Course Catalog

Biology covers the topics: cell biology, genetics, ecology, evolution, and physiology. Students understand that the fundamental life processes of plants and animals depend on a variety of chemical reactions and that stability in an ecosystem is a balance between competing effects. Additionally, students learn that evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments; mutation and sexual reproduction lead to genetic variation in a population; a multicellular organism develops from a single zygote; and genes are a set of instructions encoded in the DNA sequence of each organism that specify the sequence of amino acids in proteins characteristic of that organism.

Chemistry covers the topics: atomic and molecular structure, chemical bonds, conservation of matter and stoichiometry, gasses and their properties, acids and bases, solutions, chemical thermodynamics, reaction rates, chemical equilibrium, organic chemistry and biochemistry, and nuclear processes.

In this course, students study the Earth’s place in the universe, dynamic Earth processes, energy in the Earth system, biogeochemical cycles, and the structure and composition of the atmosphere. Students understand that astronomy and planetary exploration reveal the solar system’s structure, scale, and change over time; plate tectonics operating over geologic time has changed the patterns of land, sea, and mountains on Earth’s surface; energy enters the Earth system primarily as solar radiation and eventually escapes as heat; each element on Earth moves among reservoirs, which exist in the solid earth, in oceans, in the atmosphere, and within and among organisms as part of biogeochemical cycles; and life has changed Earth’s atmosphere, and changes in the atmosphere affect conditions for life.

The Physics course covers the topics: motion and forces, conservation of energy and momentum, heat and thermodynamics, waves, and electric and magnetic phenomena. In this course, students learn that Newton’s laws predict the motion of most objects; the laws of conservation of energy and momentum provide a way to predict and describe the movement of objects; energy cannot be created or destroyed, although in many processes energy is transferred to the environment as heat; waves have characteristic properties that do not depend on the type of wave; and electric and magnetic phenomena are related and have many practical applications.

AP Biology is an introductory college-level biology course. Students cultivate their understanding of biology through inquiry-based investigations as they explore the following topics: evolution, cellular processes, energy and communication, genetics, information transfer, ecology, and interactions.

The AP Chemistry course provides students with a college-level foundation to support future advanced coursework in chemistry. Students cultivate their understanding of chemistry through inquiry-based investigations, as they explore content such as: atomic structure, intermolecular forces and bonding, chemical reactions, kinetics, thermodynamics, and equilibrium.

The AP Environmental Science course is designed to engage students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships within the natural world. The course requires that students identify and analyze natural and human-made environmental problems, evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them. Environmental science is interdisciplinary, embracing topics from geology, biology, environmental studies, environmental science, chemistry, and geography.

AP Physics 1 is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course. Students cultivate their understanding of physics through inquiry-based investigations as they explore these topics: kinematics, dynamics, circular motion and gravitation, energy, momentum, simple harmonic motion, torque and rotational motion, electric charge and electric force, DC circuits, and mechanical waves and sound.

AP Physics 2 is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course. Students cultivate their understanding of physics through inquiry-based investigations as they explore these topics: fluids; thermodynamics; electrical force, field, and potential; electric circuits; magnetism and electromagnetic induction; geometric and physical optics; and quantum, atomic, and nuclear physics.

Character education is a learning process that enables students and adults in a school community to understand, care about and act on core ethical values such as respect, justice, civic virtue and citizenship, and responsibility for self and others.