Download AP Environmental Science Syllabus

Claire Salier-Hellendag
Carl Wunsche High School
Spring ISD
AP Environmental Science Syllabus
Course Description
This is a college level course that follows the guidelines set forth y the AP Collegeboard. This course
provides students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the
interrelationships of the natural world. The curriculum draws upon a variety of scientific disciplines. This
course includes methods for analyzing and interpreting information and experimental data, including
mathematical calculations. This course teaches students how to identify and analyze environmental
problems, to evaluate the ecological and human health risks associated with these problems, and to
critically examine various solutions for resolving or preventing them.
This course includes a laboratory and field investigation component. A minimum of one class period or its
equivalent per week is spent engaged in laboratory and/or fieldwork. Assessment is based on labs,
activities, presentations, reports and tests. Tests comprised of multiple choice questions and AP free
response questions are given at the end of each unit. The AP Exam is the final for the course. The course
format is discussion-based with some lecture. Students are responsible for two current events per six
weeks that they will summarize and analyze based the their environmental knowledge.
Text
Brennan, Scott R and Jay H Withgott. Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, 2nd edition, Pearson
Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 2007, with student resource CD.
Supplemental Reading Material
Newspapers, journals, magazines, online resources for current events, and various environmental writers
Class Structure
The class size is approximately 25 students and meets for 50 minutes three times a week and once for 90
minutes.
Course Outline
Units
Intro to
Environmental
Science
2 weeks
Content
Reading, Labs & Activities
-Environmental issues Overview
-The Nature of Science
-Environmental ethics & issues
-Economics & the Environment
-History of Environmentalism
-International Environmental
Policy
-Global economics
-review of basic chemistry &
biology
-SI Units
-energetics at the cellular level
(photosynthesis & cellular
respiration)
-energy & the laws of
thermodynamics
Brennan & Withgott Chapter 2-4
Video “The Lorax”
Baseball cards of important people who have
played a role in environmental history along with
supplemental reading from these people.
 Tragedy of the Commons marine fisheries lab
 Students will review experimental design by
designing an experiment to test different sugars on
the cellular respiration of yeast. We will review
cellular respiration versus photosynthesis.
 Current Events scrap book: Each six weeks
students will turn in three environmental current
events and their analysis of the situation. At the
end of the year, students will turn in a scrapbook
of their events and their analysis.
Claire Salier-Hellendag
Carl Wunsche High School
The Living
World Part 1
2 weeks
-geological time scale
-evolution & natural selection
(affects on biodiversity)
-population ecology and dynamics
(carrying capacity; reproductive
strategies; survivorship)
-ecological succession
The Living
World Part II
2 weeks
-ecosystem structure & levels of
ecological organization
-ecosystem structure and
organization (habitat, niche, food
webs, & flow of energy and
matter)
-species interactions & community
ecology; ecological niches;
interaction among species;
keystone species; species diversity
and edge effects; species
movement; ecological succession;
major terrestrial and aquatic
biomes
-biodiversity, biodiversity loss &
conservation biology (habitat loss,
overuse, pollution, introduced and
invasive species, endangered &
extinct species; relevant laws and
treaties)
-environmental systems &
ecosystem ecology
-ecosystems are viewed as
environmental systems at the
global level with positive and
negative feedback loops
-natural biogeochemical cycles
and our impacts on them (carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorous, calcium,
sulfur, water, conservation of
matter)
-geological systems “How Earth
Works” (the rock cycle, plate
tectonics, volcanism, earthquakes)
The Living
World Part III
2 week
Spring ISD
Brennan & Withgott Chapter 5
Wooly Worm natural selection activity—
analysis of data using Chi-square test
Toilet Paper or Football Field geological time
scale activity.
Carrying capacity activity with oak trees and
acorns.
Current Events Scrapbook
Fieldwork: Students will compare a deserted
overgrown field and a freshly-mown field. They
will set up Burlese funnels for soil samples taken
from each location. They will analyze the results.
Brennan & Withgott Chapter 6, 11
Food Webbing activity
Biome Project—Students will individually
research a biome and create a product (a children’s
book, short films, claymations, or wordpress blog)
that describes key characteristics including
location, temperature, precipitation, common plant
and animal species, endangered or threatened
species and invasive species. Products are
presented to the class and graded with a rubric.
Quadrant Sampling Lab: Students will perform
quadrant sampling of a local field using field
guides.
Students will perform a primary productivity
lab
Current Events Scrapbook
Brennan & Withgott Chapter 7
Students will create claymations of the various
biogeochemical cycles.
Students will work through online volcano
eruptions and earthquakes.
Current Events Scrapbook
Claire Salier-Hellendag
Human
Populations
3 weeks
Carl Wunsche High School
-Human population dynamics
(historical population sizes;
distribution; fertility rates; growth
rates & doubling times;
demographic transition; agestructure diagrams)
-population size (strategies for
sustainability; case studies;
national policies)
-impacts of population growth
(hunger, disease, economic effects;
resource use; habitat destruction)
Spring ISD
Brennan & Withgott Chapter 8
Dot Video
Students will design experiments using salt as a
limiting factor in brine shrimp population.
