Length/Credit: 1 year/1.0 credit
Note: It is recommended that students take Biology in 9th or 10th grade.
Description: Biology is a broad study of living organisms that will address topics ranging from ecosystem interactions, photosynthesis, cell respiration, inheritance of traits, evolution and the study of biological systems in relation to stability and change. The course is aligned with the NGSS and will include laboratory based activities that emphasize the analysis and interpretation of data, constructing explanations, and designing solutions with an engineering focus. This course includes opportunities for dissection of preserved specimens, for evaluating and communicating scientific information and discussion based inquiry analysis.
Length/Credit: 1 year/1.0 credit
Note: This course is open to students in grades 9-12.
Description: The ideas of physics are presented conceptually through lecture, discussion, and hands-on lab activities. This class will include various projects utilizing the engineering design process, and inquiry activities. Math is used as a tool to enhance the conceptual understanding of physics. The study of mechanics is thoroughly investigated and includes topics such as kinematics, Newton’s laws, momentum, energy, projectile motion and satellite motion. Additional topics may include wave motion, light, and sound. A scientific calculator is required for each student.
Length/Credit: 1 year/1.0 credit
Prerequisite: Biology or Physics. Students may be concurrently enrolled in Chemistry and Physics.
Description: Chemistry focuses on the fundamental building block of matter, the atom, and its interaction with other atoms and subatomic particles. This course emphasizes a conceptual understanding of chemistry using overarching questions from earth and space science to engage and illustrate that although atoms are incredibly small they define the physical universe. Course topics include the particulate nature of matter, atomic structure, the periodic table, chemical bonds & reactions, stoichiometry, thermochemistry, & gases. Skills and practices developed through class and laboratory work include mathematical problem solving, inductive and deductive reasoning, observation, and scientific modeling. Primary goals of the course are to equip students to excel on the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS), prepare for AP science courses and/or post-secondary education, and possess the scientific literacy expected of an informed 21st century citizenry. Chemistry is highly recommended for those students who intend to major in any STEM related course of study.
Length/Credit: 1 year/1.0 credit
Prerequisite: Biology AND Physics or Chemistry.
Description: The world’s oceans are strikingly beautiful, filled with amazing life and increasingly threatened. Marine Science is a course for students who want to devote one sixth of their class schedule to understanding this largest habitat on earth, and to putting personal energy into shaping our human impacts on the seas. All students will design and build, with a partner, an underwater robot capable of maneuvering to depths of 15 to 20 feet and bringing back video images of underwater realms. Students will design and carry out field research projects on Bainbridge Island’s vital shorelines. Class members are encouraged to apply their personal interests in art, photography, writing, reading, exploring, fishing, cooking and music to their work in this class, as they become Students of the Ocean. There is a $15 fee for materials to build an underwater robot.
Length/Credit: 1 year/1.0 credit
Note: This course fulfills either a CTE or Science credit. Students will be able to take the Medical Forensics Certification exam at the end of the year through Washington State. For students planning to pursue college athletics, please note that his course is not NCAA approved.
Prerequisite: Biology AND Physics or Chemistry.
Description: Forensic science is the application of science to the law. Forensics is a multifaceted discipline, drawing on biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, law, history, math, technology, language, and reasoning skills. At Bainbridge High school we will be covering a broad range of topics found in the forensic science realm, and will be learning through many hands– on experiences. Students will be able to complete a Medical Forensics certification for the state of Washington if they pass the year end test, and can complete state wide in medical forensics through the HOSA club at the school.
Skills covered include: Crime scene investigation and evidence collection, fingerprints, casts and impressions, DNA profiling, forensic toxicology, physiology of alcohol and poisons, handwriting analysis, forgery, and counterfeiting, arson and fire investigations, blood and blood splatter, tool marks, firearms and ballistics, interrogation and forensic reporting, forensic psychology, death: manner, mechanism, and cause, entomology, body systems, physical trauma, anthropology, hair and fiber analysis, and criminal profiling. Mock crime scenes will be investigated and real case studies analyzed.
Length/Credit: 1 year/1.0 credit
Note: This course counts as either a Science or CTE credit. This course is open to students in grades 11-12.
Prerequisite: Biology and Chemistry (or concurrent enrollment in Chemistry).
