AP Environmental Science Topic Outline

1. Earth systems and resources
   1. Earth science concepts
      1. Geologic time scale
         • Geologic time
      2. Plate tectonics
         • Plate tectonics
      3. Earthquakes
         • Earthquake
      4. Volcanism
         • Volcano
      5. Seasons
         • Earth-Sun geometry
      6. Solar intensity and latitude
         • Earth-Sun relationships and insolation
         • Solar radiation
   2. The Atmosphere
      1. Composition
         • Atmospheric composition
         • Atmospheric composition and structure
      2. Structure
         • Atmosphere layers
      3. Weather and climate
         • Tropical weather and hurricanes
      4. Atmospheric circulation and Coriolis Effect
         • Global-scale circulation of the atmosphere
      5. Atmosphere-ocean interactions
         • Global coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models
      6. El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
         • El Niño, La Niña and the southern oscillation
         • El Nino and bacillary dysentery
   3. Global water resources and use
      1. Freshwater
         • Surface runoff of water
         • Groundwater
         • Freshwater biomes
         • River
         • Stream
         • Aquifer
      2. Saltwater
         • Seawater
      3. Ocean circulation
         • Ocean circulation
      4. Agriculture, industrial, and domestic use
      5. Surface and groundwater issues
         • Surface water management
         • Surface runoff of water
         • Groundwater
         • Aquifer depletion
         • TCE contamination of groundwater
         • Effect of climate change and land use change on saltwater intrusion
      6. Global problems
         • Water
         • Water resources
         • Water governance
         • Governance of water resources in Africa
         • Society and water resources
         • Water profile articles, for example Water profile of Kuwait
      7. Conservation
         • Transborder conservation
   4. Soil and soil dynamics
      1. Rock cycle
         • Rock cycle
      2. Formation
         • Formation of the Earth's crust
         • Soil forming factors
      3. Composition
         • Composition of rocks
      4. Physical and chemical properties
      5. Main soil types
      6. Erosion and other soil problems
         • Soil erosion and deposition
      7. Soil conservation
2. The Living World
   1. Ecosystem structure
      1. Biological populations and communities
      2. Ecological niche
      3. Interactions among species
      4. Keystone species
      5. Species diversity and edge effects
         • Biological diversity
         • Species diversity
      6. Major terrestrial and aquatic biomes
         • Biome
         • Terrestrial biome
         • Freshwater biomes
         • Marine biomes
         • Tundra biome
         • Grassland biome
         • Desert biome
         • Forest biome
   2. Energy flow
      1. Photosynthesis and cellular respiration
         • Photosynthesis
      2. Food webs and tropic levels
      3. Ecological pyramids
   3. Ecosystem diversity
      1. Biodiversity
         • Biodiversity
      2. Natural selection
         • Natural selection
      3. Evolution
      4. Ecosystem services
         • Biodiversity and ecosystem services
   4. Natural ecosystem change
      1. Climate shifts
         • Earth's climatic history
      2. Species movement
      3. Ecological succession
   5. Natural biogeochemical cycles
      1. Carbon
         • Carbon cycle
      2. Nitrogen
         • Nitrogen cycle
      3. Phosphorus
      4. Sulfur
      5. Water
         • Hydrologic cycle
      6. Conservation of matter
3. Population
   1. Population biology concepts
      1. Population ecology
      2. Carrying capacity
         • Carrying capacity
      3. Reproductive strategies
      4. Survivorship
   2. Human population
      1. Human population dynamics
         1. Historical population sizes
            • Human population explosion
         2. Distribution
         3. Fertility rates
         4. Growth rates and doubling times
            • Population growth rate
         5. Demographic transition
         6. Age-structure diagrams
      2. Population size
         1. Strategies for sustainability
         2. Case studies
         3. National policies
      3. Impacts of population growth
         1. Hunger
         2. Disease
         3. Economic effects
         4. Resource use
         5. Habitat destruction
            • Ecological footprint
            • Land-use and land-cover change
4. Land and water use
   1. Agriculture
      • Agriculture
      1. Feeding a growing population
         1. Human nutritional requirements
         2. Types of agriculture
         3. Green Revolution
         4. Genetic engineering and crop production
         5. Deforestation
            • Deforestation in Amazonia
         6. Irrigation
         7. Sustainable agriculture
      2. Controlling pests
         1. Types of pesticides
            • Pesticide
         2. Costs and benefits of pesticide use
            • Agricultural pesticide contamination
         3. Integrated pest management
         4. Relevant laws
            • Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, United States
   2. Forestry
      1. Tree plantations
      2. Old growth forests
      3. Forest fires
         • Monitoring forest fire danger with remote sensing
         • Fire in America
      4. Forest management
         • Forestry
      5. National forests
   3. Rangelands
      1. Overgrazing
      2. Deforestation
