Lab Biology P
Biology is a college-preparatory course designed to satisfy the University of California requirement for a laboratory science. Students learn about interactions in an ecosystem; functions of cells, genetics, and evolution; and characteristics of living things. Students also become knowledgeable of our local environment through weekly oceanographic and biological research at our Zuma Beach study site.

Lab Biology Honors P
Honors Lab. Biology is a university-preparatory course designed to satisfy the University of California requirement for a laboratory science. Students learn about cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, evolution, taxonomy, and ecology. Students also become knowledgeable of our local environment through weekly oceanographic and biological research at our Zuma Beach study site. PREREQUISITE: A’s in 9th Grade Geometry and Earth Science plus the recommendation of 8th Grade Science and Math teachers.

Lab Chemistry P
Chemistry is a college-preparatory course designed to satisfy UC’s requirements for a laboratory science. This course covers the basic concepts of general chemistry: the mathematics of chemistry, atomic structure, inorganic nomenclature, the concept of mole, chemical reactions, stoichiometry, the gas laws, properties of water, solution concentrations, and acid-base chemistry. The course has a laboratory component and is mathematical in nature. PREREQUISITE: Completion of Algebra A/B, concurrent enrollment in Intermediate Algebra, and satisfactory completion of Biology.

Lab Chemistry Honors P
Honors Chemistry is a course designed for students who have demonstrated excellence in Biology and Mathematics. The topics include all those covered in regular Chemistry P plus additional units in Quantum Chemistry, Chemical Periodicity, Thermochemistry, and Neutralization. The course is rigorous in nature, being both fast paced and highly mathematical. It includes a laboratory component. PREREQUISITE: Concurrent enrollment in Intermediate Algebra Honors, a B+ in Biology, a passing score on the Math Diagnostic exam, and science and math teacher recommendations.

Chemistry AP
AP Chemistry is a second-year chemistry course, which mimics a college level Chemistry course, with in-depth treatments of topics, such as gas-phase and solution equilbria, acid-base chemistry, kinetics, thermodynamics, electrochemistry, organic chemistry, and a general review of topics covered in the first year chemistry course. A major component of the course is completion of a set of recommended laboratories in preparation for the AP exam. PREREQUISITE: Completion of Honors Chemistry with a B or better or completion of Chemistry P with a grade of A.

Biology AP
AP Biology is designed to be the equivalent of a college-level introductory biology course. The intent of the course is to expose students to higher-level biological principles, concepts, and skills and allow them the opportunity to apply their knowledge to real-life applications. Students are also expected to learn not by memorization of facts, but through content and concept application via the AP Biology science practices. Core concepts are the basis of the curriculum. These concepts are organized around biological principles called big ideas that permeate the entire course and focus on the topics of evolution, biological systems using energy to maintain homeostasis for survival, passing heritable information to provide continuity of life, and the interaction of biological systems with biotic and abiotic factors. The course prepares students for Advanced Placement exam in May. PREREQUISITE: Completion of Biology P or Chemistry P with a grade of "A" or completion of Biology HP or Chemistry HP with a grade of "B".

Physics P
Physics is a highly mathematical course covering the topics of kinematics, vector analysis, rotational dynamics, heat, sound, light, electricity, magnetism, quantum physics, and relativity. Students learn through lecture, lab, and creative projects. PREREQUISITE: Successful completion of Intermediate Algebra and Chemistry with a grade of B or better.

Physics I AP
Highly mathematical course covering the topics of motion, forces, energy, momentum, rotational dynamics, mechanical waves and circuits. Students learn through lecture, labs, explorations, the Physics Olympics and a field trip for Physics Day at Magic Mountain.

Physics II AP
Highly mathematical course that begins where AP Physics 1 left off. It covers the topics of fluids, heat, waves, sound, light, static electricity, magnetism, quantum physics and relativity. Students learn through lecture, labs and explorations.

Lab Marine Biology HP
Honors Marine Biology is a one-year laboratory and outdoor field research course taught at the college level. The course is research project-oriented and students make extensive use of the beaches, offshore waters, and living marine specimens of southern California for their hands-on studies. Honors Marine Biology requires more calculating, graphing, and reading technical scientific literature than Regular Marine Biology. The course fulfills the University of California admissions requirement for laboratory science at the Honors level. If you like math, the ocean, and the outdoors, this is the Science course for you. PREREQUISITE: The course is open to any student in grades 10, 11, 12 that earned a “B” or better in 9th grade Biology. Students must know how to swim. Transportation fee requested.

AP Environmental Science
The goal of the AP Environmental Science course is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world; to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human made; to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems; and to examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or preventing them. Environmental science is interdisciplinary. It embraces a wide variety of topics from different areas of study: biology, chemistry, physics, geology, oceanography, economics, and political science. APES has a required laboratory and field component. The course prepares students for the national Advanced Placement exam in May. PREREQUISITE: an “A” in Laboratory Biology, or a “B” or higher in Honors Laboratory Biology, AND an “A” in Laboratory Chemistry, or a “B” or higher in Honors Lab Chemistry. The math prerequisite is a “B” or higher in Algebra 2. A transportation fee is requested.

Physiology P
Students will explore the fascinating aspects of how the human body performs its vital functions. Students learn about ten body systems, the structures that make it up, and how these structures work together to carry out their functions. Students will learn about the interdependence among the systems, and how these systems interact with the environment. The course includes studying the major bones, muscles, and organs of the body, the learning of physiological concepts, the application of these concepts to practical situations and the performance of physiological assessment skills. Students also study each of the organ systems under the framework of health and disease, with a focus on how specific diseases affect homeostatic balance in the human body. Students perform dissections of the brain, heart, kidney, eye, and fetal pig to closer examine the interrelationships between structure and function. In addition, students learn practical skills such as perform urinalyses, measure blood pressure, type blood and examine histologic slides under the microscope.
PREREQUISITE: Grade of B or higher in Biology and Chemistry

Introduction to Engineering Design P
Introduction to Engineering Design is the first in a series of courses designed by the private company Project Lead the Way. Students will learn how engineers take an idea through the design process. The emphasis will be on problem solving, completing activities and projects (both individual and group), and communication through various means. Students will learn how to make engineering drawings by hand. Students will learn how to create spreadsheets in Excel. The major emphasis will be on learning to use Inventor, which is a state of the art 3-D design software package from AutoDesk, which is used to create 3-D different design projects and drawings. Students will build, test, and program devices from VEX robotics parts. The year culminates with the construction of a marble sorter. PREREQUISITE: Successful completion of Common Core 8 Math with a grade of B or better.

Digital Electronics and Programming P
Completion of Intro to Engineering Design is a prerequisite for this class. From smart phones to appliances, digital circuits are all around us. This course provides a foundation for students who are interested in electrical engineering, electronics, or circuit design. Students study topics such as combinational and sequential logic and are exposed to circuit design tools used in industry, including logic gates, integrated circuits, and programmable logic devices. Students will also learn to write programs on C++ to perform mathematical operations, random number driven simulations, and searching/sorting algorithms. PREREQUISITE: Completion of Intro to Engineering Design P.