Syllabus for 20013-2014 AP Environmental Science A.P.E.S. Goal/Summary The goal of this course is to provide students with the science principals, ideas, concepts, methodologies and knowledge to better understand of the natural world around them today and into the future. The key areas that we will focus on are: Earth systems and resources, the living world, populations, land and water use, energy resources and consumption, pollution, and global change. Instructor Chris Bell College Credit 3 semester credits if you pass the AP exam Passing is a 3 or above Some colleges require a 4 or 5 Lab Fee There is a $20.00 lab fee that needs to be paid online. Class Size and Scheduling Class size is held to 32 because of lab facilities. The class is 4th period. Materials Needed 1 two inch notebook, 1 one inch notebook, report binders, pens (blue and black), pencils, graph paper, notebook paper, color pencils, small journal book Text Living in the Environment, 16th Ed., by G. Tyler Miller Jr. (Pacific Grove, Calif.: Brooks/Cole Thomson Learning). (This is a college level text.) Prerequisites Students must have taken Physical Science, Biology and have completed Algebra I, Geometry and be currently enrolled in Algebra II. Chemistry is recommended, I will hand out a packet with basic chemistry. If you have not taken it be prepared to study up on certain areas. Methods The instruction will be given mostly by lecture with the use of visual aids, and demonstrations. Small group work will also be part of the teaching strategies. Research projects will be part of the class. Homework is a daily part of this class. Since it is designed to be taught at a college level it will have extensive homework assigned to each chapter. Some weeks may be solid labs; some weeks will have no labs. It averages out to one lab per week. These hands on experiences will generally have a lab report attached to them when they are turned in. Several of the labs are more than one week in length; lab reports will be due at the end of each lab. Homework There will be homework every night, the class will be taught five days a week. You will make journal entries over this material and have the possibility of pop quizzes. For every hour of lecture in class you can expect a minimum of an hour of homework. Calculators There are no calculators allowed on the tests. The only time you can use one is while you are analyzing you data in labs. Labs There will be approximately one lab a week. Some labs will be ongoing and last several weeks. This will allow the students to store lots of data and be able to use qualitative and quantitative methods in analyzing it. Lab partners will never be the same. You will switch partners for every lab. Journals You will keep a journal of the class. In this you will be given prompts for each chapter. Your assignment is to express how you feel about the question/subject area. This can be done by journal writing, art, poetry, etc. You are allowed to have a visual presentation one time instead of a journal entry. This will be picked up at the end of every quarter. Portfolios Most people are taking this class so they can get college level credits. One way too help assist you in this is for you to keep a portfolio of all your work (journal entries, labs, homework, notes, and anything else you can think of or that we do). You will get a grade on this once a quarter. Grade Expectations There is a lot or reading in this class, most of it will be homework. You will get approximately 60 points per chapter for your notes/outlines and questions. There are over 20 chapters; this will end up being a large part of your grade at around 1,000 points. Homework/reading will end up being approximately 40% of your grade. Midterms, final, papers, labs and field trips will make up the other 60%. For a person to get a 4.0 (5.0) in this class they will have to put a conscious effort into all the work and stay on top of it and not procrastinate until the end, just doing one part of the class well will not pass you. You will have several projects that you will be doing on your own that end up being a large number of points, two examples are your book report and your journals. This class is out of a 5.0, that will not be adjusted until the end of the school year. Tests Tests will be given at the end of every unit (or given out as study guides). This means that you will have a test approximately every two to three weeks. The total time of the test will be limited to 50 minutes. They will consist of multiple choice questions. Fill in the blank, true and false, and short answer. Every test will have one full length essay that needs to be completed in 20 minutes. There will be no notes on the tests. You will not have the opportunity to use them on the AP exam. This will help prepare you for the test. You will have the opportunity to correct your tests for half credit. You have 48 hours to return your tests back in. If you don’t return your tests you will get a zero on the test. Projects/Papers There are several major projects and papers throughout the year. Some of them will fall under labs. You will have some class time on projects but a majority of the write-ups on the projects will take place outside of class. NO partner papers, this includes lab reports. All papers will include an abstract at the beginning of the paper. It should be no more than six sentences. Quantitative results and graphs have to be done by hand on your lab reports, no computer generated graphs or diagrams. Required Reading You are required to do a book report on a book of your choice that has to do with an environmental issue. The book has to be a minimum of 150 pages in length. This assignment will be assigned the first week of school, due 5/4/2012. AP Test Time _____________, May __________, 2013 3 hours, two 90 minute sessions 100 multiple choice test, 4 essays Last years cost: $86.00 Midterm At the semester there will be a test that will be comprehensive over the first semester. It will consist of 50 questions and 2 essays. This test will be a total of 250 points. Final The final will be a comprehensive test over the entire year. It will be given . The final test will be a total of 500 points. If you take the AP exam you are exempt from the final. Field Trips I will really push to have at least one field trip, if not two in the class. You will be responsible for writing a 2 page paper on the trip and any quantitative results put into graph form. This will be worth a total of 100 points. Unit 1 Environmental Problems, their causes, and sustainability. Science, Systems, Matter, and Energy. Scientific principals, concepts, and an interrelationship with the natural world.