MADISON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Authored by: Jennifer Freeman
Reviewed by: Mr. Lee S. Nittel
Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Mr. Tom Paterson
K12 Supervisor of Science and Technology
Approval Date: Fall 2012
Members of the Board of Education:
Lisa Ellis, President
Patrick Rowe, Vice-President
Kevin Blair
Thomas Haralampoudis
Linda Gilbert
James Novotny
David Arthur
Shade Grahling
Superintendent: Dr. Michael Rossi
Madison Public Schools
359 Woodland Road, Madison, NJ 07940
www.madisonpublicschools.org
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I.
OVERVIEW
The goal of the course is to help students develop an understanding of the natural world with particular
attention to interactions and relationships between its components and human impact on them. Scientific
principles, concepts and methodologies will be used to identify and analyze environmental problems, risks
developing as a result of these problems, and possible solutions or prevention strategies. After taking this
course, students should be equipped to make independent and informed decisions about the consequences of
their actions on the environment, both as a citizen and a consumer.
II.
RATIONALE
As stated by the National Science Education Standards, 1996, science education is important at a universal level:
First, an understanding of science offers personal fulfillment and excitement – benefits that
should be shared by everyone. Second, Americans are confronted increasingly with questions
in their lives that require scientific information and scientific ways of thinking for informed
decision making. In addition, the collective judgment of our people will determine how we
manage shared resources such as air, water, and national forests.
At a personal level, students completing this course will be prepared for the AP Environmental Science exam.
The content of this course is guided by the College Board and models a rigorous college course stressing
scientific principles and analysis. This type of course often includes a laboratory component. Successful
completion of the course and the subsequent exam is intended to enable students to undertake a more
advanced study of topics in environmental science during their first year of college or to fulfill a basic
laboratory science course requirement.
III.
STUDENT OUTCOMES (New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards)
5.1 Science Practices: All students will understand that science is both a body of knowledge and an
evidence-based, model-building enterprise that continually extends, refines, and revises knowledge. The
four Science Practices strands encompass the knowledge and reasoning skills that students must acquire to
be proficient in science.
5.2 Physical Science: All students will understand that physical science principles, including fundamental
ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for making sense of phenomena in
physical, living, and Earth systems science.
5.3 Life Science: All students will understand that life science principles are powerful conceptual tools for
making sense of the complexity, diversity, and interconnectedness of life on Earth. Order in natural
systems arises in accordance with rules that govern the physical world, and the order of natural systems
can be modeled and predicted through the use of mathematics.
Common Core State Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects (Grades 11-12)
1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important
distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.
2. Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or
information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms.
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3. Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking
measurements, or performing technical tasks; analyze the specific results based on explanations in the
text.
4. Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they
are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 11–12 texts and topics.
5. Analyze how the text structures information or ideas into categories or hierarchies, demonstrating
understanding of the information or ideas.
6. Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an
experiment in a text, identifying important issues that remain unresolved.
7. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g.,
quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
8. Evaluate the hypotheses, data, analysis, and conclusions in a science or technical text, verifying the
data when possible and corroborating or challenging conclusions with other sources of information.
9. Synthesize information from a range of sources (e.g., texts, experiments, simulations) into a coherent
understanding of a process, phenomenon, or concept, resolving conflicting information when possible.
10. By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11–12 text
complexity band independently and proficiently.
The student will:
 relate scientific concepts to everyday experiences and the impact on human activities
 diagram a system (i.e. ecosystem, water and biogeochemical cycles)
 organize components of systems into a concept map
 make inferences from observations and from collected data that a system is composed of interactive parts
(ecosystems, and soil composition)
 predict the outcome of removing a component from a system (food webs, carbon-oxygen cycle)
 classify according to some method or system (i.e. macroinvertebrate classification)
 collect and record data
 construct models
 formulate hypotheses
 judge reasonableness of estimates, measurements, and results
 predict future events or conditions
 question conditions in a testable way
 use computer applications to simulate experimentation, information gathering, data representation, and
communication of experimental findings
 use mathematics to calculate quantities or determine relationships
 debate solutions to environmental problems
 read tables and graphs to represent and interpret data
 communicate about a scientific contribution in a clear and concise manner
 write about a scientist or inventor in historical context
 select and use tools appropriate for a task
 use a variety of tools to make accurate measurements (microscopic measurement)
 seek and report information
IV.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND CONTENT
Humans in the Environment
 What is the difference between overpopulation and consumption overpopulation?
 What are the three most important factors that determine human impact on the environment?
 How are the global commons exploited?
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What are the five stages of addressing environmental problems?
Why are environmental impact statements important?
What are the costs associated with pollution?
