AP Environmental Science 2012-2013 Summer AssignmentMrs. K. Pendletonkpendleton@mtps.com

Welcome to AP Environmental Science! We will be covering a wide range of topics throughout this course. This summer assignment will help you refresh some skills you need for the start of class in September. I will be checking email periodically throughout the summer, so contact me if you have any questions. This is assignment is due the first day of class. DO NOT wait until two days before the start of school to tell me you are having difficulty with this. Procrastination is no excuse for not having completed the assignments.

This assignment will be available through the school website as well.

1. Plant Biodiversity: The first marking period is devoted to ecology. You will be determining the biodiversity of local areas. Record your information in a composition notebook that will be dedicated to AP Environmental Science labs and activities. To ensure academic integrity, the final presentation is to be written by hand.

2. Species Interactions Journal: A large part of ecology is the relationships between species, plant, animal and microbial. You will be constructing a photo journal of 10 relationships you spot this summer, either around town or while on vacation.

3. APES Math Review: Complete the questions to review math on the packet provided. Math is integral to all science courses; this one is no exception. However, the APES exam does not allow the use of calculators, and we will be limiting the use of them as well (with the exception of statistical analysis of data). I know this is frustrating, but YOU CAN DO IT!!! Show the set up for all problems, and label your answers with the correct units.

Making and interpreting graphs is an important part of science. Every AP exam has a few questions about graphs and often has students make and/or interpret a graph in the free-response section. This is a basic skill that you need to do well in any AP science class. While I will expect you to use computer generated graphs during the year, to ensure academic integrity these graphs are to be made by hand.

4. Course Expectations and Safety: Read both sheets. Complete and return the Student Contact Form.

And remember: Get outside and enjoy the summer!

Plant Biodiversity

Information is to be recorded in a composition notebook dedicated for use during labs and activities in AP Environmental Science.

Find an area that is relatively undeveloped. This could be in your yard (if it is not sodded) or in a nearby wood or park. The grounds around the school are suitable as well (but avoid the sports fields since they are regularly treated and maintained). Using a tape measure or yard stick, measure out a square that is 0.50 m (20 inches) on each side.

List the weather conditions that day: amount of sunlight, temperature, humidity, time of day, cloud cover, wetness of soil, etc. Some of these are approximations; use your best estimate. Record the plant species that you encounter. You might not know there actual names, so develop ones that are descriptive (V-shape thick grass, round thin tall grass, etc). Record the approximate number of individuals of each species in that square. Keep in mind that some plants may look different at different stages of its life cycle. For example, the dandelion has a bright yellow flower when pollinating, but turns into a white puffball to spread it seeds. The foliage will be the key identifier.

Repeat this activity, but use a different location, one that has properties different from the area you did originally. Maybe this area is exposed to the sun all day long while the first one was shaded; maybe this area is not as well drained; maybe it is closer to the road. If you have a large enough yard you could do two sections if the conditions are different enough. Your data will be submitted in a neatly-drawn table. Be sure to use labels for each column.

Write out a summary to your findings, addressing the following:

Which area do you feel had the greatest biodiversity? What did you base this on?What factors affect the diversity of your areas?

Species Interactions

Ecological communities are formed through the interactions of the living organisms within it. A number of different types of interactions have been observed between organisms. The most common ones listed below with examples.

Your task is to identify 8 interactions in nature that you spot this summer. Using a camera or a cell phone, document these interactions in nature. Each picture should be labeled with the type of interaction observed, the organisms involved, where the incident occurred, and a brief description of the interaction.

• Competition: A & B compete for resources.• Ex: Zebra mussels compete with native mussels in

Lake Erie for phytoplankton• Inhibition: Actions of A inhibit B

• Ex: A bacterial colony secretes chemicals to prevent others from growing too close to it, without injuring the other bacteria.

• Predation: A feeds on B, with a direct negative effect on B• Ex: Deer eat hosta plants, lions hunt antelope

• Parasitism: A feeds on B with an indirect negative effect• Ex: Sea lamprey attach to fish and suck their blood

• Mutualism/Symbiosis: A & B require each other to survive or thrive. Symbiosis entails a direct connect between the two.

• Ex: Plant roots provide energy and protection for fungi while the fungi help plants absorb nutrients

• Commensalism: A requires B, but B is not effected• Ex: Maple trees provide shade for moss to grow

APES Math Review

The APES Examination will require you to do mathematical calculations. Occasionally these calculations may be somewhat esoteric, and you may find it possible to do them in your head; nonetheless, it is mandatory to show all work for all calculations on the free-response section of the APES exam. This worksheet is designed help to prepare you for the type of calculations you may encounter on this year’s APES exam.