         • Deforestation in Amazonia
      3. Desertification
      4. Rangeland management
      5. Federal rangelands
   4. Other land use
      1. Urban land development
         1. Planned development
         2. Suburban sprawl
         3. Urbanization
            • Urbanization
      2. Transportation infrastructure
         1. Federal highway system
            • Roads and highways in the United States
         2. Canals and channels
         3. Roadless areas
         4. Ecosystem impacts
            • Road ecology
      3. Public and federal lands
         1. Management
         2. Wilderness areas
         3. National parks
         4. Wildlife refuges
         5. Forests
         6. Wetlands
            • Wetland
      4. Land conservation options
         1. Preservation remediation
         2. Mitigation
         3. Restoration
      5. Sustainable land-use strategies
   5. Mining
      1. Mineral formation
      2. Extraction
      3. Global reserves
      4. Relevant laws and treaties
         • Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, United States
         • Mining Law of 1872, United States
         • Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, United States
   6. Fishing
      1. Fishing techniques
         • Marine fisheries
      2. Overfishing
      3. Aquaculture
         • Fisheries and Aquaculture
         • Fisheries and aquaculture in the Northeast Atlantic (Barents and Norwegian Seas)
      4. Relevant laws and treaties
         • Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, United States
         • Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, United States
         • Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986, United States
         • Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, United States
   7. Global economics
      1. Globalization
         • Global economy
         • Globalization and environmental politics
      2. World Bank
      3. Tragedy of the commons
         • Tragedy of the Commons (historical)
      4. Relevant laws and treaties
5. Energy resources and consumption -> for overview see [1]
   1. Energy concepts
      1. Energy forms
      2. Power
      3. Units
         • International System of Units (SI)
         • Joule
         • Watt
      4. Conversions
      5. Law of Thermodynamics
         • Thermodynamics
   2. Energy consumption
      1. History
         1. Industrial Revolution
            • Industrial Revolution
         2. Exponential growth
         3. Energy crisis
      2. Present global energy use
      3. Future energy needs
   3. Fossil fuel resources and use
      1. Formation of coal, oil and natural gas
         • Coal
      2. Extraction/purification methods
      3. World reserves and global demand
      4. Synfuels
      5. Environmental advantages/disadvantages of sources
   4. Nuclear energy
      1. Nuclear fission process
      2. Nuclear fuel
         • Nuclear fuel cycle
      3. Electricity production
      4. Nuclear reactor types
         • Nuclear power reactor
         • Fast neutron reactors (FBR)
         • Generation IV nuclear reactors
         • Advanced nuclear power reactors
         • Small nuclear power reactors
         • Research reactors
         • Nuclear reactors for space
         • Light water graphite reactor (RBMK)
      5. Environmental advantages/disadvantages
      6. Safety issues
         • Safety of nuclear power reactors
      7. Radiation and human health
         • Health effects of ionizing radiation
      8. Radioactive waste
         • Nuclear waste management
      9. Nuclear fusion
         • Nuclear fusion power
   5. Hydroelcetrc power
      1. Dams
      2. Flood control
      3. Salmon
      4. Silting
      5. Other impacts
   6. Energy Conservation
      1. Energy efficiency
      2. CAFE standards
      3. Hybrid electric vehicles
      4. Mass transit
   7. Renewable Energy
      1. Solar energy
         • Solar energy
      2. Solar electricity
      3. Hydrogen fuel cell
         • Fuel cells
      4. Biomass
      5. Wind energy
         • Wind farm
      6. Small-scale hydroelectric
      7. Ocean waves and tidal energy
      8. Geothermal
      9. Environmental advantages/disadvantages
6. Pollution
   1. Pollution types
      1. Air pollution
         • Air pollution emissions
         • Impacts of air pollution on local to global scale
         • Air quality index
      2. Sources: primary and secondary
      3. Major air pollutants
      4. Measurement units
      5. Smog
         • Smog
      6. Acid deposition: causes and effects
         • Acid rain
      7. Heat island and temperature inversions
         • Heat island
      8. Indoor air pollution
         • Indoor air quality (IAQ)
      9. Remediation and reduction strategies
      10. Clean Air Act and other relevant laws
          • Clean Air Act, United States
      11. Noise pollution
          1. Sources
          2. Effects
          3. Control measures
      12. Water pollution
          1. Types
             • Eutrophication
          2. Sources, causes, and effects
          3. Cultural eutrophication
             • Impact and abatement of acid deposition and eutrophication
          4. Groundwater pollution
             • groundwater
             • see also articles such as TCE contamination of groundwater
          5. Maintaining water quality
             • Clean Water Act, United States
          6. Water purification
          7. Sewage treatment/septic systems
          8. Clean Water Act and other relevant laws
             • Clean Water Act, United States