Summer Assignment 8.29

This is the final week of the summer assignment this year. Great job with all the comments, I hope you found some of the articles interesting. There are a few things for you to do this week.

• To get credit for this week's entry, comment on what your favorite post was over the summer, and what you are most looking forward to learning more about this year.
• Please visit this website and request access. If you have used PBWorks before, you can use your previous account information and will not have to confirm your email. If you are new to PBWorks, you DO NOT need to use your school email account to request access. After I accept you, you will receive a confirmation email. 
• Once you have access to the wiki, feel free to have a look around. It is still a work in progress, so there is not too much there yet. The first few weeks are mapped out, but schedules are always changing. 
• Dr. H will be teaching all 3 sections to begin the year. Mr Parker will take over for Block 4 in December when he returns from leave.

That's it. See you all soon.

Summer Assignment 8.22

We are almost done with the Summer Assignment. This week, I want to highlight another potential resource for excellent science information. I am sure you already knew there was great science writing on the internet, and probably were aware of some great science communicators on YouTube. 

There are also some great podcasts out there that break some important science topics down into simple, easily understood terms. One of my favorites, which was actually suggested by a student last year, is Short Wave from NPR. Here is an episode about DNA; it's discovery and how it is packaged into our cells.  We will go over all of what they talk about in class this year. 

Summer Assignment 8.15

 Only one link for this week. As the start of the school year gets closer, it is important to remember the importance of mental health. Over the last few years, this has become more of a focus, as people were dealing with the pandemic and subsequent stresses. As students taking at least one AP class, it is vital to find a balance between school work, extra-curricular activities, sports. family obligations, and possibly jobs. As teachers, we feel many of the same demands on our time, so we always do our best to be understanding of mental health concerns. During this upcoming school year, please do not hesitate to reach out to one of us if you are feeling overwhelmed. Not just with classwork, and not just with our course. 

In the comments, please mention a few things that you do to relax and recharge. Maybe a few of you can find some new strategies, or find a few classmates with similar interests. 

Summer Assignment 8.8

 We have something a little different for you this week; instead of interesting articles to read, we have a few recent videos for you to watch. 

• Experts "Stunned" by Organ Death Reversal (SciShow)
• How Food Waste is Turned Into Plastic, Hair Extensions and More (Business Insider)
• The Surprising Species that Everything Else Depends On (Be Smart)

Summer Assignment 8.1

We have officially reached the half-way point of our summer assignment! Only 4 weeks to go.

We are hearing from many students that there are issues with commenting on the posts here if you are logged in with your MTHS Google account. If you encounter this, please take the following steps to resolve the issue:

1. Try to log in with a personal Google account and post the comment
2. Create a Google doc and record your comments there. Please share this document with Dr H and Mr Parker.

This week's links:

• The new hit game Stray has some real-world effects. I have not played Stray (we are an X-Box/Switch household), but anything that helps find homes for strays is great. I that would love to hear from any of you that have played the game; has it influenced your positions on cats as pets? Anyone gone out and adopted after playing?
• Electrical bacteria may help clean oil spills and curb methane emissions Bacteria's importance in ecosystems is often underestimated, and even completely ignored.
• Is this pillbug-like organism a pollinator of the sea? Not just the birds and the bees anymore, we need to add aquatic invertebrates to the list. 

Summer Assignment 7.25

 

Great first two weeks of the assignment. We will definitely be looking for some global warming articles for next week, especially if the weather doesn't break soon. Until then, stay inside with some water to drink and read some interesting science articles.

• Origins of the Black Death Identified Great example of scientific research being a collaborative effort between many disciplines
• X-Rays Help Researchers Piece Together Treasured Cellular Gateway for the First Time 3-D structures are one of my favorite pieces of data to look at
• Mammal Ancestor's Shrinking Inner Ears may Reveal When Warm-Bloodedness Evolved Evolution is so interesting; an adaptation as big as warm-bloodedness can be traced by something as small as inner ear structure.

Summer Assignment 7.18

 Thank you to all those who commented last week. Just a reminder that if your comment did not show up, you should probably check your Google account settings to make sure your name shows up. As of Sunday night, there are 3 comments with unknown authors waiting to be published.

On to the links this week:

• In celebration of National Ice Cream Day on July 17, here is a short article and video about the chemistry of ice cream.
• This supercharged tree might help fight climate change.
• Climate change will accelerate viral spillovers. Carl Zimmer is one of my favorite science writers, expect to see more of his writing over the summer. 

Summer Assignment 7.11

 This is the first official post of the 2022 Summer Assignment. Please pass this link along to anyone else you know taking AP Biology next year. 

The rules are simple:

1. Look at the list of links provided.
2. Pick a few (or all) to read.
3. Make an intelligent comment here that shows you read and thought about at least one. Remember, please DO NOT just write a summary of the article. We have already read them, and we are looking for your opinions and perspectives.
4. Gain points!

Comments are moderated, so they will not show up immediately. If it has been a few days and you don't see yours, there is probably an issue. The most common issue is your username not displaying. Please check your Google settings so that your username shows up in the comment section. If your post comes up as "unknown" or "anonymous" it will not be posted and you will not receive credit. 

I highly recommend you keep a record of your comments, in case any get lost. 

The Links

• The mRNA Revolution is Just Getting Started COVID-19 was most likely just the beginning of mRNA vaccines. 
• A Newfound Dinosaur had Tiny Arms Before T. Rex Made Them Cool Always going to include new dinosaur findings. 
• Soft Sounds Numb Pain. Researchers May Now Know Why You all can make your own jokes in the comments about Michael Bolton causing more pain.

Summer Assignment 2022

Welcome to the AP Biology summer assignment for 2022. The summer assignment will work as follows:

• Once a week, we will post a few links to current science articles that we find interesting/entertaining
• You pick a few, or all, of the links and read through them
• Post a comment on the blog post about the article(s) that you read. Please DO NOT just summarize the articles in your comment. We have already read them.
• Comments are moderated, so it may take a few days for your comment to show up
• Make sure your Google account setting allow your username to be visible on the blog. If your username does not show up, your comment will not be posted and you will not receive credit for that week's assignment.

I hope to get the first official post (that you will have to comment on) up on the week of July 11; the final post will be the week of August 29.