Waltham Public Schools

AP Environmental Science is designed to be the equivalent of a one-semester, introductory college course in environmental science, through which students engage 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.

Unit	Timeframe	Big Ideas (Statements or Essential Questions)	Major Learning Experiences from Unit
1: The Living World - Ecosystems	September	How does energy change forms? How old is the water that you drink? Develop a foundational understanding of biomes Describe how relationships between organisms are affected by environmental conditions Calculate the decrease of energy as it passes through ecosystems Explain the transfer of energy through ecosystems	Biome speed dating Predator-prey lab
2: The Living World - Biodiversity	October	Can an invasive species be considered a native species if it occupies a place for a long time? Describe and explain the environmental concepts and processes of biodiversity Articulate the differences among species, genetic, and habitat diversity; between keystone and indicator species; and between ecosystem services and ecological services	Island Biogeography lab
3: Populations	October	How do changes in habitats influence changes in species over time? How is educational opportunity for women connected to human population changes? Predict patterns and trends by analyzing population growth, age structure diagrams, and survivorship curves Application of the rule of 70	Mark and recapture lab Bubble survivorship lab Cemetery lab
4: Earth Systems and Resources	November	How does energy from the sun influence the weather? How can earthquakes be predicted? Identify and describe environmental processes displayed visually Explain the meaning of a diagram or infographic to explain the consequences of a change in an environmental process	Convection model Coriolis effect lab Soil quality lab
5: Land and Water Use	December	How does your use of natural resources impact the world? Why are sustainable practices difficult to implement? Identify environmental problems such as pollution, depletion of the ozone layer, global climate change Describe and propose viable solutions for environmental problems Describe the development process for legislation enacted to mitigate environmental problems and the effects of the legislation on the various stakeholders Evaluate a proposed solution to an environmental problem and/ or the legislation that addresses it and then describe benefits and drawbacks to proposed solutions	Cookie mining Tragedy of the commons lab Soil salinization lab
6: Energy Resources and Consumption	January	Why are fossil fuels the most widely used energy resources if they are nonrenewable? Identify where natural energy resources occur (e.g., coal, crude oil, ores) on a global map Describe other forms of energy and differentiate between nonrenewable and renewable forms of energy	Oil spill lab
7: Atmospheric Pollution	February	Where does air pollution go once it is airborne? Propose solutions to combat the effects of air pollution on human health Use data or evidence to support proposed solutions Understand the implications of environmental legislation, know how environmental policies are applied and what the outcomes are in a variety of contexts Explain why those outcomes occurred and how the policy affected the outcomes	Air pollution lab Acid rain lab
8: Aquatic and Terrestrial Pollution	February - March	How does pollution impact your health? How can you decrease your waste? Understand the implications of environmental legislation Explain why the above outcomes occurred and how the policy affected the outcomes Evaluate environmental problems with data	LD50 lab Water quality lab
9: Global Change	March - April	Why are laws created to protect endangered species? How can local human activities have a global impact? Describe and explain global changes in the environment, the causes of these changes, and their consequences	Tree rings and climate lab
10: Additional Exploration	May - June		Solar oven lab Owl pellet lab Scientific inquiry