Chs Ap Biology Summer Assignment 2010
CHS AP BIOLOGY SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 2016
Welcome to AP Biology at Conestoga! Because Conestoga has such highly motivated students (who don’t mind doing extra school work during their summer break) and because we want you to have the most successful year possible, we have created a required summer assignment. In order to cover in just one year what most schools cover in two years of Biology, we need you to do a bit of legwork before you arrive in the classroom.
To complete this assignment you will need to login to the textbook’s website:
v Go to www.masteringbiology.com and then BOOKMARK THIS SITE (you will use it A LOT this year)
v Click “Sign In” (NOT register student)
Use the following login information:
v Login Name: chsapbio15
v Password: Stogastudent16 (if this does not work, check http://stogaapbio.wikifoundry.com/ for updates)
v Click on “Launch your E-text”
v You will see a set of folders on the left side of the screen – find Unit VII: Ecology
v Click on the triangle next to the Unit Title, which will expand that folder, showing you all of the Chapters for Ecology
The Assignment:
PART I: You are to READ AND OUTLINE (in any form that works for you) the following chapters:
Chapter34:The Biosphere: An Introduction to Earth’s Diverse Environments
Chapter35:Behavioral Adaptations to the Environment
Chapter36:Population Dynamics
Chapter37:Communities and Ecosystems
Also, not required, but might be helpful - you may wish to start reading/outlining chapters 1 & 2 which we will not be spending much time on in class.
PART II: An in-class open-note (you may use the notes that you created) test will be given on Tuesday September 6th
Questions? Contact either of the AP Bio teachers:
Mrs. Gontarek –
Mrs. Wolfe – See you in August!!!
Don’t know how to take good notes? Need good study habits? Open the Getting Ready for Biology eBook that can be found on the Mastering Biology site. Use same site & login info above, just go to “Explore the Study Area” instead of launching e-Text. Also, you can see the next three pages for a SAMPLE note sheet for the first section of Chapter 34 and then general note taking assistance.
SAMPLE NOTES FOR YOUR ASSIGNMENT:
CHAPTER 34 -The Biosphere: An Introduction to Earth’s Diverse Environments
Why Study Ecology? Environmental concerns are among the most pressing issues we face today – we need to manage resources for current use without compromising abilities of future generations.
Big Idea 1 THE BIOSPHERE (34.1-34.5) – distribution and abundance of life in the biosphere are influenced by living and nonliving components of the environment.
34.1 Ecologists study how organisms interact with their environment at several levels
Ecology – scientific study of interactions of organisms and their environment.
Variables that can affect organisms
· Biotic factors: living components of the environment; all the living organisms in the area
· Abiotic factors: nonliving components of the environment; physical and chemical factors (temperature, energy available, water, nutrients)
· Habitat: where an organism lives; includes all biotic and abiotic factors
Ecologists study interactions at several levels:
· Organism: the individual being studied
· Population: group of individuals of same species living in a particular area
· Community: all of the different species of organisms in an area that can interact
· Ecosystem: all of the biotic and abiotic components of the environment
· Landscapes: arrays of ecosystems
· Biosphere: all of the Earth capable of life; extends from the depths of the oceans up to several kilometers above earth.
34.2 The science of ecology provides insight into environmental problems
(repeat above for each section)
How to Be an Effective Note Taker
A NOTE ABOUT READING SCIENTIFIC TEXT: A science text presents new and complex material which may be difficult to understand. One piece builds on another to help you build your understanding. The text can provide the foundation for understanding, and bring together information in lectures, labs and hands-on experiments, field trips, and media.
Step One: Get a perspective
q Survey the chapter (5-10 minutes) for how the content is organized; get the "big picture"
This is not to fully understand, rather develop preliminary associations of bits of information that later will help you understand
Quickly page through the introduction, the summary, vocabulary list, self-test questions, headings, boldfaced material, major graphics, etc.
Notice the major concepts, definitions, descriptions, causes, effects and arguments.
q Check out the textbook website to see what it contains
q Take no notes, and mark no text in this phase
Step 2: First reading
Make the main purpose of your first reading simply to read and get a good idea of the material: what you understand, and what you do not
q Read sentences, paragraphs and short passages with 1-second pauses.
Read and pause, read and pause. Let your mind assemble the parts you just read to give you the meaning of the whole unit. This assembly of meaning happens fairly automatically as long as you are intentionally looking for meaning and paying attention to the meanings
q Look back and forth between words and related graphics.
Look between these until you can see/tell yourself how they are showing/saying similar things. A set of text passages that is related to graphics is very useful to understanding. There are many kinds of graphics: pictures, diagrams, maps, charts, tables, graphs
q From time to time, ask yourself if you are "on track" to understanding.
If you find yourself reading without understanding, stop and ask why.
Is it a question of complexity or distraction? Of preparation or terminology?
q When you notice that the author is using comparisons and examples, link them to their descriptions and explanations.
q If you are tired and meanings come very slowly into your mind, take a beak. If a break is not possible, vary your study activity. For example, draw a picture rather than write, walk instead of sit, read aloud rather than silently.
q If you return to reading after an absence, scan the text and your notes again before reading to cue associations.
q Read just enough to keep an understanding of the material.Do not take notes, but rather focus on understanding the material. It is tempting to take notes as you are reading the first time, but this is not an efficient technique: you are likely to take down too much information and simply copy without understanding
q If there is a summary at the end of a chapter, read it. This will give you a good idea of what the author feels is important.
Step 3: Review the material & Take Notes
q Use the Section Headings to make a framework for your notes. Underneath headings, note the main ideas, as well as important sub-points.
q Look up words. Look up words whose meanings are important to your understanding of the material, but you cannot discern from the context.
q Set the book aside & paraphrase the information you just read.
Putting the textbook information in your own words forces you to become actively involved with the material. Do not copy information directly from the textbook! Add only enough detail to understand.
q Organize your notes by connecting ideas you choose into an outline or concept map. Pay attention to relationships between ideas.
q Do not confine yourself to words! Use representations, graphics, pictures, colors, even movement to visualize and connect ideas. Use whatever techniques work to help you understand
q At this point, if you do not understand your reading, do not panic!
Set it aside, and read it again the next day. If necessary, repeat. This allows your brain to process the material, even while you sleep. This is referred to as distributed reading.
q Re-read the section you have chosen with the framework(outline or concept map) you have constructed in mind. Separate out what you do understand from what you do not.
q If the reading is still a challenge, consult with either your teacher, academic counselors, or reading specialists.
Materials Adopted from : http://www.studygs.net/booknote.htm
And College Reading and Study Skills by Nancy V. Wood.