- Sciences
No prerequisite for Integrated Science I; successful completion of Integrated Science I is a prerequisite for Integrated Science II
This two-year course sequence covers fundamental physical and biological concepts, providing the foundation necessary to choose from a range of more advanced options in the junior and senior years.
This course of study includes a survey of Newtonian mechanics and helps students understand how the universe works on a macro level. Topics of study include interactions of matter, energy, velocity, acceleration, force, energy, momentum, and light. Topics will be approached from both conceptual and mathematical perspectives. Chemical concepts and techniques are also introduced to help students understand how the universe works on a micro level. Topics of study include the nature of matter, atomic theory, chemical bonding, chemical reactions, and states of matter. Most topics are approached from both qualitative and quantitative angles. Finally, biological concepts are introduced through the study of evolution, which is central to both our understanding of biology and to our ability to think, see, and probe the world as biologists. Core topics are shared biochemistry, types of cells and cell division, common ancestry, heredity, natural selection, and speciation. We will also study energy transfer with cellular respiration and photosynthesis, and examine examples of homeostasis in human physiology.
Students learn this material through laboratory experiments, demonstrations, simulations, and lectures, and conduct lab investigations in which they collect and analyze data, and then use data to support scientific claims. Lab experiences are an integral part of this curriculum, which is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, including elements of three-dimensional learning: science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts. Students select from a series of applied scientific lab experiences for the final stretch of the Integrated Science progression.