The Living World and Earth’s Systems
 How are the laws of thermodynamics related to photosynthesis and cellular respiration?
 How does energy flow through a food web?
 What is ecological succession?
 What are the major types of interactions between organisms?
 How might a limiting resource affect a species’ ecological niche?
 What is a keystone species?
 What are the main steps in each of the following biogeochemical cycles: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus,
sulfur, and water?
 What distinguishes each of the five layers of the Earth’s atmosphere?
 What basic forces determine the circulation of the Earth’s atmosphere?
 How does solar intensity differ at different latitudes affect temperature at the Earth’s surface?
 What is the role of solar energy and the Coriolis effect in global water flow patterns?
 What are some effects of El Nino?
 How do you distinguish between weather and climate?
 What is plate tectonics?
 Where do earthquakes and volcanoes commonly occur and why?
 What two climate factors are the most important in determining an area’s characteristic biome?
 What environmental factors are most important in determining the kinds of organisms found in aquatic
environments?
 What are the problems associated with chemicals that exhibit bioaccumulation and biomagnification?
 How does a dose-response curve help determine the health effects of environmental pollutants?
 How does risk assessment help determine adverse health effects?
 What information does a cost-benefit analysis provide decision makers?
Human Population Dynamics
 What is population ecology?
 What is the effect of each of the following on population size: birth rate, death rate, immigration, and
emigration?
 How do intrinsic rate of increase and carrying capacity produce the J-shaped and S-shaped population
growth curves?
 When determining Earth’s carrying capacity for humans, what must be considered in addition to human
numbers?
 What is the relationship between carrying capacity and agricultural productivity?
 What is the relationship between economic development and population growth?
 How can a government encourage global population stabilization?
 What problems are associated with suburban sprawl?
 How can city planners incorporate environmental sustainability?
Energy Consumption
 How does energy consumption differ in highly developed versus developing countries?
 What environmental problems are associated with the use of fossil fuels?
 How do government subsidies affect energy prices?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of producing electricity through nuclear energy?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of solar energy, wind energy, and hydropower?
 What is the difference between energy conservation and energy efficiency?
Earth’s Resources
 Which human activity is responsible for almost 70% of global water consumption?
 How can sustainable water use be achieved?
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How can cities promote water conservation?
What are the four components of soil, and how is each important?
What ecosystem services are performed by soil organisms?
What is sustainable soil use?
Through what natural processes are minerals concentrated in Earth’s crust?
What are some harmful environmental effects of mining and processing minerals?
How can minerals be conserved?
What are some important ecosystem services provided by biological diversity?
How do humans cause species endangerment and extinction?
Why are conservation biology and restoration ecology important?
What is the goal of wildlife management?
What are some strategies to protect biological diversity?
What are some important ecosystem services provided by natural areas?
What are the environmental impacts of industrialized agriculture?
What are some harmful environmental effects associated with the farming of fish?
Pollution
 What are the characteristics and effects of each class of air pollutants?
 How did the Clean Air Act affect air pollution?
 Why is air pollution worse in developing countries than in highly developed countries?
 What are some potential effects of global climate change?
 How can we diminish and adapt to global climate change?
 What are some effects of water pollution?
 What is the difference between point source and nonpoint source pollution?
 What are the main goals of the Safe Drinking Water Act?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of pesticide use?
 What are some alternatives to pesticide use?
 How do laws regulate pesticide use?
 How can we reduce the volume of solid waste?
Choices for the Future
 What is environmental sustainability?
 What steps must we take to stay within Earth’s carrying capacity?
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VI.
STRATEGIES
Students will regularly answer essay questions that require them to analyze environmental problems or
design experiments and discuss their possible results and applications.
Students will participate in lab explorations to discover, verify, apply, and extend concepts from biological
and physical sciences.
Students will participate in field-based investigations during which they will pose hypotheses, develop
methods and sampling protocols, and collect, analyze, and interpret original data.
Students will develop models which represent their understanding of the connections among Earth’s
biotic and abiotic systems.
Students will engage in teacher-guided class discussions which explore environmental risk assessment,
predict future conditions, and propose solutions to local and global environmental issues.
EVALUATION
Student assessment is accomplished on a regular basis using a variety of measures including:
 Class work
 Lab Reports
 Evaluation of Homework
 Quizzes
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Tests
Classroom Presentations
Field Study
VII.
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Individual Experiment/Research Project
AP Exam
REQUIRED RESOURCES
Textbook:
Raven & Berg, Environment, 5th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2006
Supplemental Resources:
McConnell & Abel, Environmental Issues: Measuring, Analyzing, and Evaluating, Prentice Hall, 2002
Molnar, Laboratory Investigations: AP Environmental Science, The Peoples Publishing Group, 2005
VIII.
SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
Unit 1 – Humans in the Environment (3 weeks)
Chapter 1 – Introducing Environmental Science and Sustainability (2 weeks)
Topics:
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Definition and importance of Environmental Science
Sustainability
Tragedy of the Commons
Scientific Method
How to identify and analyze environmental problems
Activities:
 Hunger Banquet
 Experimental Design
 Tragedy of the Commons Sustainable Fishing Simulation
 Basic Concepts and Tools: Using Math and Critical Thinking
Chapter 2 – Environmental Laws, Economics, and Ethics (1 week)
Topics:
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history and policies of conservation and environmental movements
Unit 2 – The Living World and Earth’s Systems (10 weeks)
Chapter 3 - Ecosystems and Energy (2 weeks)
Topics:
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Ecology
Ecosystems
Laws of thermodynamics
Flow of energy through ecosystems
Activities:
 Net Primary Productivity Lab
 Eating at a Lower Trophic Level
Chapter 4 - Ecosystems and Living Organisms (2 weeks)
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Topics:
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Four premises of evolution by natural selection
Primary and secondary succession
Keystone species
Symbiosis (distinguish among mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism)
Species richness
Activities:
 The Lorax
 "The Effects of Coyote Removal in Texas: A Case Study in Conservation Biology"
 Predator-Prey Simulation
 Field Trip: Hutcheson Memorial Forest - succession
Chapter 5 – Ecosystems and the Physical Environment (2 weeks)
Topics:
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Carbon cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Phosphorus cycle
Water cycle
Human effect on biogeochemical cycles
Solar energy and its role in climate and atmospheric circulation
Patterns of ocean circulation and its interaction with the atmosphere
Weather versus climate
Plate tectonics
Activities:
 Bathymetric Maps and Plate Tectonics
 Fundamental Topics in Meteorology
 Specific Heat and Climate
 Formation of Deserts
Chapter 6 - Major Ecosystems of the World (2 weeks)
Topics:
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Nine major terrestrial biomes
Human effects on each type of biome
Types of aquatic ecosystems
Environmental factors and human behavior affecting aquatic ecosystems
Activities:
 NY/NJ Baykeeper guest lecture – oyster project in the Raritan Bay Estuary
Chapter 7 – Human Health & Environmental Toxicology (2 weeks)
Topics:
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Use of chemicals hazardous to human health
Risk analyses to determine adverse health effects using a dose-response curve
Ecological effects using cost-benefit analyses
Activities:
 Book discussion: Silent Spring
 Movie discussions: Erin Brockovich, A Civil Action
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What Is the Risk?
Allium Test
Unit 3 – Human Population Dynamics (4 weeks)
Chapter 8 - Population Change (1 week)
Topics:
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Factors that produce changes in population size
Biotic potential (intrinsic rate of increase)
Carrying capacity
Differences between J-shaped and S-shaped growth curves
Density-dependent and density-independent factors that affect population size
Type I, Type II, and Type III survivorship curves
Infant mortality rate
Total fertility rate
Replacement-level fertility
Age structure
Activities:
 Population Growth Project
 Video: The World in Balance (NOVA)
 Quantitative Analysis: World Population Growth
Chapter 9 - Facing the Problems of Overpopulation (2 weeks)
Topics:
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Effects of population size to hunger, natural resources, the environment, and economics methods of
several governments to slow population growth
Steps governments and individuals can take to achieve global population stabilization
Activities:
 Population Distribution and Survivorship
Chapter 10 – The Urban World (1 week)
Topics:
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Urbanization
Trends in the distribution of people in rural and urban areas
Problems associated with the rapid growth rates of large urban areas
How cities are analyzed from an ecosystem perspective
Brownfields
Use of zoning in land use planning
How a city’s transportation infrastructure affects urban development
Suburban sprawl
Characteristics of an ideal sustainable city
Activities:
 Guest lecture – Conditions in Bombay
 Guest lecture – Urban Ecology
Unit 4 –Energy Consumption (2 weeks)
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Chapter 11 - Fossil Fuels (1 ½ weeks)
Topics:
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Per-capita energy consumption in highly developed and developing areas
Advantages, disadvantages, and environmental problems associated with coal, oil, and natural gas use
Synfuels
Reasons for the US to develop a comprehensive national energy strategy
Activities:
 CO2 Emissions from Fossil-Fuel Burning
 Political Activism Letter
 Movie: Who Killed the Electric Car
Chapter 12 - Nuclear Energy (1 week)
Topics:
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Nuclear processes
How mined uranium is used inside the reactor to produce heat and then electricity
How clean the process is compared to coal
Cost
Safety concerns
Activities:
 Pennium-123
 Energy Resource Comparison
Chapter 13 - Renewable Energy and Conservation (1 ½ weeks)
Topics:
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Active and passive solar energy
