Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering APES Summer Assignment

Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering – APES Summer Assignment

AP Environmental Science 2014-2015

Summer Assignment

Welcome to AP Environmental Science (APES)! This summer assignment will give you a brief overview of overarching topic of sustainabilitythreaded through this course bylooking at some of the associated readings, prerequisites and math calculations. It will also give an idea of the amount of work expected for this class and how you MUST budget and allocate time for this course as well as meeting the rest of your academic demands.

The major topics of the class are as follows:

Energy Systems and Resources – atmosphere, soil, groundwater, and geology

The Living World – ecosystems and cycles

Populations – demographics, dynamics and growth

Land and Water Use – agriculture, forestry, mining, fishing and global economics

Energy Resources and Consumption – fossil fuels, nuclear energy, conservation and consumption

Pollution – types of pollution and its impact, waste disposal

Global Change – ozone, global warming, loss of biodiversity

Over the course of the year wewill learn more about the scientific, social and economic aspectsofthese topics. There are severalparts to the summer assignment, one of which is due at the end of July and one of which will becollected on the first day of class. If you have any questions about the assignment, feel free to emailme at . The summer assignment will count for a significantportion of your first marking period grade. All work turned in must be your own work.The assignment willbe graded as follows:

1. Email me by August 1 (15 points):

Last name, First name, APES 2014 in the subject line

• Your fullname

• Your home address

• Your home phone number (I do NOT want your cell phone number!)

How you will plan and schedule time for meeting the rigors of an AP (college level) course.(Discuss organization, planning, homework and study methods)

2. Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills – Quiz the first week of class on vocab and math skills

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills

AP Environmental Science is a college level course that combines content area from earthscience, biology, chemistry, physics, math, and social studies. You are expected to enter thecourse with a good understanding of basic scientific and mathematical concepts and skills, aswell as strong reading, writing, and speaking abilities. Although we will continue to developthese skills throughout the school year, your success in the class is also dependent upon whatyou bring to it at the onset. One goal of this summer assignment is to help you brush up onthese skills and concepts. Over the summer, review the scientific vocabulary & concepts below(either by making online or actual flashcards, concept mapping, stories with terms in them) as well asthe mathematical calculations on the next page; we will be building upon and referencingthem throughout the school year. You should be prepared to take a quiz on these skills and concepts during the first week of school. If you do not receive at least an 85% on the quiz,you will need to stay after for tutoring until you are able to achieve an 85% on it.

Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering – APES Summer Assignment

Prerequisite Basic Scientific Concepts:

You should be familiar with the following terms/concepts from Biology, Chemistry, and EarthScience:

Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering – APES Summer Assignment

Organic vs. Inorganic

Natural vs. Synthetic

Kinetic vs. Potential Energy

Radioactive decay

Half-life

Law of Conservation of Matter

1st Law of Thermodynamics

2nd Law of Thermodynamics

Entropy

Organism

Species

Population

Community

Ecosystem

Producers/Autotrophs

Consumers/Heterotrophs

Decomposers

Photosynthesis (reactants and products)

Cellular Respiration (reactants and products)

Aerobic vs. Anaerobic

Adaptation

Mutation

Gene

Trait

Chromosome

Gene pool

Natural Selection

Biodiversity

Extinction

Plate Tectonics

Weathering

Climate Change

Rocks vs. Minerals

Climate vs. Weather

The full name of each of these chemical

abbreviations:

CO2, CO, C6 H12 O6, CH4, H2,

H2O, N2, NOx , NO3- , NH3 , O2 ,

O3, P, PO43- , S, SO2 , Cl, K,

NaCl, Pb, Hg, Rn, U

Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering – APES Summer Assignment

3. Math Problems (40 points) – Due by Monday, August 25th

- Drop it off in the main office, email, scan or snail mail it to CSS; be sure that both your name and my name are visible (grading: 2 points for setting up the problem, 2 points for the answer, 2 points for neatness)

Prerequisite Basic Mathematical Skills

Percentage

17% = 17/100 = .17

- Remember that “percent” literally means divided by 100.

- Percentage is a measure of the part of the whole. Or part divided by whole.

- 15 million is what percentage of the US population? 15 million / 300 million = .05 = 5%

- What is 20% of this $15 bill so that I can give a good tip? $15 x .20 = $15 x (20/100) = $3

Percent change

Percent increase and percent decrease are measures ofpercent change, which is the extent to which something gains or loses value. Percent changes are useful to help people understand changes in a value over time.

Scientific Notation

Thousand = 103=1,000

Million = 106 =1,000,000 (people in the US)

Billion = 109=1,000,000,000 (people on Earth)

Trillion = 1012=1,000,000,000,000 (National debt)

- When using very large numbers, scientific method is often easiest to manipulate. For example, the US

population is 300 million people or 300x106or 3x108

- When adding or subtracting, exponents must be the same. Add the numbers in front of the ten andkeep the exponent the same.

- When multiplying or dividing, multiply or divide the number in front of the ten and add the exponents ifmultiplying or subtract the exponents if dividing

Ex. 9x106/ 3x102= (9/3) x 10(6-2)= 3 x 104

Dimensional Analysis

You should be able to convert any unit into any other unit accurately if given the conversion factor.

Online tutorials are available:

Prefixes

m (milli) =1/1000 =10-3

c (cent) =1/100 =10-2

k (kilo) =1000 =103

M (mega) =1,000,000 =106

G (giga) =1,000,000,000 =109

T (tera) =1,000,000,000,000 =1012

Math Problems

Answer the questions. Show all work (Use a separate sheet of paper if necessary.)

1) What is one million times one thousand? Show your work in scientific notation. Give the answer in

scientific notation and in words.

2) A population of deer had 200 individuals. If the population grows by 15% in one year, how manydeer will there be the next year?

3) One year I had 30APES students and the next year I had 55APES students, what is the percent increase in APES students?

4)The price of oil decreased from $54 per barrel to $50 per barrel. What is the percent decrease in oil prices?

5) Electricity costs 6 cents per kilowatt hour. In one month one home uses one megawatt hour of

electricity. How much will the electric bill be? (be sure to look at the prefixes chart on the previous

page for the conversion of kilo to mega)

6) Your car gets 20 miles to the gallon and your friend’s car gets 35 miles to the gallon. You decide to

go on a road trip to SUNY-Oneonta, which is 165 miles away. If gas costs $4 per gallon and youdecide to split the gas money, how much money will you save in gas by driving your friend’s car?

7) Manhattan is 2.3 miles wide and 13.4 miles long. If Manhattan receives two inches of rain, howmany cubic feet of rain fell on Manhattan. (Hint: convert all units to feet first).

4. Current Events scrAPESbook (45 points) – Due on the first day of class (see below instructions)

- Summaries and responses to 3 articles dealing with APES topics, environmental issues; 15 pts. each

Current Events scrAPESbook

In environmental science, it’s important to know about current issues in the news. One of our goalsfor this course is to educate you about environmental issues that are important to our community,our country, and our world. We will be reading and discussing a variety of current eventsthroughout the school year as well. This is a great opportunity to start thinking about theenvironment and how it affects us.

Over the course of the summer, find three articles that relate to environmental science. All articles should be current (from May 2014 on) and taken from a reliable source. The sources maybe scientific publications, popular magazines, newspapers or the like. Try the NY Times (especiallyTuesdays), Washington Post, National Geographic, Discover Magazine, Natural History Magazine, Scientific American, Science, Nature, etc. The articles should be long enough for you to write asubstantial summary and well-thought out response. All bibliographic information should be visibleon the article itself or included with the summary. You must find a variety of articles at the state,national, and global level, (ie. Not all articles should be about New York City or the Hudson River) that addressmultiple environmental issues. Topicsinclude, but are not limited to:pollution, climate change, environmental legislation, alternative energy sources, fossil fuels,human population growth, renewable resources, recycling/waste management, air quality,water quality, conservation/wildlife, food production/food safety, deforestation, GMOs(genetically modified organisms), etc. (see page 1)

This portion of the summer assignment must be typed in 12 pt. Times New Roman or a similar

font. It must be double spaced.

