Flowery Phrases to Avoid on
the APES Exam
2017
1. Sediments are bad for the environment.
1. Sediments are bad for the environment.
Sediments enter streams and block light to prevent
photosynthesis, clog the gills of fish and burry
benthic organisms. Wind blown particulates can
cause respiratory harm.
2. Sediments are good for the environment.
2. Sediments are good for the environment. Sediments provide
nutrients for plants. Sediments in the O and A horizon contain
organic nutrients like carbon and nitrates and phosphates that
plants use as fertilizer to survive. Clay sediments hold the most
water while sand is more porous and lets water drain. Clay also
allows has a high cation exchange capacity which helps the roots
of plants hold on to nutrients. The best mixture of sediment for
plants is loam (an equal mix of sand, silt & clay) because it
maximizes cation exchange and proper drainage to prevent
waterlogging.
3. Carbon dioxide is bad.
3. Carbon dioxide is bad. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse
gas. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere absorbs infrared
heat from the land and makes the Earth hotter. Without the
greenhouse effect, the Earth would be too cold to support
life, but as we industrialize more and release more carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere the Earth’s temperature
increases so much that the glaciers could melt and sea level
could rise drowning people who live on the coast, cause
species adapted to cold climates to migrate or go extinct,
and cause tropical mosquitos to spread diseases to more
temperate areas as the temperate areas get warmer.
4. Carbon dioxide is good.
4. Carbon dioxide is beneficial to plants because it
allows for photosynthesis. Without carbon dioxide
plants could not produce food. Plants are the base
of the food chain so there would be no life on Earth
without carbon dioxide except for the chemotrophs.
Carbon dioxide in the air helps the Earth stay
warmer, so without carbon dioxide most life on
Earth would not exist because it would be too cold.
5. Ozone is bad.
5. Ozone is bad in the troposphere because it
contributes to photochemical smog which
increases asthma, decreases visibility, causes
respiratory irritation, and will decrease the
amount of photosynthesis in plants and degrade
plant tissues and reduce crop yield so our farms
will not be able to feed as many people. Ozone in
the troposphere is a greenhouse gas and makes
the Earth hotter, which can melt glaciers and
drown coastal habitats.
6. Ozone is good.
6. Ozone in the stratosphere is good because it
prevents ultraviolet rays, especially UVB and UVC
from reaching the Earth’s surface and causing
skin cancer, cataracts, mutations, and reducing
the ability of plants to photosynthesize. If there
was no ozone layer in the stratosphere, there
would be no life on Earth.
7. Vegetarianism is better than eating meat for the
Earth.
7. If humans switched to a vegetarian diet there
would be more land for growing crops and we could
feed more people because vegetables take up less
land per calorie produced than an equivalent
amount of meat. A plant based diet also requires
less water, pesticide, and fossil fuel input than a
meat diet. Land and water saved from growing food
for humans could support plant and animal life. The
number one reason that organisms go extinct is
habitat loss, so if people switched to a vegetarian
diet, there would be more habitat and water for
animals and plants thus less extinctions.
8. Coal is bad.
8. Coal releases carbon dioxide when it is burned. Carbon dioxide is a
greenhouse gas that traps heat. The more coal burned, the hotter the
Earth. Animals adapted to colder temperatures must migrate, adapt or
go extinct. Coal also releases mercury into the atmosphere when
burned. Mercury can bioaccumulate in the food chain and cause brain
and nerve problems in humans. Sulfur is also released when coal is
burned. Sulfur can form acid rain which lowers the pH of water which
prevents some organisms like fish from living in the water. Low pH
water can also cause heavy metals like lead, mercury and cadmium to
leach into the water. Abandoned coal mines are a source of acid mine
drainage as well. Coal also causes miners to get black lung, which is a
debilitating disease that reduces lung capacity and can cause death.
Coal mining causes habitat fragmentation which leads to extinction and
can cause erosion which can bury benthic organisms, clog the gills of
fish and prevent aquatic plants from photosynthesizing.
9. Coal is good.
9. Coal is abundant in the US. The coal reserve is
about 200 years. Coal is easy to handle,
inexpensive, does not need to be refined, and can
be found in the United States so we do not need to
depend on foreign governments that may be hostile
to US interests.
10. Solar energy is good.
10. Solar energy is good for the environment because
carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that could make the
planet too warm to support life, is not produced when
solar panels make electricity. Solar energy also does
not add sulfur, mercury or particulates to the air like
the burning of coal, so there is less acid rain, less
nerve and brain damage, and fewer lung disorders
when solar panels are used to make electricity instead
of coal.
