Welcome to AP Environmental Science



AP Environmental Science 2015-2016

Summer Assignment

Welcome to AP Environmental Science! The major topics of the class are as follows:

Energy Systems and Resources – atmosphere, soil, groundwater, and geology

The Living World – ecosystems and cycles

Populations – demographics, dynamics and growth

Land and Water Use – agriculture, forestry, mining, fishing and global economics

Energy Resources and Consumption – fossil fuels, nuclear energy, conservation and consumption

Pollution – types of pollution and its impact, waste disposal

Global Change – ozone, global warming, loss of biodiversity

This summer assignment will give you a brief overview of all of the topics we will go over this year by looking at some of the associated prerequisites and math calculations. Over the course of the year we will learn more about the science and social issues associated with each of the topics. There are four parts to the summer assignment, one of which is due mid-July (e-mail and math problems) and the rest will be collected on the first day of class. If you have any questions about the assignment, feel free to email me at Jessica.Rosen@. The summer assignment will count for a portion of your first nine weeks grade. All work turned in must be your own work. The assignment will be graded as follows:

E-mail Me - at jessica.rosen@ with the following information by Thursday, July 23rd:

a. Brief introduction and why you are taking AP Environmental Science

b. Why you think you will be successful on the AP Exam

c. Your grade in chemistry and any other AP classes you have taken (with AP test scores if available)

d. Feel free to e-mail me at any time with questions on the summer assignment. I will be out of town periodically so allow a few days for a response.

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills – Quiz during the second class meeting

a. You will be required to read Chapter 2 (biology and chemistry review), which will be available

online (thsapes.)

a. You should be familiar with the chemical formulas and chemical abbreviations in this packet

Watch “Home” from the GoodPlanetFoundation– On YouTube; Answer the video questions included; due the first day of class

Math Problems– Due first day of class

a. Turn this page in to me during office hours or mail it to THS if you will be out of town (must be postmarked by the due date)

b. Make sure that both your name and my name are visible on the first page/envelope

Summer Office Hours

I will be available at the following times to discuss summer assignment questions and go over math problems. Both sessions will meet in Room 234. Attendance for extra help is optional.

TBA

(I will email you all when I have received your email to let you know when I can come to school)

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills

AP Environmental Science is a college level course that combines content area from earth science, 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 concepts below as well as the mathematical calculations on the next page; we will be building upon and referencing them throughout the school year.

Reading Assignment - Review

This class requires a lot of reading. Students that do not keep up with their reading assignments will not be successful in the class or on the AP Exam. Each student should Read Chapter 2 (p. 28-47) from the textbook. This chapter is review from Biology and Chemistry courses. You should have a strong knowledge base in these core subjects to be successful in APES. You will be responsible for knowing the information in Chapter 2 for a quiz that will be given during our second class meeting.

Textbooks will not be distributed until September. Copies of this chapter are available on the class website: thsapes. under the ‘Documents’ tab. You can also pick up a hard copy from me at summer office hours or before the close of the school year.

Chemical Abbreviations and Formulas

You should be prepared to take a quiz on this material, as well as the math review and Chapter 2 material, during our second class meeting. If you do not receive at least an 80% on the quiz, you will be required to stay after school and retake the quiz until you are able to achieve an 80% on it.

Prerequisite Basic Scientific Concepts:

Know the full names of each of these chemical abbreviations:

CO2, CO, C6H12O6, CH4

H2, H2O

N2, NOx, NO3-, NH3, N2O

O2, O3

P, PO43-

S, SO2, H2SO4

Cl, NaCl

K

Pb

Hg

Rn

U

Photosynthesis Equation (reactants and products)

Cellular Respiration Equation (reactants and products)

“Home” by Yann Arthus-Bertrand (Home Project) Name_______________________

(93 min) Watch the video on YouTube and answer the following questions as you go: This video will provide an overview of the many topics we will cover in class this year and give you an idea of what to expect content-wise.

1. Describe the conditions on early Earth.

2. What happened to the carbon that poisoned the atmosphere?

3. How did the agricultural revolution change the Earth?

4. How has the Earth changed in the last 60 years since the use of oil has become more widespread?

5. What is most of the grain in the US used for?

6. What led to the dramatic decline in the biodiversity of agricultural crop species?

7. How many kilos of water does it take to produce 1 kilo of beef?

8. How have cars shaped the way housing is laid out in the US and other developed countries?

9. How much has the volume of international trade increased since 1950?

10. What are your thoughts on how the video portrays Dubai? Is it self-sustainable?

11. Rainforests are cut down to make farmland for which products/crops?

12. What makes the growth of Lagos different from how most other cities grow?

13. Where does the water from Greenland’s melting ice sheet go?

14. Why are the glaciers of mountains so important for the people in the lowlands?

15. What hope does the video offer at the end?

This video project covers many topics that we will discuss in APES this year. Give three specific examples that are portrayed in the video about each of the APES concepts listed below:

|APES Concept |Video Examples |

| | |

| | |

|All living things are linked. |1. |

| | |

| |2. |

| | |

| |3. |

| | |

| |1. |

|Developed vs. | |

|Developing Countries |2. |

| | |

| |3. |

| | |

| |1. |

|Faster and Faster: | |

|Human Innovation & |2. |

|Technology | |

| |3. |

| | |

| |1. |

| | |

|The Carbon Cycle |2. |

| | |

| |3. |

| | |

| |1. |

| | |

|Climatic Balance |2. |

| | |

| |3. |

| | |

| |1. |

| | |

|Shortage of Resources |2. |

| | |

| |3. |

After watching the film, what topics are you most looking forward to learning about this year? What questions do you have?

