Science

7th Grade Science

Length of Course: full year

Grade Level/s: 7

Prerequisites for Course: Completion of 6th grade science

Course Description: This general science course is aligned to Ohio’s Learning Standards. This science course focuses on helping students use scientific inquiry to discover patterns, trends, structures and relationships in nature. All of the topics within this course incorporate the cycling of matter and the flow of energy within a system. The main topics included in 7th grade science are: ecosystems and biomes, ocean and atmospheric currents, cycles and patterns of the earth and the moon, the carbon cycle (photosynthesis and respiration) , basic chemistry and the periodic table, and waves and electricity. 

Advanced 7th Grade Science

Length of Course: Full year

Grade Level/s: 7

Prerequisites for Course: Completion of 6th grade science and teacher recommendation based on state test scores and Iowa Assessment scores

Course Description: This advanced science course is aligned to Ohio’s Learning Standards for 7th and 8th grade science. This science course includes science concepts, processes and ways of thinking. In physical science, students study the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces as well as contact and noncontact forces. Earth science is a major part of this course, where students examine the Earth's structure, plate tectonics, land formations, constructive and destructive processes, the geological time scale and dating of rocks and fossils. In life science, students will explore how natural selection affects populations. They will study differences between asexual and sexual reproduction, the relationship between meiosis and mitosis and Mendel’s Laws of Heredity. 

8th Grade Science

Length of Course: Full year

Grade Level/s: 8

Prerequisites for Course: Completion 7th grade science

Course Description: This general science course is aligned to Ohio’s Learning Standards. This science course includes science concepts, processes and ways of thinking. In physical science, students study the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces as well as contact and noncontact forces. Earth science is a major part of this course, where students examine the Earth's structure, plate tectonics, land formations, constructive and destructive processes, the geological time scale and dating of rocks and fossils. In life science, students will explore how natural selection affects populations. They will study differences between asexual and sexual reproduction, the relationship between meiosis and mitosis and Mendel’s Laws of Heredity. 

Physical Science 

Length of Course: Full year

Grade Level/s: 8

Prerequisites for Course: Successful completion of Advanced 7th Grade Science

Course Description: Physical science is a high school course that satisfies the Ohio Core science graduation requirements. This course involves hands-on laboratory experiences that engage students in gathering and analyzing information. Physical science introduces students to key concepts and theories that provide a foundation for its reactions, energy, transformations, waves, forces, motion, and the universe.