The Science Department provides a rigorous program in preparation for college-level coursework.
From beginning classes for freshmen through elective courses in senior year, coursework emphasizes analytical problem solving and critical thinking and incorporates challenging laboratory activities and current technology.
One of the department’s most successful learning aids is the Science Lab, a drop-in tutorial center where students can receive extra help from a member of the science faculty.
“Biology in the 21st Century” is focused on the use of life science principles to make sense of the complexity, diversity and interconnectedness of life on Earth. Students engage in laboratory and authentic learning experiences that encourage the application of biological knowledge to make decisions and solve problems in an evolving global community.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Prerequisite: None
Biology Honors covers a broad range of topics including DNA and heredity, molecules and biochemistry, cell structure and function, human growth and development, plants, ecology, evolution, and biotechnology. Each student will take an active part in pursuing knowledge in biological science through lab work, Internet research, projects, and personal observation.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Prerequisite:
Students wishing to enroll in Biology Honors must receive a qualifying score on the Science Placement Exam.
Students enrolled in Biology Honors should be concurrently enrolled in Geometry Honors or higher level math course.
This course follows the course description for the Advanced Placement Program in Biology as per The College Board. AP Biology is designed to be the equivalent of a college introductory biology course. The course content is divided into three general areas: molecules and cells, heredity and evolution, and organisms and populations.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students enrolled in this course are required to take the AP examination in May. There is a College Board fee assessed for this examination that will be added to the students' tuition. No final exam is administered in this course in the spring semester.
Prerequisite:
Students wishing to enroll in AP Biology must:
This course emphasizes the topics in chemistry which form the basis for college-level courses, incorporating problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and the quantitative investigation of matter and its changes are the basis for this course. This class integrates lecture, class discussion, group problem-solving sessions, lab activities, and full lab reports.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students wishing to enroll in Chemistry must have completed Biology or Biology Honors.
Chemistry Honors is an advanced chemistry course designed to prepare a student for college or university chemistry course work.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students wishing to enroll in Chemistry Honors must:
This course follows the course description for the Advanced Placement Program in Chemistry as per The College Board. AP Chemistry is designed to be the equivalent of the general chemistry course usually taken during the first college year.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students enrolled in this course are required to take the AP examination in May. There is a College Board fee assessed for this examination that will be added to the students' tuition. No final exam is administered in this course in the spring semester.
Students wishing to enroll in AP Chemistry must:
Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary course which seeks to integrate concepts from geology, physics, chemistry, biology and ecology. The course pays special attention to the place of humanity within the natural world and the impact that humans have on the global environment. Current environmental issues will be explored on the local, state, national, international and global levels.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students wishing to enroll in Environmental Science must have completed Chemistry, Chemistry Honors or a higher level science course.
This course follows the course description for the Advanced Placement Program in Environmental Science as per The College Board. AP Environmental Science is designed to be the equivalent of a one-semester, introductory college course in environmental science. This course stresses scientific principles and analysis, including a laboratory component, and includes the study of environmental issues from a sociological or political perspective.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students enrolled in this course are required to take the AP examination in May. There is a College Board fee assessed for this examination that will be added to the students' tuition. No final exam is administered in this course in the spring semester.
Students wishing to enroll in AP Environmental Science must
The goal of this course is to understand the laws of nature both from a conceptual and a quantitative point of view. In this context, students will learn the problem-solving techniques needed to make predictions about the world in which they live.
UC/CSU approved course.
NCAA Core Course
Students wishing to enroll in physics must:
This course is designed to provide the student an understanding of the physical forces that govern our world at a depth commensurate with a university level freshman physics course.. The course draws from mechanics, thermal physics, waves and optics, electricity and magnetism, and modern physics.The principal skills developed through this course include critical thinking, proper laboratory procedure, problem-solving and data analysis.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students wishing to enroll in Physics Honors must:
AP Physics C: Mechanics is equivalent to the first semester of a college physics course intended for scientists and engineers. This calculus-based course covers kinematics, dynamics, energy, and momentum for systems of particles in translational and rotational motion.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students enrolled in this course are required to take the AP examination in May. There is a College Board fee assessed for this examination that will be added to the students' tuition. No final exam is administered in this course in the spring semester.
