AP Environmental Science Online
The AP Environmental Science course is designed to engage students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships within the natural world. The course requires that students identify and analyze natural and human-made environmental problems, evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them. Environmental science is interdisciplinary, embracing topics from geology, biology, environmental studies, environmental science, chemistry, and geography. The AP Environmental Science course is designed to be the equivalent of a one-semester, introductory college course in environmental science.
SEMESTER 1
Chapter 1: The Environment and Sustainability
· What are some key principles of sustainability?
· How are our ecological footprints affecting the earth?
· Why do we have environmental problems?
· What is the role of economics?
· What is the role of government?
· What is an environmentally sustainable society?
Chapter 2: Science, Matter, Energy, and Systems
· What do scientists do?
· What is matter and what happens when it undergoes change?
· What is energy and what happens when it undergoes change?
· What are systems and how do they respond to change?
Chapter 3: Ecosystems: What Are They and How Do They Work?
· How does the earth’s life-support system work?
· What are the major components of an ecosystem?
· What happens to energy in an ecosystem?
· What happens to matter in an ecosystem?
· How do scientists study ecosystems?
Chapter 4: Biodiversity and Evolution
· What are the major types of life on the earth?
· What is biodiversity and why is it important?
· What roles do species play in ecosystems?
· How does the earth’s life change over time?
· What factors affect biodiversity?
Chapter 5: Climate and Terrestrial Biodiversity
· What factors influence weather?
· What factors influence climate?
· How does climate affect the nature and location of biomes?
Chapter 6: Aquatic Biodiversity
· What is the general nature of aquatic systems?
· Why are marine aquatic systems important?
· How have human activities affected marine ecosystems?
· Why are freshwater ecosystems important?
· How have human activities affected freshwater ecosystems?
Chapter 7: Species Interactions, Ecological Succession, and Population Control
· How do species interact?
· How do communities and ecosystems respond to changing environmental conditions?
· What limits the growth of populations?
Chapter 8: The Human Population
· How many people can the earth support?
· What factors influence the size of the human population?
· How does a population’s age structure affect its growth or decline?
· How can we slow human population growth?
Chapter 9: Sustaining Biodiversity: Saving Species and Ecosystem Services
· What role do humans play in the loss of species and ecosystem services?
· Why should we try to sustain wild species and the ecosystem services they provide?
· How do humans accelerate species extinction and degradation of ecosystem services?
· How can we sustain wild species and the ecosystem services they provide?
Chapter 10: Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: Forests, public Lands, Grasslands, Wetlands, and Cities
· How should we manage and sustain forests and US public lands?
· How should we manage and sustain grasslands?
· How should we manage and sustain wetlands?
· How can we protect and sustain terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem services?
· How can cities become more sustainable and livable?
Chapter 11: Geology, Soil, and Mineral Resources
· What are the earth’s major geological processes and what are mineral resources?
· What processes lead to soil formation?
· How long might supplies of nonrenewable mineral resources last?
· What are the environmental effects of using nonrenewable mineral resources?
· How can we use mineral resources more sustainably?
· What are the earth’s major geological hazards?
Chapter 12: Food Production and the Environment
· Why is good nutrition important?
· How is food produced?
· What are the environmental effects of industrialized food production?
· How can we protect crops from pests more sustainably?
· How can we produce food more sustainably?
· How can we improve food security?
Chapter 13: Water Resources
· Will we have enough usable water?
· Is groundwater a sustainable resource?
· How can we increase freshwater supplies?
· Can water transfers expand water supplies?
· How can we use freshwater more sustainably?
· How can we reduce the threat of flooding?
SEMESTER 2
Chapter 14: Nonrenewable Energy
· What types of energy resources do we use?
· What are the advantages and disadvantages of using oil?
· What are the advantages and disadvantages of using natural gas?
· What are the advantages and disadvantages of using coal?
· What are the advantages and disadvantages of using nuclear power?
Chapter 15: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
· Why do we need a new energy transition?
· Why is improving energy efficiency and reducing energy waste an important energy resource?
· What are the advantages and disadvantages of using solar energy?
· What are the advantages and disadvantages of using wind power?
· What are the advantages and disadvantages of using geothermal energy?
· What are the advantages and disadvantages of using biomass as an energy source?
· What are the advantages and disadvantages of using hydropower?
· What are the advantages and disadvantages of using hydrogen as an energy source?
· How can we make the transition to a more sustainable energy future?
Chapter 16: Environmental Hazards and Human Health
· What major health hazards do we face?
· How do biological hazards threaten human health?
· How do chemical hazards threaten human health?
· How can we evaluate risks from chemical hazards?
· How do we perceive and avoid risks?
Chapter 17: Water Pollution
· What are the causes and effects of water pollution?
· What are the major pollution problems in streams and lakes?
· What are the major groundwater pollution problems?
· What are the major ocean pollution problems?
· How can we deal with water pollution?
Chapter 18: Solid and Hazardous Waste
· What environmental problems are related to solid and hazardous wastes?
· How should we deal with solid waste?
· Why are refusing, reducing, reusing, and recycling so important?
· What are the advantages and disadvantages of burning or burying solid waste?
· How should we deal with hazardous waste?
· How can society shift to a low-waste economy?
Chapter 19: Air Pollution and Ozone Depletion
· What is the nature of the atmosphere?
· What are the major outdoor air pollution problems?
· What is acid deposition and why is it a problem?
· What are the major indoor air pollution problems?
· What are the health effects of air pollution?
· How should we deal with air pollution?
· How have we depleted ozone in the stratosphere and what can we do about it?
Chapter 20: Climate Change
· How and why is the earth’s climate changing?
· What are the likely effects of a warmer atmosphere?
· How can we slow climate change?
· How can we adapt to climate change?