Must-Know Ideas For APES Hang in There!

Transcription

1 Must-Know Ideas For APES Hang in There!

2 TOPIC 1 - Tragedy of the Commons This idea was described by Garrett Hardin Describes situation in which multiple people acting in their own interest destroy a shared resource. Destruction is not intentional it is a consequence of individualism. The commons is any shared resource. The tragedy is the long-term destruction of the resource. No one is able to police the commons Individual actions add up to cumulative destruction

3 Examples of Tragedy of Commons Overfishing Use of Groundwater Slash and Burn Agriculture in Tropical Rain Forests Cutting down small forest tracts to grow food. In 3-5 years, land cannot grow food or trees Global Warming Commons is the air and climate. Individuals make greenhouse gases for their needs, causing commons to suffer. Other Stranger Examples Traffic Jams Antibiotic Use

4 TOPIC 2 Biotic vs Abiotic You need to know these terms at any point through the course: Biotic means the living parts of the environment or materials that came from living parts of the environment Abiotic means the non-living parts of the environment Example AP FRQ Question: Identify 1 biotic component of soil. Identify 1 abiotic component of soil.

5 TOPIC 2 Biotic vs Abiotic FRQ ANSWERS: Acceptable answer: One biotic component of soil would be bacteria. Other acceptable answers: Worms, invertebrates, insects, roots of plants, fungi, beetles, microorganisms Acceptable answer: One abiotic component of soil would be rocks. Other acceptable answers: Silt, sand, clay, water, air, minerals, nutrients, parent material

6 TOPIC 3 Sustainability What is sustainability? The ability of the Earth s systems & human societies to survive and adapt to conditions indefinitely. If something is sustainable, this means its use could continue into the future forever, without lingering environmental impacts. For an ecosystem to be classified as sustainable, it must meet these 4 criteria: 1) They rely on solar energy (direct or indirect) 2) They have high biodiversity 3) They have population control If populations get too high, the environment gets negatively impacted 4) They have nutrient cycling Natural processes recycle nutrients for reuse over time.

7 TOPIC 4 Natural Resources and Services Please know these commonly used terms: Natural Resources materials derived from the Earth that are deemed essential by humans Natural Services/Ecosystem Services functions of nature that support life and economics

8 Discuss! Turn to the person next to you: Identify 2 things that would be deemed natural resources Identify 2 things that would be deemed natural or ecological services

9 Examples Natural Resources Wildlife Water Air Lumber Minerals Food Sunlight

10 Examples Natural/Ecosystem Services Pollination by native insects Control of pests from natural predators Filtration of water in soil/wetlands Storage of water (underground aquifers) Cycling of nutrients Release of oxygen by plants Prevention of soil erosion by plants Flood control from wetlands Breakdown/disposal of wastes

11 TOPIC 5 The O-Word The word organic is used frequently in class. There are a few different meanings. Let s clarify from the start! When Discussing Nutrients or Materials Organic means the material contains the element of carbon bonded to hydrogen. This usually means the item is living or from a once-living thing. Examples: Living things, dead bodies, poop, hydrocarbons (fuels with carbon and hydrogen, like oil, coal, natural gas) Inorganic materials have NO carbon-hydrogen bonds. Examples: Sand, salt, heavy metals, minerals, rocks, water

12 TOPIC 5 The O-Word The word organic is used frequently in class. There are a few different meanings. Let s clarify from the start! When Food or Agricultural Techniques Organic means food was not grown with: Pesticides Artificial/Inorganic fertilizers (chemical-based fertilizers) Human feces GMOs (genetically modified organisms) Hormones Inorganic means food may be grown with one or all of these techniques.

13 TOPIC 6 How to Properly Answer AP Environmental Science Questions! The rest of these notes give you information on how to answer particular types of questions posed on APES exams and assessments. Use this as a guide in doing your work in this class!

14 APES Questions Concept A: Decoding the Question Words Part of successfully answering questions in APES is knowing HOW they want you to answer the question. The question word used in the question will indicate how you need to write your answer. There are 3 groups of words to look for. Word Group 1: Identify, State, List Word Group 2: Describe, Explain, Discuss Word Group 3: Calculate, Estimate, Solve

15 APES Questions Concept A: Decoding the Question Words Word Group 1: Identify, State, List Your answer needs to be in a complete sentence. An incomplete sentence without a subject and a verb results in no credit. The sentence simply needs to answer the question. You do not need to explain any other details. BE SPECIFIC! Don t write too general of an answer! If the question only asks for a certain number of answers, ONLY provide that many answers. For example, if the question asks for 2 answers, only provide 2. Only the first 2 answers given are read. Example: IDENTIFY 2 specific actions a family could take to reduce the total amount of electricity they use at home.

16 APES Questions Concept A: Decoding the Question Words Example: IDENTIFY 2 specific actions a family could take to reduce the total amount of electricity they use at home. Sample Answer: One action that could work would be to unplug appliances when not in use. Another action would be to replace incandescent light bulbs with LED or compact fluorescent light bulbs.

