OCG - AP Environmental Science

South Carolina Standards:  (List the standards students are expected to master in this course)

• 1A.7 Construct and analyze scientific arguments to support claims, explanations, or designs using evidence and valid reasoning from observations, data, or informational texts.
• E.1A.1: Ask questions to generate hypothesesfor scientific investigations, (2) refine models, explanations, or designs, or (3) extend the results of investigation to challenge scientific arguments or claims.
• E.1A.2: Develop and use models to understand or represent phenomenoa, processes, and relationships (2) test devices or solutions, or (3) communicate ideas to others.
• E.1A.3: Plan and conduct controlled scientific investigations to answer questions, test hypotheses, and develop explanations: (1) formulate scientific questions and testable hypotheses based on credible scientific information, (2) identify materials, procedures, and variables, (3) use appropriate laboratory equipment, technology, and techniques to collect qualitative and quantitative data, and (4) record and represent data in an appropriate form.
• E.1A.4: Analyze and interpret data from informational texts and data collected from investigations using a range of methods (such as tabulation, graphing, or statistical analysis) to (1) reveal patterns and construct meaning, (2) support or refute hypotheses, explanations, claims, or designs, or (3) evaluate the strength of conclusions.
• E.1A.5: Use mathematical and computational thinking to (1) use and manipulate appropriate metric units, (2) express relationships between variables for models and investigations, and (3) use grade-level appropriate statistics to analyze data.
• E.1A.6: Construct explanations of phenomena using (1) primary or secondary scientific evidence and models, (2) conclusions from scientific investigations, (3) predictions based on observations and measurements, or (4) data communicated in graphs, tables, or diagrams
• E.1A.8: Obtain and evaluate scientific information to (1) answer questions, (2) explain or describe phenomena, (3) develop models, (4) evaluate hypotheses, explanations, claims, or designs or (5) identify and/or fill gaps in knowledge. Communicate using the conventions and expectations of scientific writing or oral presentations by (1) evaluating grade-appropriate primary or secondary scientific literature, or (2) reporting the results of student experimental investigations.
• E.1B.1: Construct devices or design solutions using scientific knowledge to solve specific problems or needs: (1) ask questions to identify problems or needs, (2) ask questions about the criteria and constraints of the device or solutions, (3) generate and communicate ideas for possible devices or solutions, (4) build and test devices or solutions, (5) determine if the devices or solutions solved the problem and refine the design if needed, and (6) communicate the results.

Other Standards:  (List national or local standards students are expected to master in this course)

• Themes
• Science is a process.
• Science is a method of learning more about the world.
• Science constantly changes the way we understand the world.
• Energy conversions underlie all ecological processes.
• Energy cannot be created; it must come from somewhere.
• As energy flows through systems, at each step more of it becomes unusable.
• The Earth itself is one interconnected system.
• Natural systems change over time and space.
• Biogeochemical systems vary in ability to recover from disturbances.
• Humans alter natural systems.
• Humans have had an impact on the environment for millions of years.
• Technology and population growth have enabled humans to increase both the rate and scale of their impact on the environment.
• Environmental problems have a cultural and social context.
• Understanding the role of cultural, social, and economic factors is vital to the development of solutions.
• Human survival depends on developing practices that will achieve sustainable systems.
• A suitable combination of conservation and development is required.
• Management of common resources is essential.
• Topic Outline
• Earth Systems and Resources

1. Earth Science Concepts (geologic time scale; plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanism; seasons; solar intensity and latitude)
2. The Atmosphere (composition; structure; weather and climate; atmospheric circulation and the Coriolis Effect; atmosphere-ocean interactions; ENSO)
3. Global Water Resources and Use (freshwater/saltwater; ocean circulation; agricultural, industrial, and domestic use; surface and groundwater issues; global problems; conservation)
4. Soil and Soil Dynamics (rock cycle; formation; composition; physical and chemical properties; main soil types; erosion and other soil problems; soil conservation)
5. The Living World
6. Ecosystem Structure (biological populations and communities; ecological niches; interactions among species; keystone species; species diversity and edge effects; major terrestrial and aquatic biomes)
7. Energy Flow (photosynthesis and cellular respiration; food webs and trophic levels; ecological pyramids)
8. Ecosystem Diversity (biodiversity; natural selection; evolution; ecosystem services)
9. Natural Ecosystem Change (climate shifts; species movement; ecological succession)
10. Natural Biogeochemical Cycles (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, water, conservation of matter)

