Science Courses

This is a laboratory science course recommended for all college preparatory students. Physics presents the basic laws and relationships governing physical phenomena, particularly the transformation and interactions of matter and energy. Topics include mechanics, heat, light, sound, electricity, magnetism, atomic and nuclear physics.

Prerequisite: N/A

Chemistry in the Earth System is a college preparatory, lab science class aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. This is the second course in the three-course science pathway at CUHSD.  NGSS Performance Expectations are used from the Physical Science and Earth Science Disciplinary Core Ideas with Scientific and Engineering Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and California’s unique Environmental Principles and Concepts. Inquiry-driven laboratory exercises are an integral part of the curriculum in this course and the other two courses in the three-series course pathway.

Prerequisite: N/A

Living Earth is a lab course designed to help students understand the nature of life and life processes. The main topics include nature and processes of science, ecology, cellular biology, classification of life, evolution, chemistry of life, reproduction and development, heredity, behavior, anatomy, and physiology of plants and animals. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking and problem solving.

Prerequisite: N/A

This one-year introductory elective science course will allow students to apply the many disciplines of scientific study such as biology, anatomy, chemistry, physics, and earth science to solving crimes. The course covers concepts such as finger printing, handwriting analysis, ballistics, blood typing, hair and fiber examination, and DNA analysis. This course is lab based and therefore students engage in scientific methods to collect and manipulate data, making informed decisions using critical-thinking, and scientific problem solving.

Prerequisite: N/A

This is a two-year course that is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester college introductory biology course. The goals of IB Biology HL are to help students develop a conceptual framework for modern biology and an appreciation of science as a process. Students will learn about biology in an internationally relevant context. Through hands-on experiences, students will develop the skills of a scientist.

A student’s IB score for this course is based on three external assessments and one internal assessment. The external assessments are written exams comprised of multiple-choice and free-response questions; these tests are taken at the end of the second year. The internal assessment requires each student to design their own experiment related to biology concepts and report their results and conclusions in a report similar to a paper published in a scientific journal.

+ UC/CSU Honors (Weighted) - Year 2

Prerequisite: Proficiency in Chemistry or Chemistry Honors with Teacher Recommendation.

This is a one-year course that gives students an understanding of the relationship between the environment and society. The goal of the course is to allow students to learn about the wide range of environmental issues affecting Earth. This course will explore the scientific, ethical and political aspects of environmental issues. The course covers concepts such as human population and Earth’s resources, Earth’s carrying capacity (how much life can Earth support), conservation of wild life and natural ecosystems, pollution management, climate change, environmental values and cultures, and sustainability. This course is both lab-based and field-based, students will collect data inside and outside to make informed decisions to propose solutions to problems related to the environment.

UC/CSU Weighted.

Prerequisite: Students must have completed and demonstrated proficiency in the two years of science (one year of Biology and one year of Chemistry or Physics) required under the ‘D’ category of the A-G college eligibility requirements.

IB Chemistry takes your foundation from regular chemistry and builds upon it. This course gives you a deeper understanding of the world at a particle level which you use to make predictions of how substances interact and behave.

Topics Studied: The Nuclear Atom, Stoichiometry, Electron Configurations, Ideal Gases, Enthalpy, Chemical Bonding, Classification of Elements, Functional Groups, Rate of Reaction and Chemical Change, Redox Reactions, Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions.

UC/CSU Weighted.

Prerequisite: Proficiency in Chemistry