(chapters 1 & 2) Land and water Use. General Overview of the year, talk about the students journals, portfolios, and prerequisite materials that students need to have an understanding of before we get started. Vocabulary: 1-10 Start on Environmental Statute Project Comprehend and be able to Identify twenty plus environmental laws, and give example of them. Start water quality lab: this will be your first nine week lab. You will be recording dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature over a nine week period. Once you are done with the lab you will analyze the data. Video, the Lorax Unit 1 test Unit 2 Ecosystems: What are they and how do they work, How do we evaluate one? Evolution and Biodiversity (chapters 3 & 4) The Living World. Ten People, Ten Agencies Project Vocabulary: quiz over week before, new vocab: 11- 20 Dilution Lab (food coloring lab, make dilutions down to a hundredth of a percent) Ecosystem Lab (make a complex ecosystem in five to seven two liter clear bottles) Unit 2 test Unit 3 Climate and Terrestrial Biodiversity, Aquatic Biodiversity (chapters 5 & 6) Micrometrology Lab: the study of weather related phenomena on a very local scale. An example the difference in temperature on the sunny side and shady side of a rock. Vocabulary: quiz over week before, new vocab: 21- 30 Salinity Lab: You will be given a scenario and have to figure out how much salinity a plant can withstand. Cane Toad Video Unit 3 Test Global Warming Video One Degree Video Unit 4 Populations: Community Ecology, Population Ecology, Applying Population Ecology and the Human Population and its Impacts, Possible Health Risks associated with these problems. (Chapters 7, 8, & 9) Exotic Species Project: You are doing a research project on your choice of a exotic species. Vocabulary: quiz over week before, new vocab: 31- 40 The Power of pyramids Lab: histogram population lab of different countries throughout the world. Population worksheet World Population Growth DVD The Rule of 70 Unit 4 Test Unit 5 Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach, Sustaining Biodiversity: the Species Approach, Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity (chapters 10, 11, & 12) Earths Systems and Resources. News article Project: 20 plus articles on environmental issues put into a scrapbook. Minimum 500 words. Four to six sentence abstracts, typed on each article. Vocabulary: quiz over week before, new vocab: 41- 50 Recycle Lab: “Recycle City Lab” Internet Activity Owl Pellet Lab: what information can be learned about an owl’s diet and role in the environment can be learned from an owl’s prey. Midterm Exam: Units 1-5, comprehensive. Unit 6 Food, Soil Conservation, and Pest Management, Water (chapters 13 & 14) Design a food web: You will draw a food web of the Kettle Range Ecosystem. Vocabulary: quiz over week before, new vocab: 51-60 Fish Hatchery Field trip Start the second long term lab: This lab will be up to you to create and run over the rest of the semester. You will want to finish it by 6/2/2008. Soil Lab: Characteristics of soil. Dissolved Oxygen Lab: Bio-decomposition creates gases, how much? Personal Water Use Survey Unit 6 Test Unit 7 Geology ad Nonrenewable Mineral Resources, Nonrenewable Resources, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (chapters 15, 16, & 17) Earths Resources Vocabulary: quiz over week before, new vocab: 61- 70 Fossil Fuel Lab: Figure out the amount of fossil fuels you use. Rock Cycle Plate Tectonics Cookie Mining Lab: The economics of mining. Unit 7 Test Unit 8 Environmental Hazards and Human Health, Air Pollution (chapters 18 & 19) Airborne Particle examinations Lab: Learn exactly what you are breathing in! Learn how to calculate the deposition rate. Vocabulary: quiz over week before, new vocab: 71- 80 Pollution Exhausting Problem Lab: In this activity, students will analyze the impact of their motor vehicle habits and the impact of the pollution control devices. Unit 8 Test Unit 9 Climate Change and Ozone Depletion, Water Pollution, Solid and Hazardous Waste (chapters 20, 21, & 22) Global Change. Cup Ozone Lab (wet and dry): You will see the effects of what the ozone layer does to the earth’s temperature and climate. Vocabulary: quiz over week before, new vocab: 81-90 The Manhattan Project DVD Unit 9 Test Unit 10 Sustainable Cities, Economics, Environment, and Sustainability (chapters 23 & 24) Energy Resources and Consumption Personal Energy Consumption Lab (footprint lab): How much energy is wasted in your home? We will examine how much energy is lost in a dripping faucet or single pain windows. Vocabulary: quiz over week before, new vocab: 91- 100 Alternative Energy Solutions Presentation: Research a specific field in the alternative energy sector and present your findings to the class. Unit 10 Test Unit 11 Politics, Environment, and Sustainability, Environmental Worldviews, Ethics, and Sustainability (chapters 25) Wealth Gap Lab: Go over the gross national product (GNP), and the gross domestic product (GDP). Look at developing and developed countries. Vocabulary: quiz over week before, Final vocab: 101- 115 Unit 11 Test Take the final vocab quiz. AP Environmental exam May 10th Class Final, May 10th (if you are not taking the AP exam) Labs/projects (these are not in the correct order, we will try to do most of these, with the possibility of others) Water Quality lab Environmental Statute Project Dilution (use food coloring) “Farmers want to see how high of salinity plants can live in. Several seeds in each group. Scrapbook project Ten people and ten agencies and write about. Wealth gap lab The power of the pyramid “populations” Lab Populations Lab Micrometeorology Lab Cookie mining lab Alternative energy Solution Presentation Light bulb lab Personal energy consumption Lab Fossil fuel Lab Design a food web Owl pellet investigation Lab Soil Lab Pollution Exhausting Problem Lab Airborne Particulate Examination Lab Personal water use survey Ecosystem Lab Ecological Footprint Lab Dissolved Oxygen Lab Recycle Lab Exotic species project Orienteering Lab Compass Lab Scavenger Hunt Lab Good Luck!!! AP Environmental Science Please detach back sheet and turn into instructor along with 25.00 course fee. I have read the syllabus above and understand the rules and structure of the class. I agree to follow all the classroom rule and lab rules and I will keep a copy of the syllabus in my notebook all year. Students Name (printed) ___________________________________________ Students Signature ________________________________________________ Parents Signature _________________________________________________ Date: __________________