Dougherty Valley HS-AP BIOLOGY

2012 SUMMER READING PROJECT

This assignment is to be done individually, you MAY NOT work with another
student on any part of this project. Plagiarism in any form will not be
tolerated.

Purpose:
To keep your mind sharp and thinking, so you are ready to hit the ground running
in September.

Summer Assignment Overview:
Assignment Due Date Task Description Objective
1. Read:
Your Inner Fish
End of Unit 2
(Cells/Plasma
Membrane) Due
Date TBA
Complete Summer
Assignment Project
1 and Project 2
(attached) for ALL
chapters in the book
Begin to see connections between the
major themes in biology
2. OPTIONAL:
Complete Reading
Guides, CH 2-4
Day 4 of class Begin to review chemistry as it relates
to biology. You are expected to know
this information as it will be assessed
on our first unit test which will cover
Chapters 1-5.
3. Google Docs Within first week
of the semester
Create a Google
account
To integrate technological and
collaborative skills.

Assignment #1: Your Inner Fish, by Neil Shubin

Introduction:
This book was chosen as a supplement to the AP Biology curriculum because it provides an
innovative approach to understanding evolutionary development. Through the use of integrative
biology, Shubin walks you, the reader, through the development of nerves, ears, eyes, and other
organs and shows the surprising links between humans, fish, and even simpler organisms. In addition
to teaching science, Your Inner Fish articulates how science works: science as a process, not just a
group of facts found in a textbook. By reading this book, you will appreciate the genetic link humans
have with other organisms and will realize that science requires careful attention to detail and
curiosity.

With this in mind, I am asking you to keep a reading journal on Google Docs, the final draft is due by
6 pm on the first day of Unit 2, and a printed copy is to be submitted the next class day. My
suggestion is, as you complete each chapter, journal about it instead of reading the entire book,
rather then trying to go back and write about each chapter after reading the entire book in one sitting.

The heading should be in the following format

Your Name AP Biology Date
Grade




PROJECT 1
For each chapter of the book you have been provided with a graphic (see below). After reading the
chapter you will write a well-developed paragraph that summarizes the chapter AND tells how the
picture relates to it.


PROJECT 2
Consider the disputable statement for each chapter (follows pictures) and in a well-developed
paragraph respond to it based on what you have read in the book and know about evolution. You can
use additional sources but make sure to use citations.














(This assignment
is based on work
presented by Jen
Orwar, Julie
Pavlini and Pam
Phelps.)



































































There isnt a picture for chapter 6,
please see the cookie recipe on the
following page.
Chapter 6 The Best-Laid (Body) Plans
Chocolate Chip Cookies (With Variations) ( You do NOT need to make any cookies!)

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Combine flour, soda and salt in small bowl.
2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture.
4. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if desired).
5. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
6. Bake in preheated 375 degrees oven for 9 to 11 minutes until golden brown.
7. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PEANUT BUTTER VARIATION: Prepare dough as above except substitute 1/2 cup butter and 3/4
cup creamy or chunky peanut butter for the 1 cup butter. Eliminate nuts. Drop dough by rounded
tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets; press down slightly. Bake in preheated 350 degrees oven
for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes four dozen.

FOR THIN, CHEWY COOKIES: Reduce granulated sugar to 1/2 cup and increase packed brown
sugar to 1 cup.

FOR THICK, CHEWY, OLD-FASHIONED COOKIES: Use half the amount of butter called for and
drop by well-rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees
oven for 9 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Store in an airtight container to prevent drying.

FOR PUFFIER COOKIES: Reduce butter to 1/2 cup and add 1/2 cup solid shortening.

FOR SOFT CAKEY COOKIES: Omit the granulated sugar and use 3/4 cup butter, 1 cup packed
brown sugar and 3 eggs. Drop by well-rounded tablespoons on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten
slightly with back of spoon dipped in water. Bake in preheated 375 degrees oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
For more rounded cookie, do not flatten before baking; bake 9 to 11 minutes.

FOR CRISPIER COOKIES: Use 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, 1/4 cup packed brown
sugar and 1 egg. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with bottom of
glass dipped in water. Bake in preheated 375 degrees oven for 9 to 11 minutes.








Project 2 Disputable Statements

Definition of dispute - A disagreement, argument, or debate (keep this in mind when you are
discussing each statement)

Chapter 1 Finding Your Inner Fish
Dispute: Most living organisms fossilize after death, so fossils in exemplary condition are easily found
all over the world.

Chapter 2 Getting a Grip
Dispute: Humans and fish are nothing alike: we have hands with fingers, they have fins.

Chapter 3 Handy Genes
Dispute: Each cell in a human body contains a unique set of DNA. This allows some cells to build
muscle or skin and some cells to become arms versus fingers.

Chapter 4 Teeth Everywhere
Dispute: Teeth evolved through time, after bones, as they became a beneficial adaptation for
protection against predation.

Chapter 5 Getting Ahead
Dispute: Humans and sharks both have four gill arches as embryos, but the germ layers and arches
develop into unrelated structures in each organism.

Chapter 6 The Best-Laid (Body) Plans
Dispute: Scientists work in isolation: it is counter-productive to repeat another scientists
experiments or to consider research that is not directly related to the organism you are studying.

Chapter 7 Adventures in Bodybuilding
Dispute: All tissues in the human body are made of similar cells that connect to each other in similar
fashion.

Chapter 8 Making Scents
Dispute: There are few genes dedicated to olfactory sense and they are similar in all organisms
capable of detecting smell.

Chapter 9 Vision
Dispute: All organisms with vision have similar eyes and similar vision genes.

Chapter 10 Ears
Dispute: In humans, eyes and ears function independently of one another; sensation in one does not
affect sensation in the other.

Chapter 11 The Meaning of It All
Dispute: Maladies of the human body are not related to our evolutionary past.




Adapted from: Orwar, Pavlini, & Phelps, Oswego High Oswego NY 2009