Modules 24-25 Earth and soils

Module 23-24: Human Populations

Describe the community succession from the coast to Waimea, uphill.
Describe the 4 survivorship curves
Compare parasitism with predation
Compare mutualism with commensalism

lab quiz

When your rabbit population peaked, what was the rabbit and lynx population?
When the lynx population peaked, what was your rabbit and lynx population?
How would the graphs look if the predator were cold blooded?
How could this model be used to map the spread of a disease?

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First of all a flow diagram:

Click for full-size image

Note that this is for a country, not the planet, since people (so far) are not leaving the planet...or arriving from elsewhere.

National version as a formula:

Screen Shot 2017-10-12 at 10.17.26 AM.png

If you look at the planet as a whole (sans aliens or Elon Musk):

Screen Shot 2017-10-12 at 10.17.55 AM.png

so, there is a neat shorthand formula for this:

Screen Shot 2017-10-12 at 10.17.34 AM.png

Which is an estimate, the real number is 69.3 (why? look below if you want to know)

Here is an example:

Screen Shot 2017-10-12 at 10.17.39 AM.png

Note that as the growth rate increases, the doubling time decreases.

Look for this on the AP as multiples/fractions of 70: 14, 28, 35, and so on...

You can also see this by using our previous formula: Nt = Noe^rt

Set N to 100, try with a 7% growth rate (0.07 is r) and set time to be 10 years (70/10)

Calculate Nt

Here's what this might look like:

Click for full-size image

When calculating growth rates, always use the CHANGE in population divided by the base population, e.g. 7/100 is 7% growth rate, so this population would go from 100 to 107, like in the chart above.

Now, to babies: TFR is the total number of babies a woman will have in her lifetime.

Replacement level fertility (RLF) is just above 2.0, (usually 2.1, as some babies don't reproduce or make it to reproductive age).

What does this mean in Japan, where young people are not having babies?

RLF depends on developed/developing nations as well (clean water, medical care, access to food, war)

Life expectancy: depends on these as well...

Infant mortality: under age 1 (reason for big Hawaiian one year birthdays)

child mortality: under 5

Look up life expectancy in 1900...

Look up the average family size and how many made it to age of 5 in 1900

What portion of the US population was farmers then?

Age structure diagrams/population pyramids-check these out: UAE, Japan, Sudan, Iraq/Iran, Russia----WHY?

Modules 18-21 Population ecology

Module 18-abundance and distribution

Start with this:

Click for full-size image

A crude example of this might be:

individual-you

population-HPA students

community-HPA

ecosystem-education

biosphere-the world

or:

some rabbit individual

some of the rabbit's friends, a population of rabbits

rabbits and the things they eat and eat them-community

ecosystem-the plants that support both ends of this process

biosphere-the planet

We covered ecosystem energy and matter a few weeks ago, this chapter is about population ecology.

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Population dynamics

Notation: Population size is represented as N (note not "n"): population size within a defined area at a specific time (brings in migration).

So, we could say the student population of HPA would be all students here this year, 2020-2021

Check out the diagrams on population distribution: random, uniform and clumped. Important vis a vis biodiversity

Structures: age and gender (sex)

Screen Shot 2020-10-08 at 5.41.39 PM.png

Density dependent factor: e.g. food or reproductive rate in rats (more rats, lower fecundity)

Something that influences reproduction or survival...

Density independent factors: storms, disasters, fires (note density independent: one bambi or 100 bambi all perish in the same fire)

Limiting resource: usually food, but could include space, nutrients, etc.

Carrying capacity: K (note not "k"): how many individuals an environment can support

Module 19: growth models

Imagine you are a happy bacteria, or rabbit, with lots of food, land and no predators. Your population growth curve might look like this:

Screen Shot 2017-10-07 at 7.51.12 AM.png

This is called exponential growth, or "J shaped growth"

Note that it has no end, or limiting factor.

Small r is the growth rate. If you have had physics (yay!) this is usually "k" in some examples, or related to RC decay/growth.

Learning this equation is VERY useful.

Note that it depends on two things:

the starting amount in the population (No)

and the growth rate (r)

Here is an example:

Click for full-size image

You might also find this link useful:

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-biology/ecology-ap/population-ecology-ap/a/exponential-logistic-growth

Many systems follow J shaped exponential growth until they run out of food or space, then there is overshoot and die-off:

Screen Shot 2020-10-08 at 5.50.26 PM.png

A more ideal version of this is the S shaped curve, called logistic growth:

Screen Shot 2017-10-07 at 7.56.18 AM.png

Here is a formula for logistic growth that we'll discuss:

Click for full-size image

Don't be intimidated by this formula...

dN/dt is just delta N over delta t, or the ∆ in number over the ∆ in time,

or the rate of population growth (some of you may see this as the slope of the S curve)

Note that when the ratio N/K is very small or close to zero, the stuff in the parentheses becomes 1, so the formula is rate = rN, or J curved exponential growth.

As N/K nears one (number of critters equals carrying capacity) the term in the parentheses becomes zero, so no growth.

Note also that if N/K is GREATER than one, the growth rate (slope of the curve) become negative. This is overshoot and die off.

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Logistic growth worksheet

First: exponential growth:

Imagine 10 imaginary rabbits (No=10)

Assume r = 0.5 (50 percent growth rate, or each rabbit makes 0.5 rabbits per year)

Find the population 2 years later:

Nt = Noe^rt

Nt = 10e^0.5*2

Nt = 27 rabbits

After 4 years:

After 10 years:

———

Next, use the logistic growth formula, same data, with a carrying capacity (K) of 100:

Small population: 10 rabbits

∆N/∆t = rN(1-N/K)

= 0.5*10(1-10/100)

= 5(1-0.1)

= 5(0.9)

= 4.5 rabbits per year

Find the rabbits per year for these populations:

Medium population: 27 rabbits

Near K: 74 rabbits

Above K: 1489 rabbits

quiz (you may use your worksheet only)

30 rabbits live on an island with carrying capacity 200. They reproduce at a rate of 0.5 per year. How many rabbits will be on the island after 3 years? (hint: you would do the calculation three times-this is only an estimate though, the true formula would be a bit more complex)
What will be the slope of the growth curve at this point?

Next: predator/prey phase diagrams

Check this out:

Click for full-size image

Note the phase (timing) relationship between the abundance of the food and the population of the prey, then the predator.
Predator Prey Lab:

Download file "predator-prey-simulation12.pdf"

Worksheet: (uses Numbers application)

Download file "Population Growth Model.numbers"

Worksheet: excel version:

Download file "Population Growth Model.xls"

Questions:

Download file "ESI-24-modeling_population_growth.pdf"

Now we can discuss generalizations of r and K strategists:

Note: r comes from small r (growth rate) in the growth formula, while K comes from large K in the same formula (carrying capacity):

Screen Shot 2017-10-07 at 8.05.23 AM.png

Where do you fit in? How about Nemo?

Screen Shot 2017-10-07 at 8.05.41 AM.png

Birds also fall into type II (no pun intended), as they randomly crash into stuff...

There is a fourth type: deer. How would you imagine this curve?

Related:

Another reason why genocides are so damaging to cultures: If an oral tradition (e.g. Hawaiians) are decimated by smallpox for example, it is the very old (the holders of the legends and history) and the very young (those who have time to listen, not work, and will then grow up and tell their kids) that are gone. This is a sort of cultural bottleneck...

Module 20: Community ecology

Competitive exclusion principle: two species competing for the same resources cannot co-exist, leads to...

Resource partitioning: time, space, type of food (one species picks one, the other survives)

Relationships:

Predation: predator and prey, one lives, the other dies

Symbiotic:

Mutualism: both benefit

Commensalism: one benefits, no harm to the other

Non-symbiotic:

Parasitism: one benefits, harm to other

Screen Shot 2017-10-09 at 3.12.05 PM.png

quizlet review

keystone species vs. indicator species

Keystone species-many others depend on it, removal has an impact much greater than their relative population

e.g. beavers: create habitat for others (dams), so they are also "keystone engineers", only they don't wear funny hats.

Here's what a keystone looks like:

In architecture, if you remove the keystone, the arch collapses. Cool term, right?

This is different from a capstone (seniors might like this): a capstone is what you put on top of a finished structure

Another example: "keystone predators" e.g. sea stars, which eat mussels, clearing space on rocks for other species

Indicator species-signal health of a system, like some fish or worms signify water quality, also known as "bioindicators"

Succession: one species takes over another in time

Module 21: Community Succession

Primary succession: From bare rock, no soil: (e.g. lichen)

These hold moisture and some sort of matrix (e.g. soil) so that others can then grow

Click for full-size image

You might imagine driving from the Kohala coast up to Waimea, seeing bare lava along the coast, then fountain grass, then small bushes, then trees along the stream, then larger trees away from the stream.

Water is the key to life, so anything that can trap and hold water (e.g. soil) can support life.

Secondary succession: from disturbed area with soil (e.g. after a fire)-there is soil, but no plants, growth here might be quicker than primary sucession.

Pioneer species: arrives first, sets up reliable system of water and matrix

Climax community: stable, well evolved ecosystem, e.g. old growth forest, able to survive disasters (e.g. fire)

Aquatic succession: from stream (flowing water) to pond (less flow) to shallow pond (even less flow) to marsh (mostly mud)

Island biogeography (like here in Waimea): habitat size AND distance from others influences diversity (e.g. birds)

This was Darwin's whole gig, also some folks off the coast of Chile, often with birds involved.

Check out an alternate presentation of these in the Withgott text, with a special section about our island:

http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/texts/withgott/withgott%206e/3-4.pdf

Frog book chapter 5:

Click for full-size image

Questions:

What three things in order are necessary for evolution to succeed?
What are the characteristics of an r specific species. Give an example.
What are the characteristics of a K specific species. Give an example as well.
The population of wolves may rise and fall along with rabbits, but not at the same time. Explain why.

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October 2, 2020

by admin

Biodiversity and Extinction, Ch 5, Mods 14-17

Week of 10.5.20:

Why is water depth related to life?
Commercial development in Louisiana removed mangrove swamps. How did this change the impact of Hurricane Katrina?
What is a “littoral Navy”?
What factors are damaging corals globally?

Unit 2 from Cliff notes 2011:

Mod 14: Biodiversity: (see also chapter 7 in Froggie book)

Click for full-size image

Species diversity:

richness vs. evenness. richness = number of species, evenness = balanced proportions

Click for full-size image

We can calculate biodiversity:

Click for full-size image

Lab: Calculating Shannon's index, using baked goldfish (the cheddar kind, not the ones that stink)

1. pour out a random number of goldfish on your plate (your "pond")

2. determine the number of distinct populations by color

3. determine the proportion for each population (e.g. 5 red ones out of 20 total would be 5/20 or 0.25)

4. calculate Shannon's index (H) for this "pond"

5. repeat the experiment with a very low biodiversity, calculate H

6. repeat with a very high biodiversity, calculate H

Questions:

1. what is the value of biodiversity in any community?

2. what are the benefits and drawbacks of a low biodiversity?

3. how does this play into competition (next chapter)

4. why is it important to determine the number of "distinct populations"?

5. what is the impact of this on a human population, e.g. the census?

Mod 15: Evolution

Three conditions must be met:

1. genetic variation (mutation)

2. some stress that favors this variation (adaptation)

3. survivors procreate, pass on the variation (reproduction)

Genotype: set of genes (dominant and recessive)

Phenotype: traits expressed in a living creature

Genetic drift-pretty much what it sounds like

Bottleneck effect-VERY important: when a species is almost extinct, there is little variation in the gene pool of the survivors, even if their population rebounds (e.g. whales hunted almost to extinction, the entire gene pool is limited to the diversity of the sole survivors)

Founder effect: random selection of survivors, creating a new gene pool (birds, gilligan)

Questions:

1. If the early atmosphere of our planet was thinner and less developed, it might have allowed more cosmic radiation to reach the surface. How would this impact the natural mutation/evolution rate?

2. what would be the impact on an ecosystem of rampant mutation rates?

mod 16: speciation

Geographic isolation (e.g. Galapagos) also found where we disturb natural habitats with roads

Causes Allo (other) Patric (father) speciation

Eventually reproductive isolation will result: different breeds will not be able to procreate

There is another more rare form of speciation: Sympatric ("same father"), from polyploidy, ("many chromosomes")

GMO: see roundup ready corn and wheat, freeze proof tomatoes and others.

Not to be confused with Dwarf Wheat and Norman Borlaug (see population chapters for more on this).

Dwarf wheat was a simple hybrid, not a GMO.

Look up "gene guns" and CRISPR

mod 17: niches and species distribution

Check this out:

Screen Shot 2017-09-30 at 3.44.57 PM.png

You'll see another like this in population distributions...

Range of tolerance-where it can survive

Fundamental niche-happy place

Realized niche-de facto place

Distribution-areas where they live (we'll see more of this in the chapter on population distributions: random, scattered, patterned)

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October 2, 2020

by admin

Module 13 Aquatic Biomes

Freshwater:

Riparian=river

Limnotic=lakes

Lakes:

Shallow shore area=littoral (means shallow), see the "littoral Navy", photosynthesis here (shallow, light shines through)

Open water area=limnetic zone, no rooted plants (too deep), phytoplankton here, only as deep as sunlight can penetrate

Deep water=profundal ("profound") or deep zone: no light penetrates, bacterial decomposition.

Bottom=benthic zone: mud, dark, cloudy

Click for full-size image

Productivity:

Oligo (few) trophic=low productivity

Meso (middle) trophic=medium

Eutrophic (eu=good trephien=food)=lots of productivity (sometimes too much, like in "Poisoned Waters")

Freshwater wetlands-submerged most of the time (swamps, marshes, bogs) this is the history of all coal and oil we now use

Salt marsh: usually connected to the sea, act as a coastal buffer for Hurricanes, very productive, many nutrients, lots of organic material

Mangrove swamp: special version of this in Tropical areas (e.g. Florida)

Intertidal zone: area between high and low tide

Ocean zones:

Coral reefs-see coral bleaching, pH, temperature and salinity sensitive (see Hamakua coast vs. Puako)

Intertidal zone: between high and low tide

Photic (light) zone-shallow, photosynthesis, kelp, others

Aphotic (dark) zone-too dark for photosynthesis

Chemosythesis/thermosynthesis: deepwater steam vents, based on Sulfur instead of Oxygen, bacteria generate energy with methane (CH4) and H2S (instead of H20)

Benthic=deep ocean

Pelagic=open ocean (think of big sailing ships, whales, stuff like that)

Hadal zones: like Hades: deepest, darkest zones. Weird fish, no light...

Click for full-size image

Frog book notes:

http://physics.hpa.edu/groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/0dd23/Frog_book_notes_ch6_Biomes.html

Biodiversity next:

http://physics.hpa.edu/groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/8d560/Mod_14151617biodiversity_chapter_5.html

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September 27, 2020

by admin

Module 12: land biomes

Huh? Terrestrial=earth vs. aquatic, having to do with ducks...

9 Biomes are usually defined by precipitation (rain, fog, others) and temperature.

Big Island has 8 of the 9 biomes, or in the 12 biome model, we have 11/12, or 9 of 13, or 10 of 14 in another model. Many models...

https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/content/hawaii-has-10-worlds-14-climate-zones-explorers-guide-each-them

Traveling up a mountain is like crossing biomes. Check this out:

Screen Shot 2017-09-28 at 4.55.05 PM.png

Imagine driving from Hamakua or Hilo up to the summit of Mauna Kea: tropical rain forest to temperate (mild) rain forest to boreal (north) forest to tundra. There is even a glacier up on Mauna Kea. Cool.

This would be like starting in the upper right corner of the diagram and moving diagonally down and to the left.

Now check out the planet:

Click for full-size image

Notice the horizontal bands. If you've read "Guns Germs and Steel" you know that humans migrated horizontally, so their crops and livestock would thrive in similar biomes. See? Migrating north to south is tough.

Now look at this:

Click for full-size image

These diagrams are how we describe biomes without a cool map.

The blue line is the amount of rainfall, with units on the RIGHT side of the graph.

The red line is the temperature, with units on the LEFT side of the graph.

The shaded region in the months below (jfmamjjasond) is the growing season when temperatures are above freezing.

When the precipitation line is above the temperature line, growth is limited by temperature (e.g. freezing).

When the blue line is below the red line, growth is limited by precipitation (e.g. the desert).

Start with the north: Tundra is what you'd see in Alaska.

Permafrost is soon to be in the news. It is made of permanently frozen ground a few feet below the surface.

Even roots cannot penetrate it, so some trees grow in a stunted fashion.

It is also composed of frozen organic matter, which when it melts will decompose, releasing CO2 and CH4 (methane), which is 20x as powerful as CO2 as a greenhouse gas.

Tundra:

Screen Shot 2017-09-28 at 5.07.25 PM.png

Note the cool temp, so growth is determined by temp, not rainfall. Lots of snow here, and little liquid water for plants, so yeah, mainly snow and glaciers.

Contrast that with the boreal (north) forest:

Screen Shot 2017-09-28 at 5.08.21 PM.png

Note the short growing season. Any plants that survive usually have an oily sap (pine trees, evergreens) that does not freeze. Also note the serious cold in the winter-animals have to adapt to these (fur, hibernation, etc.)

Temperate (mild) forests are nicer, longer growing season, and rarely freeze. They are usually near the ocean, so they do not freeze (ocean is a huge heat sink). The often have lots of rain (think of Seattle). You may recall these are places where the surface parts of Ferrell and Polar cells converge, bringing in clouds and as these clouds rise into the atmosphere, they release their water as precipitation.

Screen Shot 2017-09-28 at 5.10.11 PM.png

Temperate (mild) seasonal forest actually has seasons:

Screen Shot 2017-09-28 at 5.12.07 PM.png

Deciduous trees can live here, like maple and oak. It gets close to freezing, but no real dry season.

Woodland/shrubland is like much of southern California, or the Mediterranean. Wine can grow here:

Screen Shot 2017-09-28 at 5.14.09 PM.png

Note it never really freezes, but growth is determined by precipitation (blue line is below the red line). This is also known as "chaparral" or the "fynbos" or "nice forest" in Afrikaans (South Africa). Look up the main wine regions of the world, they will fit this biome.

Temperate grassland/cold desert is a dry, grassy area, like Oklahoma, although it does get very cold there, so think more of Texas, or the Gobi desert. Again, growth is rain limited: (you may recall these are near Hadley/Ferrel cell subsidence, so dry air from space falls here)

Screen Shot 2017-09-28 at 5.16.59 PM.png

Tropical rainforest is the rainiest of them all, and much of our island has this near the shore. Warm temperatures, and paradoxically poor soil nutrition (all of the nutrients are in the plants). On Mt. Waialeale on Kauai, the rainfall is 480 INCHES per year, 2.5 times as high as the high point on the chart below:

Screen Shot 2017-09-28 at 5.20.21 PM.png

Africa and Brazil hold the next biome: Savanna or tropical seasonal forest. Think of Madagascar (the film): not many large trees, room for animals to roam, lots of grass, happy lions, maybe a bossy penguin or two...

Growth dependent on rainfall: (blue line below red one)

Screen Shot 2017-09-28 at 5.22.47 PM.png

Finally, the subtropical desert biome, like what you'd see in the Sahara desert (another film), or most of Australia, the Atacama in Chile, the Mojave desert in California, and some of Mexico. Note the Gobi desert is not on this list-too cold. Again, note these areas are where dry air subsides (falls) from the Hadley and Ferrell cells.

Screen Shot 2017-09-28 at 5.24.43 PM.png

Biome Game:

Clues:

Click for full-size image

Find these places in the first three climatographs:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

San Diego, California

Belem, Brazil

Screen Shot 2018-09-25 at 11.53.45 AM.png

Screen Shot 2018-09-25 at 11.53.54 AM.png

Screen Shot 2018-09-25 at 11.54.01 AM.png

Find these biomes below:

tropical rain forest

tropical savanna

desert

temperate grasslands

temperate deciduous forest

temperate rain forest

boreal forest

tundra

Screen Shot 2018-09-25 at 11.54.56 AM.png

Screen Shot 2018-09-25 at 11.55.10 AM.png

Screen Shot 2018-09-25 at 11.55.23 AM.png

Screen Shot 2018-09-25 at 11.55.30 AM.png

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Screen Shot 2018-09-25 at 11.55.49 AM.png

Screen Shot 2018-09-25 at 11.55.55 AM.png

Screen Shot 2018-09-25 at 11.56.06 AM.png

Find these biomes:

Tropical Savanna

Temperate Grassland

Chaparral

Desert

Tundra

Taiga

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Tropical Rain Forest

Click for full-size image

LAB: Gambling with biomes

Gambling with biomes

Below is a list of locations around the world. Roll the dice and using your vast knowledge of biomes and the high tech globes on your desk, determine the biome and type of life you might find there.
In the next round reverse the process with the biome list below, determining the locations around the globe.

Locations:

Chile
Zambia
Philippines
Oklahoma
San Luis Obispo
Germany
Seattle
Greenland
Ontario Canada
Tunisia
North Pole
Kamuela

Biomes:

tundra
boreal forest
temperate rain forest
temperate seasonal forest
woodlands
temperate grassland
tropical rain forest
savannah
desert
cold desert
taiga
tropical seasonal forest

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September 23, 2020

by admin

Modules 9, 10, 11: Circulation

The modules:

Module 9: Heating of the earth

Module 10: Air circulation

Module 11: Ocean circulation

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Module 9 heating of the earth

Tropo (top) sphere-heated by contact with earth, where most weather occurs
Strato (high) sphere-cooler, where commercial aircraft travel, more radiation there
Meso (middle) sphere-higher, but does not contain charged particles
thermo (hot) sphere-also known as the ionosphere, charged particles from interaction with the solar wind (charged protons and others), "hot" because of these particles slowing down, but so little atmosphere it would freeze you if you were there. Three layers: D, E and F, with F being the highest, all three reflect radio waves, but only the lower ones conduct/reflect in sunlight
Exo (outer) sphere-where space begins, freezing cold about one hydrogen molecule per square meter
Ozone: between the troposphere and stratosphere, this absorbs UV radiation
Magnetosphere: way out there, deflects solar wind, particles then spiral into the north and south poles creating the auroras.
If no magnetosphere, we'd cook like in a microwave oven (Film: The Core)
if no ozone layer, all plants would die, DNA would be mutated, life would cease except for deep thermal vents (possible origin of terrestrial life)

Click for full-size image

Seasons

4 seasons (not just a hotel), equinox means "equal night”, solstices are the extremes (why sacred?)
Earth spins counter clockwise when viewed from north pole (think: sun rises in the east)
Latitudes are like a ladder, go horizontally (east to west)
Longitudes are all long, go vertically (north to south)
Seasons are determined by earth tilt, not by distance to the sun
Although, Australia (southern hemisphere) summer happens when we are closer to sun in our elliptical orbit, so more extreme summers
Albedo-think of Albus (white) Dumbledore, means reflectivity. Earth is about 30%, snow is 95%

Click for full-size image

Module 10 Air currents and Water stuff

Relative humidity: amount of water in the air at a certain temperature, relative to the max it could hold at that temperature (RH). Look this up here: http://10.14.30.1 or http://10.14.37.1
You can blow on the room sensor and see this rise.
Absolute humidity: true amount of water in percent (AH)

Saturation point: the max amount of water air can hold at that temp (rises with temperature)
You may feel more comfortable with high temp and low humidity because your body can evaporate and cool more effectively. Conversely, humid, hot weather is ugly. Cold, humid air insulates poorly, so feels chilly, so running your air conditioner when it is humid and cool may actually make you feel warmer.
You can look this up, it is called the "comfort curve" or psychrometric chart:
Dew point: weather term for the temp that water will condense from air, depends on humidity (think of cool mornings, wet grass, or water vapor condensing on a cool drink)
Adiabatic cooling: think of Waimea canyon, or the mountains of the Andes, Olympics, Coastal range, Himalayas, etc. As air rises, the reduced pressure makes it cooler. Opposite of pumps, which get hot (compression). You might also see this with aerosol spray cans.

Click for full-size image

Questions:

You see a circular flow in the counter-clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere on windy.com. Is this low or high pressure?
Why is the ocean less salty near the equator?
As a parcel of air rises (like Waipio or the Himalayas), what happens to the absolute and relative humidity? What happens next?
What level of the atmosphere has most of the weather and why?

Adiabatic heating: reverse of this: think of Puako or Kawaihae: as air descends, it is compressed and gets hotter.
Latent (hidden) heat release: when vapor condenses from gas to liquid, it releases energy. Opposite of evaporation or boiling, which both require energy.
Convection: one of three means that energy moves from place to place:

radiation (like light, can be reflected),
conduction (contact),
convection (movement of mass, usually air or water).

Hadley cells: between 30N and 30S, convergence at the equator (hot air rises there), descends after shedding heat to space and water as it rises (rain), descending dry air forms deserts at 30N and 30S. Winds from the north to south at the surface, opposite in the stratosphere.

Click for full-size image

Check this out on windy.com:

https://www.windy.com/?20.002,-155.533,5

ITCZ: intertropical convergence zone: the place near the equator where this convergence occurs, lower salinity in equatorial oceans (rains all the time)
Ferrell cells: between 30N and 60N, also on the southern hemisphere: deserts at the bottom, northward wind at the surface, opposite in space (stratosphere), which is why commercial flights usually have a headwind where they'd have a tailwind at the surface. Also why when trades are strong, mainland flights are faster/shorter.
Polar cells: southward wind from 60N to 90N, creates dry desert at the north pole.
Coriolis effect; spinning of earth makes air near the equator rotate faster around the axis than polar air. This difference creates hurricanes and ocean currents, therefore diagonal winds (see fig 10.6)
Rain shadow: think of the coast near Mahukona or Lapakahi, between Kawaihae and Hawi: very dry as all moisture has been wrung out of the air by ascending above mount Kohala. Think also of Eastern Washington, or the Desert in Chile, where the Andes dry out the air. Many more-find some!

Click for full-size image

Mod 11 ocean currents

Check this out:

Verify on windy.com again:

https://www.windy.com/?20.002,-155.533,5

Notice that the north pacific currents flow clockwise, south pacific counter clockwise. why?
There are places with little forward current, so they become islands of debris, e.g. the so called "Pacific Gyre", which is about the size of Texas.
Gyres describe the circular flow, some refer to the islands of debris as gyres (not accurate), gyres are the circles, most equatorials move west
Difference between flotsam and jetsam: one floats, the other is jettisoned from boats
Thermohaline (thermo=heat, haline=saltwater) circulation:

This upwelling of 2000 year old water off the Kona coast is the bases for Koyo water near the airport (why is this water so precious?)
Upwelling off the peruvian/chilean coast-Andean trench=great fishing when in normal conditions (not el niño)
ENSO= el nino souther oscillation-a really big deal, reverses the normal ocean circulation, impacts weather around the planet

El niño and la niña (ENSO)

Note: top diagram has strong OFFSHORE wind, pulling up nutrients from below, note also that it is one big box from Peru to Indonesia, with a strong warm, dry subsidence around the coast of Peru (good for beach folks), known as La Niña, or the little girl,

Note: lower diagram (El Niño) has main convection moving to the middle of the ocean basin, weakening the offshore wind around Peru, so sad fisher-folk. El Niño was often associated with Christmas, so the "little boy" reference.

Though ENSO is a single climate phenomenon, it has three states, or phases, it can be in. The two opposite phases, “El Niño” and “La Niña,” require certain changes in both the ocean and the atmosphere because ENSO is a coupled climate phenomenon. “Neutral” is in the middle of the continuum, also known as “La Nada” or “the nothing”.

El Niño: A warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures, in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Over Indonesia, rainfall tends to become reduced while rainfall increases over the tropical Pacific Ocean. The low-level surface winds, which normally blow from east to west along the equator (“easterly winds”), instead weaken or, in some cases, start blowing the other direction (from west to east or “westerly winds”). This makes for sad fisher-people off the coast of Peru
La Niña: A cooling of the ocean surface, or below-average sea surface temperatures, in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Over Indonesia, rainfall tends to increase while rainfall decreases over the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The normal easterly winds along the equator become even stronger. Happy fisher-people off the coast of Peru due to nutrient upwelling from the Peruvian trench.
Neutral: Neither El Niño or La Niña. Often tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures are generally close to average. However, there are some instances when the ocean can look like it is in an El Niño or La Niña state, but the atmosphere is not playing along (or vice versa).

Figure 11.3 below——

Top: La Nada or La Niña: happy fisher-people off the coast of Peru (nutrient upwelling)

Bottom: El Niño: sad fisher-people off the coast of Peru

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September 22, 2020

by admin

Movement of matter-critical items to know

Carbon:

CO2 + H2O -> H2CO3 -> H+ + HCO3 -

Carbon dioxide is absorbed by water, making it acidic

Why important?

Ocean acidification

Nitrogen:

NPK fertilizers

NH4NO3 common one

Why important?

Nitrogen is basis for growth

Petrochemical fertilizers

ANFO bombs (Beirut)

Phosphorus:

Solid phase only

Bones, teeth

Algal Bloom

Why important?

growth limiting factor

Sulfur:

Hydrothermal vents

Acid rain

Why important?

methionine

Chemosynthesis

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September 17, 2020

by admin

Poisoned Waters video-PBS

Poisoned Waters-Frontline Video

Video is here:

http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/poisoned_waters/POISONED_WATERS.mp4

High quality version is here:

http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/poisoned_waters/poisoned_waters.m4v

You may find it helpful to download this into your own computer: hold the option key while clicking on the link.

Context:

Water Pollution-air pollution-climate change

Watersheds, transit time

water pollution:continuity, local until ocean,

Segments:

Segment 1: Chesapeake bay:

Chesapeake watershed

EPA CWA 1970

Perdue/hog Ag farms, Eutrophication

Segment 2: Potomac River:

Endocrine disrupters-drinking water

Segment 3: Puget Sound:

Bioaccumulation-PCB Killer Whales

Boeing-PCBs from runways

Runoff-water transit time King County

Segment 4: FairFax County, VA:

Tyson’s corner-transit time, sediment runoff

Loudon county-traffic planning

Arlington-urban planning

Questions:

Chesapeake Bay

why is it useful to get the historical view of the craggy old fishermen?
how are the fish an indicator species?
how large is the Chesapeake watershed?
why is this bay uniquely vulnerable?
what causes dead zones in the film?
what is the global trend in dead zones? where?
what three basic functions of the bay will likely be lost to your generation?
what was different 40 years ago?
what was the cause and effect process of Earth Day and the EPA?
Did Nixon back the clean water act? Explain.
What were the key tenets of the CWA?
What were the initial actions of the EPA?
RFK jr. says he could not swim in the Hudson, Charles or Potomac. Where are these?
Why did you have to take a shower if you fell into these rivers?
What was the Potomac point source pollution source described in the film?
What is BNR and how does it work?
What is not removed from human wastewater with BNR that concerns us?
How did Reagan’s policies impact the EPA and pollution regulation?
What is “voluntary compliance” and did it work? explain.

Factory farms

what is the biggest danger with concentrated animal farms (poultry, pigs, cows)?
Look up why we have different names for the same animals: cow/beef,chicken/poultry, pig/pork
Why is it advantageous for Perdue to subcontract chicken operations?
what is vertical integration?
what was the national response to cheap chicken?
if you were to put chicken manure on your garden, you could burn your plants. why?
On the way downhill to the coast, there is an egg factory that went out of business, who now sells “manure compost”. Where did this come from, and how is it a good deal for them?
Why does not Perdue own the chicken waste, if they own the chickens? How does the Perdue guy dodge the problem?
what is the difference between city waste and ag waste?
What does the chicken guy say about deer?
What did the chicken lobby in Maryland (eastern shore) do about pollution regulation? why?
How is this similar to the Iowa corn ethanol lobby?
RFK Jr. describes two things: externalized costs and subsidies. What does he mean by these?

Endocrine disrupters

why are not endocrine disrupters part of the clean water act?
what is intersex in the male bass? what causes this?
how does the concept of river continuity impact endocrine disrupters?
do they need to be very concentrated to be effective?
a person flushes birth control pills (hormones) down the drain. How can this impact someone living many miles downstream?
why are these hormones not filtered by water treatment plants?
What is “synergism”? Why is it critical here?

Puget Sound

How cold is the water in Puget Sound? Why is this relevant?
why do the apex predators have the highest concentration of PCB?
what is a sentinel species? why is this relevant?
which population of humans is now showing similar health effects?
what is Superfund, who funds it?
what is the biggest liability problem with the Boeing situation?
what is the concept of “deep pockets”?
why would native Americans be the indicator species in the duomish river?
is south park (not the tv show) upper income or lower, immigrant or not? Why is this important?
You will be expected to know all about Love Canal. How is this similar?
what do you think is coming out of the pipe underwater?
why are “impervious surfaces” so bad for the Puget Sound?
why do folks get upset about oil spills and not the stuff you see in the video?
what is the difference in transit time for rain water hitting concrete vs. soil?
Ron Sims has enemies in King county. Who?
How is the Growth Management Act/Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) similar to the Urban Growth Boundaries (UGB) concept in Portland Oregon (recall the Portland e2 video)
Look up the CAO now. How is it going?
Who is King County named for? Why is this ironic?

Fairfax

Look up Tyson’s corner. What did it look like in 1945?
Would Tyson’s corner have been successful without cars?
How is Tyson’s corner like Los Angeles?
How is Arlington different from Tyson’s corner?
In a sense, US cities are learning to become more like older European cities. Why are they different?
what is the “canary in the coal mine” and where did this term come from?
According to the narrator and Governor of Washington, what is a necessary part of the solution?
What is your part in this future?

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September 21, 2020

by admin

Ch. 3 Modules 6,7,8: movement of energy and matter

Module 6: Movement of energy

Biosphere-all life

Producer (also primary producer) gets energy from sun or heat directly, also known as autotroph

example: grass

Photosynthesis: CO2 + water + energy (heat or light) -> sugars (CHO)

Reverse process is respiration: Sugars + O2 -> energy + CO2 + water

Screen Shot 2019-09-23 at 4.09.27 PM.png

Anaerobic respiration (e.g. bacteria) don't use O2, less efficient, older primitive source of energy (pre-oxygen)

Consumer (heterotroph) consumes other primary autotrophs

Primary consumers eat plants (e.g. herbivores)

Secondary consumers eat them (carnivores)

Tertiary consumers eat other carnivores (algae->zooplankton->fish->eagles)

Trophe = "nourishment"

Trophic levels = food levels, see also food web

Scavenger-eats dead stuff

Detritovore-eats dead stuff that is decaying

Decomposers-break down into basic elements

GPP gross primary productivity= Total amount of solar energy into the system: like gross income in a business

e.g. all of the money coming into your business

NPP net primary productivity = GPP minus respiration (think of Maui onions):

gross income-expenses=net income

Biomass-total mass of all living things in an ecosystem-odd fact: rain forest soil is the lowest in nutrients and biomass-why?

Standing crop-total plant biomass (e.g. forest)

Efficiency is low (around 10%)

Trophic pyramid: 10x reduction in energy for each level (why?)-vegetarians vs. meat eaters

So, carnivores (us, wolves) are eating harvesting devices (cows) for autotrophs (grasses):

Screen Shot 2019-09-23 at 4.13.46 PM.png

Not very efficient, unless you can't digest grass, or it takes too much energy to walk around all day. This IS, however a good argument for global sustainable survival, as the sun will not go away soon, and as long as we have arable (farmable) land to grow plants, we could survive with a global population of 8-10 billion.

But we'd need access to fresh water...

Recall: energy->water->food->culture

Click for full-size image

Module 7: Movement of Matter

Biogeochemical cycles: bio=life geo = minerals chemical = chemical cycle = something that rotates

Hydrologic cycle: Heat provides energy for evaporation, plants secrete water as transpiration, condensation is collection of water vapor to drops, precipitationis the falling of these drops as rain, snow, hail etc.

ETO evapotranspiration: amount of water moving through an ecosystem, usually plants.

Farmers need to know EtO to know how much water to supply to their crops.

Eto depends on sunlight, humidity, wind and temperature (think of how these impact transpiration)

Click for full-size image

Runoff-just like it sounds

You will need to know about "transit time" which is the time it takes rain to reach a water body after hitting the ground

Why is this crucial?

(you will see this mentioned in the Poisoned Waters video this weekend)

Carbon cycle: photosynthesis, respiration, exchange, sedimentation, burial, extraction, combustion

air<->water<->land

photosynthesis-CO2 to sugar (air to plant structures or fruits-e.g. corn)

respiration-sugar to CO2

exchange-HCO3 (carbonic acid) e.g. seawater changing pH, remember?

sedimentation-CaCO3 (seashells, limestone) most efficient long term carbon sink (solids are dense)

burial-just like it sounds, oil, coal, nat gas

extraction-mining fossil fuels

combustion-burning fossil fuels with oxygen to release CO2

Click for full-size image

Nitrogen cycle:

6 macronutrients needed by plants: N,P,K, Ca, Mg, S (sulfur becomes part of Methionine, an amino acid)

NPK from fertilizers

N is a limiting nutrient

N fixation is when you can't get Nitrogen off your mind

quiz

Define N, P, K and how each impacts plants
Define evapotranspiration, condensation and precipitation
Which biogeochemical cycle only has a solid phase in the environment?
What element replaces oxygen in chemosynthesis?

It also means bringing N2 gas from the atmosphere into the biome, biotically or abiotically (without life)

abiotic: lightning or burning fossil fuels (high temps) direct to nitrate (NO3) (that interesting smell after rainstorms)

biotic: nitrogen fixing bacteria: N2 ->NO2 ->NO3 ->NH3 ->NH4 ion (used by producers, it is aqueous)

commercial N fixation: petrochemicals to form fertilizers (NH3, anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate NH4NO3, which is used in ANFO bombs)

nitrification: NH4+ ->NO2- ->NO3-

nitrite kills bacteria (used in preserving meats), but nitrate is a good plant fertilizer (ANFO bombs)

assimilation: producing amino acids and then proteins (chains of AA)

Dead stuff: mineralization or ammonification (dead fish smell: NH4+ and amines)

Vitamins = "vital amines"

denitrification: NO3- goes to N2O to N2 gas (anaerobic bacteria, swamps)

Leaching: washing N out of soil

Click for full-size image

Phosphorus cycle:

Mainly rocks, between land and water

ONLY SOLIDS, NO LIQUID OR GAS PHASE

biotic: animals uptake PO4--- (see also phosphoric acid H3PO4), turn it into bones, teeth as CaPO4, then back to soil

abiotic: phosphate sediments in ocean-> become rocks, erosion on land dissolves into watershed

Humans: phosphate detergents, fertilizers (Dead zones)

Algal bloom: PO4 -> lots of algae on surface (light) -> these die, fall to the bottom, and as they decompose, they take all O2 from the water (hypoxia)

Arsenic in bananas---why we cannot use greywater for irrigation

Click for full-size image

Ca, Mg and K: dust (Kauai dependent on Gobi desert dust for K)

Sulfur cycle:

rocks -> SO4, can become part of methionine

See also SO2 (vog, acid rain, pollution)

Click for full-size image

Here's something interesting:

Find Sulfur below:

Click for full-size image

Ok, now find Oxygen.

Hydrothermal vents use sulfur instead of oxygen for a thermal (heat) version of photosynthesis called chemosynthesis

Module 8: Response to disturbances

Recall negative feedback (stable ships, relationships): greater the disturbance, the greater the restoring force (pendulums too)

Resistance is how hard it is to move the pendulum (ecosystem) away from center
Resilience is how fast the pendulum (ecosystem) returns to normal

Biodiversity and disturbances:

This is strange stuff:

Rare disturbances = competition, so only a few species dominate

Common disturbances = only fast reproducers survive, so low biodiversity

Intermediate disturbances = highest biodiversity

Watershed: drainage basin usually leading to a large body of water (Chesapeake watershed is huge):

https://www.cbf.org/about-the-bay/chesapeake-bay-watershed-geography-and-facts.html

Click for full-size image

How do you think this impacts the water quality, phosphates, nitrates and silt in the Chesapeake bay?

Why are we not allowed above the fences behind Pu'u La'e La'e?

On Oahu, the watershed is guarded by a barbed wire fence-why?

How are the Himalayas acting as a watershed?

Poisoned waters:

Video:

http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/poisoned_waters/POISONED_WATERS.mp4

http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/poisoned_waters/poisoned_waters.m4v

Weblog page:

http://physics.hpa.edu/groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/973c4/Poisoned_Waters_videoPBS.html

On campus try these:

http://physics.local/physics/apenvsci/videos/poisoned_waters/POISONED_WATERS.mp4

http://physics.local/physics/apenvsci/videos/poisoned_waters/poisoned_waters.m4v

http://physics.local/groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/973c4/Poisoned_Waters_videoPBS.html

quiz

why is the soil on Kauai so poor, and how does it get its Potassium?
how does the size of the Cheseapeake watershed impact eutrophication in the Chesapeake bay?
what is the difference between resistance and resilience in natural systems?
why do rotting fish smell so bad?

Summary notes:

Systems

systems are usually connected, exchange matter and/or energy
main energy source is our sun, or past suns (e.g. uranium)
feedback loops (again)
spheres: litho=stone, bio=living, hydro=water, atmo=above
geosphere: crust-mantle-core-inner core (spins, no way!)
plates-who thought this up? need to understand convection
where are oldest parts of crust? trick question
subduction zones, mid atlantic ridges (atlantis?)
eq: deep near subduction zones, shallow in transform faults
mid atlantic ridge: how do we know this? submarines
himalayas-how? matterhorn-what?
water cycle: evaporation and transpiration (eTO)
precipitation-condensation is first (condensation nuclei, e.g. vog)
aquifers-underground lakes, low turnover rate (pesticides) Oglalla
water can be ground water: aquifer, water table, water lens or surface water

Cycles

conservation of matter (neglect E=mc2)
nutrient cycles: carbon, oxygen, phosphorus, nitrogen COPN
primary producers-photosynthesis: CO2, water and light/heat
create sugar as stored food, structural element
consumers-eat primary producers, decomposers break down waste/detritus
cellular respiration (flowers in hospitals) at night
carbon also in HCO3- ion (seawater) and CaCO3 (seashells, limestone)
greenhouse effect from CO2 captured as plants->oil/coal "carbon bank"
phosphorus: rocks and water (stone and sea), erosion, very limited supply in biosphere (Waterloo bones)
P only absorbed in aqueous form (aq)
too much = eutrophication (also nitrogen) see dead zones
eutrophication: too much of a good thing, when algae dies, decomposes, creates hypoxic zones
aerobic vs. anaerobic bacteria-wounds
nitrogen cycle-NPK
N2 to life: lightning and bacteria (N2 to ammonia NH3 then to NO2 and NO3 (plants absorb NO3)
denitrifying bacteria change NO2 back to N2 (gas)
Haber process
See figure 3.30-nitrogen uptake
golf courses-Mauna Kea, iBoat

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September 14, 2020

by admin

e2 video: energy for a developing world

e2: energy for a developing world

http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/e2_videos/e2%20energy/2%20energy%20for%20a%20developing%20world.mp4

If you have difficulty viewing the video, please hold option while clicking on the link. This will download the video to your computer

Morgan Freeman or Brad Pitt?
This series approaches environmental issues as an economic opportunity-how?
Look up Muhammad Yunus in wikipedia-what did he do?
Jeffrey Sachs says Bangladesh is called a basket case-why?
What is his solution for poverty?
What does Yunus say about poverty? Who created it?
How is microcredit different from normal loans?
Who did Grameen bank impact first?
Why is energy the key to resolving poverty?
Jeffrey Sachs uses the term “sine qua non”. What does this mean in this sense?
What other things are needed in his vision?
If you were a 17 year old woman growing up in Bangladesh, how would Grameen Shakti change your life?
How would replacing kerosene lamps improve the health of women in Bangladesh?
What does solar lighting also free the women for? How would this change their literacy, reproductive rights and children?
What is the impact of religion on population control, economic equality and education?
If you were your age and gender in Bangladesh, how would your life be different?
What are the three things a woman in the video buy once she has any money?
As women become technicians for Grameen Shakti, they are able to do something men cannot do-explain.
When Grameen Shakti started, a 20 Watt panel (like the one in the video) cost $200. It now costs 10$. What could happen now?
What is the beautiful aspect of the biogas plant in the video?
The woman mentions she does not have to clean the pots-why does this impact her time more than just the washing?
Tie this together with other woman cooking food, how does it enable them to have more time? What do they not have to do?
What is environmental degradation, and environmental mining or predation?
Bangladesh has a population of 161 million, about half of the US, in something the size of Michigan, all about 1 meter or less above sea level. What will happen to these people as global warming increases, and what would you do to solve this?
“If you do not imagine, you cannot create” If you had a gazillion (lots) dollars, and could create a solution with global impact, what would it be?

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September 15, 2020

by admin

Week two: energy, matter and systems

Folks,

Here is the link to chapter 2 in the text:

http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/texts/fr_3e/fr3e-ch2.pdf

or:

http://physics.kamuela.org/physics/apenvsci/texts/fr_3e/fr3e-ch2.pdf

Review:

Chapter one was on overview of what Environmental Science is all about, what your greatest challenges will be in this century (good luck), and some bits about the scientific method (and how to find witches).

The iBook coveres these as well, but in a more interactive overview.

