Group 4: Science
BIOLOGY 1 IB (HL first year)
Credit: 1.0 Full year; Grade 11 or 12
Note: This is the first year of a two-year IB Biology sequence. Students are welcome to take this course without continuing to the second year if they are interested in an advanced biology class and are not seeking an IB certificate.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of two years of laboratory science including earning a “C” or higher in Biology. It is recommended, but not required, to have successful completion of Chemistry.
Course Objective: This course is open to any student meeting the prerequisites and specifically meets the IB full diploma science requirement. The IB biology curriculum is designed to provide students with the conceptual framework, factual knowledge and analytical skills necessary to deal critically with the rapidly changing and expanding science of biology in the modern world. The successful student will develop his or her experimental and investigative skills. This is a rigorous, in depth, two -year biology sequence; designed to be taken the junior and senior years. Biology 1 IB will cover cell biology, physiology, ecology and plant science. In addition, a required group project will be completed with another IB science class.
BIOLOGY 2 IB (HL second year)
Credit: 1.0; Full year; Grade 12
Prerequisite: Biology 1 IB (HL)
Course Objective: This course is open to any student meeting the prerequisites and specifically meets the IB full diploma science requirement. The Biology IB curriculum is designed to provide students with a conceptual framework, factual knowledge and analytical skills necessary to deal critically with the rapidly changing and expanding science of biology in the modern world. The successful student will develop his or her experimental and investigative skills. This rigorous, in depth, two year biology sequence is designed to be taken the junior and senior years. Biology 2 IB will cover statistics, the chemistry of life, genetics and evolution. To earn the IB designation on higher level courses, students must take the IB external assessments. See fee schedule and the details included in the IB portion of this handbook.
ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS and SOCIETIES 1 IB (SL First Year)
This course is the PREREQUISITE for the ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS and SOCIETIES 2 IB (SL)
Credit: 1.0; Full year; Grades 11 or 12
NOTE: This is year one of the two year IB Environmental Systems and Societies sequence designed for IB diploma and IB certificate candidates. However, students are welcome to take this course without going on to the second year if they are interested in only one year of an environmental science course.
Prerequisite(s): Completion of two years of lab science including earning a C or higher in Biology.
Course Objective: This course is the PREREQUISITE for the ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS and SOCIETIES 2 IB. The intent of this course is to provide students with a coherent perspective of the interrelationships between environmental systems and societies; one that is scientific and enables the adoption of an informed personal response to the wide range of environmental issues societies around the world face. This course emphasizes the scientific method, field studies, analysis of quantitative data, and strong lab design skills. Topics to be covered are systems and models, ecosystems, food matrixes, natural selection and speciation, water resources and management, pollution management, and the history of the environmental movement. Students will be participating in field trips to Glacier National Park, the Flathead River, and either Newport, OR or Moab, UT to complete ecological field studies. Further class details can be found online at www.mscordes.com.
ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS and SOCIETIES 2 IB (SL Second Year)
Credit: 1.0; Full year; Grade 11 or 12
NOTE: Students must have successfully completed Environmental Systems and Societies 1 IB before registering for Environmental Systems and Societies 2 IB.
Prerequisite: Completion of Biology and Environmental Systems and Societies1 IB with a C or higher.
Course Objective: The intent of this course is to provide students with a coherent perspective of the interrelationships between environmental systems and societies; one that is scientific and enables the adoption of an informed personal response to the wide range of environmental issues societies around the world face. This course emphasizes the value of empirical, quantitative and objective data in describing and analyzing environmental systems. This course also provides students with the experiences and skills necessary to quantitatively examine the environment. Field research is a significant portion of the curriculum. Topics to be covered are soil systems, food production/agriculture, plant ecology, human population, energy resources and natural capital, atmosphere studies and island biogeography and reserve design. Students will be participating in field trips to Glacier National Park, the Flathead River, and either Newport, OR or Moab, UT to complete ecological field studies.
PHYSICS 1 IB (SL First Year)
Credit: 1.0; Full Year; Grades 11, 12
NOTE:This is year one of the two year IB Physics sequence designed for IB diploma and IB certificate candidates. However, students are welcome to take this course without going on to the second year if they are interested in only one year of a challenging physics class.)
Prerequisites: Successful completion of two years of lab science and completion of Algebra 2 with a “C” or better or currently enrolled in Algebra 2.
Course Objectives: This course is designed to meet the needs of college bound students and will fulfill the IB full diploma science requirement. It is a course designed to provide students with the conceptual framework, factual knowledge, and analytical skills necessary to deal with diverse physics topics and their applications in the dynamic, modern world. Topics studied include measurement, mechanics, thermodynamics, harmonic motion and waves, electric currents, fields and forces, atomic and nuclear physics, energy and power, electromagnetic waves, and sight. Laboratory work is emphasized and requires structured labs, research papers and experimental projects. Instruction is student-centered with cooperative learning as well as teacher direction, thus offering the student a college-level physics experience. Only those students choosing to enroll in both years of IB Physics, will sit for the standard level exam, offered in the spring of the second year. An interdisciplinary group project helps students realize that all scientific disciplines share the common goal of understanding how the world works, and that scientists can work together on problems to discover solutions to a common goal. Students entering the program may be given a summer assignment, which will review basic mathematical skills and introduce concepts of analytical reasoning.
PHYSICS 2 IB (SL Second Year)
Credit: 1.0; Full Year; Grade 11 or 12
NOTE:This is year two of the two year Physics IB sequence designed for IB diploma and IB certificate candidates.
Prerequisites: Successful completion of Physics 1 IB.
Course objectives: This course is designed to meet the needs of college bound students and will fulfill the IB full diploma science requirement. It is a course designed to provide students with the conceptual framework, factual knowledge, and analytical skills necessary to deal with diverse physics topics and their applications in the dynamic, modern world. Topics studied include atomic and nuclear physics, energy and power, electromagnetic waves, and sight. Laboratory work is emphasized and requires structured labs, research papers, and experimental projects. Instruction is student-centered with cooperative learning as well as teacher direction, thus offering the student a college-level physics experience. Only those students choosing to enroll in both years of IB Physics, will sit for the standard level exam, offered in the spring of the second year. An interdisciplinary group project helps students realize that all scientific disciplines share the common goal of understanding how the world works, and that scientists can work together on problems to discover solutions to a common goal. Students entering the program may be given a summer assignment, which will review basic mathematical skills and introduce concepts of analytical reasoning.
To earn the IB designation on higher level courses, students must register and take the IB external assessment during their senior year.