BIOLOGY Full-credit, graded course • Required of Form IX students not enrolled in Honors Biology • Prerequisites: None • Full year, 1 credit This course is designed to develop understanding of the essentials of living systems at a variety of scales, from biochemical reactions and cellular metabolism to evolutionary biology and global ecology. Emphasis is placed on connecting new knowledge to past work in science classes and on connecting biology to their own lives. Classwork takes many forms, including lecture, video, student presentations, games, and laboratory experiments and simulations. All laboratory work includes safe use of materials and appropriate laboratory techniques. Students will also use the course content, experiences, and online textbook to develop study and organization skills essential to academic success in science and beyond. HONORS BIOLOGY Full-credit, graded course • Required of Form IX students not enrolled in Biology • Prerequisites: Recommendation of Middle School faculty • Full year, 1 credit This course is designed to develop understanding of and respect for the vast array of life processes and the interconnectedness of all life. In addition to science as a process, this course emphasizes the diversity and unity of all life through topics such as evolution, ecology, genetic inheritance and expression, and cellular processes and functions including energy conversion, growth, and development. The
course emphasizes the relation of biological concepts directly to the students’ life experience, while developing the organization skills necessary to sort and assimilate concepts. Class work includes incorporating electronic textbooks, inquirybased simulations, a variety of laboratory experiences as well as projects and assessments. Students are expected to learn both traditional laboratory skills and computer-based skills. This laboratory work includes safe use of materials and appropriate laboratory techniques. ADVANCED PLACEMENT BIOLOGY Full-credit, graded course • Open to Forms XI and XII • Prerequisites: Successful completion of Honors Biology or Biology with a grade average of B+ or better and successful completion of either Honors Chemistry or Chemistry with a test grade average of B+ or better; departmental signature required. • Full year, 1 credit • A final graded assessment is required; taken during an academic day in April, it will count as a CSG Semester 2 examination or a major portion of the student’s semester grade. This is a college-level survey course that prepares students for the AP Biology examination. Major areas of study are centered around four Big Ideas: 1) the process of evolution drives diversity and unity of life; 2) biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, reproduce, and maintain homeostasis; 3) living systems receive, transmit, and respond to information; and 4) biological systems interact. This fast-paced course has a
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significant laboratory component with long- and short-term experiments, allowing students to develop scientific research skills and present their results through papers, poster sessions, and discussion. Students will also be guided as they read professional scientific papers and relate them to their own experimental work. HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY Full-credit, graded course • Open to Forms XI and XII • Prerequisites: Successful completion of Biology or • Honors Biology and Chemistry or Honors Chemistry • Full year, 1 credit • Offered every year Human Anatomy and Physiology is a course that investigates the structure and function of the human body. Topics covered will include the basic organization of the body, its biochemical composition, and the major body systems, along with the impact of diseases on certain systems. From biochemistry and anatomical terminology to the large-scale details of each of the major body systems, students will learn through print and digital reading materials, digital and kinesthetic activities, group work, projects, and labs. Students will reinforce their study using Anatomy in Clay MANIKEN models throughout the year to sculpt the muscles, organs, nerves, arteries, veins, and other structures of the human body in clay. CHEMISTRY Full-credit, graded course • Required of Form X students not enrolled in Honors Chemistry • Prerequisites: Successful completion of Biology or
