed around 8 themes.
Starting in 2012-2013, the course is now focused around 4 Big Ideas:
Big Idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
Big Idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain
dynamic homeostasis.
Big Idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.
Big Idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.
Within each Big Idea are several Enduring Understandings which are delineated further into numerous Essential
Knowledge concepts. The new organization of the curriculum provides students explicit benchmarks in the
understanding of biology as a systematic science. All three books address the 4 Big Ideas in a personal and intriguing
nonfiction platform.
NAME __________________________________ DATE _________________ PER _____
AP BIOLOGY SUMMER ASSIGNMENT:
Part 1 of 2
1. Pick either Your Inner Fish, Survival of the Sickest, or The Immortal Life to read.
2. Choose passages from the book that demonstrate TWO (2) different Enduring Understandings per Big Ideas. Since
there are 4 Big Ideas, you must choose 8 different passages (2/Big Idea) for 8 different Enduring Understandings. Please
see the charts below for an explanation of the 4 Big Ideas, 17 Enduring Understandings, and 55 Essential Knowledges.
3. Explain how each passage relates to the Enduring Understandings and the Big Ideas.
4. Upon return to school you will complete an in class on-demand essay using your book and the work completed in this
packet. Pages 2-6 will also be collected for a grade.
Please write your answers in the pages provided.
PART 2 OF 2
The chemistry covered in this course, according to the College Board, is now considered prior knowledge. You are
strongly encouraged to read the first 3 chapters of the Campbell textbook and complete the reading guides for chapters
1-3 to support your review of chemistry. There will be a biochemistry quiz covering the first 3 chapters of our textbook
the first week in class. It may consist of multiple choice questions along with several free response questions from past
AP Biology exams.
Big Idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
Passage 1:
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Enduring Understanding (Number and Letter): ______
Explanation:
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Passage 2:
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Enduring Understanding (Number and Letter): ______
Explanation
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Big Idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce,
and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
Passage 1:
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Enduring Understanding (Number and Letter): ______
Explanation
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Passage 2
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Enduring Understanding (Number and Letter): ______
Explanation
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Big Idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information
essential to life processes
Passage 1:
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Enduring Understanding (Number and Letter): ______
Explanation:
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Passage 2:
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Enduring Understanding (Number and Letter): ______
Explanation:
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Big Idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.
Passage 1:
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Enduring Understanding (Number and Letter): ______
Explanation:
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Passage 2:
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Enduring Understanding (Number and Letter): ______
Explanation
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