AP-Environmental Science
2015-2016 Summer Assignment
Welcome to the wonderful world of environmental science. This year you will learn relevant information
pertaining to the world around you.
In order to better prepare you for this advanced placement class, the following summer assignment needs to be
completed by the first day of class.
All Assignments are to be HAND-WRITTEN unless otherwise specified.
If you require clarification on any of the assignments, please contact me by email at: [email protected].
Table of Contents:
Part I - Research: 100 process points (May be typed.)
Part II - Basic Math Skills: Math Problems, 100 point process grade
Part III - Environmental Law: 100 point process grade
Part IV - Vocabulary and chemical symbols: 100 process points
Part V - Environmental Disasters – 80 point process grade
Part I Assignments
A.
Hydrauling fracturing (fracking) in Maryland. (This part of the assignment can be typed or hand
written.)
Using the internet or newspaper, find an article OR publication FOR “fracking” and one AGAINST “fracking”.
Write an essay supporting “fracking” or an argument against “fracking” using the information from the
articles. This essay should be the equivalent of one full page, typed, and double spaced. Be sure to cite your
articles.
B. Current Energy News (This part of the assignment can be typed or hand written.)
Research one current event that addresses renewable energy in Maryland. It must have occurred within the 2013 –
2014 calendar year. Write or type a brief (half to one page max.) summary of the article and include the web
address. Do not use Wikipedia, please.
Review of Basic Math Skills for answering Part II questions below
(Borrowed from: www.stjohnschs.org)
Percentage
17%=17/100=.17
-­­Remember that “percent” literally means divided by 100.
-­­Percentage is a measure of the part of the whole: (part/whole) x 100
-­­15 million is what percentage of the US population? 15 million/300 million = .05 or 5%
-­­What is 20% of this $15 bill so that I can give a good tip? $15 x .20 = $15 x (20/100) = $3
-- What is the percentage growth? New – old/old X 100
Scientific Notation
Thousand = 103 = 1,000
Million = 106 = 1,000,000
Billion = 109 = 1,000,000,000
Trillion = 1012 = 1,000,000,000,000
When using very large numbers, scientific method is often easiest to manipulate.

For example: The US population is 300 million or 3 X 108
When adding or subtracting, exponents must be the same.
Add the numbers in front of the ten and keep the exponent the same.
When multiplying or dividing, multiple or divide the number in front of the ten and add the exponents if
multiplying or subtract the exponents if dividing.

Ex.
9 x 106/3 x 102 = (9/3) x 10(6­2) = 3 x 104
Dimensional Analysis
You should be able to convert any unit into any other unit accurately. You will be expected to write all problems
in this format. You can go to the following site for guidance if you are not familiar with this method.
http://www.chem.tamu.edu/class/fyp/mathrev/mr-da.html
Prefixes
You must also be able to make simple conversions and know the following prefixes:
Tera (T) : 1012
Kilo (k) : 103
Deci (d) : 10-1
Micro (μ) : 10­6
Giga (G) : 109
Hector (h) : 102
Centi (c) : 10­2
Nano (n) : 10-9
Mega (M) : 106
Deka (da) : 10
Milli (m) : 10­3
For example:
1 mg (milligram) = 1/1000 g (gram)
1 km (kilometer) = 1000 M (meters)
Assignment Part II: Math Problems- 100 point process grade
Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper. Show all of your work.
For any conversions questions, be sure to use dimensional analysis!
1) What is one million times one thousand? Show your work in scientific notation. Give the answer in scientific
notation and in words.
2) A population of deer had 200 individuals. If the population grows by 15% in one year, how many deer will
there be the next year?
3) One year I had 40 APES students and the next year I had 50. By what percentage did the population of APES
students grow?
4) Electricity costs 6 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). In one month one home uses one megawatt hour of
electricity. How much will the bill be? (Use the prefixes chart on the previous page for the conversion of kilo to
mega.)
5) Your car gets 15 miles to the gallon and your friend’s car gets 25 miles to the gallon. You decide to go on a
road trip to Virginia Tech which is 300 miles away. If gas costs $4 per gallon and you decide to split the gas
money, how much money will you save in gas by driving your friend’s car?
6) Virginia Beach is 10 miles wide and 30 miles long. If one inch of rain falls on Virginia Beach, how many cubic
feet of rain fell on the beach? (Hint: convert all units to feet first) (5280 ft = 1 mile)
7) The combustion of one gallon of automobile fuel produces about 5 pounds of carbon (in CO2). Two autos are
making a trip of 600 miles. The first auto gets 20 miles per gallon, and the second gets 30 miles per gallon.
Approximately how much less carbon (in CO2) will be produced by the second auto on this trip?
8) How many oranges are in a crate if the price of a crate of oranges is $1.60 and the price of oranges is $0.20
per pound and there are 3 oranges per pound?
9) What is the cost of coal in dollars per ton if it costs $0.04 per kilogram? (1 ton = 1000 kg)
10) How many years old are you if you have lived 1 billion seconds?
Part III – Environmental Law: 100 point process grade
For the following list, state the main objective of each law.
1. Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1970, 1990
2. Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972
3. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund), 1980
4. Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973
5. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 1947
6. Montreal Protocol
7. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976
8. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976
9. Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974
10. Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) of 1965
Part IV – Vocabulary and chemical symbols
A. Define/explain the following: 10 pts @ process grade: 100 total
1. Law of conservation of matter
2. 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics
3. Organic vs. Inorganic
4. Natural vs. Synthetic
5. Half-life
6. Equation for Photosynthesis (reactants and products)
7. Equation for Cellular Respiration (reactants and products)
8. Aerobic vs. Anaerobic
9. Climate Change
10. biotic vs. abiotic
B. Write the full name of each of these empirical formulas: 24 point process grade.
CO2__________________________ CO____________________ C6H12O6______________________________ CH4_____________________________
H2_____________________________ H2O____________________ N2____________________________________ NOx____________________________
NO3-___________________________ NH3______________________________ O2_____________________________________ O3_______________________________
P_____________________PO4 3- ____________________________ S_________________________ K_____________________
SO2_____________________________ Cl ____________________ Pb _______________________ U _____________________
NaCl___________________ Hg____________________ Rn______________________ H 2SO4_____________________________
Part V
Environmental Disasters – point process grade (10 pts @) 80 points
Provide a brief description for the following environmental disasters and include the location, chemical of
concern, and year it occurred.
1. Chernobyl
2. Bhopal
3. Deepwater Horizon
4. Minimata
5. Love Canal
6. Seveso
7. Baia Mare
8. Fukushima