APES Test Review (Semester #1/#2) and AP Test Review
The Living World (10–15%)- Botkin- Chapters #1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (3, 10)
A.
Ecosystem Structure
(Biological populations and communities; ecological niches; interactions among species(parasitism,
symbiosis, predation, commensalism)-competitive exclusion principle, keystone species; species
diversity and edge effects; major terrestrial and aquatic biomes-biogeography; exotic, invasive and
native/endemic species; cosmopolitan & ubiquitous species
B.
Energy Flow
(Photosynthesis and cellular respiration; food webs and trophic levels (autotrophs & heterotrophs);
consumers; direct and indirect trophic interactions; ecological pyramids; positive and negative
feedback loops; steady state & equilibrium; environmental unity; average residence time); primary
gross & net production; laws of thermodynamics; high and low quality energy; energy efficiency,
trophic-level efficiency; growth efficiency
C.
Ecosystem Diversity
(Biodiversity (habitat & species diversity), species richness, species evenness, species dominance &
genetic diversity; natural selection; evolution; ecosystem services), endangered species and invasive
species (Endemic versus non-native), biodiversity hot-spots,
D.
Natural Ecosystem Change
(Climate shifts; species movement; ecological succession; ecosystem restoration, habitat
fragmentation, ocean acidification,
E.
Natural Biogeochemical Cycles
(Carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, water, conservation of matter; limiting nutrient factors,
dissolved oxygen- how to measure and why), biological magnification, bioaccumulation, dead zones,
eutrophication, green revolution,
Chapter #1-Learning Objectives
 That people and nature are intimately
connected
 Why rapid human population growth
is the fundamental environmental
issue
 Why we must learn to sustain our
environmental resources
 How human beings affect the
environment of the entire planet
 Why solutions to environmental
problems involve making value
judgments based on scientific
knowledge (justifications to preserve
the environment)
 How to calculate your ecological
footprint
Chapter #1: Vocabulary
 Justifications (Aesthetic, utilitarian,
ecological, moral)
 Carrying capacity (k)
 Sustainability
 Ecological footprint- how to calculate
Chapter #2- Learning Objectives

Scientific knowledge is acquired
through observation, is not fixed and
changes over time
 Know the different between deductive
and inductive reasoning
 Know how to calculate degree of
uncertainty
 Scientific method
 Technology is the application of
scientific knowledge
 That decision making about
environmental issues involves society,
politics, culture, economics and
values as well as scientific
information
Chapter #2: Vocabulary
 Controlled experiment
 Deductive/Inductive Reasoning
 Dependent/Independent Variable
 Disprovability
 Hypothesis/Theory
 Operational definitions
 Quantitative/Qualitative Data
 Scientific method
Chapter #3- Learning Objectives

Why solutions to many environmental
problems involve the study of systems
and rates of change
 How positive and negative feedback
operate in a system
 What the implications of exponential
growth and doubling time are
 That natural disturbances and
changes in systems such as forests,
rivers an coral reefs are important to
their continued existence
 What an ecosystem is and why
sustained life on Earth is a
characteristic of ecosystems
 What the Principle of
Uniformitarianism is and how it can
be used to anticipate future changes
 Why environmental problems are
difficult to solve
 How human activities amplify the
effects of natural disasters
Chapter #3- Vocabulary
 average residence time
 biosphere
 closed/open system
 doubling time
 environmental unity
 exponential growth
 feedback- positive and negative
 lag time
 overshoot and collapse
 steady state and uniformitarianism
Chapter #5-Learning Objectives
 What are the major biogeochemical
cycles are
 What the major factors and processes
that control biogeochemical cycles
are
 Why some chemical elements cycle
quickly and some slowly
 How each major components of
Earth’s global system are involved
and linked with biogeochemical
cycles
 How the biogeochemical cycles most
important to life, especially the
carbon cycle, generally operate
 How humans affect biogeochemical
cycles
Chapter #5- Vocabulary
 biogeochemical cycles
 carbon-silicate cycles

carbon, nitrogen, water, rock and
phosphorus cycles
 plate tectonics/cycle
 limiting factors
 macro/micronutrients
Chapter #6- Learning Objectives
 Why the ecosystem is the basic system
that supports life and allows it to
persist
 What food chains, food webs and
trophic levels are
 What the concepts of ecosystem
management involves
 How conservation and management
of the environment might be improved
through ecosystem management
 How a community-level effect is
Chapter #6- Vocabulary
 autotrophs/heterotrophs
 community-level interactions
 food chains/webs
 trophic levels
 keystone species
 succession
Chapter #7- Learning Objectives
 How mutation, natural selection,
migration and genetic drift lead to
evolution to new species
 Why people value biodiversity and
how people can affect it
 How biological diversity may affect
biological production, energy flow,
chemical cycling and other ecosystem
processes
 What environmental major problems
are associated with biological
