AP Environmental Science Syllabus and Course Outline
School Year = 2013/2014
Instructor:Mr. Walker
Email:
Moodle Site:AP Environmental ScienceMoodle Key: APENV3
Student Site:cengagebrain.com
Course Key: CM-9780538491327-0000012
Schedule:MT - 50 minute period (Lecture/activity)
W or R- 90 minute block period (Lab/Activity)
F- 50 minute period (Case Study/Current Event)
TEXT:Living in the Environment 17th edition: AP Edition
Miller and Spoolman
ADDITIONAL:The Ecology of Hope: COMMUNITIES COLLABORATE FOR
SUSTAINABILITY by Bernard and Young
Course Description:
Advanced Placement Environmental Science is a course that provides students with content established by the College Board. The goal of the AP Environmental Science 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. Significant attention will be allocated to current global environmental issues through research, case study references, critical analysis/discussion, and presentations.
Environmental science is interdisciplinary; it embraces a wide variety of topics from different areas of study. Major topics addressed throughout the course include: Earth Systems and Resources (10-15%), The Living World (10-15%), Population Dynamics (10-15%), Land and Water Use (10-15%), Energy Resources and Consumption (10-15%), Pollution (25-30%), and Global Change (10-15%). Course activities include laboratory investigations, field experience, video analysis, class discussion, teacher led discussion/lecture, current event reporting, student projects/presentations, and research. Required field trips include touring a wastewater treatment plant (water resources and processing), multiple outdoor/field inquiries, touring a coal-fired power plant (electricity generation), and a day trip to the Indiana Dunes State Park (ecological succession and resource management).
Grading and Late Work Policy:
Students are expected to turn their work in on time. Late work will be accepted the day after the original due date with a 50% grade deduction on labs and general assignments. If a student should happen to be absent on a lab day, they will be responsible for making up the lab as soon as possible (arrangements must be made with me on the day of return). Long term projects will receive a 10% reduction for every day they are late until the 6th day, at which point no credit will be earned.
The CarrollHigh School grading scale will be used
Semester grades will be figured using the following method:
18 week Grade
Tests (4 per term)40%
Projects (research, presentation)30%
-1 Presentation (10%)
-Article/Case Study Reports (10%)
-2 Short Presentations Projects (10%)
Laboratory Work 20%
Homework5% Quiz 5%
Semester 1 Grade = 18 wk (80%), Final Exam (20%)
Semester 2 Grade = 18 wk (100%)
Academic Integrity:
Students are expected to properly cite sources and references for all materials used to develop course projects, papers, and laboratory reports. Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. If you are unsure of what constitutes academic dishonesty, please refer to your student handbooks or meet with me to discuss your concerns. A score of ‘0’ will be given on the first offense and parents will be notified. A second offense will result in a referral to the administration where they will decide course of action which could include a withdrawal fail from the course.
Expectations:
- Readings and Notes – Students are expected to have completed the reading assignments and note packets before the topic is covered in class. You should expect to be quizzed over readings assigned for this course. Your notes may also be checked. During class, you are expected to add to your notes with a different colored writing device.
- Discussions – Students are expected to positively participate in classroom discussions. Maturity is a must when in comes to listening to others, thinking about the issue, and expressing yourself.
- Laboratories – Students are expected to be professionals in the lab (see additional lab policy)
- Moodle/Online Work – Students are expected to utilize the site for discussion forums, practice quizzes, and additional research prompts.
- Classroom – Students are expected to remain focused on course activities the entire session.
- Fieldtrips – Students are expected to be passing all of their courses in order to attend the Indiana Dunes/Coal power plant and wastewater plant fieldtrips. A substitute project will be assigned for students unable to attend field experiences. The Dunes trip takes precedence over work and extracurricular programs so plan accordingly.
