Advanced Placement Environmental Science Syllabus
Fall 2014, Mrs. Amber Willis
DowntownMagnetsHigh School
Description of Course:
Welcome to AP Environmental Science! In this class, you will learn all about the various scientific concepts, principles, and methodologies of environmental science, the study of the natural world. This is a year-long class that will fulfill one-semester of an introductory college level environmental science or laboratory science course. An AP exam will be given at the end of the second semester. We will be investigating a variety of topics from water pollution to air toxicity. And, we will perform many laboratory experiments to help master these topics.
Course Objectives:
- To provide you with scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world
- To identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and man-made
- To evaluate risks associated with these problems
- And, to examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or preventing them.
CourseState Standards:
-Biology: Ecology 6: Stability in an ecosystem is a balance between competing effects.
-Biology: Evolution 8: Evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments
-Chemistry: Chemical Bonds 2: Biological, chemical, and physical properties of matter result from the ability of atoms to form bonds from electrostatic forces between electrons and protons and between atoms and molecules.
-Earth Sciences: Energy 4: Energy enters the Earth system primarily as solar radiation and escapes as heat.
-Earth Sciences: Energy 5: Heating of Earth's surface and atmosphere by the sun drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, producing winds and ocean currents.
-Earth Sciences: Energy 6: Climate is the long-term average of a region's weather and depends on many factors.
-Earth Sciences: Biogeochemical Cycles 7: Each element on Earth moves among reservoirs, which exist in the solid earth, in oceans, in the atmosphere, and within and among organisms as part of biogeochemical cycles.
-Earth Sciences: Atmosphere 8: Life has changed Earth's atmosphere, and changes in the atmosphere affect conditions for life.
Course Book:
Miller, G. Tyler Jr. Living in the Environment. 14th Edition (Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Thomson Publishing)
Course Prerequisites:
AP Environmental Science is open to students who have taken 1 year of biology and 1 year of chemistry. Students must also have passed Algebra II. AP Environmental Science students must be prepared to work outdoors for many of the labs.
Additional Instructional Materials:
1)Movies: The Lorax, Cane Toads: An Unnatural History, Extreme Oil, Future Cars, Population Bomb, Garbage Mountain.
2)Lab Manual: Bernstein, Leonard. Environmental Science: Ecology and Human Impact. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley, 1996
3)Dictionary:Dictionary of the Environment. Graftton Books, 1991
Grade Assessment:
Tests and Quizzes: 43 %
Homework: 23 %
Class work and Labs: 33 %
GradeRanges:
90-100 % = A 80-89 % = B 70-79 % = C 60-69 % = D 59% or below = F
Classroom Policies:
a) You will need a lab folder and lab notebook (graph paper) for this class. All materials for this class will be stored in your folder, as well as paper.
b) Please remain in your seats unless given permission to move out of them. Movement causes lab accidents.
c) Please, keep all food and drinks, except for water, outside the classroom.
d) Bathroom breaks will be permitted. However, ask to go during appropriate times, such as during break or when you are done with your activity. Inappropriate times would be during lecture or lab instruction. You only receive 2 bathroom breaks per semester. If you have breaks left at the end of the semester, you will receive extra credit.
e) Try to attend as many classes as possible. The more you attend and participate, the more you will succeed in AP Environmental Science. Also, quizzes will be given every week on Monday.
f) If you miss a class, the assignment/make up work will be due the following day you return.
g) For any material you miss because of an excused absence, be responsible, and complete the missing work! The number of days of the absence will determine how many days you have to make up the work. (Ex: 1 day absent = 1 day to complete work). Turn the absent work into the inbox with ABSENT on the top. You can always find out what you missed by asking a friend in the class, asking me before or after class, or checking the class website. Please, try to refrain from asking me during class.
h) Practice academic honesty! Any cheating in the class will be reported to the dean as well as receiving a zero on the assignment. Parent conferences will also be held.
i) LATE WORK is not accepted in this APES course.
j) Keep electronic devices out of the classroom. NO iPods, cell phones, etc. They will be confiscated immediately and given to the dean.
Class Website and Tutoring:
-Our class website is . At this website you can access:
- Homework assignments and Class Activities
- Grades (updated bi-monthly)
- Supplemental Material and Reviews
- Class Syllabus
- State Standards
-Please, take advantage of this website. If you are sick, finding out what you missed is a click away! If you need to contact me, my email is .
