Advanced Placement Environmental Science 2018-2019

John Osborne Liceo Campoverde, Quito

josborne@liceocampoverde.edu.ec Blogsite: www.apeslcv.wordpress.com

ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE (APES) AT LICEO CAMPOVERDE

1. Course: Advanced Placement Environmental Science (APES)

The AP Environmental Science course is designed to be equivalent to a semester introductory college course in
environmental science. Unlike most other science courses, environmental science unites concepts from other
branches of science such as, geology, biology, environmental studies, chemistry, physics, and geography.

The goal of the AP Environmental Science course is to provide students 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 human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these
problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them.

Other goals at Liceo Campoverde include converting the APES students into environmentalists (if they are not
already!), obligatorily spreading the word - campaigning, being successful in the exams and enjoying the work.

2. AP ES Course Themes
Although Environmental Science is interdisciplinary, there are several major unifying constructs, or themes, that
are covered in the course. The following themes provide a foundation for the structure of the AP Environmental
Science course.

1. Science is a process.
o Science is a method of learning more about the world.
o Science constantly changes the way we understand the world.

2. Energy conversions underlie all ecological processes.

o Energy cannot be created; it must come from somewhere.
o As energy flows through systems, at each step more of it becomes unusable.

3. The Earth itself is one interconnected system.

o Natural systems change over time and space. Biogeochemical systems vary in ability to recover from
disturbances.

4. Humans alter natural systems.

o Humans have had an impact on the environment for millions of years.
o Technology and population growth have enabled humans to increase both the rate and scale of their impact
on the environment.

5. Environmental problems have a cultural and social context.

o Understanding the role of cultural, social and economic factors is vital to the development of solutions.

6. Human survival depends on developing practices that will achieve sustainable systems.
o A suitable combination of conservation and development is required.
o Management of common resources is essential.

The course objectives (see Course Outline and Scope and Sequence) will be completed prior to the first part of
April in order for students to prepare for the Advanced Placement Exam in May.

3. Pre-requisites: Previous studies in Biology, Chemistry and Math, and a good command of English. Motivation!
Energy! A smile! And above all else, a great commitment. In Spanish - COMPROMISO!

4. Grading Procedures and Learning Objectives:

4.1 Grading
Grades are posted on Idukay, on the usual scale of 0 - 10, where:
0 is given for work not completed
7 is a passing grade
10 ... is perfection! And very difficult to obtain!

0 will be posted in Idukay for any assignment which is not delivered and for which no extension has been granted.
This work may be recuperated within the next 7 days for a maximum grade of 7.

Grades will be collected from many different assignments, including (but not limited to): quizzes and tests; FRQ's;
case studies; math problems; graphing; data analysis; APES journal; research, presentations and communication of
science in various forms of media; lab participation and reports; field work; note-taking and filing; participation in
discussion, debates, etc; ... and more!
Advanced Placement Environmental Science 2018-2019
John Osborne Liceo Campoverde, Quito
josborne@liceocampoverde.edu.ec Blogsite: www.apeslcv.wordpress.com

There will be a weekly reading, formally tested assignment. Block tests will always be summative assessments.

The Quimester I exam will be in the form of a 'mock' AP Environmental Science exam, containing multiple choice,
FRQ, math and analysis questions.

Students who present the AP exam in May will be exonerated from the Quimester II exam.

Grading equivalents

It is necessary to create two, formal grades for each piece of work or assignment. One
grade is recorded in Idukay, and provides a grade up to a maximum 10, with a passing
level of 7. The other is the APES score equivalent. The table on the left will be used to
calculate the grades.

4.2 Learning Objectives

All work will be graded in one or more learning objectives:
A. Knowledge and Understanding (summative assessments, incl. Weekly reading tests and Block tests)
B. Application of Knowledge and Understanding, and Problem Solving
C. Research and Communication
D. Experimental Investigation
E. Data Analysis and Making Conclusions

5. Teaching, learning and testing routines and timetable

The APES week consists of 5 classes (only!)
Single: Always a reading test, summative, multiple choice + FRQ's
Double 1: Projects and assignments - many of them on-going
Double 2: Experimental investigations and simulations

There will be a reading assignment each week, using the textbook and other resources, tested on Mondays.

Each Block will be completed with a formal, summative test.

A week-long field trip will be intensively used to complete several field investigations.