Description: In this challenging hands-on course, students work through interesting real world cases and often play the role of biomedical professionals to solve medical mysteries. Students engage in the study of the processes, structures, and interactions of the human body systems. Important concepts in the course include: communication, transport of substances, locomotion, metabolic processes, defense, and protection. The central theme is how the body systems work together to maintain homeostasis and good health. The systems are studied as “parts of the whole,” working together to keep the amazing human machine functioning at an optimal level. Students will design experiments, investigate the structures and functions of body systems, and use data acquisition software to monitor body functions. Dissection is an integral part of the curriculum. Computers and the Internet are used extensively throughout the course.
Length/Credit: 1 year/1.0 Science credit
Note: Students are required to take the AP Biology Exam in May.
Prerequisite: Biology, Chemistry and Algebra II.
Description: Advanced Placement Biology is a rigorous and demanding course, equivalent to an introductory two-semester college biology course. It was designed to follow the successful completion of Biology and Chemistry. The new AP Biology curriculum encompasses four big ideas: Evolution, Cellular Processes, Genetics and Information Transfer, and Interactions. A significant amount of studying must be completed at home to allow time for discussion, labs, and inquiry during class. The course will include the thirteen labs activities required by the College Board plus supplemental labs as necessary. Pre-course supplemental reading is required for this class. Students are expected to take the AP Exam upon course completion.
**Advanced Placement Course Fee: There is a fee for AP Exam, determined by The College Board each year. BHS has scholarship funds available to students to cover this fee as needed. Students enrolled in an AP class will be required to take the Advanced Placement examination in May. College credits may be granted based upon individual performance on this test and the policy of the college attended.
Length/Credit: 1 year/1.0 Science credit
Note: Students are required to take the AP Chemistry Exam in May.
Prerequisite: Chemistry and Algebra II
Description: The AP Chemistry course is designed to be the equivalent of the general chemistry course usually taken during the first college year. The AP Chemistry course provides students with a college-level foundation to support future advanced coursework in chemistry. Students cultivate their understanding of chemistry through inquiry-based investigations, as they explore content such as: atomic structure, intermolecular forces and bonding, chemical reactions, kinetics, thermodynamics, and equilibrium. This course requires that 25 percent of instructional time engages students in lab investigations. This includes a minimum of 16 hands-on labs (at least six of which are inquiry-based). It is recommended that students keep a lab notebook throughout.
**Advanced Placement Course Fee: There is a fee for AP Exam, determined by The College Board each year. BHS has scholarship funds available to students to cover this fee as needed. Students enrolled in an AP class will be required to take the Advanced Placement examination in May. College credits may be granted based upon individual performance on this test and the policy of the college attended.
Length/Credit: 1 year/1.0 Science credit
Note: This course fulfills either a CTE or Science credit. Students are required to take the AP Physics C Exam in May.
Prerequisite: Physics or Chemistry, and Pre-Calculus.
Description: Advanced Placement Physics C is designed to be equivalent to a one year college physics course that serves as the foundation in physics for students majoring in the physical sciences or engineering. The course utilizes guided inquiry and student-centered learning to foster the development of critical thinking skills. Introductory differential and integral calculus will be use throughout the course. Students are not required to have taken calculus but calculus will be introduced as needed with the physics. The course will cover topics in kinematics, Newton’s laws of motion, work, energy, power, momentum, circular motion and rotation, and oscillations and gravitation. The second semester will cover some topics in electrostatics, electric circuits, magnetic fields and electromagnetism.
**Advanced Placement Course Fee: There is a fee for AP Exam, determined by The College Board each year. BHS has scholarship funds available to students to cover this fee as needed. Students enrolled in an AP class will be required to take the Advanced Placement examination in May. College credits may be granted based upon individual performance on this test and the policy of the college attended.
Length/Credit: 1 year/1.0 Science credit
Note: This course fulfills either a CTE or Science credit. Students are required to take the AP Environmental Science Exam in May.
Prerequisite: Biology AND one year of either Physics or Chemistry.
Description: Advanced Placement Environmental Science 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 or preventing them. Environmental science is interdisciplinary; it embraces a wide variety of topics from different areas of study. Yet there are several major unifying constructs, or themes that cut across the many topics included in the study of environmental science.
**Advanced Placement Course Fee: There is a fee for AP Exam, determined by The College Board each year. BHS has scholarship funds available to students to cover this fee as needed. Students enrolled in an AP class will be required to take the Advanced Placement examination in May. College credits may be granted based upon individual performance on this test and the policy of the college attended.