AP Environmental Science Summer Assignment 2015

AP Environmental Science Summer Assignment 2015

Welcome to APES! AP Environmental Science is a multidisciplinary class that covers
everything from ecology and geology to human geography, impacts humans have on
the environment, and environmental ethics. This assignment will give you a taste of
what the class has to offer, and what the expectations will be for you as a student.

Following are the various components of your assignment. At the end of this document
will be clear instructions on what is due, and when it is due.

Following are the supplies for this class:
• A reliable Internet connection – this can be at home, a public library, a
smartphone, or school.
• The ability to submit documents via email or Google classroom – you may need
access to a computer and/or a flash drive to do this. Other options for file
storage include GoogleDocs, Dropbox, etc.
• A 3-ring binder
• Tabbed dividers for the binder
• Lots of loose-leaf paper
• Pencils AND pens

Section I – Getting to Know You
Email me at [email protected] to acknowledge that you have read this
document. Format the email as follows:
o In the subject line: Your first and last name – APES (example: Suzie Smith – APES)
o Body: “I acknowledge that I have a summer assignment due in my AP

Environmental Science class.”
o Answer the following questions in the rest of the email’s body:

Why did you decide to take APES?
What is your goal for the class?
What is your major concern about the class and/or national exam?
What can I (Mrs. Morris) do to help you succeed?

Section II – The National Exam
The national exam is composed of two parts – 100 multiple-choice questions and four
multipart free-response questions. You will have 90 minutes to complete each part.
There is no allotted reading time for the FRQs. For both parts, you must understand
content beyond the recall of facts, interpret charts/graphs related to environmental
science, draw graphs when given data, design experiments for a given situation, and

perform simple math calculations (usually involving dimensional analysis) WITHOUT A
CALCULATOR. The following exercises will give you an idea of what to expect, and
what you should already know. All parts should take you about 5-6 hours at most. You
will find the referenced files in the same place you found these instructions.
o Introductory Math and Graphing Practice – this includes the following files:

Introductory Math and Graphing Practice, Math Answer Sheet, and Graph Paper.
You will only turn in the Math Answer Sheet and Graph Paper
o APES Baseline Test – this includes the following files: APES Baseline Test and
APES Baseline Test Blank Bubble Sheet. Allot yourself exactly 90 minutes to
complete the questions in the APES Baseline Test, which will simulate the multiple-
choice portion of the national exam. Although you can most likely find the answers
to the questions online, do not attempt to use them. This test is intended only to let
me know what you already know; the grade you will receive is for completion only. If
you do not know the answer to the question, please LEAVE IT BLANK. Record your
answers on the APES Baseline Test Blank Bubble Sheet. It is only necessary to put
your name on the sheet; do not put your student ID on the bubble sheet.
o Sample FRQ – this includes the following file: APES Summer Free Response
Question. On a separate sheet of paper, answer the given free response question
to the best of your ability. You do not need to provide introductory and conclusion
sentences; answer each part (a, b, c) with only as many clear, concise sentences as
you feel that you need. Look up words you do not understand, but do not attempt to
Google the answer, as this is also a baseline question that will be scored only on
completion. It will be much easier to answer any parts having to do with “tragedy of
the commons” after you complete Section III of the complete summer assignment.
ANSWER IN PEN. If you make a mistake, simply scratch through the mistake and
go on. Take no more than 25 minutes to answer this question to the best of your
ability.

Section III – Man and His Environment
The main theme of APES is how man can strike a balance between utilizing the
assignment for his current wants and needs, and conserving the environment for the
wants and needs of the future. This is especially true of resource all can access but no
one person owns – the air we breathe, the water we drink, the oceans that give us food
and recreation. The article entitled “The Tragedy of the Commons” by Garrett Hardin is
the definitive critique on man’s relationship with the environment. Because we will loop
back to this theme all year, you will read the article and answer the following questions.
Answer each question on a separate sheet of paper in complete sentences, unless a
short phrase makes more sense. ONLY HANDWRITTEN RESPONSES WILL BE

ACCEPTED. This portion of your summer assignment includes the file called Tragedy
of the Commons Article.
1. How did Thomas Malthus predict that human populations would naturally grow?

According to the article, population growth must eventually do what?
2. According to Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, how do decisions made by

individuals affect the entire society? Be sure to use the key phrase Smith used to
describe how individual and public interests coincide. (complete sentences)
3. Garrett Hardin offers a rebuttal to Smith’s theory using a scenario put forth by
William Forster Lloyd as well as his own evidence. Using a brief paragraph with
complete sentences, describe the scenario Hardin uses to describe “the tragedy of
the commons.” Be sure to use his example, how the individuals in the scenario
typically act, and the impacts of individual actions on the common area.
4. When was this article written? Do you see any examples of “the tragedy of the
commons” in modern times? Use at least two complete sentences to describe such
a situation. You may examples provided in the article as a jumping-off point as long
as the example is still valid.
5. In the “Pollution” section of the article, Hardin states that “the rational man finds that
his share of the cost of the wastes he discharges into the commons is less than the
cost of purifying his wastes before releasing them.” In the United States, we have
safeguards in place to counteract this “rational” chain of logic. Using at least one
complete sentence and some research, given a specific example of something
which prevents industries from dumping their wastes into our common air and water
supplies.
6. What does Hardin characterize as being hard to legislate?
7. Research the meaning of the word “fecundity.” Write a definition of the word.
8. Although he offers no solution, what other problem does Hardin cite as contributing
to “the tragedy of the commons” in the last three pages of the article?

Section IV – The APES Classroom
Although a full explanation of the class will be given during the first days of school, I
wanted to make you aware of two components that may be new to you. There is no
work associated with this section other than reading the descriptions below.
o Flipped learning – a typical classroom involves lecture and knowledge acquisition in

class, with homework problems and application pieces assigned for you to do at
home. In the flipped model, you interact with new information on your own at home,
and apply the knowledge in class when the teacher is there to help you. In APES,
you will read and/or watch videotaped lectures every day at home with the help of a
list of guided reading questions. Then, after a reading quiz to ensure you did your
homework, we will work with that knowledge in class to deepen your understanding

of the concepts you touched upon on your own. The process of interacting with a
college-level textbook and a videotaped lecture may be new to you, so we will
practice using these tools together during the first week of school.
o Mastery testing – one of the main goals of this class is for you to have the
knowledge and skills needed to pass the national AP exam and to earn college
credit for your hard work. Unit tests are one way you can identify gaps in your
understanding of the material. You will be given
be given the opportunity to retest on any section of a test upon which you score less
than a 70%. However, you must show evidence that you prepared for your retest.
This evidence is usually in the form of handwritten responses to the given study
guide questions for a particular section.

Due Dates
All parts of this assignment will be due the SECOND WEEK OF SCHOOL. I will give
the exact due date during the first day of class. You will turn in the following items:
Math Answer Sheet, Graph Paper with completed graph on one side and answered
questions on the other side, APES Baseline Test Bubble Sheet with your answers to
the baseline test bubbled on it, a sheet of paper with the handwritten answers to the
APES Summer Free Response Question on it, and a sheet of paper with the
handwritten answers to the Tragedy of the Commons Article questions on it. All
items EXCEPT the Tragedy of the Commons Article responses will be scored as
completion grades; full credit will be awarded if they are completed. The Tragedy of
the Commons Article responses will be graded for correctness. Assignments with
identical answers, or with answers plagiarized from those found online, will be given
a zero, a referral will be issued, and a parent conference will be called.