Science Electives
Spanish 4
This two-semester course is an advanced language course designed for those students who wish to improve and build upon their Spanish skills and delve deeper into the cultures and literature of the Spanish-speaking world. Prominent topics uncovered will be the volatile history of Latin American dictatorships, the impact and perception of Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S., and the diversity and beauty of art in the Spanish-speaking world. The course is comprised of an on-going review of all major grammar structures, as well as a thorough study of more complex grammar concepts. Considerable emphasis is given to broadening his/her cultural awareness of the Spanish-speaking world and increasing his/her ability to comprehend and express him/herself in both spoken and written Spanish. In order to maximize interaction with the language, students are expected to speak Spanish at all times.
AP Spanish Language & Culture
AP Spanish language covers the equivalent material of a third-year college course in advanced Spanish composition and conversation. The aims of this two-semester course are: to improve dramatically the student’s speaking ability; to review systematically grammar previously studied; to master — orally and in writing — new and more complex grammar concepts; to expose students to the literary use of Spanish and to increase both their literal and critical reading skills; to prepare students for the Advanced Placement Spanish Language Examination; and to enhance the students’ knowledge of the cultural diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. Students will be required to speak Spanish in a variety of situations ranging from class discussions to oral presentations and debates. Students will read newspaper and magazine articles, short stories, poems, and excerpts from novels or plays by peninsular and/or Latin American authors. The selected class materials are designed to stimulate and perfect conversation and to assist students in the imitation of the native speaker’s pronunciation, rhythm, moods and humor as their abilities increase. This class is conducted in Spanish, and students are expected to speak Spanish at all times.
*Class receives honors weighting in SI weighted GPA and UC/CSU GPA calculations
Precalculus
This course is designed to give a thorough preparation for college Calculus. The course content is the same as Precalculus Honors, but is presented at a slower rate and with additional algebra review. Most of the course is an analysis of families of functions and relations – polynomials; rational functions; radical functions; trigonometric functions, including an intense study of right triangle trigonometry, its applications to vectors, circular functions, and trigonometric identities; logarithmic functions; and exponential functions — and their graphs both algebraically and through the graphing calculator, including an introduction to the fundamental aspects of Calculus and an introduction to limits, derivatives, and general curve sketching. A Texas Instruments TI-83 or TI-84 series graphing calculator is required.
Calculus
This course is designed for the student who is interested in pursuing a college major with a strong emphasis in mathematics. In the first part of the course, the elementary properties of functions and their inverses are reviewed, as well as specific types of functions (exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric). Subsequently, the student is introduced to the concepts of limits and continuity; differentiation and its applications to problems of extrema and related rates of change; anti-differentiation and its application to the solution of differential equations; definite integrals and their application to finding areas, volumes, and length of curves. A Texas Instruments TI-83 or TI-84 series graphing calculator is required.
AP Calculus AB
This course is designed for the student who is interested in pursuing a college major with a strong emphasis in mathematics. The course will cover three main topics of Calculus: limits, derivatives, and integrals. The course will emphasize a multi-representational approach to calculus with concepts and solutions expressed graphically, numerically, and analytically. The course emphasizes conceptual understanding of derivatives, integrals, and limits, as well as applications of these concepts. In order to develop these concepts, functions and graphs are a fundamental part of this course. A Texas Instruments TI-83 or TI-84 series graphing calculator is required.
*Class receives honors weighting in SI weighted GPA and UC/CSU GPA calculations
AP Calculus BC
AP Calculus BC is an extension of AP Calculus AB rather than an enhancement. This course includes all topics covered in the AP Calculus AB course, with similar emphases and similar depth of understanding required. The course also presents intensive study of parametric, polar, and vector functions; sequences and series; and elementary differential equations. A Texas Instruments TI-83 or TI-84 series graphing calculator is required.
*Class receives honors weighting in SI weighted GPA and UC/CSU GPA calculations
Honors Linear Algebra Multivariable Calculus
This course covers differential, integral, and vector calculus for functions or more than one variable. These mathematical tools and methods are used extensively in the physical sciences, engineering, economics and computer graphics. The course opens with a unit on vectors, which introduces students to this critical component of advanced calculus and will culminate in Green’s Stokes’ and Gauss’ Theorems. We will study partial derivatives, double and triple integrals, and vector calculus in both two and three dimensions. Students are expected to develop fluency with vector and matrix operations. Understanding of parametric curves as a trajectory described by a position vector is an essential concept, and this allows us to break free from one-dimensional calculus and investigate paths, velocities, and other applications of science that exist in three-dimensional space. We study derivatives in multiple dimensions, we use the ideas of the gradient and partial derivatives to explore optimization problems with multiple variables, and we consider constrained optimization problems using Lagrangians. After our study of differentials in multiple dimensions, we move to integral calculus. We use line and surface integrals to calculate physical quantities especially relevant to mechanics and electricity and magnetism, such as work and flux, and we employ volume integrals for calculations of mass and moments of inertia.
The study of systems of linear equations, the algebra of matrices, determinants, vector spaces, linear transformations, the algebra of linear transformations with an introduction to dual spaces, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and the applications of vectors and matrices to linear equations and linear transformations.
*Class receives honors weighting in SI weighted GPA and UC/CSU GPA calculations (UC/CSU Subject C Approval Pending)
AP Physics C: Mechanics
The AP Physics (Physical Science) course is equivalent in content, depth, and complexity to an introductory physics course at the college level. This course is designed to prepare the student to excel on the AP Physics C: Mechanics exams offered in May. The course follows the AP curriculum closely. AP Physics is an in-depth, content-intensive study of physical principles that allows students the opportunity to engage hands-on in scientific experimentation. Core units of study include kinematics, Newton’s laws, conservation laws, harmonic motion, and rotational motion. Additional topics will vary but may include electricity & magnetism, relativity, quantum mechanics, particle physics, thermodynamics, and other advanced topics. Use of calculus in problem solving is expected to increase as the course progresses. Students are required to take the Advanced Placement exam in May. Students are required to complete an assignment over the summer due on the first day of school. This is a mathematically rigorous course which requires a solid foundation in both physics and math.
Corequisite – Students enrolling in this course must also enroll in the corresponding AP Science Laboratory course, which meets once per week for 50 minutes outside of the regular bell schedule. Meetings will occur before or after school.
*Class receives honors weighting in SI weighted GPA and UC/CSU GPA calculations