Environmental Studies

Syllabus- San Fernando High School

Textbook: Environmental Science A Global Concern (9th edition)

Mrs. Ghazarian

Course Description

This course has a great emphasis on the “science” of environmental science. The key themes of this course are evolution, altering natural ecosystems through human actions, and energy use, organisms need energy and must find ways to obtain it. This course requires math. In addition to lectures, there will lab experiments, fieldwork and hands-on activities, films with study guides and analysis questions.

Class Requirements

Students need a binder, composition book (for field notes), pencils, erasers, a ruler, and coloring pencils, and highlighter.

Assessment

There are chapter tests, and quizzes, along with lab reports, projects and homework and a cumulative final for each semester.

Chapter tests & Quizzes40%

Labs & Projects20%

Homework10%

Final30%

Total:100%

Grading Scale

A90-100%

B89-80%

C79-70%

D69-60%

F59-0%

Course Outline

Topic / Labs & Activities / Duration
Introduction to Environmental Issues / Reading: ch.1
Reading: The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Activity: Tragedy of the Commons / 1 week
Science, Systems, Matter & Energy / Lab: What is energy?
Mini project: Design your own experiment / 2 weeks
Ecosystems, Energy Flow, & Matter Cycling / Lab: Learning to use a field guide
Project: Terrestrial Land Survey / 1 week
Evolution & Biodiversity: Origins, Niches & Adaptation / Lab: Investigating Bird Beak Adaptation / 1 week
Biogeography: Climate, Biomes & Terrestrial Biodiversity / Film: Chasing El Nino / 1 week
Aquatic Ecology: Biodiversity in Aquatic Systems / Project: Pond Ecosystem Study
Lab: Dissolved Oxygen & Primary Productivity
Activity: Depth Profile & Compensation Point / 2 weeks
Community Ecology: Structure, Species Interaction, Succession / Film: Cane Toad: An Unnatural History
Activity: NSTA Introduced Species Case Study / 1 week
Population Dynamics, Carrying Capacity & Conservation Biology / Lab: Capture and Release / 1 week
Geology: Processes & Soil / Lab: Soil Science
Lab: Chemical Weathering
Film: The Dustbowl / 2 weeks
Human Population: Growth, Demography & Carrying Capacity / Film: NOVA Population Bomb
Activity: The Material World Survivorship Curves
Activity: Making an age pyramid / 2 weeks
Food Resources / Lab: Human Carrying Capacity
Activity: Estimating Carrying Capacity
Film: Supersize Me
Mini Project: Grocery Store- Origins of Food / 2 weeks
Water Resources / Film: Cadillac Desert / 1 week
Geologic Resources` / Lab: Cookie Mining & Reclamation
Slide Show: Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant
Lab: Black Lung Disease
Film: Chernobyl Heart / 2 weeks
Energy Efficiency & Renewable Resources / Slide Show: Green Home Building / 2 weeks
Risk, Toxicity & Human Health / Film: Estrogen Effect: Assault on the Male / 1 week
Air & Air Pollution / Lab: Acid Rain
Activity: Air Pollution Micro slides
Lab: Detecting Ozone / 2 weeks
Climate Change & Ozone Loss / Film: An Inconvenient Truth
Project: Negotiating for a cooler Planet / 2 weeks
Water Pollution / Lab: Watershed Model
Film: Black Tide: A History of Oil Spills
Field Trip: Waste Water Treatment Plant / 2 weeks
Pesticides & Pest Control / Demonstration: organic Pest Control Methods & Organic Foods
Film: Silent Spring / 1 week
Solid & Hazardous Waste / Activity: Comparing Trash Over the Last Century
Activity: Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers
Film: Urban Garbage: Landfill or Recycle
Film: Brownfield Basics / 1 week
Sustaining Wild Species / Film: Vanishing Species / 1 week
Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity / Film: Can Tropical Rainforests be Saved?
Activity: Understanding Urban Sprawl / 1 week