This fast-paced, year-long course takes a holistic approach to the environment using the APES curriculum. Rather than following the APES curriculum in the order as it appears in the College Board's Course and Exam Description, I have reorganized the lessons to tell a story and help synthesize understanding of the volume of material we have to cover in approximately 70 class periods. You can expect that we will cover between one to three AP lessons each class period, signifying that there is always new material each day.
The first two units set the stage with a focus on biodiversity and natural resources, and the impact anthropogenic activity has on the availability and quality of these resource. This is followed by two units examining how human populations grow and develop, the energy resources we consume as well as the consequences of their use, and the impact that waste and pollutants have on the health of organisms. The year culminates with environmental studies of anthropogenic activities and the effects they have on local and global scales, and solutions to these problems across two units.
The semester cumulative assessments are AP-style exams [40 MCQs, 1 FRQ]. Depending on meeting specific criteria, students may be able to exempt one or both of these exams.