III. Population

1. Population Biology Concepts (population ecology; carrying capacity; reproductive strategies; survivorship)
2. Human Population
3. Human population dynamics (historical population sizes; distribution; fertility rates; growth rates and doubling times; demographic transition; age-structure diagrams)
4. Population size (strategies for sustainability; case studies; national policies)
5. Impacts of population growth (hunger; disease; economic effects; resource use; habitat destruction)
6. Land and Water Use
7. Agriculture
8. Feeding a growing population (human nutritional requirements; types of agriculture; Green Revolution; genetic engineering and crop production; deforestation; irrigation; sustainable agriculture)
9. Controlling pests (types of pesticides; costs and benefits of pesticide use; integrated pest management; relevant laws)
10. Forestry (tree plantations; old growth forests; forest fires; forest management; national forests)
11. Rangelands (overgrazing; deforestation; desertification; rangeland management; federal rangelands)
12. Other Land Use
13. Urban land development (planned development; suburban sprawl; urbanization)
14. Transporation infrastructure (federal highway system; canals and channels; roadless areas; ecosystem impacts)
15. Public and federal lands (management; wilderness areas; national parks; wildlife refuges; forests; wetlands)
16. Land conservation options (preservation; remediation; mitigation; restoration)
17. Sustainable land-use strategies
18. Mining (mineral formation; extraction; global reserves; relevant laws and treaties)
19. Fishing (fishing techniques; overfishing; aquaculture; relevant laws and treaties)
20. Global Economics (globalization; World Bank; Tragedy of the Commons; relevant laws and treaties)
21. Energy Resources and Consumption
22. Energy Concepts (energy forms; power; units; conversions; Laws of Thermodynamics)
23. Energy Consumption
24. History (Industrial Revolution; exponential growth; energy crisis)
25. Present global energy use
26. Future energy needs
27. 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)
28. 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)
29. Hydroelectric Power (dams; flood control; salmon; silting; other impacts)
30. Energy Conservation (energy efficiency; CAFÉstandards; hybrid electric vehicles; mass transit)
31. Renewable Energy (solar energy; solar electricity; hydrogen fuel cells; biomass; wind energy; small-scale hydroelectric; ocean waves and tidal energy; geothermal; environmental advantages/disadvantages)
32. Pollution
33. Pollution Types
34. 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; remediation and reduction strategies; Clean Air Act and other relevant laws)
35. Noise pollution (sources; effects; control measures)
36. 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)
37. Solid waste (types; disposal; reduction)
38. Impacts on the Environment and Human Health
39. Hazards to human health (environmental risk analysis; acute and chronic effects; dose-response relationships; air pollutants; smoking and other risks)
40. Hazardous chemicals in the environment (types of hazardous waste; treatment/disposal of hazardous waste; cleanup of contaminated sites; biomagnification; relevant laws)
41. Economic Impacts (cost-benefit analysis; externalities; marginal costs; sustainability)

VII. Global Change

1. 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)
2. Global Warming (greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect; impacts and consequences of global warming; reducing climate change; relevant laws and treaties)
3. Loss of Biodiversity
4. Habitat loss; overuse; pollution; introduced species; endangered and extinct species
5. Maintenance through conservation
6. Relevant laws and treaties

Required Instructional Materials and Resources: (List required materials including SDOC provided textbooks, including any fees that apply, etc.)

• Living in the Environment textbook by G. Tyler Miller Jr. and Scott E. Spoolman, 17th edition, 2012, Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning
• 1.5 inch notebook

Required Certifications: (List or describe licenses, credentials, for which this course is required.)

• SC Teaching Certificate in the Field of Science with Advanced Placement Endorsement—Environmental Science
• SC Teaching Certificate, 30+ hours in Agriculture, plus AP Endorsement
• SC Teaching Certificate, 14+ hours in Biology, plus AP Endorsement
• SC Teaching Certificate, 37+ hours in Environmental Science and Natural Resources, plus AP Endorsement
• SC Teaching Certificate, 13+ hours in General Science*, plus AP Endorsement
• SC Teaching Certificate, 12+ hours in Science, plus AP Endorsement

Optional Materials and Resources:

• Videos from Crash Course
• 60 Minutes Documentaries
• Web Research
• Current Events News Articles