Dear AP Biology Student

Dear AP Biology Student,

Although it is the end of the school year, and not the beginning, I would like to take a moment to welcome you to next year’s AP Biology class, and help you prepare for this upcoming challenge. AP Biology involves a lot of hard work, but it can be incredibly rewarding. We have a lot of fascinating labs planned, and I am looking forward to an exciting year with all of you.

Of course, there is a catch. Somewhere between hanging out with friends, lounging on beaches, and just plain sleeping in, I have two assignments for you. One should be fun, the other… well, okay, not fun, but highly beneficial.

So, the fun one first. Choose a book off of the list at the bottom of this page. Read it. Be prepared to tell the rest of us what you thought of it and what you got out of it. No written component is required. A quick search on Amazon.com should give you an idea of what each is about so you can pick one suited to your interests. If you aren’t big on the choices available, email me with one of your own for approval.

The less-than-fun one makes up the remaining pages in this packet. AP Biology can sound like a foreign language sometimes. Learning the root words that make up this terminology can make the rest of the course significantly easier. Beginning on the second day of class, and continuing at short intervals thereafter, you will have a series of seven root word quizzes. As you are receiving this list now, I hope you will take the opportunity to avoid the stress of trying to learn all of these during the busy first weeks of the school year.

Feel free to contact me when necessary. Our class webpage can be accessed from my page on the district website, and you can email me at [email protected] . Drop by my room to give me your email, or email me at the address above, and I will send you updates as they happen.

Have a great summer!

