How to Prepare for the AP Environmental Science Exam | Gary S. Thorpe

How to Prepare for the AP Environmental Science Exam | Gary S. Thorpe | absolutely horrible

books:

How to Prepare for...

	How to Prepare for the AP Environmental Science Exam Gary S. Thorpe Barron''s Educational Series, 2002 - 528 pages average customer review:based on 10 reviews view larger image
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This brand-new Advanced Placement manual is the only book currently on the market that specifically prepares students for the AP Environmental Science Exam. It reviews all important environmental science concepts and problems, including: the flow of energy, its sources, and conversions; the cycling of matter; geology and earth dynamics; the atmosphere, weather, and climate; the biosphere, human history and global distribution; the earth's renewable and nonrenewable resources; measuring environmental quality; global changes; and environmental laws, ethics, and issues. The book's added features include an overview of the test format and test-taking strategies. Two full-length practice tests are presented with questions answered and explained.

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Doubles as self-defense weapon

This book is so big and cumbersome, I don't know what to think about it.

The negatives:
Really big, too much information (more than you'll ever need to know), often repeats itself several times (it will repeat facts like it hasn't mentioned it before), in outline form (chapters are "short" blurbs), short blurbs not really organized for quick studying, and the paper is just awful (I hated reading from this book).

The positives:
Essays and quizzes on every possible subject, idiot guide to AP exams, it does tell you everything you might ever need to know about APES, has every law you might ever need to know, and can be used for self-defence.

My suggestion:
If you decide to go with this book, get it as early as possible. Go through these chapters as you go through the class and underline what you think applies to APES (there is a lot to sort through). This will help you review for chapter tests in your APES class and help you in May when you return to the book. Use the quizzes and essays as reviews for your chapter tests and the full AP exams as reviews for finals and then the AP test. You'll be very prepared for this test.

In general the AP test isn't that bad. I got a 5 on the test and mostly reviewed the notes I had to do for the class. This did help me review for many chapter tests, and I looked at the list of laws for the AP test (as my text book didn't have a very good list of laws). Get this if you are willing to commit to a year of work for a high payoff.

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absolutely horrible

I self-studied the AP Environmental Science exam as a sophomore. Unfortunately, since this was the only book with the AP designation on the cover, it would be my only resource. However, a few days before the actual exam, I began to panic from realizing that there was so much more information that I could possibly memorize (even though I had been preparing since January). So I went to the Collegeboard's description of the examination, and found a list of recommended textbooks, the first of which was Environmental Science by G Tyler (or Tyler G?) Miller. I went to my local library and found a ten year old version of it (Living in the Environment, though all his books are pretty much the same thing but with different titles for each edition). I used it for the last four days and it helped me more than the Barron's book did in the last four months. Oh, and I scored a 5 on the exam, most of which I attribute to Miller's knowledge of the TRUE scope of environmental science, which doesn't include memorizing HUNDREDS (literally!) of US legislation that is at least slightly relevant to the environment, the use of different types of birth control in less developed countries in 1950, or every single eon, era, period, and epoch in the history of the world.

I strongly recommend Miller's book over this one. Also, Princeton Review is publishing an AP Environmental Science book in January of 2006, so you may want to look into that as well.

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reviews: page 1, 2

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