On the first day of class, you should submit for each article:

- a copy of the article with proper citation (MLA or APA format) (2 points each)

- a summary of the article content (6 points each)

- a personal reaction (7 points each)

Summary:

Write a brief summary of each article and point out the major environmental themes discussed.

Your summary should be no less than 250 words.

Personal Reaction:

Your personal reaction should clearly state your opinions and/or reflection on the article. You can offerpotential solutions, compare it to another environmental problem, ask questions about the article, or simplyreflect on the article’s content. Do not simply write, “This article was very interesting/good.” It should be noless than 250 words. Some questions to drive your discussion:

- What are the key points made in the article?

- What are the points of view presented about this issue?

- Does the article teach you something new?

- Does it support or refute other information you've heard or read? How so/in what way?

Please keep copies of your articles (with sourcescited)to turn in the first week of class. The articles should be neatly displayed with your 2 paragraph summary & reaction facing its article. Summaries may be neatly handwritten or typed.

Include a Cover sheet and a Table of Contents in which you number the articles and list the topic, title, source, and date of each article.

5. Readings: “Tragedy of the Commons” by Garret Hardin, The Lorax by Dr. Seuss You can obtain The Lorax at any public library or sit in an air conditioned bookstore! Tragedy of the Commons can be found online at:

Summarizeeach reading from the lens of how it pertains to human society and being able to sustain our population as well as conserve resources on Earth.

[Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut will also be incorporated into APES class and you should be prepared to answer questions on the novel regarding its discussion on evolution, tragedy of the commons and biodiversity, sustainability the first week of class.]

6. Data Collection & Graphing Activity

The environment sustains us, and we are a part of the environment no matter how much modern folk think otherwise. Often we cut ourselves off from the environment with our technology. The purpose of this project is to get you involved in data collection and analysis of subtle long---term changes that occur in the environment.

Some suggestions are given below, but we can discuss other projects you may think of. The intent is to collect data daily over an extended time period and analyze them. Many changes in our environment are often slow and subtle which entails careful observation and thoughtful analysis.

After you have collected your data, analyze and graph them using the appropriate graph. After your analysis, write a summary and conclusion looking for patterns in your data. You may choose one of the following as a possible project.

If you have another idea, we can discuss it via email.

Long term data collection study suggestions

Temperature–record the temperature atthe same time everyday 28timesor record maximum and minimum temperatures from the newspaper. Compare the minimum and maximum temperature from a coastal city and inland city at the same latitude for 28 days

Rainfall– record every day for fiveweeks(NOTif we are in a drought!) humidity (dewpoint) –record every day for five weeks air pressure--- record every day for five weeks measure a shadow of a stick or tree, every day at the same time for 28days draw or photograph the moon for 28 days

Astronomy

Time of sunrise/sunset for 28 days

Time of moonrise/moonset for28 days

Measure or download tidal cycle for 14 days

Monitor a bird feeder 2x per day for 14 days---record number and kinds of birds. (likewise, monitoring the number of pigeons at the same specific location at the same specific time at a favorite park or outside you apartment, subway station is possible).

If there is a new infant in the household (human, feline,canine)—record length and weight for 6 weeks

Plant a seed, flower or herb and record the number of leaves, stems, petals and height of the plant for one month. Graph the data appropriately.

7. MOVIE TIME! View a movie from the list below:

King CornHappy Feet or March of the Penguins

GaslandIce Age

Erin BrockovichAvatar

Wall-EGorillas in the Mist

An Inconvenient TruthEarth (Disneynature)

From this movie, you are to write a report (2-4 pages) that addresses the following aspects. Be sure that your report is in paragraph format and not submitted as a list of questions and answers.

