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AP Environmental Science Summer 2014 Assignment
Instructors: Rebecca Brown, Eric Hogya, and Joe Henderson
website: www.schoolrack.com/mrsrbrown
Your summer assignment is worth 2% of your final grade for Fall Semester. Your summer assignment is due
the first Friday we are back in class. Late work is not acceptable.
You must choose only one of the three Options (A, B, or C). This summer assignment was designed
by both the APES Instructors and the students who just completed APES this school year. All work
should be neat and organized. Lack of effort will result in 25% loss of points.
Option A: Choose two ideas from this list (Posters should be no smaller than 28 inches by 22 inches)
50 points each
1. Create a poster representing one of the following: the nitrogen cycle, the carbon cycle, or the phosphorus
cycle. For each part of the cycle you need to include a picture (drawn or printed, but should be colorful)
representing what is happening along with a brief description of each part. Write a one page summary of the
cycle and include how humans impact the cycle.
2. Research smart growth and green communities. How does your community or city implement green ideas?
Create a poster which represents what you found.
3. Visit the following locations: Location A (a state park, a national park- i.e. Chattahoochee National Park in
Roswell, or a wildlife management area), Location B (a city parking lot, a city park, or a city outdoor café), and
Location C (your backyard). You need to turn off all of your electronic devices for 15 minutes (you do not need
to be disturbed). During those 15 minutes write down everything you hear, see, and smell. After you have
completed collecting your data from the three locations write a summary comparing and contrasting your
three locations. Turn in all of your notes and your summary. No pictures. Be descriptive in your writing.
4. Visit a zoo or an aquarium. Take pictures and notes to document your visit. Create a poster or PowerPoint
presentation to demonstrate your understanding of the importance of zoos or aquariums for protecting our
wild species and educating the public. Choose two species of animals which interested you the most and
describe their habitat and their niche (their way of life – how they find their food, how they protect
themselves, how do they care for their young). Include additional information you found interesting.
5. Find 15 different species of plants and/or animals in a temperate forest and take a picture of them. Write a
brief summary about the role of the species in their ecosystem and why they are important. What would
happen if this species disappeared from your forest? One picture per page along with brief summary. Secure
your assignment into a small notebook or pocket portfolio.
6. Watch the documentary 1800 South. This documentary is highly recommended by a student and it is on
Netflix. Write a summary of the video about each of the environmental issues discussed in the video (Dam
removal, resource conservation, Easter Island resource disaster, etc.). Your last paragraph should explain how
you feel after watching the documentary.
Option B (Many students liked this assignment from last year)
(5 x 20pts each = 100 pts)
Take a picture which represents each of the following topics. Glue the picture to one page of paper and
underneath the picture write a 5 - 7 sentence paragraph explaining how the picture represents the topic.
How does this topic represent Environmental Science? The picture must be your own picture and did not
come from the Internet. The picture does not necessarily need to be from this summer. You may create an
electronic scrapbook using PowerPoint (put on a flash drive to be given to your instructor) or your pictures
and summaries need to be placed into a pocket portfolio (nothing expensive).
Example: I could take a picture of a rock. My paragraph would look something like this:
This is a picture of a rock which contains phosphorous. Phosphorous is an important plant nutrient.
Phosphorous is a limited nutrient because it is not readily available as other nutrients. It takes a long time for
phosphorous to cycle through an ecosystem because it is found in rocks. Too much phosphorous in a pond can
cause eutrophication. Eutrophication can cause a fish kill because the excess phytoplankton growth can use
up all of the oxygen in the water and not leave any oxygen for the fish. The area of the water which lacks
oxygen is called hypoxic.
In the example above I could have gone into specific examples of rock which contain phosphorous or how
phosphates are used by industries as a cleansing agent and then dumped into our rivers and streams.
Remember one picture per page. The picture is worth 3 points each, the paragraph is worth 2 points each
(100 pts). You must have both picture and paragraph to receive credit. A paragraph without a picture is no
points and a picture without a paragraph is no points. Have fun and be creative.
Topics:
1. Genetically Modified Foods
2. Soil erosion or soil horizons
3. Forest Ecosystem Services
4. Solid waste management (landfills, recycling, reducing waste, etc.)
5. Invasive species
6. Carbon cycle (human impact on cycle or parts of the cycle itself)
7. Nitrogen cycle (human impact on cycle or parts of the cycle itself)
8. Alternative energy source (wind, water, solar, geothermal, tidal energy, biofuels)
9. Suburban sprawl or urbanization
10. Point source pollution or nonpoint source pollution
11. Outdoor air pollution
12. Water pollution (groundwater or surface water)
13. Habitat loss/fragmentation
14. Global warming
15. Waste reduction
16. Noise pollution
17. Indicator species
18. Ecological succession
19. Commercial fishing
20. Fossil fuels
You can refer to the Internet or other resources to help you with ideas for each topic.
Option C: Choose one of the following
1. Choose two of the topics listed below and write a 2 -3 page paper which includes the following information:
Why is this an environmental issue?
How does this environmental issue impact your life or the life of your family?
How does this environmental issue impact the other living organisms in the area?
What are suggestions as to how to solve this environmental issue?
What are the problems associated with addressing this environmental issue? Solving this issue
can cause additional issues – environmentally, politically, economically, etc.
Environmental issue topics
1. Soil erosion
2. Solid waste management (separating garbage from recyclables)
3. Invasive species
4. Beach pollution
5. Endangered species
6. Habitat loss/fragmentation
7. Water pollution
8. Urban sprawl
9. Reducing the amount of waste produced
10. Global warming
11. Indoor air pollution
12. Outdoor air pollution
2. Create a VLog about two of the environmental issues listed above. Your VLog should answer the questions
listed above. Your VLog should include video images of your two topics.
3. Visit one of the following locations in Georgia:
Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
Amicalola Falls State Park
Providence Canyon Outdoor Recreation Area
Chattahoochee National Park in Roswell
Cumberland Island National Park
Cloudland Canyon State Park
Take pictures of your visit (you need to be in the pictures). Speak to either a park ranger or interpreter at the
park and ask them about the history of the park and about any threats to the park such as air or water
pollution. You need to have a picture of you with the park ranger or interpreter. Make poster (minimum size
28 inches by 22 inches) which documents your visit. Your poster should include pictures of the plants and
animals. Under each picture identify the animal or plant and explain its importance to the ecosystem.
Describe the climate and landscape of the area. What is special about this park? When did it become a park?
Is the park threatened by any pollution problems (air or water)?
An e-mail address if you have questions: [email protected] (Mrs. Brown)
This information will also be posted on the following website: www.schoolrack.com/mrsrbrown
After the AP Exam the students were asked what they would assign for a summer assignment after having the
class all year and after they had just completed the AP Exam. The choices you have from each option were
designed by students for students. The students modified last year’s assignment and added 10 more items to
the list (Option B). Many of the students liked the assignment, but thought it should include some additional
concepts.
The students also have some recommendations for the new AP Environmental Science students:
Watch the videos found on the Summer Assignment page of the website and take brief notes
Read current events about environmental issues
Watch the Planet Earth video series
Go outside and experience what you are learning in class (check the topics under Option B)
This year’s students also wrote down some advice for you as to how to be successful in class. These have been
copied into a PDF file and then placed on the Summer Assignment Page of the website.