diversity
 Why so many species have been able
to evolve and persist
 The concepts of the ecological niche
and habitat
Chapter #7- Vocabulary
 competitive exclusion principle
 niche (realized versus fundamental)
 genes/genetic drift
 symbiosis/obligate symbionts
Chapter #8- Learning Objectives
 How large scale global patterns and
the environment affect biological
diversity

How climate, bedrock, soils and the
 That a basic quality of life is its
geography of life are related to one
ability to create order from energy on
another
a local scale
 What biotic provinces and biomes
 What determines the efficiency of
are, and how they differ
biological production
Chapter
#9- Vocabulary
 What island biogeography is, and
 Autrotrophs/heterotrophs
what it implies for the general
geography of life, especially the
 Biological production
geography of biological diversity
 Biomass (how to calculate)
 What the major patterns in the
 Chemoautotrophs
distribution of biomes on Earth are
 Ecosystem energy flow
and the major characteristics of each
 Gross/net production
of the 17 biomes found on Earth
 Primary production
 How people affect the geography of
 Trophic-level efficiency
life
Chapter #10- Learning Objectives
 How the introduction of exotic species
 What ecological restoration means
into new habitats typically affects the
 What kinds of goals are possible for
new habitats
ecological restoration
Chapter #8- Vocabulary
 What basic approaches, methods, and
 biogeography
limits apply to restoration
 adaptive radiation
 How an ecosystem restores itself
 biomes
through ecological succession after a
 ecological island
disturbance
 convergent/divergent evolution
 What role disturbances play in the
 exotic species
persistence of ecosystems
Chapter #9- Learning Objectives
 How physical forces and biological
 That energy flow determines the
processes affect the land
upper limit on the production of
 Why ecosystems do not remain in a
biological resources
steady state
 How the first and second laws of
Chapter #10- Vocabulary
thermodynamics affect energy and
 Stages of succession
production
 That energy flow is one way through
the ecosystem
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Population (10–15%)
Botkin- Chapters #4, 28
A.
Population Biology Concepts
(Population ecology; carrying capacity; reproductive strategies (r, k); survivorship)
B.
Human Population
1.
Human population dynamics
(Historical population sizes; distribution; fertility rates; growth rates and doubling times;
demographic transition; age-structure diagrams; replacement fertility rate; infant mortality rate)
2.
Population size
(Strategies for sustainability; case studies; national policies; zero population growth; exponential
growth; logistic growth curve; population momentum/lag)
3.
Impacts of population growth
(Hunger; disease; economic effects; resource use; habitat destruction)
4.
Urban Environments
(megacities; site vs. situation; urban planning; cities as heat islands, effects of cities of environmental
quality)
Chapter #4- Learning Objectives
 Ultimately, there can be no long term
solutions to environmental problems
unless the human population stops
increasing
 Two major questions about the human
population involve what controls its
rate of growth and how many people
Earth can sustain
 The rapid increase in the human
population has occurred with little or
no change in the maximum lifetime of
an individual
 Modern medical practices and
improvements in sanitation, control of
disease-spreading organisms, and
supplies of human necessities have
decreased death rates and
accelerated the net rate of human
population growth
 Countries with a high standard of
living have moved more quickly to a
lower birth rate than have countries
with a low standard of living
Chapter #4- Vocabulary
 birth/death rate
 demographic transition (phases)
 growth rate (how to calculate)
 life expectancy
 logistic carrying capacity/growth
curve
 population age structure/diagrams
conditions determine the success,
importance, and longevity of a city
 How cities have changed with
changes in technology and with ideas
about city planning
 How a city changes its own
environment and affects the
environment of the surrounding area,
and how we can plan cities to
minimize some of these effects
 How trees and other vegetation not
only beautify cities but also provide
habitats for animals, and how we can
alter the urban environment to
encourage wildlife and to discourage
pests
 How cities can be designed to
promote biological conservation and
become pleasant environments for
people
 What fundamental choices face us in
deciding what kind of future we want
and what the role of cities will be in
that future
Chapter #28- Vocabulary
 city planning
 fall line
 garden city/greenbelt
 site and situation
Chapter #28- Learning Objectives
 How to view a city from an ecosystem
perspective; how location and site
-------------------------------------------------------Economics and Environmental Laws (510%) Botkin- Chapter #27, (30)
A.
Economics
(environmental economics; externalities;
natural capital; ecological services; discount
factor; marginal cost; intangibles; costs of
pollution)
 When and how it is possible to put a
dollar value on the environment
 What the “tragedy of the commons”
is, and how it leads to an
overexploitation of resources
B.
Exploitation of Resources
(tragedy of the commons; extinctions)
C.