-Tutoring is available! You just need to ask! After school tutoring will be available too!
Outline of The Course:
Concept / Week Number / Chapter(s)Introductions, Scientific Method, Lab Standards / 1 / Ch. 1
Unit 1: Earth, Ecology and Ecosystems: Food Chains, flow of energy, symbioses, earth science / 2-6 / 2-9
Unit 2: Population Dynamics: Age structures, predator/prey, overpopulation / 7-9 / 10-11
Unit 3: Water Resources: Sources and Pollution, watersheds, ecosystems / 10-13 / 13, 17, 20
Unit 4: Air Resources: Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollution, Climate, Storms / 14-17 / 7, 18
Unit 5: Global Concerns: Ozone Hole, Mercury in Water and Global Warming / 18-19 / 19
Unit 6: Land Resources; Soil, erosion, deforestation, agriculture, conservation, wilderness, food production, pesticides, toxic and solid waste / 21-25 / 5, 12, 14, 21, 22
Unit 7: Biodiversity Extinction: Endangered vs Threatened Species, ESA, conservation / 26-29 / 23,24,25
Unit 8: Energy: Renewable vs Non Renewable / 30-33 / 3,15,16
Unit 9: Environmental Law and Economics / 34-37 / 27,28
AP Test in Early May / 38 / All
Unit 10: Human Habitats: Encroachment and Urbanization / 39-40 / 26,29
**Note** This is a rough overview of the course. The concepts we are covering will not vary. However, the week number may differ if I feel we need to spend more or less time on a subject. Also, a week is given at the end of the semester for intense review and the final.
Lab Experiments:
1)Grass Decomposition Lab: Students compare anaerobic versus aerobic breakdown with grass and varying moisture levels.
2)Population Density Lab: Students plant seeds in soil and test varying seed densities on growth rates of the plants.
3)Tag and Recapture Lab: Students tag and recapture sow bugs in order to determine population size.
4)Water Pollution Lab: Students obtain a freshwater sample from a nearby source to test nitrate, phosphate, pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and bacteria levels of the water.
5)Biodegradable Waste and Dissolved Oxygen Lab: Students use yeast and milk to observe a decrease in dissolved oxygen in the water when food is present.
6)Air Quality Lab: Students set up traps to capture particulate matter in the air. Students use microscopes to observe the different types of particulate matter.
7)Biodiversity Lab: Students set up traps using Tanglefoot Tree Barrier and sugar water to capture insects. Students count up insect numbers and use the Shannon-Weiner index to calculate biodiversity.
8)Soil Test Lab: Students obtain soil samples from their neighborhoods, and test the soils for pH, nitrates, and phosphates.
9)Cookie Mining Lab: Students use cookies to imitate mining operations on the land.
Field Trips:
1)Malibu Lagoon: Students will be led on a tour by the Resource Conservation District of the Santa MonicaMountains. Students will observe different fish and bird species, perform water quality tests, and capture and observe plankton. Students are also taught about the impacts of urbanization on a natural watershed.
2)Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Facility: Students will observe how wastewater is treated in the City of Los Angeles. A tour will be given.
3)Cabrillo Marine Aquarium: Our coastal environment will be explored at this facility.
Mrs. Willis Lab Write-Up Information
-Labs will be given on a regular basis in AP Environmental Science. They will be written inside your little black lab notebooks.
- Title Section-includes your name, the title of the lab, the date, and your class period. (1 pt)
- Purpose: A written statement of what the purpose is (may copy from the lab) (1 pt)
- Hypothesis:Write down what you think will happen in the lab. (Ex: if I do this, then I believe this will happen). (1 pt)
- Procedure: Summarize and include a diagram of the set up (1 pt)
- Data:All of the data and observations from each step of the experiment. Data tables and graphs should be included in this section. Data graphs and tables can be glued into the lab report. (2 pts)
- Conclusion: Discuss your data and results in this section. What conclusions can be drawn from the experiment? What can you say about what happened in the lab? This is your chance to briefly summarize the results of the lab in YOUR OWN WORDS, and discuss any implications of your results. (3 pts)
- Analysis/Extension: Often, in a lab, I add a couple questions to see if you can go beyond what was asked. Answer these questions in complete sentences. You do not need to write down the question. (1 pt)
-The completed lab will be turned in to me at the end of the experiment. The lab will be graded on a 10-point lab rubric attached to this handbook.
