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APES Exam2019, The
year
everyone
gets a 5!
Format of the AP Environmental Science Free-Response Section
90 minutes total
No calculator allowed
Four questions:
Four questions:You will have 90 minutes to complete the entire free-response section, which gives you about 22 minutes per question. However, you don’t need to spend exactly the same amount of time on each question. In fact, you can divide your time between the four essays any way you want.
1 document-based question
• The document-based question will give you a document or an
excerpt from a document and ask you questions based on
information it contains. The document can be a newspaper article,
brochure, or something similar.
1 data set question
• This question will include data you must analyze and interpret. The
data may be in a table, graph, chart, or stated within the question.
Parts of the question will require calculations; parts will not.
2 synthesis and evaluation questions
• These are similar to the document-based question, except they won’t
include outside documents. They sometimes include graphs or
tables, however, you won’t be expected to do calculations for these
types of questions.
Typically the first
question asked and it
will have that “torn piece
of paper” graphic.
Fortunately, compared to
many other AP tests, the
documents on AP Enviro
exams tend to be quite
short and there’s only
one, so you should be
able to read through it quickly.
Document Based Question
This is when you'll
need to do some
calculations. No calculators!
Data Set Question
There are two synthesis and evaluation questions on each AP exam.
Synthesis and Evaluation Question
Synthesis and Evaluation Question
Final Thoughts:• Do not restate the question• Write in prose – ordinary writing• Be time-conscious• Read the verbs• Label your answers• Math -show your work, show units• Answer the question asked!
Scoring Guide:The total points for the question is 10. The free response question will have several sections. Typically, each sub part of the question will be worth two to four points, depending on the complexity and number of parts of the question. It is possible for the points available to total more than ten, but the maximum score for the entire question is ten points.
APES “HOT” TOPICS
Possible FRQ Topics
Consequences o
f C
limate
C
hange
Effect
• Receding polar ice caps
• Melting of permafrost
• Changes atmospheric energy balance – why?
Environmental Consequences
• Sea level rise (although due primarily to thermal expansion)
• Messes up transportation routes
• Releases methane – potent greenhouse gas
• Altered climates in various places around the globe
Keystone Pipeline
• Transports unrefined oil from oil sands in Canada (largest producer) to refineries in SE United States
• Replaces older pipeline
• Allows for higher capacity of oil transport
• Possible water contamination – part goes over the Ogallala Aquifer
• Habitat degradation issues – goes through sensitive ecosystem in Nebraska
• Less incentive to develop sustainable energy
California Forest Fires- 2018
• The 2018 wildfire season was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire season on record in California, with a total of 8,527 fires burning an area of 1,893,913 acres (766,439 ha), the largest amount of burned acreage recorded in a fire season, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection The fires have caused more than $3.5 billion (2018 USD) in damages, including $1.792 billion in fire suppression costs.
GMO’s
• GMO = Genetically Modified Organisms
• Pros of GMOs?• Increased yield and quality of crops – resistant to pests and
harsh environmental conditions
• Produce essential nutrients for humans (ex. Golden Rice)
• Produce pharmaceuticals
• Reduces use of synthetic pesticides and herbicides
• Ecological concerns• Genes could spread to wild plants – alter/eliminate natural
plant varieties (solve with buffer zones?)
• Loss of genetic diversity among food crops
• Effect on food chain – disrupts insect populations
• Human health concerns• Allergic reactions
Arctic Apple
Bee Colony Collapse
Bee Colony Collapse
Mercury in Fish
Mercury in Fish
Human Population
I = P x A x T I = Impact; P = Population; A = Affluence; T = Technology
Rate of change = [b-d] + [i-e]
US population = 330 million
World population = 7.6 billion
Rule of 70 = 70/growth rate = number of years population will double
Total Fertility vs. Replacement Level Fertility
Total Fertility = ave # children per woman
RLF = ave # children per woman needed for zero population growth
Strategies to reduce population growth?
Educate/empower women
Decrease poverty
Access to family planning
Wind Power
• Wind spins turbine
• Generator produces electricity
• Electricity moves through transmission lines
• Fastest growing renewable (though solar is close)
• Risk to birds – collide with blades (significant, but more deaths attributed to collisions with buildings, predation by house cats, etc.)
• Possible math question?
Solar PowerSolar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), indirectly using concentrated solar power, or a combination. Many industrialized nations have installed significant solar power capacity into their grids to supplement or provide an alternative to conventional energy sources while an increasing number of less developed nations have turned to solar to reduce dependence on expensive imported fuels
Mountain Top Removal: Coal Mining
“Clean” Coal
Dams/Rivers
• Three Gorges Dam – Yangzi River in China• World’s largest hydropower project• Displaced 1.2 million people• Reservoir is polluted from submerged factories, mines, dumps
• Erosion on banks of reservoir causing landslides• Worsens drought downstream• BUT… provides “clean” energy, reliable water source
Growing Production of Biofuels
• Biofuels – most often ethanol from corn or sugarcane
• Uses lots of water, fertilizers, pesticides
• Fertilizers associated with eutrophication and “dead zone” in Gulf of Mexico
• Fertilizer runoff with phosphates and nitrates
• Causes algal blooms – shades water plants below
• Algae eventually dies
• Bacteria decompose dead algae – uses dissolved oxygen
• Fish and other animals die
Plastic BanProblems:• persistence of plastic in
landfill• energy cost and oil
dependence in producing bags
• 2 liters of oil for every one liter bottle
• nonrecyclable plastic bags (bottles are recyclable
• Solution:• reusable alternatives are
pretty simple• ban or charge? (pricing
structure)• how much of a deposit
would change your behavior?
• products can be made from recycled bottles