Fifteen topics from the College Board CED, in order.
Topic 8.1
Sources of Pollution
Point sources (identifiable, like a pipe) vs. nonpoint sources (diffuse, like agricultural runoff) of pollution.
Topic 8.2
Human Impacts on Ecosystems
How pollution, habitat destruction, and resource use degrade ecosystems and the services they provide.
Topic 8.3
Endocrine Disruptors
Chemicals that interfere with hormone systems in humans and wildlife, even at very low concentrations.
Topic 8.4
Human Impacts on Wetlands & Mangroves
Why wetlands and mangroves are so valuable, and how draining, filling, and pollution threaten them.
Topic 8.5
Eutrophication
Nutrient pollution triggering algal blooms and oxygen depletion in water bodies.
Topic 8.6
Thermal Pollution
Artificial increases in water temperature, often from power plant cooling systems, that reduce dissolved oxygen.
Topic 8.7
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Long-lasting toxic chemicals (like DDT and PCBs) that resist breakdown and accumulate in the environment.
Topic 8.8
Bioaccumulation & Biomagnification
How toxins build up in individual organisms and increase in concentration up the food chain.
Topic 8.9
Solid Waste Disposal
Landfills and incineration as methods for managing municipal solid waste, and their respective tradeoffs.
Topic 8.10
Waste Reduction Methods
The waste management hierarchy — reduce, reuse, recycle, compost — for minimizing landfill-bound waste.
Topic 8.11
Sewage Treatment
Primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment stages that remove contaminants from wastewater before release.
Topic 8.12
Lethal Dose 50% (LD50)
The dose of a substance that kills 50% of a test population, used to compare the relative toxicity of chemicals.
Topic 8.13
Dose Response Curve
How the effect of a chemical changes with dose, and how curves reveal thresholds and toxicity.
Topic 8.14
Pollution and Human Health
How pollutants act as acute or chronic health hazards, and how dose, exposure, and toxicity determine risk.
Topic 8.15
Pathogens & Infectious Diseases
How polluted water and poor sanitation spread waterborne pathogens and infectious disease.