Science
Our Science Department inspires students to understand scientific methods of inquiry and prepare them to live in a scientific and technological society.
Students learn to access and process information from readings, diagrams, investigations, and oral communications, not just in the classroom, but with an eye to future STEM careers and in their personal health and environmental stewardship decisions. Students learn to design effective scientific investigations, analyze data, communicate results, and apply results to explain phenomena inside and outside the laboratory. Teachers and students collaborate on project-based work to explain scientific concepts in biology, chemistry, the environmental sciences and physics. Students go on field trips to some of the Bay Area’s top science centers and have several curriculum-based service learning opportunities.
Three years (30 units) of Science are required for graduation (including two years of integrated science
that includes foundational concepts of biology, chemistry, and physics and a third year of lab science) for students planning on attending a four-year college immediately after high school). Unless otherwise
noted, all Science courses are UC-approved as college-preparatory core/elective courses.
Courses
Integrated Science 1: Science of Wonder
Honors Integrated Science 1: Science of Wonder
Principles of the Biomedical Sciences
Integrated Science 2: Adventures in Science
Honors Integrated Science 2: Adventures in Science
Conceptual Physics
AP Biology
AP Physics 1
AP Environmental Science
AP Chemistry
Bay Area Marine Ecology
Honors PLTW Human Body Systems
Honors PLTW Medical Interventions
Forensic Science
Honors PLTW Biomedical Innovation
Introduction to Computer Science and Programming
Engineering Principles: Research, Design, and Build
AP Computer Science A