Download Summer Assignment

Summer Project:
AP Environmental
Name:
Due date: August 15th
You will need a copy of the book Collapse by Jared Diamond. We will be
using it throughout the year to enhance certain concepts.
Read Chapters 1-4 (pp.1-119) in text book Environmental Science, by
Richard Wright. To be successful in this class you must remain
organized and take notes on index cards (25) of each chapter (total 100
for 100 points) and define and learn the following words. A quiz will be
given on vocabulary after each reading assignment.
Biodiversity(chp 1)
Ecological footprint
Ecosystem capital
Stewardship
Sustainable
Abiotic(chp2)
Autotroph
Biomass
Biome
Biosphere
Biota
Carnivore
Chlorophyll
Consumer
Decomposer
Detritus
Ecology
Ecosystem
Ecotone
Food Chain
Food Web
Habitat
Herbivore
Heterotroph
Host
Inorganic Molecule
Limiting Factors
Limits of Tolerance
Mutualism
Niche
Omnivore
Organic Molecule
Parasitism
Photosynthesis
Population
Predator
Prey
Producers
Range of Tolerance
Species
Symbiotic
Synergistic Effect
Trophic Levels
Zone of Stress
Anaerobic(chp 3)
Cellulose
Entropy
Fermentation
1st Law of Thermodynamics
2nd Law of Thermodynamics
Law of Conservation of Energy
Kinetic Energy
Matter
Natural Organics
Organic Phosphate
Overgrazing
Oxidation
Potential Energy
Respiration
Synthetic Organics
Adaptation (chp 4)
Carrying Capacity
Climax Ecosystem
Critical Number
Ecological Restoration
Ecological Succession
Endangered
Environmental Resistance
Exponential Increase
Fire climax
Invasive Species
Keystone Species
Natural Selection
Population Density
Primary Succession
Recruitment
Replacement Level
Reproduction Strategies
Secondary Succession
Selective Pressures
Speciation
Territoriality
Threatened
Read pp 419-440 (100 pts) in the book Collapse, “Why do Some
Societies Make Disastrous Decisions?” and answer the following
questions:
1. List the characteristics the author mentions that complex societies
all have?
2. The author divides the factors that contribute to failure into the
following four categories. Describe and give an example of each
category as discussed in the book.
A. Failure to anticipate a problem (p. 421):
B. When the problem does arrive, the group may fail to perceive
it(424-426):
C. Failure to try to solve it (427-436):
D. They try to solve it but may not succeed (436-437):
3. What does the author mean by “landscape amnesia”? Give an
example.
4. Describe the clash of interests known as “The Tragedy of the
Commons” and give a possible solution as presented in the book.
5. Why do the Dutch have high environmental awareness?
6. Sometimes, “the success or failure as a society is to know which
core values to hold on to and which ones to discard.” In the last 60
years what core values did each of the following powerful countries
give up in order to survive.
a. Britain:
b. France:
c. Japan:
d. Russia:
e. United States:
f. Australia:
7. Drawing from your own life and educational experiences, think of
at least one group that failed at some task. Which of the four
categories would their failure be characterized under?
(e.g. England colonizing America; Category#2, failure to perceive
problem has arrived, the English were distant managers)