Remember - you may earn up to 2% extra credit on Quarter 1. I will take the total points earned, divide by the possible points (50) and you will get that portion of the 2% added onto your grade.
(For example, let's say you only do assignment #1 and you get a 20/25 on it. That means you've earned 20 out of the total possible 50 points available on extra credit, or 40% of the available points. You will get 40% of the 2%, or 0.8% added onto your quarter grade. That may be enough to boost you into the next percentage, but it may not be. If you had 89.1 (B+), that would bring you to 89.9 (A-). If you had 88.6, adding .8% brings you to 89.4, which still rounds to 89% and you'd still have a B+.)
Listen to the “Bio Eats World” Podcast from July 22, 2021 entitled “Engineering an Epigenome Editor” and complete the reflection questions. It’s about 30 minutes long.
Reflection questions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14HM0A2_iW-gP_NygpIBSl9qckYEjogCy698-y1OQvAs/edit?usp=sharing
Listen to the Nature podcast about mutation rates. This is the first 13 minutes or so of the podcast (and the transcript is below the audio link).
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00142-2#MO0
Then read the SHORT article from Nature at this link:
After you do those two things, write a 1.5-2 page, multi-paragraph, typed (double-spaced) thoughtful response. You must create a Google Doc and type directly into the Google Doc, then attach that original Google Doc to the Google Classroom Extra Credit Assignment. To earn full credit, you will include each of the following. Your writing should be clear, concise, and demonstrate original thought. NO AI Answer allowed! If I find that you used AI to write this paper, your grade will be penalized and you will be reported to your house office for cheating. Do not just answer the questions in bullet points, write it in paragraph format.
Part 1: The Science Unpacked (approx. 0.5 page) (10 points)
Explain how scientists have relied on the assumption that mutations occur at equal rates across the genome for evolutionary studies. Use no more than 5 sentences and use your own words.
Summarize what this new study shows in no more than five sentences. Be sure to use your own words!
Identify one specific piece of data that was crucial to the reported conclusion. Explain the significance of this specific detail within the context of the article's findings.
Part 2: (approx. 1 page) (10 points)
Copy down an interesting quote (use quotation marks) and explain why it resonated with you/ why you thought it was so interesting.
How did reading this article personally impact your understanding of the scientific concept or field it covers? Did it change your perspective, deepen your interest, or raise new questions for you? Be specific about your evolving understanding, not just a general statement about the article's importance.
Discuss the relevance of the subject matter to your life or to society as a whole.
Many students (and adults) hold the belief that science is a collection of facts and that we know it all. Discuss how this article demonstrates the actual process of science.
AP Biology is all about the scientific process. You need to be able to design (or at least understand) new experiments. This reading describes what led to the Evolution of the Hardy-Weinberg Model. I found it interesting and I hope you do to.
Read the article about all the difference scientists (like Punnett, Hardy, and Weinberg) and thought experiments that contributed to the evolution of the Hardy-Weinberg model that we know and love . Answer the questions in this document (which includes some of the questions at the end of the article and some different ones.)
Worth up to 10 points. Read the following articles and write a reaction.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201228095428.htm
Read the articles and write a 1-1.5 page. Multi-paragraph, typed (double-spaced) thoughtful response. To earn full credit, you will include each of the following. Do not just answer the questions in bullet points. NO AI Allowed - if you use AI to write this, you will receive an academic dishonesty behavior report.
What is the RNA hypothesis and why has it troubled some scientists? Use no more than 5 sentences and use your own words.
Summarize the concepts presented here in no more than five sentences. Be sure to use your own words!
Copy down an interesting quote (use quotation marks) and explain why it resonated with you/ why you thought it was so interesting.
Discuss the relevance of the subject matter to your life or to society as a whole.
Many students (and adults) hold the belief that science is a collection of facts and that we know it all. Discuss how this article demonstrates the actual process of science.
I recently found out that the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has a contest called "Dance your PhD" where participants must express their research through interpretative dance. I think this is AMAZING! If you would like to unleash your creative side and make an interpretative dance (or musical theater or some other creative outlet) about a lab procedure we did this quarter, that would really make my day. You can get up to 25 points of extra credit. You can make a video of the dance, or if you're feeling super brave, you could possibly perform it live during class, in front of your peers! (You would get the same amount of points either way - so no pressure.) The video should be at least 3 minutes, but no longer than 5 minutes and it should demonstrate your understanding of the lab procedure.
If you want to see videos of this Dance Your PhD competition for reference, you can check out this site. Or you could go to the "Dance Your PhD" Wikipedia page. Winner video from 2025 (Vaccination of Plants). Chemistry winner of 2025 (taste perception). In the reference section of the Wikipedia page there are more links to more videos. (I found myself down a deep rabbit hole on this one - geeking out).
For Quarter 1, you could pick one of the following labs:
Hardy-Weinberg Lab (September)
TB Resistance and mutations (October)
Cladograms (October)
If you have an idea for some other concept we learned in class that would make a good dance routine, ask me! (like nucleosomes, operons, the initial creation of life, etc)