Download AP Environmental Science

Advanced Placement Environmental Science—Florida Virtual
Pre-Requisites: Algebra I and two years of high-school science, with labs
Credits: 0.5 (per segment)
Estimated Completion Time: 2 Segments/ 32–36 weeks
Description
The goal of AP Environmental Science is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts,
and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world and to identify and
analyze environmental problems that are natural and human-made. Students will evaluate the relative
risks associated with these problems and examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing
problems. Laboratories support student content mastery in both hands-on and virtual experiences.
Access the site link below to view the standards from the Florida Department of Education:
Course description: http://www.cpalms.org/Courses/PublicPreviewCourse163.aspx
Access the site link below to view the PDF of the course description from the College Board:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-environmental-science-coursedescription.pdf
Note: This course meets one required science credit for high school graduation.
Major Topics and Concepts
Segment 1:
• Strategies for sustainability
• Sustainable land and resource use
• Agricultural Revolution
• Industrial Revolution
• Tragedy of the Commons
• Public land use
• Science as a process
• Scientific method
• Economic impacts of environmental problems
• Cost-benefit analysis
• External and marginal costs
• Laws, treaties, and organizations relevant to sustainability
• Biological populations and communities
• Interactions among species
• Photosynthesis and cellular respiration
• First and second laws of thermodynamics
• Food chains and food webs
• Trophic levels and ecological pyramids
• Natural biogeochemical cycles
• Evolution and natural selection
• Primary and secondary succession
• Ecological niches
• Biodiversity and loss of biodiversity
• Extinctions
• Endangered and threatened species
• Weather and climates
• Seasons
• Solar intensities and latitudes
• Major terrestrial and aquatic biomes
• Ocean circulation and currents
• Earth’s layers
• Plate tectonics
• Rock cycle
• Mineral formation and extraction
• Global mining reserves
• Forests and forest management
• Human population distribution and movement
• Historical population sizes
• Fertility rates
• Demographic transition
• Age-structure diagrams
• Controlling human population growth: Case studies
• Urbanization
• Energy resources and consumption
• Fossil fuels
• Nuclear energy
• Hydroelectric energy
• Renewable and alternative energy resources
• Energy conservation
• Sustainable energy policies
Segment 2:
• Composition of Earth’s atmosphere
• Stratospheric ozone
• Primary and secondary air pollution
• Thermal inversions
• Indoor air pollution
• Acid deposition
• Greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect
• Climate change
• Ozone loss
• Clean Air Act
• Soil formation and composition
• Physical and chemical properties of different soil types
• Erosion, deforestation, and desertification
• Soil conservation
• Types of agriculture
• Irrigation
• Green Revolution
• Sustainable agriculture
• Fish farming and ranching
• Food production and distribution
• Human nutritional requirements
• Agricultural subsidies and international food relief
• Pesticides and pesticide use
• Alternative pest management strategies
• Physical properties of water
• Water use and resources
• Groundwater and watersheds
• Water supply and quality problems
• Water pollution types and prevention
• Water quality indicators
• Wastewater treatment and water purification
• Water quality legislation
• Risk and risk assessment
• Risk-benefit analysis
• Transmissible and non-transmissible diseases
• Smoking
• Diet and human health
• Medicine and population growth
• Toxicology
• Dose-response relationships
• Solid and hazardous waste
• Cleanup of contaminated sites
• Waste disposal and reduction
• Landfills
• Recycling, re-using, and composting
• Carbon footprints
• Global change and sustainability
Required Materials
Household items for lab experiments
Course Objectives
Grading Policy
Besides engaging students in challenging curriculum, the course guides students to reflect on their learning and
evaluate their progress through a variety of assessments. Assessments can be in the form of practice lessons,
multiple choice questions, writing assignments, projects, research papers, oral assessments, and discussions. This
course will use the state-approved grading scale. Each course contains a mandatory final exam or culminating
project that will be weighted at 20% of the student’s overall grade.
Additional course requirements may exist based on specific expectations for individual courses. More information
can be found in FLVS policy documents, published at www.flvs.net, or by referring to the course instructor after
registration.
Advanced Placement Policy
Students entering high school grades 9-12 have access to Advanced Placement courses that may result in earning
college credit for high school coursework. These courses are used to calculate overall Grade Point Average (GPA)
and typically count extra in the calculation. These courses are also available at no charge to Florida public school
students, whereas they may have a tuition cost if taken in college. (S. 1003.02, F.S.)
A passing grade in the course will be accepted for high school credit. Postsecondary institutions determine
college credit awarded, based on the AP Exam score earned. FLVS strongly encourages students who take AP
courses to sit for the course AP Exam in May. Students shall be exempt from payment of any fees associated
with AP Exam participation, with the exception of late test registration fees incurred by the student.
Communication Policy
Besides engaging students in challenging curriculum, FLVS guides students to reflect on their learning
and to evaluate their progress through a variety of assessments. Assessments can be in the form of
multiple-choice questions, short-answer questions, projects, essays, labs, class discussions and
discussion-based assessments.. Instructors evaluate progress and provide interventions through the
variety of assessments built into a course, as well as through contact with the student in other venues.
In addition, the primary emphasis of this course is to help students develop an understanding of
concepts rather than memorize terms and technical details; the ultimate goal is to prepare students to
successfully take the AP Environmental Science examination offered in May.