• AP Env Science Exam date: Tuesday, May 2, 2023

    Link to Suggested Review Book: click here

    AP Environmental Science

    The Advanced Placement Environmental Science course is designed to be the equivalent of an introductory college course in environmental science. The goal is to provide you with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and man-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or preventing them. APES follows the core curriculum learning standards.
    APES is interdisciplinary; it embraces a wide variety of topics from different areas of study including geology, biology, chemistry and geography. The course is designed for students who have successfully completed earth science and biology. Due to the quantitative analysis that is required in the course, students should have strong math skills. Experience has shown that the most successful students in AP courses are those who are both well prepared and highly motivated.

    COURSE OUTLINE

    1. Understanding Our Environment
    2. Biological Communities and Species Interaction
    3. Biodiversity, Land Use and Preservation
    4. Biomes, Restoration and Management
    5. Matter, Energy and Life
    6. Population Dynamics
    7. Human Populations
    8. Environmental Health and Toxicology
    9. Environmental Geology
    10. Food and Agriculture
    11. Pest Control
    12. Air, Weather and Climate
    13. Air Pollution
    14. Water Use and Management
    15. Water Pollution
    16. Solid, Toxic and Hazardous Waste
    17. Environmental Policy, Law and Economics
    18. Conventional Energy
    19. 19. Sustainable Energy
    20. 20. Urbanization, Sustainable Cities and Personal Action

    Texts

    ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: A Global Concern, Glencoe McGraw-Hill (In class)
    Cracking the AP Environmental Science Exam: The Princeton Review (optional but highly recommended)

    Suggested Reading

    • A Desert Solitaire - Edward Abbey​
    • Hot, Flat, and Crowded - Thomas Friedman​
    • A Sand County Almanac - Aldeous Leopold​
    • Silent Spring - Rachel Carson​
    • The Post Carbon Reader - Various Authors​
    • Guns, Germs, and Steel – Jared Diamond​
    • The Tracker – Tom Brown Jr.​
    • The Sixth Extinction – Elizabeth Kolbert​
    • The River Why – David James Duncan
    • Cod - Mark Kurlansky
    • The Big Oyster - Mark Kurlansky
    • Turning Oil into Salt - Anne Korin, Gal Luft
    • Buffalo for hte Broken Heart - Dan O'Brian

    Materials Needed

    A 3-Ring Binder, Dividers, pencil or pen, and a simple calculator (Although you will not be able to use one on the APES exams!!!!)

     

    Course Expectations

    1. Be on time to class. No excuses, no exceptions. Three lates will equal a detention.
    2. It is extremely important to keep up with your homework. A significant amount of material is covered in the course- more than I can present to you in a lecture format. It is assumed that if you are in this course you will stay on top of your assignments and readings. Late assignments will be severely marked down.
    3. If you have been absent, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to make up the work you missed. Some labs may to difficult to redo. Try not to miss class! For each absence you will be given ONE days grace for turning in assignments.
    4. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. If you hand in an assignment that is a replica of someone else's work BOTH of you will receive a zero. (There will be occasional exceptions made for lab partners).
    5. Cell phones and iPods are not permitted to be used in the classroom. If I see them I will take them away from you.
    6. All students must take the AP exam.

     

    Grading

    EXAMS (65 %)
    The bulk of examinations will be multiple choice questions designed to cover the breadth of the students' knowledge and understanding of Environmental Science. Thought provoking problems and questions based on fundamental ideas from Environmental Science are included along with questions based on the recall of basic facts and major concepts. 
    Free response essay questions will be included in the unit tests that will emphasize the application of the principles studied in greater depth. Students must organize answers to broad questions thereby demonstrating reasoning and analytical skills as well as the ability to synthesize material from several sources into cogent and coherent essays. The three type of free response questions are: data-analysis, document based, and synthesis/evaluation. 
    There will be unit exams throughout the year. Each exam is worth 100 points and will be worth 65% of your grade. Several large projects assigned throughout the year will count as an "exam" grade.

    HOMEWORK, LABS AND SHORT ACTIVITIES (30 %)
    These will include textbook outline homework, article reviews, and laboratory investigations. Homework and short activities will be graded on a 10 point scale. Larger labs will be graded on a 100 point scale.

    PARTICIPATION (5 %)
    Your participation in class discussions WILL help your grade. Voice your thoughts. Your questions and opinions matter.

     

    Extra Help
    I am available for extra help every day after school in room 132 from 2:20 - 2:45 pm. You can also e-mail questions to me at jseweryn@newpaltz.k12.ny.us. Classroom notes and review sheets can be found on my website: