AP Environmental Science: Curricular Requirements

• The teacher has read the most recent AP Environmental Science Course Description.
• The course provides instruction in each of the following seven content areas outlined in the Course Description:
  • Earth Systems and Resources
  • The Living World
  • Population
  • Land and Water Use
  • Energy Resources and Consumption
  • Pollution
  • Global Change
• The course provides students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world. The curriculum draws upon various scientific disciplines.
• The course includes methods for analyzing and interpreting information and experimental data, including mathematical calculations.
• The course teaches students how to identify and analyze environmental problems, to evaluate the ecological and human health risks associated with these problems, and to critically examine various solutions for resolving or preventing them.
• The course includes a laboratory and/or field investigation component. A minimum of one class period or its equivalent per week is spent engaged in laboratory and/or field work.

Resource Requirements

• The school ensures that each student has a college-level environmental science textbook (supplemented when necessary to meet the curricular requirements) for individual use inside and outside of the classroom.
• The school ensures that students have access to scientific equipment and all necessary materials to conduct college-level environmental science laboratory and/or field investigations as outlined in the teacher's course syllabus.
• The school ensures that the teacher has copies of recent college-level text(s) or other appropriate college-level materials for his or her consultation.