Contact: bsullivan@madison-schools.com

You see, science is constantly changing. We find more information every day; from medical to astronomical  to geological to environment, there is always something new!

I hold a PhD in Science Education/Biology from the University of Southern Mississippi. I am certified to teach most of the sciences. (Like I said, it doesn't matter what science, I love science!) I teach Advanced              Placement Biology, Biomedical Research and Chemistry at MCHS. Each class is unique and takes effort, but  as one of my students, I will do my best to help you master the material for the course in which you are       enrolled. 

However, this doesn't mean that you will have an easy A. You are required to put forth effort. 

I look forward to working with you this school year.

Summer Assignment:
AP Biology

2018 AP Biology Summer Assignment

Thank you for joining my class! This will be a busy year for us. This summer assignment will get you going. AP Biology is all about living systems. This includes everything from the molecules inside cells, to the workings of human body systems to the interactions in ecosystems. In the course, everything we learn will be connected to one of four themes of biology: evolution, energy use, information, and interactions.

This full year course is designed to cover the same material as a two semester college level course. The class is a flipped classroom, where you will have assignments in advance to prepare for the next lesson. In order to be successful you will need to put in a lot of time and effort. This class is not about simply memorizing information, but you will be asked to think critically, read, write well, do math (eek!) and formulate your own ideas about the living world. To do well in the class, you need to ask lots of questions and think about what you are learning.

Laboratory exercises will be an integral part of the course. You will complete the written lab assignments and then develop an inquiry component for the lab and test it. What does that mean? You will change the variables of the written experiment and run it again. This inquiry part of each lab will be written in a lab report. We will discuss lab reports during class.

Now for the summer assignments (yes, there are 2):

Part 1: Reading

Evolution is a major theme throughout biology. Evolution, by definition, is modification through descent. This will be embedded in all lessons, especially our genetics units.

Requirements:

• a single-subject, spiral notebook or composition book to be your reading journal. Number the pages in the upper, outer corner of the journal.
• Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin

1^st page: Your name, book title, author of book

2^nd page: table of contents

3^rd page: your thoughts about evolution. I am asking for your ideas before reading the book. Don’t worry. This is your ideas and cannot be counted as wrong.

Each chapter should have its own page(s). Do not put the questions from 2 chapters on the same page. Each chapter should be marked within the table of contents. All work must be handwritten. Write each question and underline it. Then follow up with your answer using complete sentences. Also include images (rough sketches) of one thing from each chapter.

As you read each chapter of Your Inner Fish, answer following questions:

Chapter 1: Finding your Inner Fish

1. What types of rocks are likely to contain the fossil the author is looking for?
2. What was special about tiktaalik?
3. How is tiktaalik like us?

Chapter 2: Getting a Grip

1. How did the theory of evolution by natural selection (Charles Darwin’s) explain the similarities observed by Richard Owen?
2. What did tiktaalik’s fins tell us about its lifestyle?

Chapter 3: Handy Genes

1. Describe the experiments done on chick embryos in the 1950’s and 1960’s that showed how the pattern of development was controlled by two specific spots of tissue.
2. What is the significance of the hedgehog gene? Sonic hedgehog gene?

Chapter 4: Teeth Everywhere

1. Why do teeth make great fossils?
2. What are conodonts? How are conodonts connected to us?
3. What is the connection between scales, feathers, breasts and teeth?

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

1. What is strange about the trigeminal and facial nerves in humans?
2. What structures in humans form from the four embryonic (gill) arches?
3. What are HOX genes?
4. What is so important about amphioxus?

Chapter 6: The Best Laid (Body) Plans

1. What are the three germ layers in animals and what organs develop from each?
2. What is a blastocyst?
3. What is the Noggin gene?
4. Even though sea anemone and humans are very different, explain why we can say they have similar body plans.

Chapter 7: Adventures in Bodybuilding

1. What is the most common protein in the human body?
2. How do cells stick to each other? Give a specific example.
3. Explain how cells communicate with each other.
4. What environmental conditions would have favored the evolution of “bodies”?

Chapter 8: Making Scents

1. How do we perceive a smell?
2. Why do mammals have so many odor genes compared to fish?

Chapter 9: Vision

1. Why do humans and old world monkeys have such similar vision?
2. Where do we find the Pax 6 gene and what does it do?

Chapter 10: Ears

1. What part of the ear is unique to mammals?
2. What evidence is there to suggest that the parts of mammal’s ears are actually the parts of the jaws of reptiles?
3. Explain the function of the Pax 2 gene.

Chapter 11: The Meaning of it All

1. What is Neil Shubin’s biological “law of everything”?
2. There are many examples of human diseases that are the result of our complex evolutionary history.

Video component of the reading journal:

There has been a series of videos based on this book. Follow this link to watch the first episode in this series.

https://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/episode-1-your-inner-fish

Why was this ancestral fish found in the artic region? What was its original habitat? Describe this habitat.