17 APES Questions Concept A: Decoding the Question Words Word Group 2: Describe, Explain, Discuss Your answer needs to be in complete sentences. Start the answer just like you were answering a question for Word Group 1. Then for each answer, provide explanation and reasoning for why that answer is correct. Give background details to show WHY the answer you gave is correct. BE SPECIFIC! Don t write too general of an answer! If the question only asks for a certain number of answers, ONLY provide that many answers. For example, if the question asks for 2 answers, only provide 2. Only the first 2 answers given are read. Example: DESCRIBE 2 specific actions a family could take to reduce the total amount of electricity they use at home.

18 APES Questions Concept A: Decoding the Question Words Example: DESCRIBE 2 specific actions a family could take to reduce the total amount of electricity they use at home. Sample Answer: One action that could work would be to unplug appliances when not in use. Appliances will draw electricity out of a socket if they are plugged in, even if they are turned off. By unplugging appliances, you reduce the amount of electricity the appliance will draw and thus reduce your overall electricity use. Another action would be to replace incandescent light bulbs with LED or compact fluorescent light bulbs. Incandescent lights are less efficient than LED or fluorescent bulbs. If a family changed to more efficient light bulbs, the amount of electricity used when using the new lights would be less since they use less energy to provide the same amount of lighting. Less energy used will result in electricity savings for the family.

19 APES Questions Concept A: Decoding the Question Words Word Group 3: Calculate, Estimate, Solve These words indicate that the question involves a math problem. Your answer will need to include a number. You MUST show your work! If you do not show your work, you may not get credit. You MUST show all units from the start to the final answer in the problem. Missing units may result in no credit. Example: CALCULATE the cost of fertilizer application for a 60 ha farm if fertilizer is priced $8/ha. Example Answer: 60 ha x $ 8 = $ 480 ha

20 APES Questions Concept B: Environmental vs Economic vs Societal In questions, you may be asked to describe advantages and/or disadvantages to different practices. If you are asked about something that is: Environmental OR Ecological then your answer MUST discuss impacts on AIR, WATER, LAND, OR NON-HUMAN ORGANISMS Your answer CANNOT mention humans in any way Make sure you use one of the words from the list above somewhere in the answer! Economic then your answer MUST discuss money in some way and explain how money is involved/impacted Always use the word money somewhere in your answer. State if money is either increased or decreased as a result! Societal then your answer should discuss aspects associated with humans, societies, or cultures

21 APES Questions Concept B: Environmental vs Economic vs Societal Sample Question: Describe an environmental benefit of using a wind turbine to generate electricity. Describe an economic benefit of using a wind turbine to generate electricity. Describe a societal benefit of using a wind turbine to generate electricity.

22 APES Questions Concept B: Environmental vs Economic vs Societal Describe an environmental benefit of using a wind turbine to generate electricity. Sample Answer: Wind turbines do not create air pollution. When you create electricity with a wind turbine, no fuel is needed. Therefore there is no burning of fossil fuel. So there are no emissions of air pollution and air remains cleaner.

23 APES Questions Concept B: Environmental vs Economic vs Societal Describe an economic benefit of using a wind turbine to generate electricity. Sample Answer: Wind turbines can lead to the creation of jobs. If a community invests in wind turbines, there will be a boom in jobs in the community to help manufacture, install, and operate the turbines. New jobs means more money is going to community members and the people in the community have more money to spend in the local economy.

24 APES Questions Concept B: Environmental vs Economic vs Societal Describe a societal benefit of using a wind turbine to generate electricity. Sample Answer: The land under wind turbines could be used for other purposes. The land under the wind turbines is still useful. So a landowner could use the land for alternate purposes. For example, a rancher could still graze livestock under the turbines. This is a benefit for the rancher, since the land can be used for their normal practices, while it is also being used to generate an alternative form of energy.

25 APES Questions Concept C: Biological vs Chemical vs Physical Some questions may ask for answers in regards to these terms. If you are asked about something that is: Biological This is anything involving living organisms. So it must discuss living organisms or processes that living things perform Chemical This involves changes in the atomic and molecular structures. Physical This involves a change in the matter that can be felt or seen

26 APES Questions Concept C: Biological vs Chemical vs Physical With the person next to you, identify: 1 biological change that can occur in an ocean ecosystem 1 chemical change that can occur in an ocean ecosystem 1 physical change that can occur in an ocean ecosystem

27 Ocean Biological Changes Increase/decrease in coral growth Increase/decrease in fish populations Algae blooms/die-offs Increased/decreased levels of photosynthesis Increased/decreased rates of cellular respiration Reduction of food webs/chains

28 Ocean Chemical Changes Increase/decrease in water ph Increase/decrease in dissolved oxygen levels Increase/decrease in salinity levels (salt) Increase/decrease in mercury levels Increase/decrease in phosphate levels Conversion of carbon dioxide from air into carbonic acid in the water

29 Ocean Physical Changes Increase/decrease in water temperature Increase/decrease in sea level Shift in direction of ocean currents Increase/decrease in size of waves and tides Increase/decrease in the density of the water