Mrs. Kohli

Book Choices (Feel Free to Read Many!): (In no particular order…) Fiction (More Nonfiction) The Cobra Event – Richard Preston The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat – Oliver Sacks The Andromeda Strain – Michael Crichton Making of the Fittest – Sean B. Carroll Evolution – Stephen Baxter Endless Forms Most Beautiful - Sean B. Carroll Peeps – Scott Westerfeld Remarkable Creatures – Sean B. Carroll Nonfiction The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Rebecca Skloot Your Inner Fish – Neil Shubin The Hot Zone – Richard Preston The Selfish Gene – Richard Dawkins Demon in the Freezer – Richard Preston Next of Kin – Roger Fouts The Wild Trees – Richard Preston The Female Brain – Louann Brizendine The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry – Larry Gonick The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg The Cartoon Guide to Genetics – Larry Gonick Silent Spring – Rachel Carsen Not finding it? Have something else that you Dead Men Do Tell Tales – William Maples think might fit the bill? This list is by no The Voyage of the Beagle – Charles Darwin means comprehensive, so if you have other Seven Daughters of Eve – Bryan Sykes Survival of the Sickest – Sharon Moalem ideas, email me for approval at Genome – Matt Ridley [email protected] rg . Anything written by Stephen Jay Gould QUIZ 1 ab- away from; out from A-, an- no; lacking; none ac- to; toward -aceus; -aceous of or pertaining to acr-; acro- extreme; peak ad- to; toward adeno- gland -al having character of alb- white allo- other amph-; amb- both an- not; without ana- up, away andro- masculine; man ante- before; ahead of time antero- front antho- flower anti- against ap- to; toward aqu- water archaeo- primitive; ancient arthro- joint -ase referring to enzyme activity -ate used in forming verbs from nouns -ation used in forming nouns from verbs auto- self bene- well; good bi- two; twice; double bio-; bi- life; living -blast sprout; germ brachi- having arms branchi- having fins bronch- windpipe carb- coal; carbon cardi- heart carn- meat carp- fruit carpal- wrist caud- tail QUIZ 2 cell- storeroom; chamber centi- hundredth centr- center cephal- head chem- referring to chemistry chlor- green chondr- cartilage chrom-; -chrome color -cide killing circum- around; about co- with; together cocc- seed coel- hollow coll- glue com- with; together -gene; gene- origin con- with; together -gest carry; produce contra- against glob- ball; round corp- body -gon angle; corner cotyl- cup -gony offspring; generation; coming into counter- against being crypt- hidden; covered -graphy; -graph writing; record -cule; -culus added to nouns to form diminutive grav- heavy cuti- skin gymno- naked cyan blue gyn- female -cycle; cyci- ring; circle gyr- ring; circle; spiral cyst- bladder; pouch haem-; hem- blood cyt-; -cyte cell; receptacle hepat- liver deca- ten herb- grass deci- tenth hetero- different; other demi- half hex- six dendr- tree QUIZ 4 dent- tooth hist- tissue derm- skin holo- entire; whole di- two; double homo- same; alike dia- through; across hydr- water digit finger; tow hypo- beneath; under; less dis- apart; out hyper- above; beyond; over dorm- sleep hypno- sleep dors- back -ic added to nouns to form adjectives du-; duo two ichthy- fish -duct lead im- not dynam- power in- to; toward; into dys- ill; bad in- not ec- out of; outside -ine of or pertaining to echin- spiny; prickly infro- below, beneath eco- house inter- between QUIZ 3 intra- within; inside ect- outside; without -ion go; come en- in; into -ism a state or condition -en made of iso- equal; same encephal- brain -itis inflammation; disease end-; ent- within; in kilo- thousand enter- intestines lat- side; flank -eous nature of; like -less without epi- on; above leuc- white; bright; light erythro- red lign- wood eu- well; good, true lin- line extra- beyond; outside of lip- fat ex- out of lith-; -lite stone; petrifying -fer bear; carry; produce -logy study fibr- fiber; thread -lysis; -lyte; -lyst dissolve; decompose -fid; fis- divided into; split macr- large -flect; -flex bend mal- bad; evil flor- flower mamm- breast foli- leaf marg- border; edge gastro- stomach med- middle -gen; -gine producer; former meg- great; million mela-; melan- black; dark photo- light mes- middle; half; intermediate -phyte; phyt- plant met-; meta- between; along; after -pod foot -meter; -metry way of measuring, instrument for poly- many; several measuring por- opening QUIZ 5 port- carry micro- small post- after; behind milli- thousandth pre- before; ahead of time mis- wrong; incorrect pro- forward; favoring mono- one; single proto- first; primary mort- death pseud- false; deceptive mov-; -mot move pulmo- lung morph- shape; form quadr- four; four-fold multi- many quin- five moll- soft radi- ray; spoke of a wheel; energy in myc- fungal rays myo- muscle re- again; back neo- new; recent ren- kidney nephro- kidney rhiz- root neur-; nerv- nerve; tendon rubr- red noct-; nox- night saccharo- sugar -nomy; -nome distribute; arrange; law sapr- rotten non- not scler- hard not- back sci- know nuc- center scope look; observe ob- against semi- half; partly ocul- eye QUIZ 7 oct- eight sept- partition; seven -oid like in form or shape sex- six olf- smell solv- loosen; free omni- all sperm- seed oo- egg spher- ball opthal- eye -spire breathe -osis state or condition of spore seed oste- bone stat- standing; placed -ous full of; abounding in stom-; -stome mouth ov- egg strat- layer oxy- sharp; acid; oxygen stereo- solid; three dimensions paleo- old; ancient strict- drawn tight palm- broad; flat styl- pillar pan- all sub- under; below par- beside; near; equal; bring forth super- over; above; on top path-; -pathy disease; suffering sym-; syn- together -ped foot -taxis movement pent- five tele- far off; at a distance QUIZ 6 tetr- four per- through thall young shoot permea- pass; go therm- heat phag- eat -tom cut; slice pheno- show toxico- poison phil- living; fond of trans- across phon-;-phone sound tri- three -phore bearer troph- one who feeds; well fed ultra- beyond xanthin- yellow ur- urine zo-; -zoa animal ventr- belly zyg- yolk vit-; viv- life