AP Biology

Prerequisites: Biology 1 or Honors Biology 1, Honors Biology 2, Chemistry 1 or Honors Chemistry 1, and Anatomy & Physiology

AP Biology is an introductory college- level biology course in which students are given an opportunity to receive college credit. Students cultivate their understanding of biology through inquiry-based investigations as they explore the following topics: evolution, cellular process, energy and communication, genetics, ecology, and interactions. The pacing and workload will be at a rate expected in a regular college class, with 25% instructional time being devoted to hands-on laboratory work with an emphasis on inquiry-based investigations. Students use evidence and scientific method to develop and refine testable explanations and predictions of natural phenomena. The course is based on four Big ideas, which encompass core scientific principles, theories, and processes that cut across traditional boundaries and provide a broad way of thinking about living organisms and biological systems. The following are the four big ideas. 1) The process of evolution explains the diversity and unity of life. 1) Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis. 3) Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes. 4) Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.

AP Human Geography

Prerequisites: None

AP Human Geography introduces students to the systematic patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of the Earth's surface. Students employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine human social organization and its environmental consequences. They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice.

AP Physics 2

Prerequisites: AP Physics 1

AP Physics 2 is a second course in Physics and can be taken by any student who has successfully completed General Physics or AP Physics 1. This course expands on the fundamental principles taught in Physics 1 and applies them to more complex topics that are foundational to modern society. This course is an excellent choice for students interested in pursuing a career in Engineering, Physics, or other fundamental sciences. Students who earn a 3 or higher on the AP Exam may be eligible to receive college credit. Topics covered include electricity, magnetism, thermodynamics, optics, fluid statics and dynamics, atomic and nuclear physics, and quantum mechanics.

AP U.S. Government & Politics

Prerequisites: None

AP United States Government and Politics introduces students to key political ideas, institutions, policies, interactions, roles, and behaviors that characterize the political culture of the United States. The course examines politically significant concepts and themes, through which students learn to apply disciplinary reasoning assess causes and consequences of political events, and interpret data to develop evidence-based arguments.

AP Studio Art - Drawing & 3D Design

Prerequisites: Visual Art 1, Visual Art 2, Visual Art 3

The AP Studio Art Program consists of three portfolio exams—2-D Design, 3-D Design, and Drawing—corresponding to the college foundation courses. Portfolios allow flexibility of coursework while guiding students to produce college-level quality, artistic investigation, and breadth of work. The Drawing portfolio addresses issues such as line quality, light and shade, rendering of form, composition, surface manipulation, the illusion of depth, and mark-making. Students' portfolios demonstrate skills and ideas developed, refined, and applied throughout the course to produce visual compositions. Students may choose to submit any or all of the portfolios. Portfolios are evaluated based on standardized scoring descriptors aligned with skills and understanding developed in college foundation courses.

AP European History

Prerequisites: None

The AP European History course focuses on developing students' understanding of European history from approximately 1450 to the present. The course has students investigate the content of European history for significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in four historical periods, and develop and use the same thinking skills and methods (analyzing primary and secondary sources, making historical comparisons, chronological reasoning, and argumentations) employed by historians when they study the past. The course also proves five themes (interaction of Europe and the world; poverty and prosperity; objective knowledge and subjective visions; states and other institutions of power; and individual and society) that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places.

AP Statistics

Prerequisites: Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 (Honors recommended)

The purpose of the AP course in statistics is to introduce students to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing and drawing conclusions from data. Students are exposed to four broad conceptual themes: 1) Exploring Data: Describing patterns and departures from patterns, 2)Sampling and Experimentation: Planning and conducting a study,3) Anticipating Patterns: Exploring random phenomena using probability and simulation, 4) Statistical Inference: Estimating population parameters and testing hypotheses