Summer Assignment 7.12

This is the first official post of the 2021 Summer Assignment. 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 that are made within the week receive maximum 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. 

Please remember to complete the form to let us know about any extended vacation plans.

The Links

• Leaky mitochondria in sea otters Sea otters do more interesting stuff than just hold hands while sleeping. By the way, if anyone uses the terms "house" or "power" in class while referring to mitochondria, that is an automatic failure for the marking period. 
• Professional tree climber teaches inspiration and conservation First off, I had no idea "tree climber" was a profession. I imagine there is no better way to teach about the importance of forest conservation than from the top of a tree.
• Not a vaping dinosaur Sort of reminds me of this cartoon, that was all over the place when I was in high school. Sometimes it is easy to forget that paleontology is an active area of research, and new information is being discovered about dinosaurs all the time. Pretty sure this will not be the last dinosaur article I post this summer. 

AP Biology Summer Assignment 2021

 Welcome to the AP Biology summer assignment for 2021. The summer assignment will work as follows:

• Once a week, I will post a few links to current science articles that I 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. I have already read them.

• If your comment occurs within the week of posting, you will receive maximum points for that week

• 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 12; the final post will be the week of August 23. 

If you know of a time frame which you will be unable to comment due to vacation, follow this link to complete the form to let us know before you leave for vacation. We will make arrangements with you as far as making the missed weeks up. If you do not let us know ahead of time, the missed weeks will count as zeros.

First Day of Class TOMORROW

Believe it or not, class is starting tomorrow. You all should be able to access the course Schoology pages. In case there are issues with Schoology tomorrow, I wanted to share the live meeting links here so that we have a backup in place. Please note that there are scheduled meetings, so they will not go live until the stated start time.

Block 1 (Dr H): meet.google.com/hey-qysk-bmb (Starting at 7.27am)

Block 2 (Dr. H): meet.google.com/gpx-mtor-bym (Starting at 8.32am)

Block 3 (Mr. Parker): https://zoom.us/j/97220891348?pwd=UDhFZUNxbFh4WndRUlNLak5CMmFkQT09 (Starting at 9.32am)

Password: APB3!fal%

Please do not hesitate to email if you have any problems accessing the meetings above. We are looking forward to seeing you all (virtually) tomorrow morning.

Summer Assignment 8.24

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

• To get credit for this week's entry, tell me what your favorite post was over the summer, and what you are most looking forward to learning more about this year.
• If you are registered for Dr. H's class (Block 1 or 2), 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. 
• If you are registered for Mr Parker's class (Block 3) , he will provide you with the course website.
• 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. There are some things on the front page for you to do.

That's it. See you all next week.

Summer Assignment 8.17

Back to our usual articles list this week. 

• 200,000 year old bedding includes evidence of bug-repellent measures
• High speed footage of a non-Newtonian fluid under stress. This is very easy to make at home, just mix cornstarch and water together to get the right consistency. There are tons of videos on YouTube about this stuff, here is one of my recent favorites.
• I usually stay away from health/diet articles here, since there are so many conflicting articles and viewpoints. This article I think does a good job at not just looking at the specific diet issue, amount and source of protein, but also hits on some of the other issues surrounding food supply in this country.