AP Environmental Science16-17 Mrs. Sturges

Tutoring:PM-M,T,Th AM- M,W by appt

Website: sturgesmbhs.weebly.com

Remind 101 Account: text @mbhsapes be to 81010

Course Description:

APES is designed to be the equivalent of an introductory college course in environmental science. The goal of the course is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems, both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them. AP Environmental Science will incorporate themes from geology, biology, environmental studies, chemistry and geography. It will address the interrelationships of the natural world, identifying and analyzing environmental problems both natural and human-made. While evaluating these problems it will examine alternate solutions. The topics that will be discussed are:

  • Science is a process
  • Energy conversions underlie all ecological processes
  • The earth itself is an interconnected system
  • Humans alter natural systems
  • Environmental problems have cultural and social context
  • Human survival depends on developing practices that will achieve sustainable systems

These topics are included in the seven core content areas of:

  1. The Living World
  2. Population
  3. Earth Systems and Resources
  4. Land and Water Use
  5. Energy Resources and Consumption
  6. Pollution
  7. Global Change

For a more detailed course description visit the College Board website:

Goals

- Academic goal: provide you with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodology required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or preventing them to ultimately use this information to pass the AP exam and receive college credit.

- Personal goal: provide you with information to make informed decisions, as a soon-to-be consumer, which lessen the environmental impact on the planet. My hope is you change one small habit that, over your lifetime, will have a huge impact.

Instructional Materials

  • Textbook: ENVIRONMENT: The Science Behind the Stories, 5th ed, by Jay Withgott and Scott Brennan, Pearson Publishing.
  • Website – resource for calendars, notes, videos, assignments, updates, handouts

Grades

30% formative including, but not limited to, daily assignments, quizzes, homework and labs

70& summative including, but not limited to unit tests and large lab reports

Make up work

In the event of an absence, you must turn in work the day you return to avoid a late work point penalty on assignments that were due on the day you were out. It is your responsibility to keep up with due dates- you will be provided a hard copy of a calendar and have access to a website to obtain assignments/view calendar.

Late work

You will have ONE day after a due date to turn in an assignment for up to a 70. After that you will receive a zero for the assignment. You will be provided with “passes” that can provide you a 24 hour extension with no point penalty (one per semester) and a 2 day extension of the late work policy to receive up to a 70 (one per quarter).

Field Trips

A mandatory field trip permission form will be kept on file for each student. Parents should be aware that their child will be leaving campus periodically as part of the course. In the past field trips have included Pecan Grove cemetery, IESI recycling center, the sewage treatment plant and a landfill. We aren’t going to Disneyworld or Six Flags, sorry.

The AP EXAM:

Monday, May 1st, 2017 (morning session)

The A.P.E.S. exam created by the College Board and The Educational Testing Service will be administered in May. The exam is three hours in length and consists of two parts: 100 Multiple Choice questions representing 60% of the grade; and 4 Free-Response questions representing 40% of the grade. No calculators are allowed.

Unit / Topic / Chapters
SEMESTER I
1 / Introduction to AP Environmental Science / 1
2 / Biodiversity / 3 and 11
3 / Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology / 4, 5, 15 and 16
4 / Land and Water Use / 12, 15, 16 and 23
5 / Human Population and Urban Sprawl / 6, 8 and 13
6 / Earth Systems / 2, 17
SEMESTER II
8 / Soil and Agriculture / 9 and 10
9 / Toxicology, Risk, Hazards and Pesticide / 14
10 / Waste Management and Resource Consumption / 22
11 / Pollution and Climate Change / 15, 16, 17 and 18
12 / Energy / 19, 20 and 21
13 / Legislation / 7
AP Test Prep
**AP TEST - Monday, May 1st, 2017 / The Whole Enchilada
Film Festival, Final Projects