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AP Environmental Science 2012-2013

Course Overview

Advance Placement Environmental Science is a full-year laboratory science course. The goal of this course is to provide students with a broad background in a wide range of topics in Environmental Sciences in preparation for the Advanced Placement examination in May 2013. The secondary goal of this course is to bring awareness of environmental issues presently affecting our planet in the hopes that it will positively impact the decisions we make as individuals as well as a society. It is the expectation that all students in the AP Environmental Science class will sit for the AP exam in May.

Methods

Instruction will consist of lecture, discussions and demonstrations. Laboratory or fieldwork experience will be included where appropriate. Laboratory work reflects the broad range of topics and methods practiced in the field. The activities include traditional laboratory experiences, longer term experiments, and research/analysis of publicly available data. In all cases, there is an emphasis on use of the Scientific Method when applicable, critical thinking, collection and mathematically rigorous analysis of data, and problem solving. Clear, accurate communication of experimental findings is essential in science, accordingly, appropriate graphical and written presentation of lab work is expected.

Please note that appropriate clothing should be worn for field experiences- this would include close- toed shoes, long pants, sun hat, and insect repellant and sunscreen as needed.

Several research assignments will be included. In all cases, there is an emphasis on identifying a problem, challenge or topic and solutions or favorable path forward. Research work then consists of two components: background data on the current situation and projections or suggestions for the future.

Written assignments will include in-class work, research projects, homework, and laboratory reports. Assessments will be based on tests, weekly quizzes, and written assignments that will count as 70%, 10% and 20% respectively towards the overall marking period grade. All tests will be “AP style” and consist of multiple choice questions and short answer questions. Calculator use is not permitted on any test as it is not permitted on the AP exam.

Environmental Science for AP*, Friedland and Relyea, 2012 Edition. The primary textbook will be augmented by readings from supplementary texts, journals, magazines, internet sources and power point presentations.

Introduction to Environmental Science (1-2 weeks) Introduction to vocabulary terms associated with E.S. Chapter 1:Studying the state of our Earth: The Mysterious Neuse River Fish Killer- power point and discussion. How Environmental Scientists monitor natural systems for signs of stress. The five key global environmental indicators: Biological Diversity, Food Production, Avg. Global surface temperature and CO2 concentrations, Human Population and Resource Depletion E.S. and Math- converting acres to hectares, rates of forest clearing. Sustainable Practices: What is it? How do we get there? Ecological footprint Scientific Method Chapter 2: Environmental Systems (2 weeks) What happened at Mono Lake? Power point and discussion Earth is a single interconnected system Chemistry and Physics Review as applied to E.S. Forms of Energy and energy conversions Laws of Thermodynamics Feedback loops in the environment Do the Math: Calculating Energy Use and Converting Units, The Mystery of the Missing Salt of Mono Lake. Labs and activities:  Tragedy of the Commons Reading and Discussion Exponential Growth Simulation Calculate your Carbon Footprint Activity Current Event Context (current event or historical environmental catastrophe –reading and discussion) Scientific Method Lab- Solar Heating (hypothesis, data collection and analysis, and conclusions) Measuring your impact: Bottle water vs. Tap water activity.

Resources: Chapter 1and 2 Friedland and Relyea. Environmental Literacy Council Website. : Test on Chapters 1 and 2

Chapter 3: Ecosystem Ecology: The interaction between the living and the nonliving world. (2 weeks) Food Chains, Food Webs, Trophic Levels- Energy flow through the ecosystem, photosynthesis and respiration, energy transfer efficiency. Cycles in the Environment: Hydrologic, Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium and Sulfur Ecosystem Disturbances: Resistance vs. Resilience Intrinsic and Instrumental Values of Ecosystems Chapter 4: Global Climates and Biomes (2 weeks) Weather and Climate: The Atmosphere (composition and circulation), convection currents, heat transport. Terrestrial biomes and climate variations within each. Aquatic Biomes with variations by salinity, depth and water flow. Labs and Activities:

Greenhouse Gas Investigation: Solar heating high CO2 vs. ambient CO2 (data collection, analysis, extensions, implications) Long term Assignment: 2009 Hurricane Tracking (internet-based data collection, communication of results) Aquatic Primary Productivity Lab (changes in stream water DO with and without light) Terrestrial Primary Productivity Lab (Measure NPP of Rye grass by weight increase). Local water use/water use audit activity Water quality index lab (determine DO, pH, change in temperature, fecal coliform, BOD, nitrates, total phosphorous, total dissolved solids, turbidity).

Measuring your impact: Atmospheric CO2 activity Global Warming Evidence(analysis of primary data, review, conclusions and debate) Climatogram Construction Activity.