11. Wind power is good.
11. Wind power is good.
Wind power does not produce carbon dioxide when energy is generated.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that can increase the temperature of
the planet. If the temperature of the planet increases, animals that
cannot adapt or migrate to a cooler location by traveling away from the
equator or to a higher elevation could go extinct, lowering species
diversity and making it difficult for organisms that either prey on them or
use them as hosts, or as a mutualistic or commensualistic partners to stay
alive. No sulfur or mercury is produced by wind power either. Mercury
causes brain and nerve damage and sulfur lowers the pH of water below
what many aquatic organisms can tolerate.
11. Wind power is bad.
11. Wind power is bad.
Wind turbines make noise, which bothers some people and prevents them
from sleeping and causes headaches. Wind turbines are also very large
which cause some people to think they look ugly. Their large structures
can block out the sun and reduce photosynthesis. The blades can also
strike birds like the golden eagle in San Francisco which is endangered and
bats.
AP Environmental Science FRQ Section
4 Questions | 1 Hour, 30 Minutes | 40% of Exam Score
• Data Set (1 question)
• Document-Based Question (1 question)
• Synthesis and Evaluation (2 questions)
1. Skim through the 4 FRQ questions and begin to
work on the one you can do best.
2. Do not restate the question.
3. Write in complete sentences.
4. Write neatly.
5. Use a blue or black pen.
6. Show your work and units for a math problem or
explain using words why you did what you did.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE WEEK OF 4/24
AP TESTING
AP TEST REFUNDS
The last day to turn in AP
test refunds is this Friday,
April 28.
AP testing begins next week! If
you are taking an AP test, you
must attend one of these
mandatory pre-bubbling
sessions this week:
Monday: 2:45 PM
Tuesday: 7:20 AM, 2:45 PM
Wednesday: 7:20 AM, 2:45 PM
Thursday: 7:20 AM, lunch
COMEDY SPORTZ
Don’t miss the Comedy Sportz
teacher match tomorrow
night at 7 PM in the Forum!
Tickets are $5.
Multiple Choice Question Topics 7 general topics
I Earth Systems & Resources
II Living World
III Population
IV Land & Water Use
V Energy
VI Pollution
VII Global Change
Educator Multiple Choice practice
100 QUESTIONS IN 90 MINUTES – fast pace
EACH QUESTION SHOULD TAKE LESS THAN 1 MINUTE
IF A QUESTION IS TAKING YOU MORE THAN A MINUTE, GUESS
AND MOVE ON. Look at each question, some are easy and
some are hard. Do not leave blanks.
MATH QUESTIONS SHOULD ONLY TAKE A MINUTE. IF IT TAKES
LONGER, YOU ARE MISSING SOMETHING.
I WILL END THE TEST AT THE END OF PERIOD EACH DAY. NO
EXTRA TIME ALLOWED.
I. Earth Systems and Resources (10%–15%)
Earth Science Concepts, Atmosphere, Biomes and Soil
II The Living World (10%–15%)
Ecosystems, Energy Flow, Diversity,
Ecosystem change and
Biogeochemical Cycles
III Population (10%–15%)
• Population Biology Concepts (Population ecology;
carrying capacity; reproductive strategies;
survivorship)
K
½K
IV Land and Water Use (10%–15%)
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Agriculture
Forestry
Rangelands
Zoning and other land use
Mining
Fishing
V Energy Resources and Consumption (10%–15%)
A. Energy Concepts
B. Energy Consumption
C. Fossil Fuels
D. Nuclear Energy
E. Hydroelectric power
F. Energy Conservation
G. Renewable Energy
VI Pollution (25%–30%)
A Pollution Types
B Impacts on Environment and Human Health
VII Global Change (10%–15%)
Stratospheric Ozone (Formation of stratospheric ozone;
ultraviolet radiation; causes of ozone depletion; effects
of ozone depletion; strategies for reducing ozone
depletion; relevant laws and treaties)
1
Questions 14-17 refer to the energy sources listed
14
15
16
17
22
Which of the following are considered greenhouse gases?
I Nitrogen
II Carbon Dioxide
III Water Vapor
USE A TRUE/FALSE
STRATEGY TO
IV Methane
A I only
B I, II and III only
C I, II and IV only
D II, III, and IV only
E I, II, III and IV only
AVOID CONFUSION
AND GO FASTER!
28
29
30
Calculations should only take 1 minute, so use one of
your general strategies: percentages, % change, half life,
dimensional analysis