AP Biology- Task Verbs

Calculate

Perform mathematical steps to arrive at a final answer, including algebraic expressions, properly substituted numbers, and correct labeling of units and significant figures.

EX: Using the data calculate the growth rate cells/MLxhour of the bacterial population between hours 2 and 4.

EX Answer: Between the second and fourth hour the population grew by 9,900 cells/ml. The growth rate then is 4,995 cells/ML HR.

Construct/Draw

Create a diagram, graph, representation, or model that illustrates or explains relationships or phenomena. Labels may or may not be required.

EX: Construct an appropriately labeled graph to illustrate the effect of caffeine on the probability of bees revisiting a nectar source.

https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap17-biology-q1.pdf - Picture Of graph and table

Describe

Provide relevant characteristics of a specified topic

EX: Describe the Process of embryological development in a typical vertebrate embryo, beginning with a fertilized egg ending with the development of three tissue layers.

Answer EX: A fertilized egg or zygote results from the fusion of a male and female gamete. The zygote is diploid. After fertilization the zygote undergoes a series of mitotic divisions in a stage called cleavage. After cleavage the group of cells become a hollow ball known as blastula. During gastrulation the group of cells fold in on each other to make gastrula. At this stage the gastrula forms three tissue layers.

Determine

Decide or conclude after reasoning, observation, or applying mathematical routines (calculations).

EX: Using Evidence from the specific treatments, determine whether prolactin release changes after exercise.

EX Answer: Prolactin release does not change after exercise because the error bars 0 from +=0 hour and +=1 hour on the with exercise bars overlap.

Evaluate

Judge or determine the significance or importance of information, or the quality or accuracy of a claim.

EX: Evaluate the cladogram where each of the characters most likely arose in the evolutionary process.

EX Answer: lactose and protein A were placed at the beginning of the cladogram before the mammals diverged because lactose and protein a are present in the milk of all the featured animals. Protein B and casein were placed after the pathways of the cow,horse, and pig because those 2 characters are found in cows,horses, and pigs but not in humans or cats.

Explain

Provide information about how or why a relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome occurs, using evidence and/or reasoning to support or qualfiy a claim. Explain "how" typically requires analyzing the relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome; whereas, explain "why" typically requires analysis of motivations or reasons for the relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome.

EX: Propose ONE specific improvement to each of the following parts of the experimental design and EXPLAIN how the modification will affect the experiment

EX Answer: To Improve the experimental control, soak the control cotton ball in pure water to eliminate moisture content as a variable, making the experimental results due strictly to glucose not water or glucose. This will not affect the fruit fly behavior and movement if glucose is the luring factor but it will make the fly numbers more equitable if water is the luring factor.

Identify

Indicate or provide information about a specified topic, without elaboration or explanation.

EX: Identify the development origin of TWO of the following tissues in vertebrates

1- Central Nervous System

2-Digestive System

3-Muscle

Answer EX: The central nervous system is derived from the ectoderm, along with skin and eyes. The digestive system mainly develops from the endoderm while muscles, bones and almost everything else derive from the mesoderm.

Justify

Provide evidence to support, qualify, or defend a claim, and/or provide reasoning to explain how that evidence supports or qualifies the claim.

EX: Predict the distribution of flies in the chamber after 10 minutes and JUSTIFY your prediction.

Answer EX: The flies will be distributed so that there are more flies in the chamber with the glucose soaked cotton ball. BECAUSE glucose is an energy source for fruit flies and will therefore attract and maintain increased numbers of fruit flies.

Make a Claim

Make an assertion that is based on evidence or knowledge.

EX: Make a claim about how cleaving inactive caspase-results in activation of caspase.

Ex Answer: Cleaving inactive caspase -1 leads to active caspase 1 because it removes repressor proteins that maintains the inactive form of capase -1.

Predict/Make a prediction

Predict the causes or effects of a change in, or disruption to, one or more component

EX: Predict the distribution of flies in the chamber after 10 minutes.

Example Answer: The flies will be distributed so that there are more flies in the chamber with the glucose soaked cotton ball.

Represent

Use appropriate graphs, symbols, words, illustrations, and/or tables of numerical values to describe biological concepts, characteristics, and/or relationships

State (the null/alternative hypothesis)

Indicate or provide a hypothesis to support or defend a claim about a scientifically testable question.

EX: Provide Reasoning for the placement on the tree of the species that is least related to the others.

EX Answer: The reason why I labeled D polylepis as the out group- the one that shares the least amount of similarities. It is because it had the greatest number of differences in the amino acid sequences from all the others.

Support a Claim

Provide reasoning to explain how evidence supports or qualifies a claim.

EX: Perform a chi square test on the data for the 10 minute time point in the banana experiment. specify the null hypothesis that you are testing and enter the values from your calculations in the table below.

EX Answer: Since there are 3 possible outcomes, there are 2 degrees of freedom. using a P value of 0.05, the maximum chi-square that would fail to reject the null hypothesis is 5.99. In this experiment, the chi-square value equals 48.9 which is greater than 5.99. As a result, the null hypothesis can be rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis that the glucose does have an affect on fruit fly behavior.

EX: Give Support for the claim that the cells located in the tip of the plant shoot detect the light by comparing the results from treatment group 1 with the results from treatment group 2 and group 3.

Answer EX: The plant with the unaltered tip grows towards the light but the plant with the tip removed did not, showing that only the tip and not the entire stem will respond to light and grow towards it. Even when the tip cells are not removed completely and the tip is covered so it is not exposed to light, the plant does not grow towards the light.