This syllabus is a tentative schedule/outline and may be subject to change
Fall Semester Outline
Week0 / Topic(s)
Introduction to Course / Labs/Activities / AP Alignment / Readings
Miller c1
Bernard c1+2
1 / Environmental Problems, Causes, and Sustainability / 1-Salinity and Germination
2-Tragedy of the Commons
3-Ecological Footprint Analysis / Intro/Preview of AP Topics / Appendix 1
Appendix 3
Bernard c6
2 +3 / Scientific Method, Chemistry, Feedback Loops / 4-Plant Competition Report / Background Chemistry and Lab Skills / Millerc2
Appendix 2
Appendix 4
EXAM: 1, 2 + intro
4 + 5 / Ecology, Nutrient Cycling / 5-Biomagnification
6-Macrovertebrate Analysis
7-Habitat Mapping / II / Miller c3
Appendix 6
6 + 7 / Biodiversity, Evolution, Ecological Niche / 8-Parking Lot Diversity
9-Crayfish Dissection
10-Natural Selection/Traits/Chi Sq / II / Miller c4
8 + 9 / Population Dynamics, Succession / 11-Bacteria/Fungi Investigation
12-Temperate Forest Succession
13-Population Sampling
14-Organism Profile Presentation / II, III, IV / Miller c5
EXAM: 3, 4, and 5
10 + 11 / Human Demographics,
Age Structures / 15-Video: World in Balance
16-World Population Growth / III / Miller c6
12 / Food, Agriculture, Erosion, Soil,Pest Management / 17-Video: Food Inc.
18-Soil Dynamics / I, IV / Miller c12
EXAM: 6 and 12
13 / Climate, Weather,Eutrophication, Water Quality / 19-Video: Planet Earth-Pole to Pole
20-Heat Transfer in the Earth / I, II / Miller c7 + 8
Appendix 7
14 / Biomes / 21-Biome Project / II
15 / Endangered Species, Extinction / 22-Keying of Pond Water Organisms
23-Cat Killer Case Simulation / II, IV, VII / Miller c9
Bernard c7
16 / Forestry, Hot Spots, Restoration / 24-Town Hall Simulation
25-Video: Planet Earth – Wilderness
26-Reintroduction of the Lynx / II, IV / Miller c10
Bernard c5
17 / Fisheries, Invasive Species / 27-Invasive Species Presentation
28-Fishers and Farmers Simulation / II, IV / Miller c11
Bernard c3
EXAM: 9, 10, 11+ Biomes
18 / FINAL EXAM WEEK
EXAM Covers c1 through 12
Spring Semester Outline
Week / Topic(s) / Labs/Activities / AP Alignment / Readings1 / Water Resources, Irrigation, Dams / 1-Video: Blue Gold
2-Water Conservation Simulation / I / Miller c13
Bernard c8
2 + 3 / Water Pollution, Water Treatment, Eutrophication / 3-River Clean Up Simulation
4-Water Quality and Filtration
5-Wastewater Treatment Trip
6-Neighborhood Clean Up Sim / I, VI / Miller c20
Bernard c10
4 / Geology, Mining, Plate Tectonics / 7-Separation of Copper from Ore
8-Mining Simulation / I, IV / Miller c14
EXAM: 13, 14, and 20
5 / Fossil Fuels, Nuclear Power, Air Pollution / 9-Fuel Calorimetry / V, VI / Miller c15
6 + 7 / Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Conservation / 10-FF Subsidy Simulation
11-PVC Electricity
12-Energy Conversions
13-Lightbulb Comparisons / V / Miller c16
9 / Energy Technology / 14-Energy Technology Project / V, VI
EXAM: 15, 16, projects
10 / Disease, Chemical Toxins, Dose Response / 15-Toxin/Disease Presentations
16- Video- Vanishing of the Bees
17-LD50 / VI / Miller c17
11 / Air Pollution, Primary vs. Secondary, Acid Deposition / 18-Particulate Pollution
19-Soil and Acid Deposition / VI / Miller c18
Bernard c4
12 + 13 / Ozone Depletion, Global Climate Change / 20-Footprint Analysis
21-Sun Screen and Shirts
22-Movie: Inconvenient Truth / I, VII / Miller c19
EXAM: 17, 18, and 19
14 / Waste, RRR, Detoxification / 23-The Story of Stuff / VI / Miller c21
15 / Urbanization, Sprawl, Zoning/Planning / 24-Zoning Commission Simulation
25-Land Use Mapping / III, IV, VI / Miller c22
Bernard c9
EXAM: 21 and 22
Late April / DAY TRIP / 26-Indiana Dunes State Park
27-Bailey Generation Coal Plant / II, IV, V / Indiana Dunes Resource Packet
Early
May / AP EXAM
16 / Poverty, Economics, and Growth / 28-Cost/Benefit Ratio
29-Video-End of Poverty / IV, VI / Miller c23
Appendix 23
Bernard11+12
17 / Politics, Ethics, Sustainability / 30-Video: Planet Earth-Living Together
31-Issue Presentations / Legislation, Closing / Miller c24
Miller c25
18 / FINAL EXAM WEEK
Exam Covers c23,24, and 25 / 32-Video: Avatar and Closing Discussions / III, VII
Description of Activities
FALL SEMESTER:
Number / Description / AP Alignment1 / Salinity and Seed Germination– A controlled experiment will be designed using radishes as a test organism. The impact of increasing salt concentration on seed growth will be assessed and analyzed using a t-test. The concept of tolerance curves will be introduced in this lab. / I, II
2 / Tragedy of the Commons– Use of a commonly owned resource will be modeled. Students will investigate the difference between free consumption of common resources, controlled consumption of common resources, and consumption of privately owned resources. / IV
3 / Ecological Footprint Research – Students will research demographic, infrastructure, and resource consumption data to compare per capita footprints of 3 different countries. / III
