Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering – College Global Environment Summer Assignment
College Global Environment
2015-2016 Summer Assignment
Welcome to Global Environment! This summer assignment will give you a brief overview of the
overarching topics of sustainability threaded through this college level course by looking at some
of the associated readings, prerequisites vocabulary. 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 in addition to
meeting your other academic and co-curricular demands.
The major topics of the class are as follows:
Energy Systems– atmosphere, soil, groundwater, and geochemical cycles
The Living World – ecosystems and diversity of life
Populations – demographics, dynamics and growth of cities
Land and Water Use – agriculture, forestry, mining, fishing and global economics
Energy Resources and Consumption – fossil fuels, renewable 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 we will learn more about the scientific, social and economic aspects of
these topics. There are several parts to the summer assignment, one of which is due at the end of
July and one of which will be collected on the first day of class. If you have any questions about
the assignment, feel free to email me at dianasoehl@columbiasecondary.org. The summer
assignment will count for a significant portion of your first marking period grade. All work turned
in must be your own work. The assignment will be graded as follows:
1. Email me by August 1 (15 points):
 Last name, First name, APES 2015 in the subject line
• Your full name
• 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 college level course.
(Discuss organization, planning, homework and study methods)
 A nickname for the course! It used to be APES but we need a new one! (Bonus point if we
pick yours!)
2. Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills – Quiz the first week of class on vocab & critical thinking
skills (30 points)
Prerequisite Knowledge
Global Environment is a college level course that combines content area from earth science,
Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering – College Global Environment Summer Assignment
biology, chemistry, physics, math, and social studies. You are expected to enter the course with a
good understanding of basic scientific and mathematical concepts and skills, as well as strong
reading, writing, and speaking abilities. Although we will continue to develop these skills
throughout the school year, your success in the class is also dependent upon what you bring to it
at the onset. One goal of this summer assignment is to help you brush up on these 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), we will be building upon
and referencing them 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.
Prerequisite Basic Scientific Concepts:
You should be familiar with the following terms/concepts from Biology, Chemistry, and Earth
Science:
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
3. Data Collection for Systems Research/ Sustainability Projects (50 points)
The environment sustains us, and we are a part of the environment no matter how modern
our society. 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---
Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering – College Global Environment Summer Assignment
term changes that occur in the environment, to prepare you for an ongoing laboratory
investigation that will end at the end of the third marking period and a sixth marking period
project that addresses the need for sustainable decision-making and action.
Some suggestions for data collection 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.
First, make a CLAIM about the data collection. What do you expect to happen/find? After
you have collected your data, analyze and graph data using an appropriate graph. After
your analysis, write a summary and conclusion using patterns in your data as evidence to
support or refute your claim. You may choose one of the following as a possible summer
project. If you have another idea, we can discuss it via email.
Long term data collection study suggestions:
Temperature–record the temperature at the same time every day 28 times or
record maximum and minimum temperatures from the newspaper. Compare the
minimum andmaximum temperature from a coastal city and inland city at the same
latitude for 28 days
Rainfall– record every day for five weeks for certain location (Central Park, JFK, etc
are good because they are reliably documented on the news or in newspapers or
online weather sites).
Weather parameters: humidity (dewpoint)–record every day for five weeks, air
pressure---record every day for five weeks (again, note specific location)
Time: measure a shadow of a stick or tree, every day at the same time for 28 days
draw or photograph the moon for 28 days
Energy Use: Monitor the amount of energy used each day by your family, individually,
etc. How often do you use mass transit, walk? How often did you use AC, dishwasher,
TV? Keep log for 14 days. Use electric bill or utility meter to record energy usage.
Astronomy
Time of sunrise/sunset for 28 days
Time of moonrise/moonset for28 days
Measure or download tidal cycle for 14 days
Living World
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
Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering – College Global Environment Summer Assignment
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.
Research Review Articles (45 points) – Due first Tuesday of class for the first 3 weeks (see below
instructions)
- Summaries and responses to 3 articles pertaining to your data collection topic; 15 pts. each
Research Review
In environmental science, it’s important to know about current issues in the news. One of our
goals for 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
events throughout the school year as well. This is a great opportunity to start thinking about the
environment and how it affects us.
Over the course of the summer, find three articles that relate to topics on your data collection. All
articles should be current (from May 2015 on) and taken from a reliable source. The sources may
be scientific publications, popular magazines, newspapers or the like. Try the NY Times (especially
Tuesdays), Washington Post, National Geographic, Discover Magazine, Natural History Magazine,
Scientific American, Science, Nature, etc. The articles should be long enough for you to write a
substantial summary and well-thought out response. All bibliographic information should be
visible on 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 address multiple environmental issues around your data collection topic. Topics
include, but are not limited to: pollution, climate change, environmental legislation, energy
consumption, fossil fuels, human population growth, recycling/waste management, air quality,
water quality, conservation/wildlife, food production/food safety, deforestation, 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.
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 (5W’s and How) 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
offer potential solutions, compare it to another environmental problem, ask questions about the
article, or simply reflect on the article’s content. Do not simply write, “This article was very
interesting/good.” It should be no less than 250 words. Some questions to drive your discussion:
Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering – College Global Environment Summer Assignment
- What are the key points made in the article?
- Does it support or refute your data collected? How so/in what way?
- Does the article teach you something new?
 Please keep copies of your articles (with date and source cited) to turn in the first three
weeks of class. The articles should be neatly displayed with your 2 paragraph summary &
reaction attached to article. Summaries may be neatly handwritten or typed.
.
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:
http://www.garretthardinsociety.org/articles/art_tragedy_of_the_commons.html
Summarize each reading from the lens of how it pertains to human society; address sustainability of our
population as well as conserving resources on Earth. (about 1 page for each summary)
Additional Not so Random Announcements:
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.
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 Global Environment. All
violations of SUNY-ESF, NYC-DOE and CSS Academic Integrity Policy will be reported to
the administration.
You can find this assignment on the course website as well as CSS homepage and in OSS
office should you need to make a copy.
ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!