AP Environmental Science Cour Syllabus
COURSE GOALS
This cour adheres to the objectives outlined in the Cour Description for AP Environmental Science from the AP College Board, which states “the cour is intended to be the equivalent of a one mester, introductory college cour in environmental science.” The aim of the AP Environmental Science cour is “to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts and methodologies required to understand the inter-relationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with the problems, and to examine alternative solutions to resolving or preventing them.”
This cour is designed to acquaint students with the physical, ecological, social, and political principles of environmental science. The scientific method is ud to analyze and understand the inter-relationships between humans and the natural environment. The cour shows how ecological realities and the material desires of humans often clash, leading to environmental degradation and pollution.
Laboratory and field study are an esntial component to this cour. The labs and field investigations are designed to challenge the students’ abilities to:
-critically obrve environmental systems
-develop and conduct well-designed experiments
-utilize appropriate techniques and instrumentation
-analyze and interpret data, including appropriate statistical and graphical prentations
-think analytically and apply concepts to the solution of environmental problems
-make conclusions and evaluate their quality and validity
-propo further questions for study
-communicate accurately and meaningfully about obrvations and conclusions
The goal is for students to master the scientific techniques and methodologies that will enable them to become independent learners, capable of gathering and evaluating information and making rational and informed judgments that they will be able to communicate to others. This will enable them to function effectively as responsible citizens in a society that is increasingly shaped by science and technology.
Environmental science is interdisciplinary; it embraces a wide variety of topics from different areas of study. Yet there are veral major unifying constructs, or themes, that cut across the many topics included in the study of environmental science. The following themes provide a foundation for the structure of the AP Environmental Science cour.
1.Science is a process.
▪Science is a method of learning more about the world.
▪Science constantly changes the way we understand the world.
2.Energy conversions underlie all ecological process.
▪Energy cannot be created; it must come from somewhere.
▪As energy flows through systems, at each step more of it becomes
unusable.
3.The Earth itlf is one interconnected system.
张爱玲的弟弟▪Natural systems change over time and space.
▪Biogeochemical systems vary in ability to recover from disturbances.
4.Humans alter natural systems.
▪Humans have had an impact on the environment for millions of years.
▪Technology and population growth have enabled humans to increa both the rate and scale of their impact on the environment.
5.Environmental problems have a cultural and social context.
▪Understanding the role of cultural, social, and economic factors is vital to the development of solutions.
6.Human survival depends on developing practices that will achieve sustainable
systems.
▪ A suitable combination of conrvation and development is required.
▪Management of common resources is esntial.明锐和福克斯
The following main topics are covered in the cour: Introduction to Environmental Science; Earth's Systems and Resources; The Living World; Human Population Dynamics; Land and Water U; Energy Resources and Consumption; Environmental Quality and Pollution; Global Changes; Urbanization; and Natural Disasters and Catastrophes.
EXPECTATIONS
As this is a college-level class, students are expected to participate fully in all aspects of the cour. Through hands-on laboratory and field exercis, frequent class discussions of issues, and extensive readings, students take an active role in learning, appreciating, and understanding environmental issues, as well as developing their critical thinking and problem solving skills. Another important part of the cour is data analysis, measurement, statistics, dimensional analysis, and other operations that require mathematical skills.
Independent work is an expectation of this cour, and students will be required to master much content material on their own so that we have more time for laboratory and fieldwork. In addition, students will be required to do long-term obrvations outside of class time.
The cour places considerable emphasis on laboratory and field work. A minimum of one to two class days per week are devoted to labs and field work. For many labs,
students are given a pre-lab description and questionnaire. On lab days, students are expected to have read the pre-lab, answered the questions pod, prepared any necessary data tables and charts, and be completely prepared to perform the lab or field work required. Some labs are more involved, and in the cas students are expected to take responsibility for performing background rearch, developing and tting up their own experiments, and monitoring their experiments as needed. Additionally, students are expected to share and collaborate with one another, including peer reviewing, on lab and field work.
Communicating ideas and concepts is another important component of this cour. In addition to the group discussions and the collaboration over lab projects, students are expected to express their ideas by making periodic prentations for the class. The prentations range from reports on their more involved experiments to project assignments covering local environmental issues.
At the conclusion of each unit, a unit test is administered. Unit tests typically consist of short answer and essay questions focud on the chapters, labs and field activities covered in the unit. The intent of the tests is to evaluate depth and breadth of knowledge, and critical thinking skills.
