AP Biology Summer Assignment

Welcome to AP Biology! This course is designed to be the equivalent of a two‐semester introductory

biology course usually taken in the first year of college. In other words, it’s a little like drinking from a
fire hose. It will be a rewarding experience, but as with most things that are, it will also be
challenging. Throughout the course, you will become familiar with major recurring ideas that persist
throughout all topics and material.

The 4 Big Ideas of AP Biology

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.

On the pages that follow, you’ll find detailed instructions of the two assignments that comprise your
summer work for AP Biology. The first assignment is a chemistry review of some of the main
concepts that you will need as we work through AP Biology. The second part deals with collecting,
through photography, examples of biological terms or concepts and creating a photo blog of your
collection.
Your chemistry review is due on the 3rd day of AP Biology and your photo blog will be due on
the 2 day. Both will be averaged together and counted as a test grade for 1 st quarter. No late
nd

summer assignments will be accepted!

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 Assignment #1 - Chemistry Review – due 3rd day of AP Biology

Name _______________________________ Date ________ Period ________

Make sure to cite your sources used on bottom of the last page of this Chemistry
review in APA format.

KEY TERMS:

Matter

Inorganic

Atom

Element

Atomic nucleus

Proton

Neutron

Atomic number

2
Mass number (=atomic weight)

Isotope

Electron

Valence electrons

Orbital

Octet rule

Half-life

Radioactive tracer

Ion

Dissociation

3
Ionic bond

Valence

Ionization

Molecule

Molecular formula

Structural formula

Compound

Acid

Base

Hydrogen ion

4
Hydroxide ion

PH

Buffer

Nonpolar covalent bond

Polar covalent bond

Ionic bond

Anion

Cation

Hydrogen bond

Hydrophobic

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Hydrophobic interactions

Hydration

Hydrophilic

Bound water

Surface tension

Capillarity (=capillary action)

Specific heat

Freezing point of water

Heat of vaporization

Solvent

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Solute

Aqueous solution

QUESTIONS

1. Describe atomic structure using the terms proton, neutron,

electron, mass number and orbital. Indicate what is meant by
electrons in an "excited state" and those in a "ground state"

2. Explain what an isotope is and give two important physical

properties of isotopes that make them useful in biological research.
Define half-life.

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3. Using diagrams, explain what an ion is, and how it forms.
Describe an ionic bond.

4. Explain what is meant by pH. Give the name of materials that

resist a change in pH.

5. Describe a covalent bond and tell how it differs from an ionic

bond. Relate the structure of an atom to its chemical properties
and to the type of chemical bond it forms.

6. Explain the important role of weak chemical bonds in the

organization of living things.

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7. Describe the special physical properties of water. Draw two
water molecules in a way that illustrates a hydrogen bond, explain
why water is a good solvent, and show the basis for the high
surface tension of water.

How do the unique chemical and physical properties of water make

life on earth possible?

8. Indicate why oxygen and carbon dioxide are basic to life, and
name the principle source of each of these molecules.

9. How do mixtures, compounds, and molecules differ from each

other?

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10. What is the difference between a polar and nonpolar covalent
bond?

11. What properties of water make it an essential component of

living material?

12. Why are buffers important to living things? Explain how a

buffer system works.

13. Explain why isotopes are important in biochemical research?

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