Science

What is life?
How can we account for its dual nature of unity and diversity?
What is the relationship between structure and function at each level of the biological hierarchy?
Why is nature vs. nurture an ongoing discussion?
How are body systems interdependent?
How does life share and recycle matter and energy?
How is genetics related to and responsible for evolution?

This course explores basic biological principles as well as current research in molecular/cellular biology, genetics, zoology (including human biology), botany, ecology, and evolution. Students work cooperatively during weekly lab sessions to improve their understanding of biology while learning and applying the scientific process.

Fall Semester: Molecular and Cellular Biology
This semester begins by exploring the four classes of biological macromolecules (proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids), including their synthesis, structures, and various roles/functions. We will discuss bonding, intermolecular forces, and reactions that these molecules undergo. There is also the opportunity to explore how disorders can result from abnormalities at the molecular level (protein misfolding/mutations in DNA/errors in glycosylation). Using knowledge of these molecules, we will then explore the lives of cells, including organelles and functions, transfer of materials across the cellular membrane, movement, signaling/communication, and energy transformation (cellular respiration and photosynthesis).

Spring Semester: Genetics, Evolution and Ecology
This semester starts with the explanation of sexual life cycles and the importance of meiosis. We review Mendelian Genetics and then delve into more advanced topics such as epistasis, pleiotropy, epigenetics and the regulation of gene expression. After exploring the chromosomal and the molecular basis of inheritance, students move from genes to genomes, which is a nice segue into evolutionary principles. We study the mechanisms of evolution and the evolutionary history of biological diversity, as students explore topics like natural selection, population genetics, and speciation. Next, we concentrate on basic plant biology by learning the anatomy and physiology of plants but also applying principles learned in genetics and evolution. This provides the bridge into our final unit which covers principles of ecology at the population, community and ecosystem levels.

Departmental permission required.

How is the human body more than merely the sum of its parts?

What are the necessary functions to sustain life?
How are cells and tissues related?
How does “form fit function” at the cellular level? Tissue level? System level?
How does disease and disorder upset homeostasis?

This is an intensive course that presents an in-depth study of the human body systems introduced in 9th grade Biology. In this course, students will investigate the basic structure and function of the human body with an emphasis on how the body systems interrelate, maintain homeostasis, and are impacted by disease. It begins with the language of anatomy, studying body tissues and membranes and then moves to the anatomy and physiology of each body system (i.e. skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular, nervous, respiratory etc.) Students who take this course should be prepared to type their own blood and dissect organs such as a heart and brain, as well as an organism (fetal pig).

Prerequisites: Biology and Chemistry

What is ethics? What are the main ethical theories?
Can science be ethical or unethical?
Should scientists consider the moral implications of their fields of study?
Who decides and how do we decide?

While preparing seniors to become leaders in a global community, the goal of this class is to provide students with a framework to analyze the many difficult situations humans face in the 21st century. As science and technology becomes more advanced, biomedical dilemmas seem to get more complicated. Using their own moral compasses and theories in ethics as guides, students will be exploring case studies based on historic cases as well as current events. This class will begin with a study of the foundations of bioethics -- basic ethical theories, major moral principles, and medical practices. Information will be presented using the text Intervention and Reflection, as well as using many forms of media including journals, magazines, and newspapers. Possible topics include: Organ Transplants; Euthanasia; Genetic and Reproductive Control; and Research Ethics, Rights and Informed Consent.

How does the study of atoms facilitate the understanding of chemical phenomena in our daily life?
How can the Periodic Table be used as a tool to explain chemical bonding?
How do intermolecular forces lead to the emergent properties of matter?
How does equilibrium affect reactions in solutions?
How are electrochemical phenomena explained by the transfer of electrons?

In this introductory chemistry course students learn the basic concepts of chemistry and the scientific approach to problem solving. There is a strong emphasis on laboratory experimentation and practical applications of chemistry in the everyday world. The course includes the following topics: energy, atomic structure and theory, bonding and the periodic table, as well as a wide range of topics in both environmental and consumer chemistry. It is designed to give the student an appreciation of the forces of chemistry in the environment and to build the chemistry foundation necessary for elective science courses.

Advanced Chemistry I will be a fast moving first year course that goes into the most important fundamental concepts of Chemistry quickly and in depth with a particular focus on quantitative analysis and calculations. The course emphasizes chemistry as a study of change and encourages independent problem solving, scientific collaboration, and the application of chemistry to society. The laboratory work will develop reasoning power, the ability to apply chemical principles in new ways, and will allow students to develop their own procedures and practice laboratory techniques.

Departmental permission required.

This class will cover aspects of chemistry that require more quantitative ability and a greater capacity to see connections in different topics than typically seen in a first year course. In particular, an emphasis will be placed on seeing how chemistry relates to and can inform a more complete understanding of biological systems. This course will expose students to current research being done in a variety of chemistry-related fields and will give students an opportunity to practice more advanced chemistry lab techniques. Many units will cover material that students have not seen before, while others will go into more depth on topics introduced in Chemistry 1. Departmental permission required.

How did the electric chair become a means of execution in the US?
How does a little battery make such a big flash in a pocket camera?
How do you make a flashlight that doesn’t use batteries?
How do you make a circuit that turns on when it gets light? What about when it gets hot?
Why do parachutes make us hit the ground more softly?
Why would a rocket work on Earth but a jet fail in space?
How do you throw the perfect knuckleball?
How can a spinning space ship reproduce gravity?
When is an electron like a wave of light? When is a wave of light like an electron?
Why does a fast moving ten foot pole pass through an eight-foot barn?