Chapter two is all about systems, matter and energy, the subject of other courses as well: physics is all about energy and matter, chemistry is about matter, energy and reactions, and biology includes feedback loops and systems, as well as lots of gooey living stuff.

For this chapter, cause and effect will be your guide-keep these in mind.

Reading: Chapter 2 in FR text, modules 4 and 5. Module 4 is huge, so don't give up.

Module 4: Systems and matter----------

matter=takes up space and has mass (better definition: anything that has density since d = m/v)

mass=amount of matter (n.b. NOT weight, you can be weightless in orbit, but you still have mass-watch the film Gravity...)

atom: a=not, tom=cut (look up tomogram, CAT scan, or go to subway)

atom=smallest particle (known then) that cannot be cut further (we now know there are protons, neutrons, electrons, and quarks, even smaller things than these are predicted, look up string theory)

Element: recall all of your previous science courses-this is a collection of atoms that share the same identity, usually noted on the periodic table by their number of protons, NOT neutrons (e.g. isotopes) or electrons (e.g. ions)

Look at carbon 12, 13 and 14-look at the notation for each (isotopes=iso, same tope, type)

Look at sodium atom and sodium ion, note the notation for each

Why do they have certain charges? Who does every element "want" to be? Why?

Diverge here into orbitals if you like; s,p,d,f (sharp, principal, diffuse and fundamental spectral lines)

https://ptable.com/?lang=en#Properties

Click for full-size image

Molecules: more than one atom (H2)

Compound: more than one element (NaCl)

Questions:

If density = mass/volume, why is this a good definition of matter?
Hydrogen can be an atom, while Hydrogen gas is a molecule. Explain
What is the difference between atomic number and atomic mass?
Carbon 14/12 is an isotope of Carbon 12/12. Explain

Radioactivity: unstable nucleus (usually more neutrons than protons), releases particles (often neutrons, but includes electrons as beta rays, or energy as gamma rays)

Largest and slowest radiation is alpha rays: slow Helium nuclei (2 protons, 2 neutrons, no electrons, so they are + charged)

Radiation summary: (n.b. you may see these referred to "rays" or "particles", they are the same)

alpha rays: Helium nuclei, slow, charged, stopped by your skin or paper

beta rays: fast electrons (137,000 mph), charged, stopped by foil

gamma rays: fast photons with very high energy, penetrates almost everything, stopped by lead

neutrons: can be fast (bad) or slow (thermal, useful in creating steam in nuclear power plants), goes through everything but 2 meters of concrete or lots of lead shielding

Radon gas

Biggest danger to you if you live near granite or other similar rocks (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington):

Alpha emitter, so not dangerous alone, but if breathed in, it emits alpha particles deep in your lungs, causing cancer (lung cancer and leukemia).

Second main cause of lung cancer in the US.

Much denser than air (226 grams per mole, vs. about 42 for room air) so found in basements or lower parts.

Ventilation is the solution, or not living in lower areas of a house.

Most states where this is found have laws requiring a ventilation fan system (ask someone from Alaska)

Half life: not just a boring Saturday night

Time it takes for half of whatever to decay, depends on amount left, like water leaking from a large water tank

If you are into math, this is known as a differential equation, meaning the rate is dependent on the amount left. We'll see more of this in population curves, but any time a rate is dependent on how many there are, you'll see the half life rear it's head.

Lab: M&Ms®

pour at least 40 M&Ms® into a jar, close the lid and mix
pour the M&Ms® out onto a plate, and count the total number
remove any M&Ms® that have the logo face up
count again
repeat #1 above
graph your results, with the X-axis as number of tests and Y-axis as number left after each removal
what does the X-axis represent?
what does the Y-axis represent?

Some math you will need to know:

A half life is the time it takes for half of something to go away.

In radioactivity, we use the formula: amount left = starting amount x (1/2)^n. where n is the number of half lives:

Sample problem:

Starting with 128 grams of unobtainium, which has a half life of 10 minutes, how much will be left after:

10 minutes

20 minutes

60 minutes

15 minutes (tough one, make sure you know how to use your calculator in real mode, not "hello Kitty" mode

You can also write the formula as: amount left = starting amount/2^n

Questions:

What is similar and/or different between U 234/92 and U 238/92?
How many protons, neutrons and electrons in each?
Would you expect this to be radioactive?
A news announcer says:”Iodine 131 has a half life of 8 days, so it will all be gone in just 16 days”. What is wrong with this?

Bonds: (not the money kind)

Covalent: weak, think of plastic, butter or things that can melt. Electron is shared between both atoms (e.g. pilot-copilot)

examples: any twin (H2)

Ionic: strong, electron moves from one atom to another (NaCl is a good example), hard to melt, usually dissolves in water

Polar molecule: has one end more + than the other (like water, which is polar covalent-confusing!)

Surface tension: cohesion (holding hands)-think of water bugs, and the soap example

Soap makes water "wetter" by reducing surface tension between water molecules

It also has an ionic (water loving, hydrophilic) side and a covalent (water hating, hydrophobic) side, so it can carry away oils

Capillary action: cohesion and adhesion (think of adhesive)

Key to most plants...

Colligative properties (collected properties): bp (boiling point), fp (freezing point), mp (melting point, often the same as fp)

Can be influenced by other substances, e.g. antifreeze, which is ethylene glycol, an alcohol. You could use any alcohol in your car to raise the boiling point, but ethylene glycol is less flammable (yet toxic to animals) than ethanol

n.b. anything that ends in -ol is an alcohol: methanol, ethanol, butanol, propanol, etc.

You could also use salt, which is hard on the guts of car engines, but is great for melting ice on roads, or making ice cream (freezing point depression)

Water is weird stuff: as it boils, it gets less dense (e.g. steam) AND when it freezes, it gets less dense (e.g. ice)

Why is this critical for lakes in the winter?

It is also a "universal solvent" since it has pH of 7, dissolves ionics and is polar covalent. Nice to drink as well.

Fancy-pants word for this: amphoteric (both acid and base)

Acid: more Hydrogen ions free (H+)

Base: fewer Hydrogen ions free (more OH-)

Water: amphoteric (both sides): balanced H+ and OH-

Water is H-O-H or H-OH, so has a balance

Questions:

what is the connection between water striders, tall trees, premature babies and vaping?
what is the connection between wifi, microwave ovens and dry toast?

On alcohol being used as food for alcoholics:

Ethanol is metabolized in the body into ethanoic acid also known as acetic acid. You bio folks may recognize this as one of the inputs in the TCA (citric acid or Krebs) cycle. Once a human body "learns" how to live off of ethanol (e.g. alcoholics), many of their calories come from this source. One theory uses this as a possible explanation for certain genetic predispositions towards alcohol dependence.

This is what the chemistry looks like:

C-C-OH ---> C-C-O-O-H ---->C-C-H-O

ethanol --> ethanoic acid --> ethanal

The other name for ethanal is acetaldehyde, which is the strange smell you detect coming off the breath and skin of alcohol drinkers.

Methanol takes a far more toxic path:

C-OH --->C-OOH ----> C-HO

methanol --->methanoic (formic) acid ---> formaldehyde

You might recognize the second one as the sting from fire ants, and the third as something they embalm dead bodies in...

--------back to pH------

pH: n.b. the notation, this means "potency of H+ ions" (don't misspell it)

Quick dive into pH:

pH of perfect acid is 0, which has a pOH of 14

water has pH of 7 and pOH of 7

pH of perfect base is 14, pOH is 0

so...

pH is LOWER the stronger the acid

n.b. the pH and pOH always add to 14:

water is pH 7 and pOH 7

some acid might be pH 2 and pOH 12

some base might be pH 12 and pOH 2

Here's why:

pH is the -log10 of the [H+], so larger numbers are actually closer to zero

log10 of 1EE-14 is -14

log10 of 1EE-1 is -1

See? The negative sign in the formula makes these into positive numbers, so:

pH of acid is 1, pH of base is 14

As if that was not enough for one module...

Chemical reactions: usually involve movement of energy (light, heat), no mass is created or destroyed (conservation of matter)

melting and boiling don't count, sorry

Organic stuff (this could be an entire separate chapter-ask Ms. Anton!)

Organic=contains carbon, the base for life on our planet usually C-H or C-C bonds.

Look on the periodic table below Carbon, we could be Silicon, but we'd have to be lava creatures since the energy needed for chemical reactions would be higher.

n.b. some thermal creatures use thermosynthesis instead of photosynthesis, using sulfur instead of oxygen (look again at the periodic table)

Inorganic=either no carbon, or bound carbon (C02, like in carbon dioxide)

Proteins, fats and carbohydrates: all contain C-H-O in some combination, only proteins have N as well...

Dive deep if you dare:

CHO=carbohydrates (clever name), usually in a chain, short chains are sugars (used for fuel), longer ones are starches and can be used for structures (e.g. cellulose in plants) or pasta...

smallest: sugars, all end in -ose (glucose, sucrose) LOOK THESE UP, CHECK OUT THEIR MOLECULE SHAPE

glucose is a "monosaccharide" created by photosynthesis (next chapter)

longer chains: starches (rice, pasta) slowly digested (see diabetics, and glycemic index)

structural CHO: cellulose-little boxes with goo inside, need enzymes to break these down (cows)

ENZYMES ALL END IN -ASE

Fats/lipids: same chemical structure as CHO, but built along a glycol (alcohol) backbone.