Whatwastheenvironmentalsituationaddressedinthebookormovie?
Wasthissituationnaturalorman-made?
Exactlyhowdidthissituationoccur(what is the cause)?
Whatwerethepositiveand/ornegativeeffectsofthissituation?(Any legislation created is a positive effect)
Howwasthissituationfixed–ifatall?
Wasanyoneheldresponsibleforthissituation?
Howwasfaultdetermined?
Whatconsequencesdidtheyface–ifany?
Whatwerethelong-termecologicalimpactsofthisevent–ifany?
Whatdidyoualreadyknowaboutthissituationbeforethisproject?
Whatisthemostinterestingthing(s)youlearnedbydoingthisproject?

Additional Not so Random Announcements:

LAB FEE for class: $25.00 for the year for consumable items used in lab investigations. Please have your parent write a check or put money in a sealed envelope with YOUR NAME and class, as well as teacher name. These lab fees should be submitted on first day of school or as soon as possible.

Plagiarism is Not New & Is Not Okay.

All work submitted in this class must be your own original work as stated in the class syllabus for APES. This includes summer work, essays, vocabulary, reports and any other work submitted for credit. If the words are not yours, neither is the credit! Aside from appropriately cited article, inclusion of work done by anyone other than yourself will receive a grade of “0” (zero). Repeated instances of plagiarism will result in a grade of Fail in AP Environmental Science. All violations of NYC-DOE and CSS Academic Integrity Policy will be reported to the administration.

You can find this assignment on the moodle website as well as announcements, notes and study guides.

FIELD TRIP PERMISSION SLIP

We expect to do several trips through Morningside Park and to the Columbia Secondary Community Garden. Please fill out and return the permission slip. The sooner we get the slips back, the sooner we get to do field investigations!

Chancellor’s Regulation A-670

Parent Notification/ Consent Form

Day Trip

Name: ______Address:______

______

Email: ______

School: Columbia Secondary School Trip Date: open

Trip Coordinator: Diana Soehl

Departure Site: Columbia SecondarySchool

Destination: Departure Time: Lab Periods Return Site & Time:CSS

Mode of Transportation: walking

Morningside Park, Riverbank Park, CSS Community Garden (TBD for needed field study)

Purpose of Trip: Ongoing Field Investigations of extended CSS Campus

Specific Clothing/ Equipment Required for this Trip: School Uniform

This trip will include the following physical and sports activities: Walking

a) I understand that there are potential risks associated with the above-listed activities and I consent to my child’s participation in all activities except for the following:

______

b) Please indicate below any permanent or temporary medical or other conditions including special dietary and medication needs, or the need for visual or auditory aids, which should be known about your child:

______

c) I understand that as a parent, if I believe it is necessary to limit my child’s activity to a great extent, then the school may not be able to accommodate my child on this trip and that I and my child will be informed of this decision as soon as possible upon receipt by the school of this completed consent form.

d) I agree that in the event of any emergency injury or illness, the staff member(s) in charge of the trip may act on my behalf and at my expense in obtaining medical treatment for my child.

e) I understand that my child is expected to behave responsibly and to follow the school’s discipline code and policies.

f) I agree and understand that I am responsible for the actions of my child, and I release the school for all claims and liabilities that arise in connection with the trip, except if due to the negligence of school officials.

g) I understand that I am responsible for getting my child to and from the departure and return sites identified above. I understand that my child shall be accompanied by staff member(s) during the trip, including while traveling from the departure site to the destination site, and from the destination site to the return site.

h) I understand that alcoholic beverages and/or illegal drugs are prohibited and have discussed this prohibition with my child. I understand that if my child is found in possession of these substances, he/she will be subject to school disciplinary procedures and possible criminal persecution.