General Outline
Unit 1 serves as an introduction to environmental science. Much of the unit centers around outlining what exactly comprises the environment and outlining a few of the major ways organisms and the environment interact. Also covered are concepts regarding sustainability as well as the scientific method and basic chemistry and biology.
Environmental Science Concepts:
|
General Science Concepts:
|
Energy Concepts:
|
Bozeman AP Environmental Science Videos
|
|
Other Helpful Videos
|
|
|
Class Documents and Resources
Work, Power and Energy
Work
Work occurs when energy is transferred from one object to another. This occurs when force is applied to an object and the object moves in response to the force. When 20 Newtons of force push an object 5 meters, 100 joules of work are performed. Work is performed or accomplished. Joule = (Newtons of force)(Meters) |
Energy
Energy is the capacity to do work. You can think of energy as the "currency" of work; energy is "spent" and "received", but never lost, only transferred. In order to perform 100 joules of work, you must expend 100 joules of energy. Energy is expended or consumed. Joule = (watt)(second) Energy = (power)(time) |
Power
Power is the rate at which work is done or energy is consumed. For example, a 100 watt electrical device consumes 100 joules of energy (or performs 100 joules of work) each second. Power unites energy and work. Watt = joule/second Power = Energy/second |
Consider an example with a 60W lightbulb. Watts are a unit of power and describe the rate at which a device (the lightbulb) consumes energy or does work. The 60W light bulb uses 60 joules of energy per second. If the lightbulb is left on for one hour, it will use 60 joules per second for 3,600 seconds which works out to 216,000 joules. Rather than sell energy (in the form of electricity) as joules, we use a different unit of energy called the kilowatt hour (kWh). A kilowatt hour refers to the energy required to run a device (like the lightbulb) for one hour. If the 60W lightbulb was run for 1 hour, it would require 0.06 kWh of energy. This number was calculated by converting the lightbulb's 60W rating to kilowatts (1kW = 1000W, 60/1000 --> 0.06 kW) and then multiplying by the number of hours because energy = power (0.06 kW) multiplied by time (1 hour).