Science

Curriculum Coordinator: Mrs. Pettler

• Academic Pathways
• Graduation Requirements

Courses Offered:

Course Title:Biology CP

• Course Length: One Year (10 credits)
• Grade Level: Grades 9-12
• Prerequisite: No Prerequisites
  Required for high school graduation

The basis of this course is the development of students’ understanding of biology, the study of life and its relationships. Students will understand unity within diversity, evolution, energy, homeostasis, systems and interactions, the nature of science, the human body, vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, viruses, bacteria, protests, fungi, genetics, cell organelles and function, and ecology. This course is designed to develop a basic knowledge of life in order to understand how life continues and passes on its genetics, how life forms are related and diverse from each other, and especially how we can use this knowledge for the benefit of humankind. Satisfies UC lab requirement.

Course Title:Chemistry CP

• Course Length: One Year (10 credits)
• Grade Level: Grades 10-12
• Prerequisite: Completion of Algebra 1 with a C or better
• Meets Physical Science requirement for high school graduation

This is a one-year college prep course exploring the structure and properties of matter and its interactions. Areas of emphasis include conservation of matter, atomic and molecular structure, solutions, chemical bonds, stoichiometry, and nuclear processes.

Course Title:Earth Science

• Course Length: One Year (10 credits)
• Grade Level: Grades 9-11
• Prerequisite: No Prerequisites

The basis of this course is the development of students’ understanding of Earth Science. Students will observe and study the world around them. This course is designed to develop a basic knowledge of the history and current cycles of our planet. Students will be able to gain knowledge in making observations that will allow predictions and responses to environmental events, such as floods and severe winters, well in advance of their occurrence.

Course Title: Health

• Course Length: One Semester (5 credits)
• Grade Level: Grades 9-12
• Prerequisite: Required course for all high school students
  Required for high school graduation (2.5 units)

Health education at the high school level is designed to engage students in activities that foster the development of each individual's optimal physical, mental, and emotional health. The class is developed around the understanding that students are becoming more independent and increasingly more subject to peer approval. They are concerned with changes in their bodies and they often begin to focus on themselves and to be critical of themselves and others. The class curriculum focuses in part on the personal health habits appropriate to the changing needs of adolescents. Students will be given the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to make healthy decisions and to build positive relationships with the intent to continue lifelong good health.