Risk-Benefits
(acceptable vs. unreasonable risk)
D.
Policies (policy instrument),
environmental laws
Chapter #27- Learning Objectives


How the perceived future value of an
environmental benefit affects our
willingness to pay for it now
What externalities are, and why it is
important to evaluate them in
determining the costs of actions that
affect the environment


What factors may be involved in
determining a level of acceptable
environmental risk and risk to human
life
Why it is difficult, yet important, to
evaluate environmental intangibles,
such as landscape beauty
Chapter #27- Vocabulary
 Commons
 Direct costs/externality/indirect costs
 Marginal costs
 Policy instruments
 Risk-benefit analysis
Semester #2: _______________________________________________________________________
Earth Systems and Resources (10–15%)
Botkin- Chapter #12, 20, 22, 26
A.
Earth Science Concepts
(Geologic time scale; Milankovitch Cycles; glaciations, interglatiations; plate tectonics, earthquakes,
volcanism; seasons; solar intensity and latitude)
B.
The Atmosphere
(Composition; structure (layers of the atmosphere); weather and climate; atmospheric circulation and
the Coriolis Effect; atmosphere–ocean interactions; ENSO)
C.
Global Water Resources and Use
(Freshwater/saltwater; ocean circulation (ocean conveyor-belt); agricultural, industrial, and
domestic use; surface and groundwater issues; global problems; conservation)
D.
Soil and Soil Dynamics
(Rock cycle; formation; composition; physical and chemical properties; main soil types; erosion and
other soil problems; soil conservation; minerals)
People/Terms:
 Soil erosion- contour plowing, no-till agriculture
 Effects of El Nino
 Earthquakes/Tsunamis
 Ozone/Ozone depletion
 Aquifer depletion
 Wetlands- depletion and degradation
 Dams/reservoirs
 Canals and stream channelization
 Issues related to Colorado River
 Three Gorges Dam
Land and Water Use (10–15%)
Botkin- Chapters #11, 12, 13, 14
A.
Agriculture
1.
Feeding a growing population
(Human nutritional requirements; types of agriculture; Green Revolution; genetic engineering and
crop production, monoculture; deforestation; irrigation; sustainable agriculture)
2.
Controlling pests
(Types of pesticides; costs and benefits of pesticide use; integrated pest management; relevant laws)
B.
Forestry
(Tree plantations; old growth & second growth forests; forest fires; forest management; national
forests; sustainable timber/forest harvests; certificated forestry; silviculture; natural regrowth; clearcutting, selective cutting, shelterwood cutting, strip cutting, seed-tree cutting)
C.
Rangelands
(Overgrazing; deforestation; desertification; rangeland management; federal rangelands)
D.
Other Land Use
1.
Urban land development
(Planned development; suburban sprawl; urbanization)
2.
Transportation infrastructure
(Federal highway system; canals and channels; roadless areas; ecosystem impacts)
3.
Public and federal lands
(Management; wilderness areas; national parks; wildlife refuges; forests; wetlands)
4.
Land conservation options
(Preservation; remediation; mitigation; restoration)
5.
Sustainable land-use strategies
E.
Mining
(Mineral formation; extraction; global reserves; relevant laws and treaties)
F.
Fishing
(Fishing techniques; overfishing; bycatch; aquaculture& mariculture; relevant laws and treaties)
G.
Global Economics
(Globalization; World Bank; Tragedy of the Commons; relevant laws and treaties)
People/Terms:
 11% of the Earth’s land surface is currently being used for farming (U.S.= 9%)
 Of the 500,000 species of plants- 3,000 are used for crops- 150 on a large scale
 14 species comprise of bulk of human food- wheat, rice, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes,
manioc, sugarcane, sugar beets, common beans, soybeans, barley, sorghum, coconuts, and
bananas
 Food is unevenly distributed worldwide
 People need a minimum of 200 kg of food per year to survive
 Africa suffers greatest food shortage due to climate and civil strife
 Many countries lack food distribution means
 Pesticide- Biomagnification (DDT)
 GMO- terminator genes
 Experiencing rapid deforestation- direct and indirect
 Magnuson Fishery Conservation Act- govern fisheries in federal waters 3-200 miles offshore
 Currently 5400 endangered and threatened species- Endangered Species Act
 Marine Mammals Protection Act
Energy Resources and Consumption (10–15%)
Botkin- Chapter #16, 17, 18
A.
Energy Concepts
(Energy forms; power; units; conversions; energy quality; Laws of Thermodynamics)
B.
Energy Consumption
1.
History
(Industrial Revolution; exponential growth; energy crisis)
2.
Present global energy use
3.
Future energy needs
C.
Fossil Fuel Resources and Use
(Formation of coal, oil, and natural gas; extraction/purification methods; world reserves and global
demand; synfuels; environmental advantages/disadvantages of sources)
D.