Prerequisite Basic Mathematical Skills

Percentage

17% = 17/100 = .17

- Remember that “percent” literally means divided by 100.

- Percentage is a measure of the part of the whole, or part divided by whole.

- Ex. 15 million is what percentage of the US population? 15 million / 300 million = .05 = 5%

- What is 20% of this $15 bill so that I can give a good tip? $15 x .20 = $15 x 20/100 = $3

Rates

Rise Y2-Y1 slope change y=mx+b dX

Run X2-X1 time dt

- All of the above are ways to look at rates. The second equation is the easiest way to calculate a rate, especially from looking at a graph. Rates will often be written using the word ‘per’ followed by a unit of time, such as cases per year, grams per minute or miles per hour. The word ‘per’ means to divide, so miles per gallon is actually the number of miles driven divided by one gallon.

- Rates are calculating how much an amount changes in a given amount of time.

Scientific Notation

Thousand = 103 =1,000

Million = 106 =1,000,000 (people in the US)

Billion = 109 =1,000,000,000 (people on Earth)

Trillion = 1012 =1,000,000,000,000 (National debt)

- When using very large numbers, scientific notation is often easiest to manipulate. For example, the US population is 300 million people or 300x106 or 3x108

- When adding or subtracting, exponents must be the same. Add the numbers in front of the ten and keep the exponent the same.

- When multiplying or dividing, multiply or divide the number in front of the ten and add the exponents if multiplying or subtract the exponents if dividing

- Online tutorial:

Ex. 9x106 / 3x102 = (9/3) x 10(6-2) = 3 x 104

Dimensional Analysis

You should be able to convert any unit into any other unit accurately if given the conversion factor. Online tutorials are available:





Prefixes m (milli) =1/1000 =10-3

c (cent) =1/100 =10-2

k (kilo) =1000 =103

M (mega) =1,000,000 =106

G (giga) =1,000,000,000 =109

T (tera) =1,000,000,000,000 =1012

Long Division and Multiplication

You should be able to do these calculations by hand, including values with decimals and scientific notation. Many students struggle in this area because calculators are not allowed on the AP exam. Online tutorials are available:





Math Problems

Answer the questions. Use a separate sheet of paper if necessary. Show all work (i.e. show the long division and multiplication that you did by hand!)

1) What is one hundred million times one hundred thousand? Show your work in scientific notation. Give the answer in scientific notation and in words.

2) A population of endangered mountain gorillas had 324 individuals. If the population grows by 25% in one year, how many gorillas will there be the next year?

3) France caught 150 tons of Bluefin tuna one month and 242 tons the next. By what percentage did the amount of tuna caught increase by (round to the nearest tenth of a percent)?

4) Electricity costs 7 cents per kilowatt hour. In one month one home uses 2.1 megawatt hours of electricity. How much will the electric bill be? (be sure to look at the prefixes chart for the conversion of kilo to mega)

5) Your car gets 25 miles to the gallon and your friend’s car gets 30 miles to the gallon. You decide to go on a road trip to the National Zoo in Washington DC, which is 210 miles away. If gas costs $3.50 per gallon and you decide to split the gas money, how much money will you save in gas by driving your friend’s car?

6) A city contains 1,750 homes and each home uses 240 kwh (kilowatt-hours) per month. How many kWh does the entire city use each month? If 4 people live in each house, what is the average per capita energy consumption?

7) The concentration of mercury in a water supply changes from 80ppm (parts per million) to 63ppm over a ten-year period. What is the percentage change of the mercury concentration? Round to the nearest hundredth.

8) Consider a wind turbine that is rated at 1.5 MW (megawatts). This means that with sufficiently high winds, it will produce 1.5 MW or 1,500 kW (kilowatts) of power. If this wind turbine runs at its rated power of 100% of the time for a full year, how much energy would it produce in a year? Give your answer in kWh/year (kilowatt hours per year).

9) Show your work for the following multiplication and division problems. You can use a calculator to check your work, but I want to see that you understand how to solve these problems by hand. Just like on the AP exam, no credit is given if you don’t show your work.

a. 2450 x 7.5

b. 92.5 x 21.3

c. 4.70x10-3 x 3.8

d. 2409 / 43.8

e. .09 / .0036

f. 5.50x103 / .022

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