The mester final exams are comprehensive and are similar in scope to the AP test, consisting of multiple choice, short answer and free-respon ctions. There is also a lab component to the exam, requiring the students to identify a problem, propo a hypothesis, u materials provided to develop an experiment, perform the experiment, evaluate their hypothesis and then interpret and prent their information. Students are challenged to u the lab skills, methodologies, and mathematics they have been learning through the cour, as well as their powers of obrvation and interpretation.
To facilitate time-management for the students, a weekly schedule for the cour is handed out at the beginning of each mester listing the chapters to be covered in the class, the laboratory and field exercis to be conducted, the assigned readings, the weekly written assignments, and the dates of all major unit tests. REQUIREMENTS
Core requirements:
-To demonstrate engagement in class lectures, discussions, internet activities, videos and other in-class activities, students are required to actively maintain a
comprehensive notebook (bound or loo-leaf). The notebook will be
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collected and checked on a periodic basis.
-The cour outline is divided into ten units, and each unit includes various chapters from the textbook. At the conclusion of each chapter, there is a list of
key terms, a group of study questions, and a “Critical Thinking Issue” that
includes a reading and questions. To demonstrate an understanding of
required readings and lectures, the students are to:
o Maintain a notebook of all vocabulary terms, including definitions of
the terms in the students’ own words, and an example ntence from a
source other than the textbook that puts the term in context. This
notebook will be collected and checked at the conclusion of each unit.
o Answer the assigned study questions at the end of each chapter and
submit them for grading. Some of the questions require short answers,
and others require more critical thinking and analysis. All of the
questions require the students to pull together, and make n of, a
variety of topics from inside and outside the scope of the unit. As we
will cover approximately one chapter per week, the assignments will
be due by the end of the week (refer to weekly schedule).
o Read the Critical Thinking Issue and answer the questions that pertain
to the reading, considering as many facets of the issue as possible by
家常酸辣土豆丝drawing on knowledge from readings, lectures, videos, lab activities,
etc. The assignments will be due by the end of the week (refer to
weekly schedule).
-Lab work is required as a component of every unit. Most lab activities are conducted in groups of two, though some labs are individual and others
involve larger groups, To demonstrate an understanding of the scientific
老黑山method, obrvational skills, data recording, and analytical skills, the students
are to:
o Maintain a bound notebook of all laboratory work (Note: Before
awarding credit for APES, some colleges request to e the lab
notes.) Most labs include a ries of analysis questions to complete,
and students are also expected to write a condend report including a
conclusion and error analysis. This notebook is collected and checked
on a periodic basis. There are some labs that require more work, as
next noted.
o Complete and submit formal lab reports, including background
rearch, for the following labs:
▪Fertilizers and plants – design your own lab (Unit 1)
▪Ecocolumn lab (Unit 3)
▪Salinization lab (Unit 5)
▪Toxicity lab (Unit 7)
*The lab reports are subjected to a peer review process from fellow
classmates prior to submittal. Peer reviewers are graded for the quality
and thoroughness of their reviews, and this grade is incorporated into
the lab report grade of each student.
General Requirements:
-The following assignments are required of each student throughout the cour:
o Maintain a bound or loo-leaf journal of environmental science related news stories from multiple sources (newspapers, magazines,
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on-line rvices, etc.). A minimum of one article per week is required
throughout the year. The assignment for each article includes the
writing of a brief summary and background of the topic, the
connection of the topic to class material, and an analysis of the science
versus the opinion in the article. The journal will be collected and
checked monthly.戴法兴
o From an extensive reading list, choo one book each mester to read and write a book report on. The book report must include a thorough
analysis of the main themes in the book, as well as the connection to
material covered in the cour. In addition to the written report, a
prentation to the class is required.
o Once per mester participate in an environmental-bad event (subject to instructor approval) outside of the regular school day.
Documentation of participation must be provided, as well as an essay
discussing the connection of the activity to the subject matter of the
cour. An oral prentation to the class is also required and will be
graded. A partial list of acceptable events includes
▪Creek/stream clean-up
▪Wetland clean-up/restoration
▪Water/energy conrvation class
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▪Composting/gardening with native plants class
▪Wildlife rescue
▪Green building or green garden tours
▪Green building construction cours
▪Trail restoration
-Periodically, the class will participate in field trips. For each field trip, the students are to:
o Be active participants by making obrvations, asking critical questions, and sharing information and insights with fellow
classmates.
o Complete a short essay describing the connection of the trip to material covered in the cour, including obrvations, insights and
interpretations. This essay is to be submitted for grading within one
week of the fieldtrip.
-The following is assigned to students on a rotating basis through the year: o Year-long climate recor
d activity
▪Students will maintain a daily record of quantitative and
qualitative meteorological data, including temperature,
humidity, cloud cover and types, etc.
