General Information

Course Description

The Advanced Placement Environmental Science course conforms to the standards set forth by the College Board and covers all of the topics listed in the AP Environmental Course Description.  The framework of the course incorporates the two essential components: Science Practices and Course Content which are rooted in the Big Ideas.(see below) The course is designed to take the main topics presented, such as Earth Systems and Resources, and integrate them using the Science Practices such as Data Analysis.  Big Ideas, such as Sustainability are tied into every topic.  Students are expected to gain a conceptual understanding of the material and be able to utilize their knowledge to address environmental and social concerns, using scientific processes such as formulating hypotheses, collecting and analyzing data, and designing experiments.  Students gain experience in using these processes by performing laboratory investigations and other hands-on activities throughout the course.  These laboratories and activities provide an opportunity for the students to not only learn proper investigative techniques, but also give them an appreciation for science as a process.

Science Practices

1. Concept Explanation

2. Visual Representations

3. Text Analysis

4. Scientific Experiments

5. Data Analysis

6. Mathematical Routines

7. Environmental Solutions

Big Ideas

1. Energy Transfer

2. Interactions Between Earth Systems

3. Interactions Between Different Species and the Environment

4. Sustainability

Textbook and Supplementary Materials

Friedland, Andrew and Reylea, Rick.  Environmental Science for the AP® Course 3rd Edition (2019)

Strive for a 5: Preparing for the AP® Environmental Science Examination

Chapter

1: Environmental Science: Studying the State of Our Earth

2: Environmental Systems

3: Ecosystem Ecology

4: Global Climates and Biomes 

5: Evolution of Biodiversity 

6: Population and Community Ecology

7: The Human Population 

8: Earth Systems

9: Water Resources and Water Use

10: Land, Public and Private

11: Feeding the World

12: Nonrenewable Energy Resources

13: Achieving Energy Sustainability

14: Aquatic Pollution

15: Atmospheric Pollution and Stratospheric Ozone Depletion

16: Waste Generation, Terrestrial Pollution, and Waste Disposal

17: Human Health and Environmental Risks

18: Conservation of Biodiversity

19: Global Change

20: Sustainability, Economics, and Equity