If the fats have long carbon chains with only single bonds, they are saturated (lots of Hydrogen atoms) and can hold together (e.g. animal fat)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturated_fat

If the long chains have double bonds and don't fit together, they melt easier (e.g. oils) and are called "unsaturated", usually better for your health.

n.b. McDonalds® got into real hot water a while ago for frying all of their stuff in "supersaturated fats". Ugh...

Proteins: complex molecules of CHO and N. Look up amino acids, note the common structure.

Now look up the amino acid methionine. What element does it contain as well? Why do rotten eggs, swamps (and Kilauea volcano) stink?

Nucleic acids: DNA and RNA (another whole chapter)

Questions:

What is the difference between carbohydrates, fats and proteins?
How much more acidic is something with a pH 4 than one of pH 5?
An element has a half-life of 30 days. If the original sample is 100 grams, how many grams will remain after 45 days?
Which is more acidic: NaOH or HCl? Why?

CALCULATOR PRIMER-------------

This is what an iPhone calculator looks like:

Click for full-size image

How to do half lives:

Let's say you are given 64 grams of something with a half life of 7 days. This means every 7 days, half of what you started with goes away.

If they ask you how much is left after 21 days, you first divide 21 by 7 to get "n" the number of half lives: 3

Then you set up your calculator like this:

Amount = Starting amount (0.5)^n

Best way is to do this from right to left (backwards)

so,

Enter 0.5

hit the xY key (just below m+)

enter n (3 in this case)

press equals

multiply all of this by your starting amount (64)

you should get 16 grams left

Try this with 128 grams and a half life of 6 days, after 42 days

You should get 18/6 = 3 = n

0.5 xy 7 = 0.125

128 x 0.125 = 16 grams

How to do pH calculations:

pH is a number between 0 (acid) and 14 (base)

pH is defined as -log10 [H+]

What this usually means is just the exponent of the [H+] concentration

so,

[H+} of 1 ee -4 has a pH of 4

[H+} of 1 ee -6 has a pH of 6

[H+} of 1 ee -4 has a pOH of 10

why?

pOH is just 14 - pH, so pH + pOH always = 14

On your calculator, calculate the pH of something with a hydrogen concentration of 1 ee-3

enter 1

press ee key (to the left of 1 on the calculator)

press 3

press the +/- key (above 8 on the calculator)

press log10 (left of 4 on the calculator)

change the sign from minus to plus

you should get the answer: 4

this also works for complicated numbers like [H+] = 4 ee -3: pH = 2.39

Module 5 (FINALLY!)

Energy is the ability to do work (heard that before?)

Units are joules ("jowles in England), and a few others (calories, Calories, BTU, kWh)

Power is how fast you can do the work (climbing stairs or running up stairs), so Power = work/time

Units are Watts (joules per second or j/s) among others

energy->Joules (work~amount of water)

power->Watts (how fast the work is done~flow)

KE/PE: Kinetic and potential energy

PE: chemical bonds, height, spring

KE: motion, freewheel, flowing air/water

temp: KE=1/2mv^2 (macro level)

molecular level:

KE=3/2kT, so T prop to v^2 of molecules

EMR: shorter wavelengths more energy e.g. UV, X-rays

Light is one form of EMR or electromagnetic radiation (needs no medium, so we get light from the sun through the vacuum of space)

What you need to know: EMR has higher energy with higher frequency (e.g. ultraviolet light damages DNA, infrared heat can only burn)

See visible spectrum:

Screen Shot 2018-08-25 at 9.50.49 AM.png

Energy can be potential (ability to do work) like altitude or chemical bonds or kinetic (see Kinesias in Lysistrata), the energy of motion or heat (molecules in motion, KE = 3/2kT)

Temperature is not heat, but the average speed of the molecules...

Temp in the upper atmosphere is 900°C but you'd freeze there, as there is no atmosphere to conduct the heat to you.

Interesting fact: Concorde passengers could not touch the windows, not because they were too cold from the altitude, but too hot from the air friction of the plane going 2x the speed of sound.

Thermodynamics (heat in motion)

Laws: Physics version

1. you can't win (no such thing as more than 100% efficiency)

2. you can't break even (not even 100% is possible, there is always a "heat tax" on every reaction)

3. you can't get out of the game (all reactions tend towards disorder, the "heat death" of the universe, or ∆S>0 for the universe)

Chemical version:

energy cannot be created or destroyed
energy can move, but always at a cost (entropy, disorder increases, ∆S>0 universe)

Efficiency is the amount you get out of any energy reaction, divided by the amount that went in, always less than 100%

efficiency; never 100%, 30-60% common

Human 35% eff, diesel engine 60%

Energy "quality" is the degree of organization of the energy (sugar molecules vs. heat coming from your body, or well organized gasoline "octane" molecules breaking into heat, CO2 and H2O)

Entropy: degree of disorder in any system, all reactions tend towards more disorder (e.g. your closet or bedroom-tell this to your parents)

energy quality-entropy, disorder, e.g. closet ∆S>0, takes energy input to reduce S (entropy)

System dynamics----- (had enough yet?)

Open system: stuff comes in, goes out, e.g. energy

Closed system: everything stays in e.g. mass

Steady state: balance of inputs and outputs (money example)

Feedback: think of the howling speakers at assembly: microphone picks up the speaker, gets louder, goes on and on: positive feedback

Positive feedback: response makes the situation stronger/unstable: capsizing ships, childbirth, bleeding to death, climate change, melting permafrost, albedo decrease in the arctic...

Negative feedback: response makes the situation more stable, tends towards recovery: stable ships at sea, sweating, good relationships

Questions:

Explain the difference between energy and power
UV radiation will cause sunburns but infrared will not. Why?
What are the 3 laws of thermodynamics?
Give an example of positive and negative feedback

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August 28, 2020

by admin

Week of 8.24.20

Notes for week one

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August 20, 2020

by admin

First zoom class stuff

Please read below for first entry, as these weblogs automatically update with newest entry on the TOP.

Zoom meetings:

C period Thursday: https://zoom.us/j/6578250533?pwd=a3daM1lOVHRqQTlidnpOUm9meWkzUT09

E period Friday: https://zoom.us/j/6578250533?pwd=a3daM1lOVHRqQTlidnpOUm9meWkzUT09

Things we need to cover:

look around-who is here with us?
what made you curious about APES?
what science background do you bring?
what sort of laptop/device do you use?
what about our textbook?
myHPA and the physics server-how they fit together (see below)
where do we meet for class next week?
class notes-always on physics.hpa.edu
class iPads-next week
labs: virtual and physical
videos, homework, quizzes, other grade stuff-see the syllabus on myHPA

Please read the syllabus on myHPA for more detail on late work and other fascinating stuff.

I'd like to try using breakout rooms to get a finer picture of what you hope to discover this year:

alpha questions: breakout room trios if possible, 10 minutes

what would you like to learn or experience this year?
which of these is most interesting or matters most to you:

energy
climate change
conservation
resource issues
population issues
pollution
habitat/biodiversity/endangered species
water and air quality
lesser developed countries: health, poverty, economy...
social action

We'll continue with a fun exercise that you'll find from your friends that ALL science classes are doing the first few days: CER, which stands for claim-evidence-reasoning.

Here are the links:

claim-evidence-reasoning CER

monty python witch scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2xlQaimsGg

Local version: minute 17 is the witch scene:

http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/Monty.Python.and.the.Holy.Grail.1975.mp4

what is their claim?
what is their evidence?
what is their reasoning?
what happens next?
what's wrong with this picture?

My dad is a space alien: use with the worksheet below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQTsue0lKBk

Prom:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky7ic1Ro9yw

worksheet: homework, bring yours in with you to class next week

http://hgms.psd202.org/documents/scolsant/1535034077.pdf

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August 19, 2020

by admin

APES 2020 begins!

Team,

This is our first weblog entry, including a link to the first chapter of one of our resource texts (see link below).

You can download this in several ways:

Is an attached file. If you click on the little arrow, it should download to your device.

The little eye icon is a preview, letting you look at the file without downloading it.

If you are using an iPad or iPhone, you might want to enable "save to iBooks" so you can read it using that reader.

You could also add it to Goodreader if you are using that program on the iPad/iPhone.

Here is a link to the same file:

http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/_pdf/_parts/FR-3e-ch1.pdf

If you are challenged for a password, the username and password will be shared in class.

You can hold option and click on the link to download it to your computer, or just read it "live" online, your choice.

This server is available on campus or off campus as http://physics.hpa.edu, also as http://physics.kamuela.org, if the HPA network is down.