Physics is an inquiry-based course designed to enable and encourage students to think critically about the world in which they live. Students will be left with the understanding that Physics is an evolving field of study; they will examine physical preconceptions and misconceptions in order to come to a more complete understanding of how things work. The curriculum will be broad; students will be exposed to many different aspects of both classical and modern Physics. Topics may include Newton’s Laws of Motion, Electricity and Magnetism, as well as modern topics such as Special Relativity and Quantum Physics. Applications of concepts to life and history will be emphasized, and students will participate in laboratory practical activities as well as hands-on out of class projects. Chemistry is a prerequisite for this course.

This course will retrace the steps that we followed in Physics 1 - only with greater generality. We will start with dynamics and kinematics once again, but this time with a calculus-based approach that incorporates the differential changes that form the backbone of a true understanding of motion. We will add rigid body rotation and moment of inertia, as well as non-uniform circular motion, to our basic understanding of uniform circular motion. We will explore torque and magnetic force as cross products, and we will add vector components to our understanding of the conservation of momentum and projectile motion. We will also apply instantaneous rates of change to electromagnetic induction, and we will touch on matrix multiplication as we solve for current in complex circuits using Kirchhoff’s laws. We will move on to the mind-bending relationship between space and time known as Special Relativity. After briefly touching on the even more revolutionary - but experimentally supported - theory of General Relativity, we will explore the alternate explanation for reality known as quantum physics, and gain understanding of some of the key topics on the forefront of current physics research. Prerequisites: Calculus I or Advanced Calculus I, Physics, and departmental permission. Advanced Calculus I may also be taken concurrently.

In this three-year sequence, students will write their own essential questions and perform original scientific research. In the long-term arc of the course, students will read and analyze peer reviewed literature, verify published experimental results, and design, conduct, and present their findings of their own original research.

In their first year (Introduction to Science Research and Design, which students take as 10th graders), students will read a variety of papers and articles as they learn to dissect and understand scientific writing and expose themselves to many different fields of study. They will take part in a scaffolded research study on a prescribed topic as they learn the nuts and bolts of scientific research. This research study will include a required Spring Intensive course in which students master scientific research methods and learn how to design detailed, iterative procedures and record experimental results. By the end of their 10th grade year, students should have a sense for the requirements of a complete scientific study.

In this three-year sequence, students will write their own essential questions and perform original scientific research. In the long-term arc of the course, students will read and analyze peer reviewed literature, verify published experimental results, and design, conduct, and present their findings of their own original research.

During their second year (Advanced Science Research and Design, which students take as 11th graders), students will further hone their research skills by replicating a published research study before designing and conducting their own independent projects. Throughout the year, students will continue to familiarize themselves with background literature, adjust their procedure as needed by their experimental observations, and record and analyze their results. By the end of their second year, they will have completed several rounds of their own long-term study and they will have proposed how that study could be modified and redone. They will defend their findings in an end of year oral exam.

In this three-year sequence, students will effectively write their own essential questions as they undertake to perform their own original scientific research. They will meet in both small and large groups as they gradually become experts in their own fields of study.

In the third year of Science Research (Science Research and Design: Symposium, which students take as 12th graders) students will principally mentor and facilitate the research of younger students, finalize their own individual research, and write a journal article of their own reflecting their results. They will publish their paper in the Proceedings of the Berkeley Carroll Independent Research Conference and present their results at an internal scholarly colloquium.

How does the brain work?
How do we think?
How are we influenced?
How are our behaviors, thoughts, and emotions interconnected?
What are the ethical and moral concerns when engaging in psychological experimentation?

In this course, students will explore the principles that govern human behavior through the three major lenses: biological, psychological, and social. The common goal of all psychological science is to understand how the mind (the “concept”) and the brain (the “physical”) interface with the external world to shape behavior. This course is meant to be a broad introduction to the field of psychology, presenting the major historical backgrounds, scientists, experiments, and theories. Students will gain an understanding of the biological bases of behavior. We will then cover sensation, perception, the self, and learning. We will follow up by exploring our own cognition (ie. thinking), how we develop over time, our personality and emotions, and how we interact with those around us. Students should be prepared for extensive readings that will prepare us for our discussion-based classes.

A blend of environmental science and environmental studies, this course develops students’ scientific and social literacy and critical thinking skills in regards to the environment. Students will apply their knowledge of basic chemistry, biology and the social sciences to the interactions we, as humans, make with our environment on a daily basis. As global citizens, students should develop a deep understanding of the impact of humans on the environment and an appreciation for the beauty and complexity of the world around us.

While learning about environmental phenomena and interactions, students will focus on several overlapping main ideas:

• The Earth is one interconnected system.
• Energy conservation is the underlying factor in all ecological processes.
• Humans alter natural systems.
• Environmental problems have a cultural and social context.

• Human survival is dependent on developing sustainable systems through improved practices and technologies.

The goal of this course is to provide students with an introduction to materials science - also known as the science of “stuff” - and engineering, which is the study of how to put the “stuff” to use in an impactful way. The course will begin as a study of materials themselves. Why do some materials shatter while others smush? What is silly putty? What happens to a bouncy ball when you freeze it? What is plastic? Why are plastic water bottles flimsier than Coca-Cola bottles? These are just a few of the questions that we will seek to answer and in doing so, you will learn a new vocabulary for describing the things, and by extension the world, around you. Once students have a deeper understanding of the material world, they will start designing and building. Over the year, they will engineer Rube Goldberg machines, bridges, alternative energy sources, and learn the basics of computer-aided design and robotics. Students will build things and break things. They will learn to design objects that serve a needed function and meet a specific set of constraints as well as come up with ideas for new inventions. Students will learn about structures and innovations that have dramatically changed the world, as well as ones that have failed with devastating consequences. Ultimately the purpose of this course is to provide students with a hands-on approach to problem solving and to get them excited about the world around them through a combination of tinkering and an introduction to fundamental engineering principles.