This course is designed to give students a foundation for further studies in math while emphasizing preparation for majors in psychology, sociology, and other non-calculus fields. The course is intended for students wishing to complete the equivalent of a one-semester non-calculus based college course in statistics and will introduce them to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. 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 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
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)
The (Physical Science) honors course differs from the non-honors course in that each topic is covered in more detail, at a faster pace, and with greater mathematical rigor.
*Class receives honors weighting in SI weighted GPA and UC/CSU GPA calculations
The (Physical Science) honors course differs from the non-honors course in that each topic is covered in more detail, at a faster pace, and with greater mathematical rigor.
The AP Chemistry (Physical Science) course is equivalent in content, depth, and complexity to an introductory chemistry course at the college level. This course is designed to prepare the student to excel on the AP exam offered in May, and follows the AP curriculum closely. AP Chemistry is an in-depth, content-intensive study of chemical principles that allows students the opportunity to engage hands-on in scientific experimentation. Units of study include chemical reactions, modern atomic theory, molecular bonding, hybridization, organic chemistry, stoichiometry, thermodynamics, kinetics, aqueous equilibrium, acids, bases, precipitation, reduction, oxidation, electrochemistry, and nuclear chemistry. 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.
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
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
United States Histories and Cultures examines the social, cultural, political, economic, religious and ideological movements and moments that constitute the American history. We will focus explicitly on the diversity of the American experience and the development, change, and perpetuation of structures of inequality in the U.S over time. Empowered with this knowledge, students will then analyze what unites us as Americans through our shared historical experiences and events. Students will examine, critique, and analyze historical narratives, focusing explicitly on tensions between historical events and the stories that have been written about them. This course focuses on building an understanding of knowledge production, critical research and writing skills, and college-level reading and analysis. Students will leave this course prepared to heed our school’s mission to respond to the challenges of our time by becoming active participants in their civic communities.
In addition to the assigned coursework, the honors curriculum for this course will include college-level historical analysis, including, but not limited to supplemental textbooks, primary documents, original research, historical fiction assignments, museum visits, and optional preparation for students who wish to take the AP exam.
*Class receives honors weighting in SI weighted GPA and UC/CSU GPA calculations
The AP Biology (Life Science) course is equivalent in content, depth, and complexity to an introductory biology course at the college level. This course is designed to prepare the student to excel on the AP exam offered in May, and follows the AP curriculum. AP Biology is an in-depth, content-intensive study of biological principles that allows students the opportunity to engage hands-on in scientific experimentation. Units of study include but are not limited to evolution and natural selection, the chemistry of life, cell structure and function, cellular energetics, cell communication and the cell cycle, heredity, gene expression and regulation, and ecology. 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.
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
Constitutional Law challenges students to become experts on the United States Constitution. With just 4,543 words on four pages of parchment paper, the original Constitution established a framework with competing values that endures to this day. More specifically, this course will focus on the policymaking institutions established in the first three Articles of the Constitution: Congress, the Presidency, and the Federal Judiciary. Furthermore, this course will examine how the media, interest groups, political parties, and elections serve as linkage institutions between the American people and the federal government.
Students will examine case studies involving domestic policy (e.g. the federal budget) and foreign policy (e.g. wars and armed conflicts).
The honors curriculum for this course will include additional assignments (e.g. college-level research papers) and participating in outside experiences (e.g. city council meetings).
*Class receives honors weighting in SI weighted GPA and UC/CSU calculations