You'll find many more resources for our class here:

http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/

Check it out!

aloha

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April 23, 2020

by admin

AP exam 2014

Download file "ap14_frq_environmental_science.pdf"

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April 16, 2020

by admin

AP exam 2015

Free Response questions, 2015 exam:

Download file "ap15_frq_environmental_science.pdf"

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April 13, 2020

by admin

Review modules

Download file "APES Review Packet_ Earth.pdf"

Download file "Wiki Module_ Renewable Energy.pdf"

Download file "ATMOSPHERE AP REVIEW - Georgia and Gabby .pdf"

Download file "APES_ Ecosystems Review.pdf"

Download file "Population Dynamics Study Guide.pdf"

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April 11, 2020

by admin

2016 FR practice

Team,

These are from the 2016 AP exam:

Download file "ap16_frq_environmental_science.pdf"

We'll review during our call Tuesday

aloha

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/groups/apenvironmentalscience/search/index.rss?tag=hotlist/groups/apenvironmentalscience/search/?tag=hotWhat’s HotHotListHot!?tag=hot6/groups/apenvironmentalscience/sidebar/HotListadminadmin2020-08-19 15:43:59+00:002020-08-19 15:43:59updated30adminadmin2011-09-08 21:36:21+00:002011-09-08 21:36:21updated29adminadmin2011-08-24 23:20:40+00:002011-08-24 23:20:40updated28adminadmin2011-08-24 22:42:36+00:002011-08-24 22:42:36updated27adminadmin2011-08-22 02:41:09+00:002011-08-22 02:41:09updated26adminadmin2011-08-22 02:40:02+00:002011-08-22 02:40:02updated25adminadmin2011-08-21 20:39:11+00:002011-08-21 20:39:11updated24adminadmin2011-08-21 20:30:42+00:002011-08-21 20:30:42updated23adminadmin2011-08-21 20:30:13+00:002011-08-21 20:30:13updated22adminadmin2011-08-21 20:25:48+00:002011-08-21 20:25:48updated21adminadmin2011-08-21 20:25:18+00:002011-08-21 20:25:18updated20adminadmin2011-08-21 00:22:12+00:002011-08-21 00:22:12updated19adminadmin2011-08-21 00:18:56+00:002011-08-21 00:18:56updated18adminadmin2011-08-21 00:15:43+00:002011-08-21 00:15:43updated17adminadmin2011-08-21 00:12:37+00:002011-08-21 00:12:37updated16adminadmin2011-08-21 00:12:02+00:002011-08-21 00:12:02updated15adminadmin2011-08-20 23:59:41+00:002011-08-20 23:59:41updated14Added tag - hotadminadmin2011-08-20 23:59:38+00:002011-08-20 23:59:38addTag13Added tag - conservationadminadmin2011-08-20 23:59:32+00:002011-08-20 23:59:32addTag12Added tag - critical thinkingadminadmin2011-08-20 23:59:19+00:002011-08-20 23:59:19addTag11Added tag - ch1adminadmin2011-08-20 23:59:08+00:002011-08-20 23:59:08addTag10Added tag - sustainabilityadminadmin2011-08-20 23:59:05+00:002011-08-20 23:59:05addTag9adminadmin2011-08-20 20:47:39+00:002011-08-20 20:47:39updated8adminadmin2011-08-20 20:46:15+00:002011-08-20 20:46:15updated7adminadmin2011-08-20 20:43:07+00:002011-08-20 20:43:07updated6adminadmin2011-08-20 19:14:13+00:002011-08-20 19:14:13updated5adminadmin2011-08-20 19:11:26+00:002011-08-20 19:11:26updated4adminadmin2011-08-20 18:59:57+00:002011-08-20 18:59:57updated3adminadmin2011-08-20 18:56:59+00:002011-08-20 18:56:59updated2First createdadminadmin2010-11-07 01:41:28+00:002010-11-07 01:41:28created1wiki2020-08-19T15:43:59+00:00groups/apenvironmentalscience/wiki/welcomeFalseCh01 Overview/groups/apenvironmentalscience/wiki/welcome/Ch01_Overview.htmladmin30 updatesCh01 Overview Welcome to our APES wiki. You should be able to do the following after logging in with your account: To create a new page, click the ...Falseadmin2020-08-19T15:43:59+00:00adminadmin2013-02-05 02:24:03+00:002013-02-05 02:24:03updated4Added tag - hotadminadmin2013-02-05 02:24:02+00:002013-02-05 02:24:02addTag3adminadmin2013-02-05 02:05:35+00:002013-02-05 02:05:35updated2First createdadminadmin2013-02-05 02:03:35+00:002013-02-05 02:03:35created1wiki2013-02-05T02:24:03+00:00groups/apenvironmentalscience/wiki/394a8FalseEnergy notes/groups/apenvironmentalscience/wiki/394a8/Energy_notes.htmladmin4 updatesEnergy notes Week of 2.4.13: energy wrap-up e2 video: coal vs. nuclear in class AP exams: FRQ 2002.1 2004.2 2006.1 2007.2 2008.1 ...Falseadmin2013-02-05T02:24:03+00:00adminadmin2013-02-05 02:23:20+00:002013-02-05 02:23:20updated6Added tag - hotadminadmin2013-02-05 02:23:18+00:002013-02-05 02:23:18addTag5adminadmin2013-02-05 02:23:12+00:002013-02-05 02:23:12updated4adminadmin2013-02-05 02:21:48+00:002013-02-05 02:21:48updated3adminadmin2013-02-05 02:20:26+00:002013-02-05 02:20:26updated2First createdadminadmin2013-02-05 02:06:00+00:002013-02-05 02:06:00created1wiki2013-02-05T02:23:20+00:00groups/apenvironmentalscience/wiki/c360bFalseFeb-May plan/groups/apenvironmentalscience/wiki/c360b/FebMay_plan.htmladmin6 updatesFeb-May plan 1. conclusion of energy chapters (see previous wiki) 2. GCC AP questions FRQ: 2006.2 2005.3 2005.4 2007.3 ...Falseadmin2013-02-05T02:23:20+00:00adminadmin2012-03-07 05:53:55+00:002012-03-07 05:53:55updated14adminadmin2012-03-07 05:43:38+00:002012-03-07 05:43:38updated13adminadmin2012-03-07 05:41:35+00:002012-03-07 05:41:35updated12adminadmin2012-03-07 05:38:57+00:002012-03-07 05:38:57updated11Added tag - hotadminadmin2012-03-07 05:38:55+00:002012-03-07 05:38:55addTag10adminadmin2012-03-07 05:36:47+00:002012-03-07 05:36:47updated9adminadmin2012-03-07 05:22:26+00:002012-03-07 05:22:26updated8adminadmin2012-03-07 05:20:01+00:002012-03-07 05:20:01updated7adminadmin2012-03-07 05:18:58+00:002012-03-07 05:18:58updated6adminadmin2012-03-07 04:58:55+00:002012-03-07 04:58:55updated5adminadmin2012-03-07 04:57:33+00:002012-03-07 04:57:33updated4adminadmin2012-03-07 04:56:53+00:002012-03-07 04:56:53updated3adminadmin2012-03-07 04:54:20+00:002012-03-07 04:54:20updated2First createdadminadmin2012-03-07 04:53:33+00:002012-03-07 04:53:33created1weblog2012-03-07T05:53:55+00:00groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/de030FalseGreen Apple/groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/de030/Green_Apple.htmladmin14 updatesGreen Apple Team, Please watch this video about NYC: Trailer: http://www.pbs.org/e2/episodes/101_the_green_apple_trailer.html On the server: http://physics.hpa...Falseadmin2012-03-07T05:53:55+00:00adminadmin2011-09-13 19:08:24+00:002011-09-13 19:08:24updated4Added tag - hotadminadmin2011-09-13 19:08:22+00:002011-09-13 19:08:22addTag3adminadmin2011-09-13 19:08:10+00:002011-09-13 19:08:10updated2First createdadminadmin2011-09-13 19:04:30+00:002011-09-13 19:04:30created1weblog2011-09-13T19:08:24+00:00groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/4ecddFalseQuestions for Wednesday, wiki adds/groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/4ecdd/Questions_for_Wednesday_wiki_adds.htmladmin4 updatesQuestions for Wednesday, wiki adds Team, I'd like to try something for class tomorrow: each of you to create a question from chapter 3, and email it to me by this evening (Tuesday). Pl...Falseadmin2011-09-13T19:08:24+00:00hot/groups/apenvironmentalscience/search/index.rss?sort=modifiedDate&kind=all&sortDirection=reverse&excludePages=wiki/welcomelist/groups/apenvironmentalscience/search/?sort=modifiedDate&kind=all&sortDirection=reverse&excludePages=wiki/welcomeRecent ChangesRecentChangesListUpdates?sort=modifiedDate&kind=all&sortDirection=reverse&excludePages=wiki/welcome0/groups/apenvironmentalscience/sidebar/RecentChangesListmodifiedDateallRecent ChangesRecentChangesListUpdateswiki/welcomeNo recent changes.reverse5searchlist/groups/apenvironmentalscience/calendar/Upcoming EventsUpcomingEventsListEvents1Getting events…

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Module 23-24: Human Populations

Modules 18-21 Population ecology

Biodiversity and Extinction, Ch 5, Mods 14-17

Module 13 Aquatic Biomes

Module 12: land biomes

Biome Game:

LAB: Gambling with biomes

Modules 9, 10, 11: Circulation

Movement of matter-critical items to know

Poisoned Waters video-PBS

Ch. 3 Modules 6,7,8: movement of energy and matter

e2 video: energy for a developing world

Week two: energy, matter and systems

How to do half lives:

How to do pH calculations:

Week of 8.24.20

Top questions answered:

Notes for week one

First zoom class stuff

APES 2020 begins!

AP exam 2014

AP exam 2015

Review modules

2016 FR practice

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