Learning Objectives
One of the biggest disconnects in the course is between the chemical nature of pollution and the actions that produce that pollution. For instance, students learn about natural resource extraction in one unit, fossil fuel formation and use in another, and fossil fuel-linked pollution in still another. Yet on the AP exam they may be asked a Free Response Question that requires an integrated understanding of all of that material. In this unit, a bridge between these topics is explored by examining coal mining, coal combustion, and the various types of pollution produced by both processes. Students pay special attention to mountaintop removal mining and its environmental impacts, particulate matter pollution and its impacts, acid rain, formation and its impacts, acid mine drainage, and mercury pollution. Students complete several hands-on activities to advance their knowledge, including demonstrating the impacts of coal mining on a model ecosystem, examining the effects of acid-mine drainage and acid-deposition on plant life, and measuring and categorizing particulate matter pollution. Finally, as part of their AP exam preparation, students are charged with writing, answering, and scoring an inter-related Free Response Question (FRQ) as their summative assessment for the unit. Although the emission of carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants is a significant source of climate change and a major environmental impact, students do not explore this topic this unit since the College Board considers that an entirely separate topic of the APES course.
In order to satisfy these learning objectives, I use two dimensions of the three-dimensional Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) framework. I employ several Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs): students obtain and evaluate information about the mining and combustion processes; they plan and conduct investigations to learn about the various pollutants associated with coal mining and combustion, and construct explanations and analyze and interpret data along the way. Finally, students argue from evidence and use mathematical thinking to write and score their own FRQ on the topic. In order to provide the proper context for their learning, students use the following Crosscutting Concepts in this unit: energy and matter, cause and effect, and scale, proportion, and quantity. I do not cover specific Disciplinary Core Ideas since those represent specific content – instead I cover the learning objectives set by the College Board.
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