Dear Student, June 26, 2014

Transcription

1 Dear Student, June 26, 2014 Welcome to AP Environmental Science at School of the Future! During the upcoming school year we will be covering a large range of topics to determine what makes our Earth habitable and how humans impact Earth and its environments. From the very first day, we will also be working towards and preparing for the AP Environmental Science exam given by the College Board in May of This is an intense course equivalent to a college level introductory environmental science class. To help us hit the ground running next semester, I am asking (and by asking I mean requiring) all APES students to complete the following: 1. Read The World Without Us by Alan Weisman and an environmental science themed novel of your choice (see below for suggestions). Then use what you have learned from these books to develop and support (with textual evidence) a nuanced claim in response to this question, Is humankind bad for the Earth? Think about the impacts that humans have had on Earth, its environments, and the other organisms that inhabit them. Is the impact good? Bad? Somewhere in between? Are there efforts that humans can make to change their impact upon the Earth? Keep these questions in mind while reading and writing. NOTE: The fictional selections below don t always take place on Earth so feel free to interpret Earth as the planet humans are living on. Your essay should be at least three pages in length and contain APA/MLA formatted citations as well as a biography. A paper copy of the completed essay is due in class on Thursday, September 4 th. Look for a rubric on the class website relatively soon. Parallels can be drawn between fiction and reality and predictions can be made, but remember that when discussing a work of fiction the evidence is at best speculative (though some novels are very thoroughly researched) and more reflective or indicative of humanity s attitudes, values, etc. Options/suggestions for Environmental Science Fiction novels: Dune by Frank Herbert Tuf Voyaging by George R. R. Martin Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood Forty Signs of Rain by Kim Stanley Robinson The Color of Distance by Amy Thomson Energized by Edward M. Lerner Shipbreaker by Paolo Bacigalupi The Precipice by Ben Bova Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach The Quiet War by Paul McAuley Antarctica by Kim Stanley Robinson I suggest that you research these titles and choose one that seems most interesting and appropriate for you. Some of these are personal favorites while others are books about which I have heard great feedback and am looking forward to reading. If you have another choice that is not listed, then feel free to me about it. 2. Brush up on your knowledge of geography. Environmental science involves discussing environmental issues throughout the world, so a good working knowledge of world geography is crucial. You must know the names of and approximate locations on a map of the following: All 7 continents (North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica) All oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic) Major seas and lakes (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, Arabian Sea, Black Sea, all 5 Great Lakes, Caspian Sea, and Aral Sea)

2 Major rivers and river systems (Amazon, Nile, Mississippi (also Missouri and Ohio rivers), Yangtze, Ganges, and Yellow) Major mountain chains (Rockies, Andes, Appalachians, Alps, Urals, and Himalayas) Major world cities (New York, Istanbul, Mexico City, London, Tokyo, Johannesburg, Beijing, Santiago, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Moscow, Lagos, Bogotá, Cairo, and Shanghai) Students should also be able to find the equator and discern latitude from longitude On the back of the next page is a world map that you can fill out as you see fit in order to serve as a reference. There will be a geography quiz within the first few days of school. 3. Review and sharpen basic math skills. See the reminder information and practice problems. There will be a quiz on the metric system, percentages, units and converting, and scientific notation during the first few days of school. Calculators will not be allowed as they are not allowed AP Environmental Science exam. In addition, the supplies that you will need for science class are as follows: - 3 ring binder (1 in width should suffice) - Writing utensils (obviously) - A set of dividers - Ruler - Looseleaf - Quad ruled (graph paper) composition book* NOTE: It is completely acceptable (and environmentally friendly!) to continue to use your quad ruled composition book from last year provided that you can find it and it is in useable condition. Completing these assignments and entering next semester in the right frame of mind and with some background knowledge is very important. You need to be reading, thinking, working, and writing over the summer in order to be prepared for class and to build better habits for college. Failure to complete the summer assignments or prepare for class in September could result in dismissal from AP Environmental Science. If you can t read two books over the summer, learn/relearn some geography, and make sure you are competent with basic math, then are you really ready for a college level class? Now that the somewhat scary, negative stuff has been addressed, I want to remind you that I m really looking forward working with you this coming school year. Please feel free to reach out to me with questions at pwhelton@sof.edu or you can check the class website at sofenvironmentalscience.blogspot.com. Enjoy your summer! Sincerely, Mr. Whelton

