Environmental Science 2020-2021

Environmental Science is a student centered science course that is designed to challenge the students to develop an understanding of the biological, physical and earth systems that shape our environment. Scientific concepts, principles and modern science practices allow students to analyze environmental issues, both natural and human induced, and engage in evidence-based decision making in real world contexts. The appropriate NJ State Standards will be addressed so as to raise the level of students discourse and develop essential scientific reasoning skills. The following topics are covered during this course:

Unit 1: History of the Earth

• Formation of the Universe

• Life Cycle of a Star

• Formation of the Earth/Moon

• Geologic Time

• Periodic Table

• Radiometric Dating

• Intro to Plate Tectonics

Unit 2: Earth’s Systems

• Weathering and erosion

• Human activities affect the rate of soil erosion

• Layers of the Earth

• Rocks and Minerals

• Earthquakes

• Volcanoes

• Oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water cycles through the spheres

Unit 3: Weather and Climate

• Fossil fuels/ alternative energy

• Climate factors and climate change

• Global Warming

• Ozone depletion

• Layers of the atmosphere

• Local and global winds

• Factors that affect weather

• Station Models

Due to the nature of Environmental Science, there are many hands-on labs activities and research papers. In many situations students will work together in groups of 2-6. Students will go outdoors to collect soil samples, study temperature variations, collect and analyze water samples, make scaled models, and more! In each scenario we will focus on the skills needed in the workplace, namely safety, teamwork innovation, negotiation, and problem solving.

Please feel free to reach out at any time, the easiest way to contact me is by email.