Instruction in the Sciences

The Science Department at Santa Catalina endeavors to produce knowledgeable science students who are able to think analytically, creatively, and critically. To produce such students, our teaching emphasizes process over outcome, active inquiry over lecture presentation, and curricular flexibility over rigid, text-driven coursework.

Students graduating from Santa Catalina will have completed a minimum of one year of physics, chemistry, and biology. For students who choose to take additional science courses, we offer second-year courses in physics (Quantitative Physics), chemistry (AP Chemistry), and biology (AP Biology) in addition to AP Environmental Science and Marine Science. We feel our present science curriculum serves the entire student body while offering challenges to our brightest students.

Our teaching reflects the philosophy that information acquisition should be secondary to the development of understanding. We would like to see our students leave Santa Catalina with a strong conceptual awareness of scientific processes. We cannot expect our students to retain detailed information beyond their school years, but we hope the techniques of inquiry they are taught will serve our students over the balance of their lives.

We believe our students are best served by activities stressing experiential learning; our curriculum stresses the use of demonstrations, labs, projects, and problem solving exercises. These activities are designed to generate discussion, discovery, and cooperative problem-solving skills. This approach has the added benefit of addressing the individual differences in skills and needs.

Given the dynamics of the classroom, our teaching must always remain adaptive. Each teacher in the Science Department has the freedom and responsibility to structure the curriculum to best serve the students. Given curricular flexibility, cooperation within the Science Department in essential in the overall development of Santa Catalina's students.

Curriculum

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Biology AP

Advanced Placement Biology is designed to be the equivalent of a college introductory biology course. Therefore, the pace is fast, material is covered in greater depth, and students take responsibility for their own mastery of the material. The primary emphasis is on comprehending and synthesizing concepts rather than memorizing terms and details.

Biology Standard

This course centers on the major unifying themes of biology: evolution, genetic continuity, structure and function, diversity and unity, and regulation. During the first semester, molecular biology is studied. Topics include organic molecules, cells, and energy in living systems, and genetics. In the second semester, there is a survey of major groups of plants and animals, but the emphasis is on the evolution of animals and human. The year ends with a look at ecology.

Chemistry AP

This course is designed to be the equivalent of a first-year, general chemistry course at the college level. Students taking AP Chemistry are required to have successfully completed one year of chemistry, preferably Honors Chemistry, and at least two years of algebra, preferably at the honors level. The goal of this course is to prepare students for the rigors of the AP exam while further exposing them to the field of chemistry. AP Chemistry covers all major areas of chemistry, including structure of matter, states of matter, chemical reactions, descriptive chemistry, and laboratory chemistry. This course builds on the knowledge and understanding a student acquires in first-year chemistry while exploring topics in greater descriptive, theoretical, and quantitative depth. Because chemistry is primarily a laboratory science, special emphasis is placed on laboratory work in AP Chemistry. Students are expected to become skilled in important laboratory techniques, be familiar with safe laboratory practices, and understand the application of the scientific method in manipulative laboratory work. Further, students are expected to keep a detailed laboratory journal, charting their progress and development as skilled laboratory workers.

Chemistry Honors

Students taking Honors Chemistry have demonstrated an aptitude for science and mathematics during their freshman-year courses. In comparison to Standard Chemistry, Honors Chemistry features a faster pace, covers more material, and takes a more quantitative approach. Honors Chemistry takes both conceptual and quantitative approaches to the study of chemistry. Students will be introduced to the material world through an extensive array of lecture-based discussions, demonstrations, projects, and laboratory explorations. Finally, chemistry is a laboratory-based science, so students learn to work safely and confidently in a laboratory setting by completing weekly laboratory assignments.

Chemistry Standard

Standard Chemistry introduces students to the properties and behavior of matter. In the normal sequence of study at Santa Catalina, this course is taken in the sophomore year following freshman-level Conceptual Physics and preceding a junior-level biology course. Standard Chemistry is designed to reinforce the concepts mastered in Conceptual Physics and to prepare students for the molecular foundations of biology. In this course we employ an extensive array of lecture-based discussions, demonstrations, activities, laboratory explorations, and examples from everyday life to introduce fundamental chemical concepts. Quantitative chemistry is intentionally de-emphasized in favor of developing a broader, more practical understanding; we want our students to develop the skills and experience necessary to confidently approach the situations or decisions in their lives which may involve a chemical perspective. Finally, chemistry is a laboratory-based science, so students learn to work safely and confidently in a laboratory setting by completing weekly laboratory assignments.

Conceptual Physics

Conceptual Physics exposes students to the fundamental areas of physical science, including kinematics, mechanics, special relativity, energy and simple machines, waves, plate tectonics, sound, light, color, and electricity.

Environmental Sciences AP

Advanced Placement Environmental Science covers the material contained within a one-semester college course Environmental Science. This course integrates extensive readings, discussions, qualitative and quantitative laboratory experiments, environmental monitoring and numerical simulations in order to facilitate the understanding of the interconnections that make our world function. Emphasis is placed on understanding the science behind the complex interactions amongst people, the animals and plants with whom we share the earth, and the physical environment. Topics covered include environmental economics, energy resources, ecology, population studies, climate, geology and soils, agriculture, water, mineral resources, climate change, toxicology, risk assessment, pollution, hazardous waste and biodiversity.

Marine Science

Marine Science introduces students to the scientific investigation of the marine environment. Marine Science is a senior-level elective designed to reinforce the concepts mastered in our freshman-level physics, sophomore-level chemistry, and junior-level biology courses. The goal of Marine Science is to develop a strong foundation in oceanography and marine biology; this foundation will allow students to pursue their individual interests in these fields. Students will be introduced to the marine environment through an extensive array of reading assignments, lecture-based discussions, field trips, and laboratory explorations. Working with live specimens will be an important part of this course, so students will learn how to set up and maintain saltwater aquarium systems.

Physics with Trig/Honors

Quantitative Physics exposes the students to fundamental areas of physical science including kinematics, mechanics, circular motion, rotational motion, equilibrium, work, energy and simple machines, waves, sound, light, geometric optics, color, electrostatics, electrical potential, electrical circuits, and astronomy.