Nuclear Energy
(Nuclear fission process; nuclear fuel; electricity production; nuclear reactor types; environmental
advantages/disadvantages; safety issues; radiation and human health; radioactive wastes; nuclear
fusion- units of radiation
E.
Hydroelectric Power
(Dams; flood control; salmon; silting; other impacts)
F.
Energy Conservation
(Energy efficiency; CAFE standards; hybrid electric vehicles; mass transit; cogeneration)
G.
Renewable Energy
(Solar energy; solar electricity (photovoltaics); hydrogen fuel cells; biomass; wind energy; smallscale hydroelectric; ocean waves and tidal energy; geothermal; environmental
advantages/disadvantages; integrated energy management)
People/Terms:
 The U.S. uses 25% of the world’s energy with only 5% of the world’s population
 50% of all of our energy uses is lost as heat to the atmosphere
 Power- 1 watt=1 joule/second=3.413 BTU/hr=4.34 cal/hr
 1 kilowatt= 1000 watts
 1 megawatt= 1000 kilowatts
 1 gigawatt= 1000 megawatts
 Environmental damages of oil and natural gas extraction: land disruption, surface and
ground water pollution, air pollution, land subsidence, wildlife habitat, drilling mud releases,
aesthetic values are impaired, oil spills during transportation
 Coal Extraction methods: Strip mining, mine fires, land subsidence, acid drainage, air
pollution
 Nuclear disasters- 3 Mile Island, Chernobyl
 Nuclear waste- Yucca Mountain
Pollution (25–30%)
Botkin- Chapters #15, 21, 23, 24, 29
A.
Pollution Types
1.
Air pollution
(Sources—primary and secondary; major air pollutants; measurement units; smog; acid deposition—
causes and effects; heat islands and temperature inversions; indoor air pollution-bacteria, mold,
asbestos, formaldehyde, tobacco, Carbon Monoxide, Radon gas; remediation and reduction
strategies; Clean Air Act and other relevant laws; sick-building syndrome)
2.
Noise pollution
(Sources; effects; control measures)
3.
Water pollution
(Types; sources, causes, and effects; cultural eutrophication; groundwater pollution; maintaining
water quality; water purification; sewage treatment/septic systems; Clean Water Act and other
relevant laws; biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and dissolved Oxygen (DO); waterborne diseases)
4.
Solid waste
(Types; disposal; reduction; integrated waste management; sanitary landfill- leachate collection &
Methane collection)
B.
Impacts on the Environment and Human Health
1.
Hazards to human health
(Environmental risk analysis; acute and chronic effects; dose-response relationships; air pollutants;
smoking and other risks)
2.
Hazardous chemicals in the environment
(Types of hazardous waste; treatment/disposal of hazardous waste; cleanup of contaminated sites;
biomagnification; relevant laws)
C.
Economic Impacts
(Cost-benefit analysis; externalities; marginal costs; sustainability)
People/Terms:
 Pollution, contamination, toxic, carcinogenic
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Synergetic effect
Point source/area source
Infectious diseases
Toxic heavy metals- biomagnifications (Lead, Mercury, Cadmium)
Body burden
DDT, PCB, Dioxin
Radiation pollution
Thermal pollution
Asbestos
HAA- Hormonally Active Agents
Dose response (curve)
Threshold level
Acute vs chronic effects
Water pollution- Eutrophication, oil, sediments, pesticides, acid mine drainage, leachate,
saltwater intrusion
Wastewater treatement- know the steps of treatment
Federal Water Pollution Control Act
Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act
Safe Drinking Water Act
Water Quality Act
VOC’s, Ozone, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Dioxide, particulates, Hydrogen Sulfide, Hydrogen
Fluoride, Lead
Acid Rain- causes and environmental impacts
RCRA- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
CERCLA- Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act
(Remediation)
Hazardous waste disposal
Pacific “Garbage Patch”
Global Change (10–15%)
Botkin- Chapter #22, 25
A.
Stratospheric Ozone
(Formation of stratospheric ozone; ultraviolet radiation; causes of ozone depletion; effects of ozone
depletion; strategies for reducing ozone depletion; relevant laws and treaties)
B.
Global Warming
(Greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect; impacts and consequences of global warming; reducing
climate change; relevant laws and treaties)
C.
Loss of Biodiversity
1.
Habitat loss; overuse; pollution; introduced species; endangered and extinct species
2.
Maintenance through conservation
3.
Relevant laws and treaties
People/Terms:
 Chloroflourocarbons (CFC’s)
 Methane, Nitrous Oxide
 Positive/negative feedback loops
 Global circulation models (GCM’s)
 El Nino
 Anthropogenic forces
 Koyoto Protocol
 Montreal Protocol