FlinnPREP Inquiry Labs for AP® Environmental Science: Specific Heat and Climate

Product Details

In this inquiry lab, students carry out a controlled experiment to determine how specific heat affects the temperature of geological materials and influences climate. They also learn about the importance of the reflectivity or albedo of different surfaces on Earth, such as ice and water, or desert and forest. Students measure temperature versus time data for four materials—water, soil, black sand and white sand—and graph the results. When exposed to the same amount of light for the same amount of time, these four materials have very different final temperatures. Use the data collected during the experiment and the graphical analysis as a starting point for discussions about urban heat islands, thermal pollution and contemporary climate issues.

New blended learning options combine the benefits of classroom, laboratory and digital learning. The variety of topics and amount of time needed for each AP^® Environmental Science lab can leave students overwhelmed and wondering how the hands-on experience will help them achieve exam success. FlinnPREP™ Inquiry Labs for AP^® Environmental Science help teachers and students unpack the lab concepts, saving valuable class time. Online resources give students an overview of each lab with specific tips and techniques.

Students come to class prepared and can more easily make the connection with AP^® exam content through review, practice, and increased comprehension. Your students can watch, pause, rewind and re-watch pre-lab concept, technique and procedure videos tied directly to the advanced inquiry AP Environmental Science experiment. Each lab begins with an introductory video of the concept being covered. In addition, there are questions connecting the lab to the AP^® exam content along with reteach videos to facilitate a deeper understanding.

Each lab ends with a summary video that relates the experiment to the AP exam by showing students sample exam questions based on each specific experiment. Students can then practice on real exam questions because each lab includes a unique set of online problems that relates the experiment to the exam. And each problem has its own re-teach video students can watch if they get stuck.

Adaptable to you and how you teach. You can choose to run experiments in multiple ways with access to digital procedures, downloadable pdfs that are inquiry-based, and downloadable pdfs that include a step-by-step procedure for each lab. A digital dashboard allows you to track student performance on assessment questions. Standards-based, tested inquiry lab kits with real sample data that have been designed and developed to meet the most current AP Environmental Science guidelines and investigation requirements.

Each advanced inquiry kit includes all the materials, specialized equipment and instructions needed for a class of 24 students working in pairs.

Aligned to the Big Ideas, Learning Objectives and Science Practices. Each Flinn Inquiry Lab Kit meets the AP Environmental Science guidelines published by the College Board. Each experiment has been thoroughly tested, retested and optimized to guaranteesafety and success. Our kit instructions always include real sample data—never made up! Each writeup includes AP Environmental Science Review Questions that seamlessly integrate inquiry, content and reasoning to match the big ideas in the new curriculum framework. Science practices are applied to connect lab experiences to the real world. Our signature Guided-Inquiry Design and Procedure asks leading questions to help students identify the variables for designing effective laboratory experiments.

FLINNprep is just one of the powerful learning pathways accessed via PAVO, Flinn’s award-winning gateway to standards-aligned digital science content paired with hands-on learning.