4 / Plant Competition – An experiment will be set up to determine the allelopathetic effect of pine needles or pea plant leaves on the germination of radish seeds. Interference competition, experimental set up, and lab reporting are all key components of this investigation. Students will prepare a lab report. / II
5 / Biomagnification– M&M candies will be used to simulate bioaccumulation and biomagnification of a pollutant through a food chain. A discussion of DDT’s effect on the bald eagle population will be included in this lab. Quantities of DDT ingested and energy transferred through a food chain will be calculated. / II, VI
6 / Macrovertebrate Analysis– Students will take a field trip to our corporation’s environmental center (5miles away) to collect data on the populations of macrovertebrates in the large pond. The types of organisms, their population size, and the tolerance value will be used to quantify the water quality of the pond. Other facets of the investigation include a description of the abiotic components of the pond and a watershed maintenance plan proposal. / I, II, VI
7 / Habitat Mapping – A detailed map and description of a forest plot will be generated for a survey site. / II
8 / Parking Lot Diversity–A “species diversity” comparison will be completed using automobile make and model from two different parking lots (staff and students). Richness and evenness will be analyzed using both the Simpson diversity index and the Shanon-Wiener diversity index. / II
9 / Crayfish Dissection – A crayfish will be dissected and its anatomy will be evaluated in terms of adaptation and evolution. The adaptations of a crayfish will be related to it ecological niche. Students will have a lab practical assessing structure and function. / II
10 / Natural Selection/Traits/Chi Square–Trait frequency will be calculated through generations as 6 different colored beads are dispersed in a 1m x 1m grass plot. Natural selection will be simulated by students removing beads through “predation” and surviving beads will “reproduce”. Part B of this investigation will require students to perform Chi Sq analyses on given data. / II
11 / Bacteria/Fungi Investigation–Samples will be taken from 6 different sources (soil, air, dust, water, human, food). Different samples from the same source will be incubated at 2 different temperatures and on 2 different agars (nutrient and Sabouraud dextrose). A bacterial smear will be prepared and observed for B. cereus and B. cereus will be grown under optimal conditions to demonstrate exponential growth. Tolerance curves, nutrient preferences, and exponential growth will be key concepts in this lab. / II, III, VI
12 / Temperate Forest Succession– Tree biology, diversity, density, and measurement (DBH) will used to compare to different forest plots in different stages of ecological succession. The types, maturity, and numbers of trees will be used to differentiate between the two sites. / II, IV
13 / Population Sampling– Large containers of beans will be used to conduct population sampling exercises. Population calculation projections will be compared to actual population numbers and capture/recapture size will be evaluated for obtaining the most accurate results. / II, III
14 / Organism Profile Presentations– An organism in the room will be selected and presented by each student pair (millipede, crayfish, bearded dragon, etc.). In a Powerpoint presentation, the life history pattern/reproductive strategy, ecological niche, adaptations, phylogeny, and limiting factors will be characterized. / II, III
15 / Video: World in Balance – This 120 minute NOVA documentary has two segments. The first is titled “The People Paradox” and looks at the startling trends in population growth of Japan, India, Europe, and Africa. Age structure and infrastructure are related in this 60 minute program. The second part, “China Revs Up” focuses on China’s population and booming economy – we will only view the second part if we find some extra time in class to do so. / III
16 / World Population- Students will use census data to calculate growth rates, construct age structure diagrams, and analyze population data. The diagrams will be used to characterize each country in terms of the demographic stages and infrastructure pressures for each country will be identified. / III
17 / Video: Food Inc. – This 90 minute video informs viewers about our nation’s food industry, exposing how our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our environment / III, IV, VI
18 / Soil Dynamics - The percolation rate of various soil types is measured and calculated based on dry soil and wet soil. Water retention and soil porosity of various soils will also be measured. / I
19 / Video: Planet Earth-Pole to Pole – This 40 minute video looks at our planet as a whole and considers the key factors that have shaped its natural history. It begins at the poles and continues to survey the various climates one will find on Earth. The film is a great intro to biomes and climate. / I,II
