Page 5 - 2017-2018 Class Catalog

• Honors Planetary Science and Astronomy- (high school) This class will explore the creation of the universe, the
solar system, and special attention will be spent on the inner workings of the earth. It will include environmental
science and meteorology as well and will explore many of the national parks around the world. The Astronomy
section will include explorations of meteors, comets, extraterrestrial bodies, nebulae and more. Some night time
viewing of astronomical objects may be required. Prerequisite: Completion of College Bound Chemistry with no
less than a C, special permission may be given with instructor approval. Teacher: Becky Thai Required
Textbooks: In the Beginning by Walt Brown, Geology by John Morris, Earth Science Geology, the Environment,
and the Universe by Hess, Hsu, Kunze... Recommended Book: Earth's Catastrophic Past: Geology, Creation & the
Flood by Andrew Snelling Recommended Donation of $15 per weekly class

• Physics for Phun - (middle school) This class is designed to help kids enjoy science and allow them explore
physics without the intimidation of math. Complete understanding of all the concepts cannot occur without the
algebra / calculus, but this will lay a wonderful foundation for further exploration in the future. The course will
begin with the laws of motion and simple machines. We will continue to explore the areas of optics, gravity,
light, sound, waveforms, electricity and solar power. Basic math skills including basic addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division. May need to be familiar with fractions and decimals from time to time. We will be
using a few very simple formulas but mostly from a conceptual standpoint, rather than using them to calculate
an answer. Required Textbook: The World of Physics by Tiner Teacher: Elijah McKenna Recommended Donation
of $15 per weekly class

• Physical Science-(open to 8th & 9th graders) This course is designed to be the last science course the student
takes before high school chemistry. Thus, we generally recommend it as an 8th grade course. However, your
student can also use it for their 9th grade course work. The text discusses such topics as the atmosphere, the
hydrosphere, weather, the structure of the earth, environmentalism, the physics of motion, Newton’s Laws,
gravity, and astrophysics. The author especially concentrates on the myths generated by the hysterical
environmentalist movement. There are many hands-on experiments to do, and they all use household chemicals
and supplies. Required Text: Apologia Physical Science 2nd edition Teacher: Leigh Elkins Recommended
Donation of $15 per weekly class

• Honors Organic Chemistry- (Target HS) Organic Chemistry is offered as a year-long elective science class to
enrich what is being offered by parents and other institutions as a typical high school chemistry class. This is an
honors class and is open by invitation only. Invitations will be extended to those students who have been
awarded an 85% or greater in general chemistry. There is much less math involved than in general chemistry,
however there is a fair amount of memorization for naming and some abstract concepts are presented. Most
things are done with hands on application and there is an emphasis on learning how to identify unknown
substances through organized testing procedures and flow charts. Prerequisite: Must have completed a year of
general chemistry. No exceptions will be granted. Required Textbook: pending Teacher: Becky Thai
Recommended Donation of $18 per weekly class due to excessive cost of supplies and specialty chemicals used
in this class.

• College Bound Chemistry- (Target gifted middle school and high school) Covers a comprehensive variety of topics
for high school chemistry such as a lab safety certification requirement, atomic history and modeling,
stoichiometry, acids and bases, reaction types, Lewis structures and VESPR modeling plus many more things in
a fun and engaging experience. Our class is unique among home school chemistry classes because we use a much
more hands on approach with many different models, interactive activities, and real chemicals not accessible to
most home school families. Students will leave the class with a collection of lab reports that demonstrate they
completed the classic labs that colleges are looking for upon admission. Students leave the class with a working