Class Overview

• Unit 1: Physical Science - Matter and its Interactions

FOCUS: Classifying elements, compounds, and mixtures; atomic structure (protons, neutrons, electrons); periodic table organization (metals, nonmetals, metalloids); physical vs. chemical properties and changes; and balancing chemical equations to support the Law of Conservation of Mass. 

• Unit 2: Earth Science - Earth & Human Activity, Earth's Systems, & History

FOCUS: Renewable vs. nonrenewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydroelectric, fossil fuels, nuclear); global climate change and human impact; structure of the hydrosphere (river basins, estuaries, ocean currents); water quality indicators and stewardship; and relative dating of rocks and fossils.

• Unit 3: Life Science - Ecosystems, Pathogens, & Biological Evolution

FOCUS: Biotic and abiotic factors; relationships in ecosystems (producers, consumers, decomposers, symbiosis); food webs and energy flow; characteristics of viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites; epidemics vs. pandemics; and comparative anatomy, fossils, and natural selection.