20 / Heat Transfer in the Earth – Students investigate how the specific heat of various substances affects the heating and cooling of the surrounding ecosystem. Data will be used to construct heating and cooling curves and also to calculate the amount of thermal energy absorbed by each substrate. / I
21 / Biome Project – Students will act as ecotourist guides and take the class on a trip through their chosen biome. Each biome will be dissected based on its abiotic and biotic factors, distribution, flora and fauna, food webs, natural resources, ecosystem services, and current issues they face. / II
22 / Keying of Pond Water Organisms – Dichotomous keys will be constructed after researching and observing 8 different pond water organisms (2 protists and 6 different animal phyla represented). Students will sketch/label, note behavior, and research ecological niche for each specimen. Stereoscopes and compound light microscopes will be used. / II
23 / Cat Killer Case Simulation – The class will investigate and then simulate an actual court case in Texas where a bird lover shot and killed cats to help preserve his hobby and wild bird populations. / II, III, VII
24 / Town Hall Simulation – Fictional roles will be adopted to simulate a town hall meeting to decide on whether a selected area of the town should be set aside as a nature preserve for a threatened species that lives there. Factors considered will be recreational opportunities, avoiding federal mandates, relocating citizens, property ownership, and economic growth. / II, IV
25 / Video: Planet Earth-Wilderness - This 40 minute film looks at how pollution, climate change, and a growing human population are all putting pressure on Earth’s wildernesses. It tries to quantify the amount of wilderness areas remaining and also to stress how their existence is important for our survival. / III, IV
26 / Reintroduction of the Lynx – Students will create and use age structure diagrams to determine which one of twoNational Forests in Colorado is the best choice to reintroduce lynxes based on their habitat and prey requirements. / II, III
27 / Invasive SpeciesPresentations – A selected invasive species will be profiled by each student outlining it’s reproductive strategy, niche overlap, and management plans. / II, III, VII
28 / Fishers and Farmers Simulation – The class will role play a fictional conflict over water ownership and rights. / I, IV
SPRING SEMESTER:
Number / Description / AP Alignment1 / Video: Blue Gold– This 90 minute, award winning film looks at the world water supply and usage of such a valuable resource. It considers how scarcity due to misuse, corporate giants, private investors, and corrupt governments can lead to wars being fought over water in the future. Students then discuss if water should be a “right” and whether water control/distribution should be carried out by the public or private sector. / I, IV, VI
2 / Water Conservation Simulation–Students will adopt a fictional role to simulate the voluntary or mandatory choice of water conservation. They will work with their “neighbors” to come up with a conservation plan and then evaluate the effectiveness of applying a marginal cost to water consumption. / III, VI
3 / River Clean Up Simulation – The marginal costs and marginal benefits will be calculated from data provided to students so they can draw a conclusion regarding the % of pollution that should be cleaned up in the Maumee river. / VI
4 / Water Quality and Wastewater Filtration - A filtration device will be created by students to improve the water quality of a polluted sample. Students will use a water quality index and Vernier technology to record the initial quality and then the quality of the filtered sample. An extensive report will be prepared. / VI
5 / Waste Water Treatment Trip– A fieldtrip will be taken to the city wastewater treatment plant. Students will be taken on a 2 hour guided tour of the process. Upon return, they will use concept mapping software to diagram in detail the treatment process. / VI
6 / Neighborhood Pond Clean Up Simulation – Students will assume fictional roles to decide how much a neighborhood pond should be cleaned up based on the marginal cost and marginal benefit that each of them experiences. / VI
7 / Separation of Copper from Ore - Through a series of chemical reactions, students will isolate pure copper from the mineral malachite. / IV
8 / Mining Simulation– Mining companies will be formed by a group of students and they will simulate the entire mining process. Surveying, claiming, licensing, core drilling, opening a mine, and reclamation will be experienced. Each group’s goal is to make a profit for its shareholders while abiding by current legislation and mining practices. / IV
9 / Fuel Calorimetry– The energy content of five different transportation fuels will be measured. Results will be calculated in calories/gram and calories/mL. An analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of each fuel type will also be performed. / V, VI