AP Environmental Science
Summer Assignment 2015
Somers High School
Ms. Franchino
Part I: Summer Scavenger Hunt
You must earn 100 points by completing tasks from the list below. Be sure to record the required evidence of
each task by taking pictures, saving souvenirs, etc. You may choose any of the tasks to complete the required
points.
Please compile your photographs, as evidence, into a digital file. All pictures must be labeled! You may use
Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or an Excel spreadsheet.
You do not need to print the assignment, but you must save the document to a flash drive and bring it with you
to school. You will upload the file containing all evidence of your scavenger hunt to your shared class folder
(online) during the first week of school.
Enjoy Your Environment (All of the following are 5-point options. You will earn 5 points for any one of the
following tasks that you complete.)
1. Go for a hike. Take a picture of yourself at the trail head, and then take a picture of yourself at
the summit (if applicable) of on the trail. Be sure to include the view from the trail.
2. Go camping. Take a picture of you at your campsite.
3. Plant a vegetable garden. Take a picture of you harvesting your vegetables.
4. Plant a flower garden. Take a picture of your blooming garden.
5. Go fishing. Take a picture of you with a fish that you caught.
6. Go to the beach. Take a picture.
7. Go canoeing, kayaking, or paddle-boarding. Take a picture of yourself on/in your chosen
method of water-transport.
8. Visit a local farm. Take a picture of yourself next to your favorite farm animal.
9. Visit a state or national park. Take a picture of yourself next to the entrance sign for the park; or
by the visitor’s center.
10. Visit a zoo. Take a picture of your favorite animal.
11. Visit the American Museum of Natural History. Take a picture of yourself in the Hall of
Biodiversity.
12. Visit the New York Botanical Garden. Take a picture of your favorite plant, labeled with its Latin
and common names.
Learn About Your Environment (All of the following are 10-point options. You will earn 10 points for any one
of the following tasks that you complete.)
13. Find a plant that is an invasive species. Take two pictures: one of the plant; and a second picture
after you have pulled it out. Be sure to identify it!
14. Find, and take a picture of, a (non-poisonous) reptile or amphibian. Look up the species you have
found and define it as invasive or native.
15. Find a eutrophic body of water: take a picture. Find an oligotrophic lake: take a picture.
16. Find and/or collect 5 species of insects. Take a picture of each one and identify the species.
17. Take a picture of yourself standing next to a glacial erratic in the local environment.
18. Find and take a picture of a carnivore consuming an herbivore and an herbivore consuming a
producer.
19. Take a picture of 2 motor vehicles that differ by more than 15MPG in their fuel efficiency. The
two vehicles must be parked next to one another and you must also list the make, model, and MPG
of each vehicle.
20. Find and take a picture of one example of each of the following types of erosion: sheet erosion,
rill erosion, gully erosion.
21. Collect 3 current events articles detailing environmental issues. For each article attach a brief
synopsis of the article in your own words.
Help Your Environment
(All of the following are 5-point options. You will earn 5 points for any one of the following tasks that you
complete.)
22. Recycle. Take a picture of yourself putting the item that you are recycling into the appropriate
place.
23. Ride public mass transit. Take a picture of yourself on the train/bus/subway.
24. Go grocery shopping with your family and use re-usable bags. Take a picture of your groceries
and bags at the checkout line.
25. Line-dry a load of laundry. Take a picture of your clothesline full of laundry.
26. Do part of your weekly food-shopping with your family at a farmers market. Take a picture of
the items purchased there.
27. Use a re-usable water bottle and fill it with tap water. Take a picture of you and your water
bottle in at least 5 different locations where you used it (instead of disposable bottled water).
(All of the following are 10-point options. You will earn 10 points for any one of the following tasks that you
complete.)
28. Organize and/or attend a litter-cleanup. Take a picture of your pile of litter once you are done.
29. Volunteer with a local organization that is doing something to help the environment (Minimum: 1
day, or 3 hours.). The following groups often have volunteer opportunities posted on their
websites. Other organization are okay, too. Be sure to record evidence of your volunteer hours.
a. Somers Land Trust
b. Westchester Land Trust
c. Hilltop Hanover Farm
d. Teatown Lake Reservation
e. CELF (student ambassador program)
f. Rock and Wrap it Up
Part II: Summer Reading
Read the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. Complete the following task list based on the book. Save
your work as a Microsoft Word Document. You do not need to print the assignment, but you must save the
document to a flash drive and bring it with you to school. The written assignment will be due on
Wednesday, September 3rd. You will upload the completed assignment to your shared class folder
(online) at that time.
A. Before you start reading, write a brief definition for ALL of the following terms. Type your list of
definitions on a separate word document as a bulleted list.
Group 1
 Bioaccumulation
 Biomagnification
 Persistent Organic Pollutant

Integrated Pest Management
Group 4
 Watershed
 Runoff
Group 2
 Toxicity
 Synergism
 Chlorinated hydrocarbons & Organic
phosphates
Group 5
 Ecosystem services
 Keystone species
 Invasive species
Group 3
 Monoculture
 Nitrogen Cycle
Group 6
 Pesticide treadmill
 Natural selection
 Co-evolution
B. Choose 3 groups of terms from the list(s) above. For each group of terms, identify and summarize
a portion of the book that applies those concepts to the environmental impacts of pesticides.
Include at least one case study provided by the book as part of your explanation. The case study
must incorporate and explain all of the terms within that group.
For each group of terms that you choose, the written explanation connecting the group of terms to
the book must be no more than 1 double-spaced page.
C. Rachel Carson has often been credited with starting the environmental movement, specifically
because of the publication of Silent Spring. Write a brief synopsis of the events that unfolded
following the publication of the book that led to a growing environmental movement in the United
States. Your summary should be no more than 1 double-spaced page and must include a
reference list (APA Format) for at least 2 sources of information.