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 / Content / Reading, Labs & Activities
Intro to Environmental Science
2 weeks / -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
àVideo “The Lorax”
àBaseball cards of important people who have played a role in environmental history along with supplemental reading from these people.
à Tragedy of the Commons marine fisheries lab
à 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.
à 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.
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 / Brennan & Withgott Chapter 5
àWooly Worm natural selection activity—analysis of data using Chi-square test
àToilet Paper or Football Field geological time scale activity.
àCarrying capacity activity with oak trees and acorns.
àCurrent Events Scrapbook
àFieldwork: 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.
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) / Brennan & Withgott Chapter 6, 11
àFood Webbing activity
àBiome 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.
àQuadrant Sampling Lab: Students will perform quadrant sampling of a local field using field guides.
àStudents will perform a primary productivity lab
àCurrent Events Scrapbook
The Living World Part III
2 week / -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) / Brennan & Withgott Chapter 7
àStudents will create claymations of the various biogeochemical cycles.
àStudents will work through online volcano eruptions and earthquakes.
àCurrent Events Scrapbook
Human Populations
3 weeks / -Human population dynamics (historical population sizes; distribution; fertility rates; growth rates & doubling times; demographic transition; age-structure diagrams)
-population size (strategies for sustainability; case studies; national policies)
-impacts of population growth (hunger, disease, economic effects; resource use; habitat destruction) / Brennan & Withgott Chapter 8
àDot Video
àStudents 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.
àFishing 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.
àFilms: The People Paradox or The People Bomb
àStudents 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.
àStudents practice data calculations in the following activities: Interpriting Graphs and Data (p.242) and Calculating Ecological Footprints (p.243), Withgott and Brennan.
àStudents will work through an online ecological footprint calculator
àCurrent Events Scrapbook
Soils, Food, & Agriculture
3 weeks / -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 / Brennan & Withgott Chapter 9-10, 14 (pp 424-428)
àSoil 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.
àSalinization 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.
àIntegrated 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.
à Students will read Botany of Desire: Potato by Michael Pollen. They will discuss this chapter and answer questions about the domestication of the potato.
à Students will create Edible Soil Profiles and answer questions about types of soil.
àCurrent Events Scrapbook
Land & Water Use
2 weeks / -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 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 / Brennan & Withgott Chapter 11 (329-338), 12-13
àCookie Mining Activity
à Students will research National Parks and how the natural parks are maintained.
àStudents 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.
àStudents will go on a fieldtrip to a fishery.
àCurrent events scrapbook
Environmental Health & Toxicology
3 weeks / -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 / Brennan & Withgott Chapter 14, 22
àHazardous 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.
à 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.
à Students will go on a field trip to a local landfill.
àCurrent Events Scrapbook
Freshwater & Marine Resources
3 weeks / -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 / Brennan & Withgott Chapter 15-16
àFieldwork: 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.
àStudents 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.
àStudents 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.
àStudents will design and create a waste water treatment plant.
àHome 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.
àCurrent events scrapbook
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; atmospheric-ocean 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
àAirborne 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.
àIndoor 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.
àCurrent Events Scrapbook
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; small-scale hydroelectric; ocean waves and tidal energy; geothermal; environmental advantages/disadvantages
-energy conservation (energy efficiency; CAFÉ standards; hybrid electric vehicles; mass transit / Brennan & Withgott Chapter 19-21
àHome 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.