AP Environmental Science (REA) - The Best Test Prep for Advanced Placement (Advanced Placement (AP) Test Preparation) - Softcover

Reel, Kevin R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0738600415 ISBN 13: 9780738600413

Publisher: Research & Education Association, 2005

Synopsis

A NEWER EDITION OF THIS TITLE IS AVAILABLE.  SEE ISBN:  978-0-7386-0788-7 

 

 

REA Real review, Real practice, Real results.
 
Get the college credits you deserve.
 
AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Completely aligned with today’s AP exam
 
Are you prepared to excel on the AP exam? 
* Set up a study schedule by following our results-driven timeline
* Take the first practice test to discover what you know and what you
   should know
* Use REA's advice to ready yourself for proper study and success
 
Practice for real
* Create the closest experience to test-day conditions with 4 full-length practice tests
* Chart your progress with full and detailed explanations of all answers
* Boost your confidence with test-taking strategies and experienced advice
 
Sharpen your knowledge and skills
* The book's full subject review features coverage of all AP Environmental Science subjects and exam topics, including conservation, environmental health hazards, and biodiversity, earth systems, population dynamics, human health, planetary resources and more
* Smart and friendly lessons reinforce necessary skills
* Key tutorials enhance specific abilities needed on the test
* Targeted drills increase comprehension and help organize study
 
Ideal for Classroom, Family, or Solo Test Preparation!
 
REA has provided advanced preparation for generations of advanced students who have excelled on important tests and in life. REA’s AP study guides are teacher-recommended and written by experts who have mastered the course and the test.
 

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

EXCERPT

About Research & Education Association
Research & Education Association (REA) is an organization of educators, scientists, and engineers specializing in various academic fields. Founded in 1959 with the purpose of disseminating the most recently developed scientific information to groups in industry, government, high schools, and universities, REA has since become a successful and highly respected publisher of study aids, test preps, handbooks, and reference works.

REA's Test Preparation series includes study guides for all academic levels in almost all disciplines. Research & Education Association publishes test preps for students who have not yet completed high school, as well as high school students preparing to enter college. Students from countries around the world seeking to attend college in the United States will find the assistance they need in REA's publications. For college students seeking advanced degrees, REA publishes test preps for many major graduate school admission examinations in a wide variety of disciplines, including engineering, law, and medicine. Students at every level, in every field, with every ambition can find what they are looking for among REA's publications.

While most test preparation books present practice tests that bear little resemblance to the actual exams, REA's series presents tests that accurately depict the official exams in both degree of difficulty and types of questions. REA's practice tests are always based upon the most recently administered exams, and include every type of question that can be expected on the actual exams.

REA's publications and educational materials are highly regarded and continually receive an unprecedented amount of praise from professionals, instructors, librarians, parents, and students. Our authors are as diverse as the fields represented in the books we publish. They are well-known in their respective disciplines and serve on the faculties of prestigious high schools, colleges, and universities throughout the United States and Canada.

EXCELLING ON THE AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE EXAM

ABOUT THIS BOOK
This book provides a thorough review for the Advanced Placement Environmental Science Examination written in a way that high school students will readily grasp and appreciate. REA's mission is to translate environmental science into terms the student can understand and benefit from.

Four full-length practice exams are included to get you ready for the actual exam. Use them, along with the detailed explanations of answers, to help determine your strengths and weaknesses, and to prepare you to score well on exam day.

ABOUT THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROGRAM
The Advanced Placement program is designed to provide high school students with the opportunity to pursue college-level studies. The program consists of two components: an AP course and an AP exam.

Students are expected to gain college-level skills and acquire college-level knowledge of environmental science through the AP course. Upon completion of the course, students take the AP exam. Test results are used to grant course credit and/or determine placement level in the subject when entering college.

AP exams are administered every May. Additional information can be requested from the following source:

AP Services
Educational Testing Service
P.O. Box 6671
Princeton, New Jersey 08541-6671
Phone: (609) 771-7300
Fax: (609) 530-0482
E-mail: apexams@ets.org
Web site: http://www.collegeboard.com

ABOUT THE AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE EXAM
The AP Environmental Science exam is three hours long. Each section in each exam is completed separately. You will have 90 minutes to answer 100 multiple-choice questions, which are worth 60% of your final grade. Each correct answer is worth one point, and each incorrect answer takes away 1/4 point.

The free response section is 90 minutes long and has four questions. The first question will ask you to make conclusions based on a set of data, the second question will be document-based, and the third and fourth questions are synthesis and evaluation questions. All four questions are weighted equally.

AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE EXAM CONTENT
I. Interdependence of Earth's Systems: Fundamental Principles and Concepts (25%)
A. The Flow of Energy
1. forms and quality of energy
2. energy units and measurements
3. sources and sinks, conversions
B. The Cycling of Matter
1. water
2. carbon
3. major nutrients
a. nitrogen
b. phosphorus
4. differences between cycling of major and trace elements
C. The Solid Earth
1. Earth history and the geologic time scale
2. Earth dynamics: plate tectonics, volcanism, the rock cycle, soil formation
D. The Atmosphere
1. atmospheric history: origin, evolution, composition, and structure
2. atmospheric dynamics: weather, climate
E. The Biosphere
1. organisms: adaptations to their environments
2. populations and communities: exponential growth, carrying capacity
3. ecosystems and change: biomass, energy transfer, succession
4. evolution of life: natural selection, extinction
II. Human Population Dynamics (10%)
A. History and Global Distribution
1. numbers
2. demographics, such as birth and death rates
3. patterns of resource utilization
B. Carrying Capacity - Local, Regional, Global
C.Cultural and Economic Influences
III. Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources: Distribution, Ownership, Use, Degradation (15%)
A. Water
1. fresh: agricultural, industrial, domestic
2. oceans: fisheries, industrial
B. Minerals
C. Soils
1. soil types
2. erosion and conservation
D. Biological
1. natural areas
2. genetic diversity
3. food and other agricultural products
E. Energy
1. conventional sources
2. alternative sources
F. Land
1. residential and commercial
2. agricultural and forestry
3. recreational and wilderness
IV. Environmental Quality (20-25%)
A. Air/Water/Soil
1. major pollutants
a. types, such as SO2, NO2, and pesticides
b. thermal pollution
c. measurement and units of measure such as ppm, pH, pg/L
d. point and nonpoint sources (domestic, industrial, agricultural)
2. effects of pollutants on:
a. aquatic systems
b. vegetation
c. natural features, buildings and structures
d. wildlife
3. pollution reduction, remediation, and control
C. Impact on Human Health
1. agents: chemical and biological
2. effects: acute and chronic, dose-response relationships
3. relative risks: evaluation and response
V. Global Changes and their Consequences (15-20%)
A. First-order Effects (changes)
1. atmosphere: CO2, CH4, stratospheric O3
2. oceans: surface temperatures, currents
3. biota: habitat destruction, introduced exotics, overharvesting
B. Higher-order Interactions (consequences)
1. atmosphere: global warming, increasing ultraviolet radiation
2. oceans: increasing sea level, long-term climate change, impact on El Ni-o
3. biota: loss of biodiversity
VI. Environment and Society: Trade-Offs and Decision Making (10%)
A. Economic Forces
1. cost-benefit analysis
2. marginal costs
3. ownership and externalized costs
B. Cultural and Aesthetic Considerations
C. Environmental Ethics
D. Environmental Laws and Regulations (International, National, and Regional)
E. Issues and options (conservation, preservation, restoration, remediation, sustainability, mitigation)

ABOUT OUR AP COURSE REVIEW
As mentioned earlier, this review is designed to prepare you for success on the AP Exam. Therefore, an entire year's work has been distilled into the leanest preparation manual possible to ensure victory on exam day. This text is aimed at students serious about improving their likelihood of success through hard work and attention to the key elements to be tested. This text will also help a student prepare for daily classroom success as well. Students have a variety of learning styles that are not always met by classroom teachers, so this text will serve well as a supplement to daily classroom learning. Components of this review have been field-tested in the classroom by students of varying capacity, and all can attest to their improved performance both in the classroom, as well as on the exam.

SCORING REA'S PRACTICE EXAMS

Scoring the Multiple-Choice Sections
For each multiple-choice section, use this formula to calculate your raw score:
Number Correct (out of 100)- (Number Wrong x 1/4) = Raw Score (weighted)

Scoring the Free-Response Sections
For the free-response section, use this formula to calculate your raw score:

Question 1 (out of 10) x 1.5 = _____________ (weighted)
Question 2 (out of 10) x 1.5 = _____________ (weighted)
Question 3 (out of 10) x 1.5 = _____________ (weighted)
Question 4 (out of 10) x 1.5 = _____________ (weighted)

Then add the weighted 4 questions to get your Free-Response weighted score

Question 1 + Question 2 + Question 3 + Question 4 = Free-Response Score (weighted)

The Composite Score
To obtain your composite score for each exam, use the following method.

Multiple-Choice Weighted Score + Free-Response Weighted Score = Composite Score

Use the following chart to approximate your AP score for each exam:

AP Grade Conversion Chart
Final Score Range / AP Grade
120 - 160 / 5
94 - 119 / 4
68 - 93 / 3
38 - 67 / 2
0 - 37 / 1

Candidates' scores are weighted by a formula determined in advance each year by the Development Committee.

SCORING THE OFFICIAL EXAMS
Weighted Multiple-Choice + Weighted Free-Response = Total Composite Score
The College Board creates a formula (which changes slightly every year) to convert raw scores into composite scores grouped into broad AP ...

About this edition

• Publisher: Research & Education Association
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0738600415
• ISBN 13: 9780738600413
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 560