Science

Department Chair: Michelle Riddle

Course Offerings

Biology

Course Description

This course is designed to provide students with a detailed understanding of living systems. Emphasis continues to be placed on the skills necessary to examine alternative scientific explanations; actively conduct controlled experiments; analyze and communicate information; and gather and use information in scientific literature. The history of biological thought and the evidence that supports it are explored, providing the foundation for investigating biochemical life processes, cellular organization, mechanisms of inheritance, dynamic relationships among organisms, and the change in organisms through time. The importance of scientific research that validates or challenges ideas is emphasized at this level. Students taking this course will take an end-of-course SOL test in Biology. Students must pass both the course and SOL test to earn a verified credit.

Pre-AP Biology

Course Description

This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to develop a greater depth of biological knowledge through laboratory investigations and research. Among the topics of study are fundamental principles of biology such as the study of the diversity of life, environmental and biological diversity, population and community ecology, cellular reproduction, and principles of genetics. Students taking this course will take an end-of-course SOL test in Biology. Students must pass both the course and SOL test to earn a verified credit.

AP Biology

Course Description

Advanced Placement Biology is designed to be equivalent to a first year college biology course Two main goals of the course are to help students develop a conceptual framework for modern biology and an appreciation of science as a process. Students will develop an understanding and appreciation of the unifying themes that integrate three general areas of biology: Molecules and cells, Heredity and Evolution, and Organisms and Populations, as well as, expand and apply analytical and critical-thinking skills to assess the rapidly changing science of biology as it applies to real-world concerns. Students will gain laboratory skills and an appreciation of science as a dynamic process through designing, implementing, and interpreting complex labs.

Students receive weighted credit for participating in AP classes; they receive college credit only by achieving a high score on the College Board’s Advanced Placement Tests. There are fees for each test, which students will be responsible for paying. Colleges have different criteria for awarding credit for scores on AP tests, and it will be the responsibility of students to contact colleges to ascertain their policies regarding Advanced Placement scores.

Chemistry

Course Description

This course is designed to introduce the basic chemical concepts such as composition of matter, atomic structure, periodic table, chemical bonding, formulas and equations, gas laws, reacting quantities and acid base theory. Students will practice the investigative skills used by practicing scientists when studying these concepts. Students will also learn to use safety precautions with chemicals and equipment. Students taking this course will take an end-of-course SOL test in Chemistry. Students must pass both the course and SOL test to earn a verified credit.

Pre-AP Chemistry

Course Description

This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to develop a greater depth of chemical knowledge and understanding of the interaction of matter and energy by focusing on a qualitative and quantitative study of substances and the changes that occur in them. This interaction is investigated through the use of laboratory techniques, manipulation of chemical quantities, and problem-solving applications. Scientific methodology is employed in experimental and analytical investigations, and concepts are illustrated with practical applications that include examples from environmental, nuclear, organic and biochemistry content areas. Technology, including graphing calculators, computers and probeware, is employed where feasible. Students will also learn to use safety precautions with chemicals and equipment. Students taking this course will take an end-of-course SOL test in Chemistry. Students must pass both the course and SOL test to earn a verified credit.

AP Chemistry

Course Description

Advanced Placement Chemistry is designed to be equivalent to a first year college chemistry course. Students will develop an understanding, appreciation and assimilation in the five major areas of chemistry: Structure of Matter, the States of Matter, Reactions, Descriptive Chemistry, and Laboratory. Topics of study include (but are not limited to): energy, molecular orbital theory, solution chemistry Students will gain laboratory skills and an appreciation of science as a dynamic process through designing, implementing, and interpreting complex labs. Students will communicate with peers and adults through speech, writing, graphics, and presentations.

Students receive weighted credit for participating in AP classes; they receive college credit only by achieving a high score

on the College Board’s Advanced Placement Tests. There are fees for each test, which students will be responsible for

paying. Colleges have different criteria for awarding credit for scores on AP tests, and it will be the responsibility of students to contact colleges to ascertain their policies regarding Advanced Placement scores.

Ecology

Course Description

This course focuses on an investigation of the relationship between living communities and their chemical and physical environments. Major topics of study include energy flow, biogeochemical cycles, biotic and abiotic influences on communities of living things, population dynamics, and a study of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem pollution. There is no SOL test for this course.

Physics (Honors)

Course Description

Physics is the study of nature and characteristics of energy and emphasizes a more complex understanding of experimentation, the analysis of data, and the use of reasoning and logic to evaluate evidence. Conceptual understanding of physical systems is the primary focus of this course. In order to arrive at this understanding students will need to draw upon their knowledge of algebra inferential statistics and trigonometry. Emphasis will be given to the study of forces and motion, energy transformations, wave phenomena, the electromagnetic spectrum, light, electricity fields, and NON-Newtonian physics. Practical application and problem-solving are stressed throughout the course. Graphing calculators and computers are employed as tools of study. There is NO SOL test for this course.

AP Physics

Course Description

Advanced Placement Physics is designed to be equivalent to a first year college physics course. Students will develop an understanding, appreciation and assimilation in the major areas of physics: Physics knowledge, Problem solving, Student attributes and Connections. Major topics of study include: mechanics, fluid dynamics, waves, optics, magnetism, electricity and modern physics. Students will gain laboratory skills and an appreciation of science as a dynamic process through designing, implementing, and interpreting complex labs.

Environmental Science

Course Description

The Environmental Science Course is designed to continue the student investigations that began in grades K-8. The course integrates the study of many components of our environment, including the human impact on our planet. The content focus of the class will be on scientific inquiry, the physical world, the living environment, resource conservation, humans’ impact on the environment, and legal and civic responsibility. Students will learn how to collect and analyze data through laboratory experiences and field work - often including short field trips, guest speakers and guest scientists.

AP Environmental Science

Course Description

The AP Environmental Science course is designed to be the equivalent of a one-semester, introductory college course in environmental science. Unlike most other introductory-level college science courses, environmental science is offered from a wide variety of departments, including geology, biology, environmental studies, environmental science, chemistry, and geography. Depending on the department offering the course, different emphases are placed on various topics. Some courses are rigorous science courses that stress scientific principles and analysis and that often include a laboratory component; other courses emphasize the study of environmental issues from a sociological or political perspective rather than a scientific one. The AP Environmental Science course has been developed to be most like the former; as such, it is intended to enable students to undertake, as first-year college students, a more advanced study of topics in environmental science or, alternatively, to fulfill a basic requirement for a laboratory science and thus free time for taking other courses.

The AP Course Description and AP Exam have been prepared by environmental scientists and educators who serve as members of the AP Environmental Science Development Committee. In both breadth and level of detail, the content of the course reflects what is found in many introductory college courses in environmental science. The exam is representative of such a course and therefore is considered appropriate for the measurement of skills and knowledge in the field of environmental science.

Robotics

Course Description

Students engage in the study of computer and microprocessors and their applications to manufacturing, transportation, and communication systems. Topic include computer equipment and operating systems, robotics, programming, control systems, and social/cultural impact of these technologies. Problem-solving activities challenge students to design, program, and interface devices with computer systems. Learning activities include robotics, computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing and design, and control of electromechanical devices.