For each problem show every step of your work, and indicate the cancellation of all units…No Calculators!!

Scientific Notation—All APES students should be able to work comfortably with numbers in scientific notation.Place the following numbers into scientific notation. No Calculators!!

1) one billion 2) twenty three thousand

3) 70 trillion 4) three hundred

5) 0.00025 6) 7,310,000

Perform the following calculations in scientific notation. No Calculators!!

7) five hundred billion times thirty five thousand

8) six thousand divided by 300 billion

9) 3.4 x 10 -2 1.7 x 10-5

10) 1.0 x 10 5 2.0 x 103

11) (3.5 x 10-2)(2.0 x 10-5)

12) (1.11 x 10-5)(6.0 x 109)

Metric Conversions—All APES students should be comfortable converting between common metric prefixes. Below are common prefixes, and the number of base units each represents. For example, 1 teraWatt = 109 Watts; 1 millimeter = 10-3 meters

n = nano = 10-9 = micro = 10-6 m = milli = 10-3

k = kilo = 103 M = mega= 106 T = Tera = 109

G = Giga = 1012

13) 2.8 mm = ____________ m 14) 1.3 nm = ____________ m15) 300 mg = ____________g16) 12 g = ____________ng17) 250 mL = ____________ L18) 400 GW = ____________W19) 5 x 104 kg= ____________Mg

Unit conversions—All APES students should be able to convert from one system of units to another.

Use the information below to complete the following. Show all of your work including the canceling of all units. No Calculators!!

1 mi2 = 640 acres 1 acre = 0.405 hectares1 barrel oil = 42 gallons 1 L = 0.264 gallons1 kilowatt-hour = 3.4 x 104 BTU= 8.6 x 105 calories1 metric ton (tonne) = 1 x 103 kg

12) A 100 square mile area of national forest is how many acres? how many hectares?

21) A city that uses ten billion BTUs of energy each month is using how many kilowatt-hours of energy?

22) Fifty eight thousand kilograms of solid waste is equivalent to how many metric tons?

23). If one barrel of crude oil provides six million BTUs of energy, how many BTUs of energy will one liter of crude oil provide? How many calories of energy will one gallon of crude oil provide?

24) For crude oil, if 150 pounds of CO2 is released per million BTUs of energy, how much CO2 is produced by each barrel of crude oil? (use information from the previous problem)

Percentages—All APES students should be able to work comfortably with percentages.

25) Calculate the percentage growth rate for a country with a population of 6 million in a year in which it had 100,000 births, 70,000 deaths, 30,000 immigrants, and 50,000 emigrants.

26) If the concentration of mercury in a water supply changes from 65 parts per million (ppm) to 7 ppm in a ten-year period, what is the percentage change of the mercury concentration? How much per year?

27) A natural gas power plant is 60% efficient. If one cubic meter of natural gas provides 1000 BTUs of electricity. How many BTUs of waste heat were produced?

28) If 35% of a natural area is to be developed, leaving 500 acres untouched, how many acres are to be developed?

29) How many gallons are in 15 L of gasoline? What would that cost in 1987, when gas was $0.89/gal? In 2012, when gas is $3.60/gal?

30) What is the percent change in gasoline prices from 1987 to now?

Data Presentation--All APES students must be comfortable constructing tables, graphs and charts.

Tables: Tables should be used to present results that have relatively few data points. Tables are also useful to display several dependent variables at the same time. There is a title on top that describes the contents of the table, including experimental conditions. Column or Row headers include units of measure.

Graphs: Numerical results of an experiment are often presented in a graph rather than a table. A graph is literally a picture of the results, and trends in the data can be more easily interpreted. Generally, the independent variable is on the x-axis (horizontally) and the dependent variable is graphed on the y-axis (vertically). The effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable can then be determined.

When drawing a graph use a straight-edge or ruler, and preferably graph paper to plot points accurately. Label each axis with the name of the variable and the units it is measured. The title is descriptive of the experiment or the data shown. The intervals labeled on each axis should be appropriate for the range of the data, and must be evenly spaced.

Line graphs are used to represent continuous data, those that have an unlimited number of values between data points. Data are plotted as separate points on the axes, and the points are connected together. Examples include growth over time, amounts of chemical used or changes in concentrations.

Bar graphs are used to represent discrete variables, those that have a limited number of possible values. These can include things like specific locations, species of plant or animal, or types of growing conditions.

