AP Bio Summer Assignment - Mihir Das

AP Bio Summer Assignment - Mihir Das

(Note: I may not have proof that every photo in the blog is mine but on my cell phone it says the location where every photo is taken is in my backyard. If you have any doubts I can show you.)

1. Environment

The image above is a picture of my backyard. There is a large forest area covered with pine straw that contains many tall trees. This is where I got my pictures from.

2. Pollen

This is a Petunia growing on my deck. Bees often come feed here which helps pollination. There are also hummingbirds who are attracted by its bright colors.

3. Lichen

The picture above shows lichen growing on a dead branch. Lichen is a simple slow-growing plant that typically forms crust-like growth on rocks, walls, and trees.

4. Decomposers

This is a dead tree stump with moss and lichen growing around it. This tree fell down during a storm a few years ago and is slowly being decomposed by moss, lichen and other weeds.

5. Detritivore

The earthworm above was found under a dying branch. This is an example of a detritivore or an animal that consumes non-living things. It was absorbing nutrients from the branch it was under.

6. Parasitism

This tree has moss and lichen growing on it. Parasitism is a relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or in another organism, the host, causing it some harm.  They are parasites because they are taking nutrients from the tree while it is still alive.

7. Bilateral Symmetry

Bilateral symmetry is symmetry around a central axis, as in a starfish or a tulip flower. It can often be found in nature. The turtle above is an example of a symmetrical organism especially the way its patterns are shaped.

8. Gymnosperm cone

A gymnosperm is a plant that has seeds unprotected by an ovary or fruit. The cone pictured above is an example of a gymnosperm. The term "gymnosperm" comes from the Greek words gymnos, "naked" and sperma, "seed"), meaning "naked seeds".

9. Gymnosperm leaf

Gymnosperms don't have to come in the form of cones. The seeds can also form on leaves as seen above. This specific example was still young and only about a foot tall.

10. Autotroph

An autotroph is an organism that is able to form nutritional organic substances from simple inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide. Most plants are autotrophs such as the tree above which uses sunlight to gain nutrients.

11. Animal that has a segmented body

I lifted up a rock in my backyard and found a centipede. Its body is segmented into several different parts. Centipedes are classified as an arthropods. An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages.

12. Cambium

A cellular plant tissue that divided phloem and xylem resulting in tree trunks thickening. The picture above shows a tree that most likely broke during a storm. The cambium is one of the outer layers of the tree trunk.

13. Ectotherm

An ectotherm is an animal that is dependent on external sources of body heat. Insects, amphibians and reptiles like the turtle shown above can't generate their own heat.

14. Genetically Modified Organism

The flowers above are an example of a genetically modified organism. They have been modified to be more colorful and attractive. This means more people will want to buy them to display them.

15. Exoskeleton



An exoskeleton is a rigid external covering for the body in some invertebrate animals providing both support and protection. The ant above has an exoskeleton. The turtle from a previous picture has an internal skeleton so it has both an exoskeleton and an endoskeleton.

16. Endosperm

The acorn shown above is an example of an endosperm. I peeled the top green layer off and inside the brown coating would be the endosperm. The endosperm is the tissue produced inside the seeds of most of the flowering plants following fertilization. It surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition in the form of starch. This can make endosperm a source of nutrition in the human diet such as how wheat endosperm is ground into bread.

17. Frond

The tree above has many fronds. A frond is the leaf or leaflike part of a palm, fern, or similar plant. This particular tree was close to 80 feet tall.

18. Heterotroph

A heterotroph is an organism that cannot produce its own food, relying instead on the intake of nutrition from other sources of organic material, mainly plant or animal matter. The caterpillar shown above consumes plant leaves in order to survive.

19. Mating behavior

An example of mating behavior would be two birds making a nest. The main purpose of the nest to provide a place for the eggs to hatch. Different types of birds make nests of different sizes and shapes. Some build them right on the ground others will build them on top of man made signs and building. This particular nest was built in between some branches of a tree.

20. Keystone species 

A keystone species is a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.Worms help to increase the amount of air and water that gets into the soil. They break down organic matter, like leaves and grass into things that plants can use. When they eat, they leave behind castings that are a very valuable type of fertilizer.

21. Fertilizer

A fertilizer is a chemical or natural substance added to soil or land to increase its fertility. Above are squirrel droppings which can help improve the quality of soil.

22. Exoskeleton

Another example of an animal with an exoskeleton is the snail. The snail has not internal skeleton unlike the turtle so it is completely defenseless without its armor.