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AP Environmental Science: Adrianna Smyth
Course Overview:
The AP Environmental Science course is a yearlong course designed to be the equivalent of a one-semester 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 and/or preventing them.
As determined by the AP College Board, this class covers the following topics, with the values in parentheses representing the relative representation of that topic on the AP Exam:
I. Scientific Analysis (5%)
II. Interdependence of Earth’s Systems: Fundamental Principles and Concepts (25%)
- a. The Flow of Energy
- b.The Cycling of Matter:
- i. Water
- ii. Carbon
- iii. Critical nutrients: N and P
- c. The Solid Earth (plate tectonics, geologic time, etc)
- d. The Atmosphere
- e. The Biosphere (organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems; evolution and natural selection)
III. Human Population Dynamics (10%)
IV. Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources: Distribution, Ownership, Use, Degradation (15%)
- a. Water
- b. Minerals
- c. Biological
- d. Energy
- e. Land
V. Environmental Quality (20%)
- a. Air, water, soil
- i. major pollutants
- ii. effects of pollutants
- b. Solid Wastes
- c. Impacts on Human Health
VI. Global Change
- a. First order Effects
- b. Higher-order Interactions
VII. Environment and Society: Trade-offs and Decision Making (5%)
VIII. Choices for the Future (5%)
Many of these topics are interrelated, and we may revisit some over and over again.
The underlying themes unifying all of the topics we discuss, however, are
1) How do we determine what the human impacts on natural systems are?
2) How do we decide what impacts are unavoidable or acceptable?
3) How do we set goals to minimize or mitigate current and future impacts? and
4) How do we go about achieving these goals.
The scientific process plays critical roles in all four of these areas, yet which questions are addressed and how the results are interpreted and applied involves the values and decision-making processes of societies around the globe.
Textbook:
Botkin, Daniel B. and Edward A. Keller, Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995.
Format of the course:
This course will consist of a variety of activities. Some material will be presented through lectures, but readings and discussions will also be central. We will use a case study approach to address many areas of the course. And these will be organized in a manner similar to what you experienced in Biology. Lab and field activities will be an integral aspect of the course. I also hope to have a number of guest speakers over the course of the year. I DO expect you to register and sit for the AP Environmental Science test. If you do not, you will be required to write a research paper as an alternative.
Grading:
Grades will be based on the total points earned on various tests and assignments. The point breakdown will be roughly as follows:
Fall Semester:
Tests and quizzes: 30%
Reading Discussions, Blog Response: 15%
Written assignments: 20%
Lab and field work: 15%
First Semester Project: 20%
Spring Semester:
Tests: 25%
Reading Discussions, Blog Response: 10%
Written assignments: 15%
Lab and Fieldwork: 10%
**Independent Research Assignment: 45%
The allocation of grades is as expected:
92%+ A
90 – 92% A-
87-90% B+
82 – 87% B
80 – 81% B-
Etc.
**You will receive a separate handout describing the Independent Research Assignment.
Late work and General Expectations
As CPS Seniors in an AP course, I expect you to be responsible members of our class community. In addition to being respectful and supportive to each other and to me in the obvious ways, this also means coming to class prepared to share in intellectual discussions and activities. The success of the class as a whole depends on YOU having done the reading, or considered the questions posed to you, or researching the case study, etc. I truly expect that you will approach the class as intellectuals, with a desire to understand, a desire to learn, regardless of grades.
At the same time, I am very committed to you having a great experience in the class, and especially to you having a rewarding senior year. I understand the competing demands on your time, and will strive to help you find a balance in any ways possible.
If you are absent on the day of a quiz or test, or on a day when an assignment is due, you have the same number of days you were out to make up the work without penalty. If you turn work in after the due date and were not absent, you will lose 50% of the point value for that work. After one week, I will not accept the assignment, and you will receive a zero. If you have an emergency or circumstances truly beyond your control interfere with your completion of an assignment, please discuss it with me. Similarly, if you know in advance that you will have difficulty giving your full attention to an assignment because of sports, a family trip, plays/musicals, etc, please talk to me. If you have otherwise been turning all work in on time it is likely that I will negotiate a new due date with you.
Senior Drop
You may drop any test, quiz, or assignment EXCEPT the take-home midterm (an final exam of course), but you need to notify me before the due date that you are doing so. I strongly advise against dropping tests as quizzes, as a)there are not many of them, and they make up 40% of your first semester grade, and b) if you don't study for a particular test, you will be at a disadvantage in preparing for the cumulative final exam. However, I will leave this decision up to you.Course Website:
This year, I am using a Blog space as the class website. The URL for the site is
http://cpsapes.blogspot.com/
You should check this page daily as an ongoing homework assignment.