Choose two ailments from those below and explain how our evolutionary heritage “gave” us this problem. Research these on the internet. Be sure to create a resource page that identifies the sites you used to gather information. Please know that wiki, about, or other sites are not valid sources of information.

Obesity Hernias

Heart Disease

Type 2 Diabetes

Hemorrhoids

Sleep Apnea

High blood pressure

Varicose veins

Hiccups

Choking

Final part of the reading journal: Now that you’ve read this book and watched a video, respond to this final question:

What are your views on evolution? Again, there is no incorrect response to this – as long as you have a response!

This completes Part 1.

Part 2:

Pictorial Scavenger Hunt

In this part of the assignment you are to take original images with your device. Emphasis on the ORIGINAL. To prove originality, you must either 1) be in the photo or 2) have your ID/License in the photo. Taking a picture of an image on your computer screen or a book doesn’t count!

This is due the first week of school.

Natural items only! Some specimens may be used for more than one item, but all must be from something that you have found in nature. If you use an image more than once, then you have to make a copy of the picture to fit that term. One term = one image.

Where should you look for these images? OUTSIDE! Most can be found around your house, but there are many lovely local parks as well as state and federal parks that you can visit. Do you have to be in the state to do this? No. Where ever you travel during the summer you can work on this assignment. I would love to see images of your travels.

Create a power point (Microsoft), keynote (Apple), or Prezi using your images. You may also use google slides or open office.

Instructions:

The opening slide of this project must be the “coversheet” that will include your name, grade level, and an image of yourself outside.

Create one slide for each term. You will select 50 terms from the list below. For each term you will take a photo that connects to that image. Some of these will be difficult. For example, if you chose the term phloem, you could submit an image  you have taken of a leaf or plant stem. For each image and term, you must provide on the slide an explanation how the image represents the term.

Recap: 51 slides total

Slide 1: your cover page

Slides 2-51: term, image, explanation per slide

You will have to do some research on terms with which you are unfamiliar. You have a computer. Use it!

Terms are on the next page

Email me if you have questions. Also, as soon as you finish the project email it to me as a pdf. That way it won’t change from your vision of the project. If you are doing this as a Prezi or other online media, send me a link with the final product.

1. Adaptation of an animal
2. Adaptation of a plant
3. Adaptive radiation
4. Allopatric Speciation
5. ATP
6. Amylase
7. Amino Acids
8. Animal that has a segmented body
9. Active Transport
10. Anther & filament of stamen
11. Aquaporins
12. Archaebacteria
13. Autotroph
14. Auxin producing area of a plant
15. Biodiversity
16. Batesian mimicry
17. Bee Waggle Dance
18. Cells
19. C 4 plant
20. Calvin cycle
21. Carbohydrate – fibrous
22. Carrying Capacity
23. Cellulose
24. Chitin
25. Chloroplast
26. Cell cycle
27. Cell Division
28. Chromosome
29. Commensalism
30. Connective tissue
31. Cuticle layer of a plant
32. Dominant/recessive
33. Diffusion
34. Dicot plant with flower & leaf
35. Diploid chromosome number
36. Echinoderm
37. Ectotherm
38. Endosperm
39. Endotherm
40. Enzyme
41. Epithelial tissue
42. Ethylene
43. Eubacteria
44. Eukaryote
45. Exoskeleton
46. Food Chain
47. Fermentation
48. Fossils
49. Glands
50. Greenhouse Effect
51. Genetic Variation
52. Genetic Diversity
53. Genetically modified organism
54. Gibberellins
55. Glycogen
56. Genotype
57. Haploid chromosome number
58. Homeostasis
59. Hermaphrodite
60. Insect
61. K-strategist
62. Keratin
63. Keystone Species
64. Leaf – gymnosperm
65. Lichen
66. Lignin
67. Lipid used for energy storage
68. Littoral zone organism
69. Long-day plant
70. Lac Operon
71. Modified leaf of a plant
72. Modified root of a plant
73. Modified stem of a plant
74. Mitochondria
75. Monocot plant with flower & leaf
76. Mutualism
77. Migration
78. Mitosis or Meiosis
79. Myosin
80. Mutation
81. Niche
82. Nymph stage of an insect
83. Parasite
84. Parenchyma cells
85. Phloem
86. Phenotype
87. Populations
88. Pollen
89. Photosynthesis
90. Phospholipids
91. Prokaryote
92. Protein – fibrous
93. Protein – globular
94. Predator - Prey
95. Positive Feedback Loop
96. Phototropism
97. R-strategist
98. Radial symmetry
99. Scale from animal with two chambered heart
100. Spore
101. Symbiosis
102. Stem – herbaceous
103. Stem – woody
104. Succession
105. Sympatric Speciation
106. Immune System
107. Unicellular organism
108. Vascular plant tissue
109. Virus
110. Xerophyte
111. Xylem
112. Zygote