Conclusion Prompt
1st Paragraph: Analyze your data.
Some questions to answer:
-Restate briefly what you did.
-What did you observe?
-What does your observations and data mean?
-Are you observations valid? Any errors?
2nd Paragraph: Comparison.
Some questions to answer:
-How did your data compare within your group?
-How did your data compare within the class? (This might require asking a neighboring group what they observed.)
3rd Paragraph: Knowledge Learned.
-What did you learn from this lab? Please, make sure to tie in the knowledge gained in the lab to previous knowledge acquired in the classroom lecture setting.
/ LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICTDowntown Magnets High School
Business/Fashion Careers/Electronic Information
1081 West Temple Street Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA 90012Telephone Number: (213) 481-0371
Fax Number: (213) 482-0792 / Mr. John Deasy
Superintendent of SchoolsMr. Roberto Martinez
Superintendent, ELC 4
Mrs. Degma Guzman
Principal
Dear Parents:
Welcome to Advanced Placement Environmental Science! My name is Amber Willis and I am your son/daughter’s APES teacher. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Masters of Science Degree in Environmental Science from California State University, Dominguez Hills. I received my teaching credential in Biological Sciences at Cal State Northridge. This is my fourteenth year of teaching at Downtown Magnets High School, and I am looking forward to another great year with your son/daughter.
This is a rigorous year-long class that will fulfill one-semester of an introductory college level environmental science or laboratory science course. An AP exam will be given at the end of the second semester. We will be investigating a variety of topics from water pollution to air toxicity. And, we will perform many laboratory experiments to help master the topics. Your son/daughter will be performing much work on their way to accomplishing these tasks.
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The grade breakdown for the class is as follows: 90-100 % = A, 80-89 % = B, 70-79 % = C, 60-69 % = D, and 59 % and lower = F. Students will be graded on tests, labs, homework, and class work. Homework will be given every night.
As an aid for parents, I have created a class website: This website can be accessed to check for homework assignments as well as class activities and lectures. Grades and attendance will also be posted on a bi-monthly basis. Please, feel free to use the website with your son/daughter as much as possible.
If you have any questions or comments about the class, please email me at . My conference period is during 6thperiod. Also, if you would like to volunteer in the classroom or in the school, contact me for the arrangements. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Amber Willis
(213) 481-0371 ext 5172
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___ I have read Mrs. Willis' class information letter and understand that there is a website with which I can monitor my child's progress in class.
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Signature of Parent DateName of Student
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Name of Parent Phone # Email of Parent
Note Taking Rules
1) Write down the ID word and then highlight it (or underline if you do not have a highlighter).
2) Write only the important information about the ID.
3) DO NOT COPY DIRECTLY FROM THE BOOK! Every piece of information from the book should be in YOUR OWN WORDS. You will receive a zero if you do any copying from the book!
4) Leave a space on your paper between each ID word!
5) When the ID says, for example, Figure 3-5, look for Figure 3-5. Then, describe everything that is going on in that figure.
6) If you ever have any questions or are confused about an ID, please come see ME for help! I am more than willing to help during lunch, nutrition, or before school!!!
DowntownMagnetsHigh School
Homework/Classwork Rubric
Mrs. Willis
5 (Exemplary) / 4 (Competent) / 3 (Satisfactory) / 2 (Inadequate) / 1(Poor)
Assignment Completeness / All items attempted and are complete / All items attempted and are complete / Most of Items Attempted / At least ½ of the items attempted / Less than ½ of all items attempted
Accuracy / All items are correct / All items are correct / Most of the items are correct / Between ½ and 3/4 of items are correct / Less than ½ of items are correct
Demonstrated Knowledge / Shows a complete understanding of the questions, mathematical ideas, and processes. / Shows substantial understanding of the problem, ideas, and processes. / Shows substantial understanding of the problem, ideas, and processes. / Response shows some understanding of the problem. / Response shows a complete lack of understanding of the problem
Requirements / Goes beyond the requirements of the problem / Meets the requirements of the problem / Meets the requirements of the problem / Does not meet the requirements of the problem / Does not meet the requirements of the problem
Legibility / Legible handwriting, typing, or printing / Legible handwriting, typing, or printing / Marginally legible handwriting, typing, or printing / Writing is not legible in places / Writing is not legible