Resources: Chapter 3 and 4 Friedland and Relyea  Test on Chapters 3 and 4

Chapter 5: Evolution of Biodiversity (1-2 weeks) Value of Biodiversity/Global Distribution of Biodiversity Species Richness and Species Eveness Creating genetic diversity Evolution by artificial selection vs. natural selection, and by random processes. Allopatric vs. sympatric speciation Environmental changes and extinction The 5 global mass extinctions Decline of biodiversity: causes, consequences, legislation and social issues.

Chapter 6: Population and Community Ecology (1 week) Population inputs and outputs Population characteristics and carrying capacity Factors that Influence Population size Gause’s experiments Predator-Prey Relationships Reproductive Strategies Competition Keystone Species The Exponential Growth Model The Logistic Growth Model Primary, Secondary, and Aquatic Succession

Lab and Activities: Exponential Growth Simulation Do the Math: Measuring Species Diversity Measuring your impact: The true cost of a green lawn Do the math: Calculating Exponential growth Biodiversity measurement fieldwork (quadrat sampling and analysis, sampling field insects and soil invertebrates, graphing and analysis) (Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index)  Predator-Prey Simulation (plotting model data and drawing conclusions, test perturbations) Long term research project: Introduced species, (identify one non-invasive species, research where, when, why, mitigation (if any, projections for future) Written report and presentation. Measuring your impact: The Living Planet Index Resources: Friedland and Relyea Chapters 5 and 6  Test Chapters 5 and 6

Chapter 7: Human Population (one week) China’s Population Growth, Environmental Implications and its one child policy. Human Population Dynamics: Population Growth and Doubling Time Earth’s carrying capacity Age structure diagrams Reproductive Strategies Demographic Transition The IPAT Equation Towards Sustainability: Population Size, Case Studies, Social and Political Context

Chapter 8: Earth Systems (one week) The formation of the earth and the distribution of critical elements on Earth Plate tectonics and its importance in E.S. Earthquakes, Volcanoes The Rock Cycle Weathering and Erosion Soil Formation and its characteristics (Horizons and Properties) Minerals and their extraction : surface mining, open-pit mining, mountaintop removal and placer mining and their environmental consequences.

Chapter 9: Water Resources (1 week) Dams and Salmon on the Klamath River Abundance of usable water Groundwater, aquifers, salt -water intrusion, How human activity alters the availability of water: dams, dikes, levees, wells, aqueducts, conservation, recycling Global water resources; desalination Water use for agriculture, irrigation and industry

Labs and activities: Survivorship Lab (gather cemetery data or on-line)  Exponential Population Growth Activity (expand analysis and discussion) Global Population Investigation: Constructing and Comparing Population Pyramids (construct age-sex profiles from available data, geographically analyze relationship between profile shape and demographic and economic factors) Debate: Critical Evaluation of Sustainability Case Studies Properties of Soil Lab(local soil samples: % organic, sand, silt, clay, permeability, porosity, fit onto soil triangle, Berlese funnel to collect and count macro-invertebrates Do the Math: Calculating Population Growth Measuring Your Impact: National Footprints Activity Do the Math: Plate Movement Research mining legislation and why the laws were implemented Measuring your Impact : What is the impact of your diet on soil dynamics? Energy input vs. energy output calculations. Compare and contrast the cost: benefit of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River. Do the Math: Selecting the Best Washing Machine Measuring Your Impact: Saving Water Audit Resources: Friedland and Relyea Chapters 7, 8and 9  Test on Chapters 7, 8 and 9

Chapter 10: Land Public and Private (1 week) Tragedy of the Commons revisited Public Lands Classification Land Management Practices and Agencies: Forests, rangelands, national parks. Logging, deforestation, reforestation, fire management Residential land use: Urban Sprawl vs. Smart Growth

Chapter 11: Feeding the World (1 week) Global malnutrition vs. nutritional requirements Green Revolution and agriculture Mono-cropping pros and cons Irrigation, Pesticides, Fertilizers, IPM Genetic Engineering of crops and livestock Sustainable Agriculture: crop rotation, intercropping, no-till agriculture, organic agriculture High density Animal Farming: pros and cons Aquaculture and the environmental impacts

Labs and activities: Measuring your Impact: The Cost of Commuting Activity View the Salatin videos and discuss Do the Math: Land needed for food Measuring Your Impact: The Ecological Footprint of Food Consumption

