ABOUT MY APES COURSE

AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
MR. VISCO
 
      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 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, biology, and chemistry.  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.

GRADING

EXAMS (50 %)
  Multiple choice questions designed to cover the breadth of the students knowledge and understanding of ES.  Thought provoking problems and questions based on fundamental ideas from ES are included along with questions based on the recall of basic facts and major concepts
Free response questions emphasize the application of principles 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.

QUIZZES (20 %)
Oral questions based on the previous days lesson.  Students will receive either a 100 or a zero.

ACTIVITIES (30 %)
These will include discussions, videos, readings and investigations. All investigations should be typed, and unless otherwise noted, are due at the start of the next class meeting.  Late papers will receive a penalty.    It is expected that students will depend heavily on the World Wide Web to access up-to-date articles on various environmental issues.

THE WORLD WIDE WEB WILL BE A SIGNIFICANT COMPONENT OF THIS COURSE.  STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO VISIT MR VISCO’S WEBSITE WEEKLY, TO CHECK ON ASSIGNMENTS AND COMMUNICATE WITH HIM VIA EMAIL.

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/cvisco/apenviro.htm
 

COURSE OUTLINE


  THE EARTH IN BALANCE

» 1. Scientific Analysis …. Critical thinking for life

» 2. Energy Basics ….What makes everything go?

» 3. The Dynamic Earth
» The Lithosphere ….Rocks Remember

» The Atmosphere ….Our fragile veil

» The Hydrosphere ….Water, water everywhere

» 4. Ecosystems and Natural populations ….There’s always a bigger fish

THE EARTH OUT OF BALANCE

» 5. Human Population Dynamics ….And you thought  Disney World was crowded!

» 6. The Hydrosphere Under Attack ….Where did all the fish go?

» 7. The Atmosphere Under Attack ….Hold your breath and turn up the air conditioner

» 8. Solid and Hazardous Waste….Where are we going to put all this garbage?

» 9. The Biosphere Under Attack….Extinction is forever

» 10. Producing Energy…..Hey, who turned off the lights?

» 11. Human Health ….Living can be dangerous to your health