Pie Charts are used when all of the parts are percentages of the whole, equaling 100%. Examples include all the types of fuels used globally, or the uses for land in the US.

Use the temperature and precipitation data provided in Table 1 to complete the following questions.

Table 1: Average Monthly High Temperature and Precipitation in Four Cities(T = Temperature in oC; P = Precipitation in cm)

Jan Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun Jul Au

gSep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Fairbanks, Alaska

T -19 -12 -5 6 15 22 22 19 12 2 -11 -17P 2.3 1.3 1.8 0.8 1.5 3.3 4.5 5.3 3.3 2.0 1.8 1.5

San Francisco, California

T 13 15 16 17 17 19 18 18 21 20 17 14P 11.

9 9.7 7.9 3.8 1.8 0.3 0 0 0.8 2.5 6.4 11.2

San Salvador, El Salvador

T 32 33 34 34 33 31 32 32 31 31 31 32P 0.8 0.5 1.0 4.3 19.

632.

829.

229.

730.

724.

1 4.1 1.0T 2 4 9 16 22 28 30 29 25 18 10 4

Indianapolis, Indiana P 7.6 6.9 10.

2 9.1 9.9 10.2 9.9 84 8.1 7.1 8.4 7.6

31) Compare monthly temperatures in Fairbanks with temperatures in San Salvador.

a. Can data for both cities be plotted on the same graph?

b. What will go on the x-axis?

c. How should the x-axis be labeled?

d. What should go on the y-axis?

e. What is the range of values for the y-axis?

f. How should the y-axis be labeled?

g. What type of graph should be used?

32) Compare the average September temperature for the four cities in the table.

a. Can data for all four cities be plotted on the same graph?

b. What will go on the x-axis?

c. How should the x-axis be labeled?

d. What should go on the y-axis?

e. What is the range of values on the y-axis?

f. How should the y-axis be labeled?

g. What type of graph should be used?

33) Using graph paper, graph the temperature and precipitation data for San Francisco.

a. Can both sets of data be plotted on the same graph?

b. What will go on the x-axis?

c. How should the x-axis be labeled?

d. What should go on the y-axis?

e. What is the range of values on the temperature axis?

f. How should this axis be labeled?

g. What is the range of values on the precipitation axis?

h. How should this axis be labeled?

i. What type of graph should be used?

Interpreting Data--APES students must be able to read and interpret the information presented in a variety of ways, including graphs and tables.

Once you understand how graphs are constructed, it is easier to get information from the graphs in your textbook as well as to interpret the results you obtain from experiments. Use the information presented in the graphs to answer the questions that follow them.

34) a. Describe what the graph shows. (Describing means to look at the overall picture presented or trend in the data. What’s happening? Interpret the graph; don’t just repeat the title.)

b. What was the world’s population in 1900? 2010?

c. Assuming that the population trend continues, predict the world population in 2025. Do you think this is likely to occur? Defend your answer.

Change in world population from 1700 to 2010

0100020003000400050006000700080009000

10000

1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050

Year

Popu

latio

n (m

illio

ns)

Population (millions)

35) a. Describe what the graph shows.

b. At what latitude does the least variation occur?

c. Miami is at approximately 26o N latitude. From the information on the graph, what is the range in mean monthly temperature there?

d. Moorestown is at approximately 40o N latitude. From the information on the graph, what is the range in mean monthly temperature there?

e. Sydney, Australia is at approximately 33o S latitude (-33o on the graph). From the information on the graph, what is the range in mean monthly temperature there?

f. Which hemisphere, the northern or the southern, has the greatest range in monthly temperatures? Why does this occur?

Change in range of average monthly temperature as latitude changes.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

-70-60-50-40-30-20-10010203040506070

Degrees Latitude

Rang

e in

ave

rage

mon

thly

te

mpe

ratu

re o

C

Range in average monthly temperature oC

Welcome to AP Environmental ScienceMrs. Kirsten Pendleton kpendleton@mtps.com6 Credits, full year course, meeting 3x weeklyCourse DescriptionThe AP Environmental Science course is a full-year course designed to be the equivalent of an introductory college course in environmental science. The goal of the course 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 human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them. You will be prepared to take the AP Environmental Science exam offered in the spring and are encouraged to do so. Major Topics in Environmental ScienceI. Scientific Analysis

Scientific method, data collection, controlled experiments, applied mathII. Interdependence of Earth’s Systems