Students research brine shrimp, design and
conduct an experiment to determine what salt
concentrations are optimal for egg hatch and
survival. Data is collected over a number of days
using microscopy and random sampling. A formal
scientific write up is required.
Fishing for Freshman lab: Students will practice
catch and release on the school population. They
will catch a specific population and release them
back to the school. After they do the re-catch they
will use statistics to determine the overall
population.
Films: The People Paradox or The People
Bomb
Students will practice AP free response
questions that have them analyze age structure
diagrams, calculate birth and death rates, graph
population data, calculate population growth rates
and doubling times, compare industrial vs
developing countries, and discuss questions
related to population growth, change and
demographic transition.
Students practice data calculations in the
following activities: Interpriting Graphs and Data
(p.242) and Calculating Ecological Footprints
(p.243), Withgott and Brennan.
Students will work through an online ecological
footprint calculator
Current Events Scrapbook
Claire Salier-Hellendag
Soils, Food, &
Agriculture
3 weeks
Land & Water
Use
2 weeks
Carl Wunsche High School
-soil & agriculture (formation;
composition; physical & chemical
properties; main soil types; erosion
& other soil problems; soil
conservation
-feeding a growing population
(human nutritional requirements;
types of agriculture; green
revolution; genetic engineering
and crop production; deforestation;
aquaculture; irrigation;
sustainability
-controlling pests (types of
pesticides; costs & benefits of
pesticide use; integration pest
management; relevant
regulations/laws
-resource management overview
-forestry (tree plantations, old
growth forests; forest fires & fire
ecology; forest management;
national forest)
-rangeland (overgrazing;
deforestation; desertification;
rangeland management; federal
rangelands)
-public & federal lands
(management; wilderness areas;
national parks; wildlife refuges;
forests; wetlands)
-urban land development (planned
development; suburban sprawl;
urbanization)
-transportation infrastructure
(federal highways systems; canals
Spring ISD
Brennan & Withgott Chapter 9-10, 14 (pp 424428)
Soil properties Lab: Students will collect soil
samples from various locations (at home and near
school). Students will use standard tests to
determine physical and chemical characteristics of
the soil.
Salinization Lab: Students will design their own
experiments to test the affect of salanization on
seed germination. Each team will have to research
various parts of the world where salanization is a
problem. They must research the types of plants
grown there and the likely amount of salanization
in that area. The students will turn in a formal lab
write up and a list of suggestions to improve the
situation.
Integrated pest management Project: Students
will develop an integrated pest management
program for a specific crop. They will research the
crop, determine it’s pests, and develop a IPM
program to control an insect, pest, or disease.
Students will sell their programs to the rest of the
class.
 Students will read Botany of Desire: Potato by
Michael Pollen. They will discuss this chapter and
answer questions about the domestication of the
potato.
 Students will create Edible Soil Profiles and
answer questions about types of soil.
Current Events Scrapbook
Brennan & Withgott Chapter 11 (329-338), 12-13
Cookie Mining Activity
 Students will research National Parks and how
the natural parks are maintained.
Students will read and analyze a land survey
done of an area of Nova Scotia. This survey
includes in depth information on the various
groves of trees, types of soil, and streams.
Students will use this information and topological
maps to create a biological map of the area.
Students will give the owners a list of
recommendations.
Students will go on a fieldtrip to a fishery.
Current events scrapbook
Claire Salier-Hellendag
Environmental
Health &
Toxicology
3 weeks
Carl Wunsche High School
and channels; roadless areas;
ecosystem impacts)
-land conservation options
(preservation; remediation;
mitigation; restoration)
-sustainable land-use strategies
-mining (mineral formation;
extraction; global reserves;
relevant laws & treaties; impact on
environment; acid mine drainage
-environmental hazards can be
physical, chemical, biological, or
cultural
-impacts on the earth and human
health
-hazards to human health
(hazardous chemicals in the
environment; environmental risk
analysis; acute & chronic effects;
dose-response relationships; air
pollutants; smoking & other risks
-hazardous chemicals in the
environment (types of hazardous
waste; treatment/disposal of
hazardous waste; cleanup of
contaminated sites;
biomagnification; regulation &
laws)
-solid waste (types, disposal,
reduction, recycling)
-cost/benefit analysis of hazardous
and solid waste management
Spring ISD
Brennan & Withgott Chapter 14, 22
Hazardous Substance Home Audit: Students
will list inactive and active ingredients of
hazardous substances from home using guidelines.
They will research the impact of these ingredients
on human health and environment. They will list
LD50 for hazardous substances when possible.
Students will create a plan to reduce hazards to
themselves and the environment. They will
consider “green” options. They will create an
analytical report and discuss their findings in
class.
