The goal of AP Environmental Science is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships within the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and man-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them.
There are several major unifying ideas that cut across the many topics included in the study of environmental science. The following big ideas provide a foundation for the structure of the AP Environmental Science course:
Energy Transfer
Interactions between different species and the environment
Interactions between Earth Systems
Sustainability