Natural Science I

This is the first year of a two-year high school science course that provides the background in earth, life, and physical sciences necessary for success in more intensive college-preparatory courses in biology, chemistry, and physics. The core concepts of modern science are presented in their social and historical context, rather than as abstract theories isolated from each other or their historical roots. We will discover the basic principles underlying both the physical and life sciences, including atomic theory, chemical reactions, motion, energy, electricity and magnetism, classification of living things, ecology, evolution, and cellular biology, along with overviews of the sciences of geology, meteorology, astonomy, oceanography, zoology and botany as we move through the history of scientific ideas from the ancient world to our own time. Students will learn to apply and recognize the limitations and advantages of scientific methodology, experimental and observational methods, and to mathematical methods for data analysis, and to appreciate not only the interrelations between different areas of scientific knowledge, but how the methods of critical analysis of observations developed, and how social forces shaped modern science. The first year covers advances made during ancient, medieval, and Renaissance periods.