 Garbology Activity: Students will collect their
garbage for a week. As a class they will determine
what percentages goes to a landfill and what goes
to be recycled/composted.
 Students will go on a field trip to a local
landfill.
Current Events Scrapbook
Claire Salier-Hellendag
Freshwater &
Marine
Resources
3 weeks
Carl Wunsche High School
-global water resources & use
(freshwater/saltwater;
ocean circulation; upwelling;
agricultural; industrial
and domestic use; surface &
groundwater issues; global
problems; conservation
-freshwater pollution (types,
sources, causes, and effects;
cultural eutrophication;
groundwater pollution;
maintaining water quality; water
purification; sewage
treatment/septic systems; Clean
Water Act and other relevant laws
-fishing (fishing techniques;
overfishing; marine conservation;
marine protected areas and marine
reserves; relevant laws and treaties
Spring ISD
Brennan & Withgott Chapter 15-16
Fieldwork: Students will go to a local stream
and a local bog and perform water quality testing.
Students will also perform protist population
sampling and classification.
Students will create a Winogradsky column
using water from the same local pond and bog.
They will make observations for several months.
Students will research dead zones around the
world.
Students will use a variety of materials to
contain an oil spill in a metal pie pan. Students
will research major oil spills (focusing on the most
recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico) and the
technology used to clean them up. Students will
research the impact of oil spills on local and
global ecosystems.
Students will design and create a waste water
treatment plant.
Home Water Audit: students track how much
water is used at home and for what purpose. This
requires calculations of water emitted per unit
time for the water sources/ uses in their homes.
Students write up their results and recommend
how to reduce water usage.
Current events scrapbook
Claire Salier-Hellendag
Carl Wunsche High School
Spring ISD
Atmospheric
Science, Air
Pollution &
Global Climate
Change
4 weeks
-the atmosphere (composition,
structure, weather & climate;
seasons; solar intensity and
latitude; atmospheric circulation
and Coriolis Effect; atmosphericocean interactions
-air pollution (sources: primary &
secondary; major air pollutants;
measurement units; smog; acid
deposition (causes and effects);
heat islands & temperature
inversions; formation of
stratospheric ozone; ultraviolet
radiation; causes of ozone
depletion; strategies for reducing
ozone depletion; indoor air
pollution and noise pollution;
remediation & reduction
strategies; Clean Air Act;
Montreal Protocol and other
relevant treaties and laws
-Global Climate Change
(greenhouse gasses and the
Brennan & Withgott Chapter 17-18
Energy
Resources &
Consumption
3 weeks
-review energy concepts & laws of
thermodynamics
-energy consumption (history;
present global energy use; future
energy needs)
-fossil fuel resources and use
(formation of coal, oil, and natural
gas; extraction/purification
methods; world reserves and
global demand; synfuels;
environmental
advantages/disadvantages of
sources
-nuclear energy (nuclear fission
process; nuclear fuels; electricity
production; nuclear reactor types
environmental advantages and
disadvantages; safety issues;
radiation and human health;
radioactive waste; nuclear fusion)
-hydroelectric power (dams, flood
control; salmon; silting; other
impacts)
-renewable energy (solar energy;
solar electricity; hydrogen fuel
cells; biomass; wind energy;
Brennan & Withgott Chapter 19-21
Airborne particulate Lab: Students will hang
insect sticky boards and Petri plates in place of
interest for 3 days. Students will analyze the
particulates and their results will be related to
potential causes and impacts of health.
Indoor Home Air Pollution Audit: Students will
research indoor air pollutants and evaluate their
home for indoor pollution. They will take this
information and develop a plan that could
potentially be used to reduce their exposure to
indoor pollutants.
Current Events Scrapbook
Home Energy Audit: Students will research
energy usage and evaluate their home for energy
use. They will take this information and develop a
plan that could potentially be used to reduce their
energy expenditure.
Montana State University-USAFA global
energy simulator
Students will research various types of
biodiesals and create their own.
Current events scrapbook
Claire Salier-Hellendag
Sustainable
Solutions
2 weeks
Carl Wunsche High School
small-scale hydroelectric; ocean
waves and tidal energy;
geothermal; environmental
advantages/disadvantages
-energy conservation (energy
efficiency; CAFÉ standards;
hybrid electric vehicles; mass
transit
-sustainability where you live;
consume less, conserve more
-strategies for sustainability
Spring ISD
Students will research and design a sustainable
city using online resources.
Students will read excerpts from Cradle to
Cradle by William McDonough & Michael
Braungart
Current events scrapbook
Review and Take AP Environmental Science Exam
As a class, students will develop a campaign that promoted as uncommon and not yet
Your World
exploited environmental cause.
Environment
Project
2 weeks
Art & The
Environment
2 weeks
The class will watch films, listen to music, and read selections that have environmental
themes.