3 Scientific Notation When using very large numbers, scientific notation is often times the easiest to manipulate. For example, the United States population is approximately 300 million people or 300 x 10 6 or 3 x When adding or subtracting, exponents must be the same. Add/subtract the numbers in front of the ten and keep the exponent the same. When multiplying or dividing, multiply or divide the number in front of the ten and add the exponents if multiplying or subtract the exponents if dividing. Ex. 9 x 10 6 / 3 x 10 2 = (9 / 3) x 10 (6-2) = 3 x 10 4 Prefixes m (milli) = 1/1000 = 10-3 c (centi) = 1/100 = 10-2 k (kilo) = 1000 = 10 3 M (mega) = 1,000,000 = 10 6 G (giga) = 1,000,000,000 = 10 9 T (tera) = 1,000,000,000,000 = Math Fun Complete on a separate piece of paper to be submitted. Be sure to show your work. 1. What is one million times one thousand? Show your work in scientific notation and give the answer in scientific notation and in words. 2. A population of deer had 200 individuals. If the population grows by 15% in one year, how many deer will there be the next year? 3. Last year there are 28 AP Environmental Science students and next year there will be 60 AP Environmental Science students. What percentage did the population of APES students grow by? 4. Electricity costs 6 cents per kilowatt hour. In one month, one home uses one megawatt hour of electricity. How much will the electric bill be? (Use the prefixes above for assistance) 5. Your car gets 15 miles to the gallon and your friend s car gets 25 miles to the gallon. You decide to go on a road trip to Virginia Beach, which is 300 miles away. If gas costs $4.00 per gallon and you decide to split the gas money, how much money will you save in gas by driving your friend s car? 6. Manhattan is 2 miles wide and 17 miles long. If one inch of rain falls on Manhattan, then how many cubic feet of rain fell on Manhattan? (Hint: convert all units to feet first) 7. An mp3 takes up about 16 kilobytes of memory per second of music. If you owned a one terabyte hard drive and filled it with only mp3s, then how many days of music would you have stored?

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5 Claim Support of claim Demonstrates knowledge Credit to sources Writing Mastery 4 Proficient 3 Satisfactory 2 Needs Revision 1 States clear, wellreasoned, nuanced claim and counterclaim Thoroughly supports claims with several detailed, convincing, specific reasons/pieces of evidence as well as refuted counterclaims Consistently demonstrates deep knowledge of material in readings by constantly: using vocabulary, explaining examples clearly, incorporating statistics, etc. While writing in his/her own words, correctly completes an APA/MLA formatted bibliography AND properly cites within text Writes elegantly and in a sophisticated manner while very consistently adhering to spelling and grammar States clear, well-reasoned claim and counterclaim multiple detailed, specific reasons/pieces of evidence as well as attempts at forming counterclaims/ refutations of them Consistently demonstrates knowledge of material in readings by: using vocabulary, explaining examples clearly, incorporating statistics, etc and minor errors or occasions for further explanation may be present While writing in his/her own words, completes an APA/MLA formatted bibliography AND cites within text with minor errors Very consistently adheres to States a logical, but vague claim multiple detailed, convincing specific reasons/pieces of evidence but neglects to make use of counterclaim Demonstrates knowledge of material in readings by using vocabulary, etc. but with multiple or glaring errors or lack of a detail While writing in his/her own words, completes an APA/MLA formatted bibliography AND cites within text with minor errors but with clear errors Consistently adheres to States an illogical or indefensible position reasons/ evidence that are not convincing due to lack of detail, specificity, or clarity OR not having enough pieces of evidence to support each claim Does not demonstrate sufficient knowledge of material from readings through errors or lack of usage/ explanation. Bibliography, citations, or both are missing or it is obvious that student is not giving due credit to sources through his/her style of writing Mostly adheres to