Students wishing to enroll in AP Physics C: Mechanics must:
AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism (E&M) is equivalent to a second semester of college physics taken by engineering and physical science majors. The course utilizes differential and integral calculus to describe complex physical situations, fostering critical thinking skills through student-guided learning. Over 20% of instructional time is devoted to hands-on laboratory work. Classroom time is divided between instructor-led lectures, internet-based simulations, and student-centered worksheets.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students enrolled in this course are required to take the AP examination in May. There is a College Board fee assessed for this examination that will be added to the students' tuition. No final exam is administered in this course in the spring semester.
Students wishing to enroll in AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism must:
The goal of this class is to understand the origins, major concepts, and current issues of sustainability in agriculture. Students will first explore where their food comes from and the implications of this system on the environment and its inhabitants. The latter portions of the course focus on sustainable farming and the sociopolitical issues surrounding food, including climate change. Throughout the semester, students will conduct research projects and labs, both inside the classroom and outside in the garden.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students wishing to enroll in Feeding the Future must have completed Biology and Chemistry
Human Health and Disease in Society is a course designed to explain the biology of body systems, the maintenance of health, and the biological, environmental and socioeconomic factors that contribute to prevalent human diseases along with the interventions that promote healthier communities.
The course examines health at the global and population level through investigating the response to epidemic and pandemic diseases past, present and future; infectious and non-infectious diseases, chronic diseases, and physical, degenerative and mental health disorders. Course work will investigate laboratory diagnostic tools and treatment protocols for disease.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students wishing to enroll in Feeding the Future must have completed Biology and Chemistry
This course explores the history, science, philosophy, and engineering of space, from the development of astronomical observation and theory from ancient archeological sites to the development of the telescope and the ensuing Copernican Revolution, right up to modern space exploration. Students will study the Sun-Earth-Moon system and compare the geology, atmosphere, and orbits of each of the planets in our solar system. The course looks at the bizarre physics and chemistry of stars, white dwarves, neutron stars, black holes, galaxies, and space itself while also exploring the unknowns of dark matter and dark energy.
As the semester goes on, students will discuss cosmological topics, such as the big bang, the eventual fate of the universe, and the nature of matter, motion, energy, time, and space itself.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students wishing to enroll in Design Thinking must have completed Biology and Chemistry
Design Thinking is a process of observing deeply, being empathetic, identifying problems, and creating innovative solutions.
Students will study how design thinking can be a key skill for success in the 21st century; learn the theoretical underpinnings of the design thinking process; practice the design thinking process; familiarize ourselves with many universal principles of design; discuss and identify “good” and “bad” design; and explore and develop our capacities for innovative & creative thinking and problem solving.
UC/CSU approved course
Students wishing to enroll in Design Thinking must have completed Biology and Chemistry
This semester-long senior elective course introduces students to the relationship of the brain to the mind through the study of basic neuroscience. Recognizing the brain as one of the most complex structures of nature, recent developments in neuroscience have made impressive progress towards our understanding of how natural processes in the brain give rise to the subjective experiences that make up human consciousness. The primary goal of this course is to engage student focus towards areas of scientific research that have direct application to their daily life including: sleep, learning, stress, mental health and neurodivergence.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students wishing to enroll in Introduction to Neuroscience must have completed Biology and Chemistry
This course will investigate the science underlying sound and music, including the operation of musical instruments and modern technology for digital sampling of music and audio signals. Topics include vibrations and wave mechanics, sound waves, interference, standing waves and harmonics, overtones and timbre, beats, consonant and dissonant chords. Students will design and construct a musical instrument as a final project.
UC/CSU approved course
NCAA Core Course
Students wishing to enroll in the Science of Sound and Music must have completed Biology and Chemistry
Department Chair
Paul Sampson