Advantages and disadvantages of solar thermal electric generation and photovoltaic solar cells in
converting solar energy into electricity
Renewable energy sources that are not direct or indirect results of solar energy
Energy conservation versus energy efficiency
Activities:
 Solar Absorption
Part 5 – Earth’s Resources (5 weeks)
Chapter 14 – Water: A Limited Resource (1 week)
Topics:
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Chemistry of a water molecule
Water cycle
Problems due to flooding
Problems due to lack of water
Suggest conservation strategies
Activities:
 Water Loss Drop by Drop
 Water Diversions
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Stream Monitoring – Chemical analysis and macroinvertebrates to determine water quality
Chapter 15 – Soil Resources (½ week)
Topics:
 Nature and properties of soil
 What can happen to plants and water resources if erosion or mineral depletion occurs
 Sustainable soil use
Activities:
 Soil Analysis
Chapter 16 – Minerals: A Nonrenewable Resource (½ week)
Topics:
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Properties of minerals – types of ores, how they form, and how deposits are discovered and harvested
Environmental impact of mining, global consumption patterns
Conservation strategies
Activities:
 Copper Extraction
Chapter 17 – Preserving Earth’s Biological Diversity (1½ weeks)
Topics:
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Importance of biodiversity
Threatened, endangered, and extinct species
Characteristics common to many endangered species
Human causes of species endangerment and extinction
How invasive species endanger native species
Conservation biology and wildlife management
Activities:
 Invasive species walk
 Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index
Chapter 18 – Land Resources (1 week)
Topics:
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Trends in land use across the United States
Natural areas
Federal lands
Wetlands
Agricultural lands
Deforestation
Desertification
Threats to wetlands
Activities:
 Research Activity: Natural Areas
 Video: Full Focus Fire Management
 Field trip or Guest lecture: Fire damage and recovery - Pine Barrens
 Field trip or Guest lecture: Characteristics and local preservation – Wetlands
Chapter 19 - Food Resources (½ week)
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Topics:
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Industrialized agriculture
Subsistence agriculture
Current food safety issues
Environmental impacts of industrialized agriculture
Potential benefits and problems with genetic engineering
Fishing and aquaculture
Unit 6 - Pollution (5 weeks)
Chapter 20 - Air Pollution (1 week)
Topics:
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Classes of air pollutants
Adverse health effects of specific air pollutants
Effects of the Clean Air Act on air pollution
Air pollution conditions in less developed countries
Activities:
 Particulate Air Pollution Lab
 Acid Rain Lab
Chapter 21 – Regional and Global Atmospheric Changes (1 week)
Topics:
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Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse gases
Potential effects of global warming, including rising sea level, changes in precipitation patterns, effects
on organisms, effects on human health, and effects on agriculture
Ways to alleviate and adapt to global warming
Parts of the ozone layer
Potential effects of ozone depletion
Activities:
 Global Climate Change Project
 Video discussion: An Inconvenient Truth
Chapter 22 - Water Pollution (1 week)
Topics:
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How sewage is related to eutrophication, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and dissolved oxygen
Point source pollution
Nonpoint source pollution
Primary, secondary, and tertiary treatments for wastewater
Goals of the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act
Soil pollution
Salinization
Activities:
 Soil Salinization Lab
 Drinking Water Safety Lab
Chapter 23 - The Pesticide Dilemma (1 week)
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Topics:
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Types of pesticides
Problems associated with pesticide use, including development of genetic resistance; creation of
imbalances in the ecosystem; persistence, bioaccumulation, and biological magnification; and
mobility in the environment
Alternative ways to control pests, including cultivation methods, biological controls, reproductive
controls, pheromones and hormones, genetic controls, quarantine, integrated pest management and
irradiating foods
U.S. laws that regulate pesticides
Activities:
 Organic Feud
Chapter 24 - Solid and Hazardous Wastes (1 week)
Topics:
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Municipal and non-municipal solid waste
Sanitary landfills
Mass burn incinerators
Source reduction, reuse, and recycling help reduce the volume of solid waste
Hazardous waste
Legislation and environmental justice
Activities:
 Energy and Recycling Assessment
 Solid Waste Education Project
 Solid Waste Collection Lab
Unit 7 - Choices for the Future (1 week)
Chapter 25 - Tomorrow’s World
Topics:
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Sustainability
Challenges confronting our efforts to improve the quality of human life worldwide
Role of education in changing personal attitudes and practices that affect the environment
Important environmental goals that can be accomplished most effectively at national and
international levels
Activities:
 Personal Energy Use Audit
 Globalization and the Environment
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