Resources: Friedland and Relyea Chapters 10 and 11  Test Chapters 10 and 11

Chapter 12: Nonrenewable Energy Resources (2 weeks) Disasters Associated with NER: Santa Barbara 1969, Exxon Valdez 1989, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, W. Va coal mine explosion, Louisiana BP disaster 2011. Fossil Fuels: Coal, Oil, Petroleum, and Natural Gas: formation, discovery, extraction, purification and uses. Benefits and Environmental Impacts of each. Energy Efficiencies Electricity Generation The Hubbert Curve Nuclear Energy: the good and the bad Projections of future supplies of conventional energy resources. Chapter 13: Achieving Energy Sustainability (2 weeks) Renewable Energy: Biomass, Biofuels, Hydroelectricity, Solar Energy, Geothermal Energy, Wind Energy: the advantages and disadvantages of each, how they work. Energy Conservation Sustainable Designs in homes Energy use for the future

Labs and activities:

Personal Energy Use Audit Electric Meter Activity Debate: The Hubbert Curve Do the Math: Efficiency of Travel, Calculating Electricity Supply, Calculating Half-Lives, Energy Star Solar Absorption Lab Half-Life of Radioactive waste Lab Compare and Contrast all forms of NER with energy return on energy investment. Project: Evaluate an Emerging Power Source (poster and presentation) Survey Project: NIMBY survey of student attitudes Measuring your Impact: Choosing a Light Bulb

Resources: Friedland and Reylea Chapters 12 and 13 and the Dept. of Energy Website  Test Chapters 12 and 13

Chapter 14: Water Pollution (1 week) Anthropogenic causes Impacts on the Environment and Human Health (with Pb, As, Hg, as well as synthetic organic compounds, military and industrial compounds and acid deposition) Septic systems and sewage treatment Oil pollution, solid waste, and sediments, thermal pollution and noise pollution as pertaining to our water Economic Impacts Legislation: Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act

Chapter 15: Air Pollution and Stratospheric Ozone Depletion (1 week) Major Air Pollutants Primary and Secondary Pollutants Natural Emissions and Anthropogenic Emissions Impacts on the Environment and Human Health Smog Formation, thermal inversions, acid deposition Economic Impacts Pollution Controls Stratospheric Ozone : importance, benefits, formation of, anthropogenic destruction of, depletion of. Hazards in developing countries vs. developed countries

Cap-and- Trade Game Activity (model CO2 emission control scheme) Acid Rain Lab (pH measurements of collected rainwater/snow and analysis) Particulate Matter Investigation (collect data on PM, analyze, compare to available data) Debate: Students research Cost-Benefit scenarios of cleanups.

Resources: Friedland and Relyea Chapters 14 and 15 and  Test Chapters 14 and 15

Chapter 16: Waste Generation and Waste Disposal (1 week) Paper vs. Plastic? Waste Generation from an ecological and systems perspective. Composting and the three “R”s. Landfills and Incineration Hazardous Waste and the Superfund Act Alternative ways to handle waste

Chapter 17: Human Health and Environmental Risks -1 week Erin Brockavich case Health Risks and Diseases Associated with Environmental Factors; infectious disease, chemical exposure, carcinogens, teratogens, allergans. Dose-response studies, retrospective and prospective studies. Concentrations of Chemicals : effects on organisms Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification Risk Assessment and risk acceptance International Agreements on Hazardous Chemicals

Measuring Your Impact: Understanding Household Waste Solid Waste Activity (student household based- quantify one week of household waste, collect data, organize data in effective/persuasive manner, propose ways to reduce) LD-50 Lab (LD-50 determination using household chemicals and brine shrimp) Do the Math: Estimating LD50 Values and safe exposures

Resources: Friedland and Relyea Chapters 16 and 17 World Health Organization website

 Test Chapters 16 and 17

Chapter 18: Conservation of Biodiversity (2weeks) Value of Biodiversity/Global Distribution of Biodiversity Genetic Diversity, species diversity and ecosystem function are declining globally Causes and consequences of declining biodiversity Conservation Legislation and social issues Endangered Species Act Habitat Loss Invasive species vs. native species Overharvesting Single Species Approach to conserving biodiversity Protected Land, Reserves

Chapter 19: Global Change (1 week) Climate change and Polar Bear extinction Global Change, Global warming and global climate change Solar Radiation and Greenhouse gases CO2 concentrations and temperatures over time Feedback loops in the process of global warming Effects of global warming on organisms and the environment Climate Models and Future conditions The controversy of climate change Kyoto Protocol

Labs and Activities:

Measuring Your Impact: Carbon Produced by different modes of travel. Measuring Your Impact: How Large is Your Home? Global Warming Evidence (analysis of primary data, review, conclusions, and debate) Greenhouse Gas Lab Project: Global Warming Implications for NJ (students identify, research, quantify and communicate implications of one likely result of global warming on our state) Calculate your carbon footprint again( lessons learned-and applied?)

Resources: Friedland and Relyea Chapters 18 and 19 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Summary, 2007.  Test on Chapters 18 and 19.