6. AP Exam: All course participants should be able to take the exam the afternoon Monday 6th May, 2019
The AP exam will consist of two parts, each lasting 90 minutes, separated by a short break:
PART 1: 100 multiple choice questions --> 60% of exam
PART 2: 4 Free Response Questions (FRQ’s] --> 40% of exam
- experimental design & data analysis
- document based
- synthesis & evaluation {usually 2}

7. Course text book: Environmental Science Fifteenth Edition, 2016, G. Tyler Miller & Scott E. Spoolman,
electronic version published by Cengage Electronic Learning, Canada. A direct media download of the text book is on
the Blog: 340692679-Environmental-Science-15th-Edition Also on the Blog is a link for the text book through Google
drive: https://drive.google.com/a/liceocampoverde.edu.ec/file/d/0B5YQIzQke99KRWdIVWVqQnRaaEU/view?usp=sharing

You will read this book! And you will need to take and file your own notes (Cornell template) on the reading!
And there will be weekly quizzes on the reading, as well as grades given for your notes! Class time is not for
reading; reading is usually done at home.

Two other text books can be recommended for additional support, though neither is freely downloadable:
Advanced Placement Environmental Science 2018-2019
John Osborne Liceo Campoverde, Quito
josborne@liceocampoverde.edu.ec Blogsite: www.apeslcv.wordpress.com

1. AP Edition of Living in the Environment, Eighteenth Edition, 2015, G. Tyler Miller & Scott E. Spoolman,
electronic version published by Cengage Electronic Learning, Canada
2. Environmental Science for AP, Second edition, 2015, Andrew Friedland and Rick Relyea, W.H. Freeman
and Company, New York

Supplemental Text: Cracking the AP Environmental Science Exam, current edition (College Test Preparation,
Princeton Review (available on Amazon.com) you will need to purchase this in September when it is released for
reviewing for the APES test, and for use in the classroom. This is an excellent test prep resource!

8. Classroom Rules: Work Hard! Be Nice! Be a listener!

1. Cooperation: So much of what we do in class will be collaborative, in groups. We are amazingly arrogant
if we think we can achieve everything alone! Be prepared to work with anyone else.
2. Trust: Many activities will be self-directed and therefore a degree of trust amongst all of us is required.
3. Respect: Everyone has the right to be listened to and to have an opinion. I honour all opinions and
everyone will be listened to, no one will have a right or wrong opinion.
4. Be able to justify all that you do and say!

9. Class Materials - necessary in all classes, unless specified otherwise

1. Small laptop or tablet (perhaps a smartphone with a decent screen)
2. Pencils and pens, scissors, glue, ruler and the usual other things
3. Your APES file
4. Calculator

10. Expectations & Commentary:

In an effective college-preparatory AP Environmental Science class, you develop skills and knowledge you will
need in order to be successful in entry-level college science courses. The manner in which you work with the
content is as important as the content itself, because it directs how you develop higher-level reasoning and a grasp
of science skills.

AP Environmental Science emphasizes problem solving, critical thinking and decision making - informed
application of your knowledge. AP Environmental Science topics are organized in a meaningful, coherent way that
encourages you to continually build understanding. Content presentation is interactive and is carried out using
questioning and inquiry examples from everyday life. This course is definitely enquiry based learning. AP
Environmental Science has many applications in everyday life and exploring their relevance in your life, solidifies
understanding.

You also learn content through laboratory investigations that allow you to experience and experiment with the topic
being taught. Labs often require mathematical calculations, thus encouraging you to apply your math skills. You
will constantly apply and refine your math skills as you collect and analyze data, and determine trends in sets of
data and how to determine whether relationships exist between two variables.

Applying and refining science process skills, such as data analysis and interpretation and error analysis, are vital for
college success. Collecting data during a lab helps you understand the link between measurement and data. You
will develop an understanding of the different ways data can be presented.

You will be required to state clear, complete research problems, describe the design of the experiment, present
results, and write thorough, articulate conclusions. You are responsible for representing your data in a format
(tables & line graphs) that will best illustrate the conclusions. You are asked to write extended answers to
challenging open-ended questions and are routinely expected to take detailed notes during reading.

11. Academic Honesty

An enquiry based science, such as Environmental Science, which requires research and investigation, is totally
dependent upon other investigators', previous work. All our present and new understandings, and everything we
ourselves find out, is adding to what has gone before. Of course we must use other people's finding but we must
absolutely respect and acknowledge their ownership, and in no way suggest that it is our work.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a form of cheating whereby an attempt is made to pass off someone else’s written work
as one's own. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, copying directly from a source when writing a report,
without providing credit to the source's author. It is unnecessary to copy an entire article for the copying to be
plagiarism. Peer editing that may be assigned or allowed by the teacher is not plagiarism. Collaborating on
individual assignments, which may be handled in a cooperative manner, should be expressly designated as such by
the teacher. Other than peer editing, only cooperative assignments are to be shared with other students before they
are turned in for credit.