Energy flow, cycles of matter, geology, atmosphere, biosphere, ecosystems

III. Human Population DynamicsGrowth throughout time, distribution, carrying capacity

IV. Renewable and Nonrenewable ResourcesWater, minerals, soils, biological diversity, energy, land

V. Environmental QualityPollutants, solid waste, impact on human health

VI. Global Changes and Their ConsequencesAtmospheric changes, ocean changes, UV light, habitat destruction

VII. Environment and SocietyEconomic forces, cultural considerations, environmental ethics, laws,

regulationVII. Choices for the Future

Conservation, preservation, remediation, sustainabilityRequired Supplies and Resources

Text: Withgott and Brennan’s Environment: The Science Behind the Stories Notebook & Folder: A three-ring binder is preferred. Composition Book: for data collection Lab Notebook: A pressure-sensitive lab notebook will be available for

purchase through the school store. It is ISBN 978-1-930882-70-6 USB Drive

AttendanceGood attendance is essential to being successful in this course. Much material will be covered at a fast pace. If you know about an absence in advance, please see me to discuss what you will miss. Assignments will be due on the date given, whether or not you are present or class meets. If you have been absent, it is up to you to find out what assignments or activities you may have missed and to get any lecture notes from a classmate. Get the contact information for at least two classmates for information. If the absence is lengthy or there are extenuating circumstances, please see me to discuss the matter.

Tardiness: Lates to class are addressed according to school policy.

GradingHow do I get an A?

An ‘A’ means excellent, so be a student that excels. Plan on studying the material outside of class, even when there’s not a test. Reread your notes, assignments, labs and handouts. Be able to apply information to new situations, don’t just memorize facts. Make sure assignments are neat, well-thought out and on time. Don’t copy assignments. Form study groups with other hard-workers. Come to 12th period to review material. Keep up on current environmental issues. Ask questions. Remember that a ‘C’ grade means ‘average’. Putting in an average amount of effort will earn an average grade.

The final grade will consist of four-quarter grades, a midterm exam and a final. Quarter grades will be determined by grades on tests, quizzes, homework, lab and field exercises, classwork and projects by a total point system. Tests are a significant part of that grade.

Homework will be assigned regularly, including reading and chapter outlining. Late homework assignments WILL NOT be accepted. Do not expect to receive full credit for incorrect, incomplete, poor-quality or sloppy work.

Labwork will be done on a regular basis. Your participation is essential to your understanding. See me ASAP to arrange for lab makeup if absent. In the event it is not possible to repeat the activity, you are still responsible for knowing the purpose, procedure, results, calculations and conclusions of that experiment.

Safety is essential to a positive lab experience. Students are expected to wear closed-toed shoes and proper clothing during experiments. Failure to do so will require the student to make up the experiment during 12th period. All safety procedures outlined by the instructor are to be followed, including the wearing of goggles and aprons when appropriate. Failure to follow safety procedures will result in a grade of zero and possible disciplinary action.

Fieldwork: We will be doing outdoor activities. We may be outside when the weather is far less than optimal. Depending on the weather, there may not be prior notice given. BE PREPARED to go outside!

Quizzes and tests will be given periodically. Quizzes may be based on reading assignments and outilines. Expect to make up quizzes the day you return from an absence. Tests must be taken during 12th period within 3 days of the absence.

IntegrityBy your enrollment in this course, it appears that you are willing to challenge yourself. This is a college-level course. You are expected to complete your own work in your own words. Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated and will receive a grade of ZERO. Administrative discipline may also occur. Simply because you worked with a partner does not mean you submit identical assignments.

ContactI am available during 12th period for review, make-up or extra help. Test corrections can be made during 12th period. Feel free to contact me at kpendleton@mtps.com. I will return your message as soon as possible.

Is this course easy?It’s an Advanced Placement course. AP ≠ easy

Name:

Student Information and Safety

I, _________________________(student), have read the course information and agree to follow all of the safety rules set forth in this safety contract. I realize that I must obey these rules to insure my own safety, and that of my fellow students and instructor. I will cooperate to the fullest extent with my instructor and fellow students to maintain a safe lab environment. I will also closely follow the oral and written instructions provided by the instructor. I am aware that any violation of this safety contract that results in the unsafe conduct in the laboratory or misbehavior on my part, may result in being removed from the laboratory, detention, receiving a failing grade, and/or dismissal from the course. Student Signature ____________________________ Date_________

Parent Signature ____________________________ Date_________________

Contact Information:

Student email _________________________________________________________

Parent/Guardian name(s) ________________________________________________

Parent/Guardian email __________________________________________________

Parent/Guardian contact number _________________________________________

Any questions, comments, or concerns?