Apologia Physical Science for high school?

[mom2three]

Hello,

Could you do Apologia Physical Science as a 9th grade science course? Or is this strictly an 8th grade course?

Thank you.

[Kim in Appalachia]

They say it is not enough for a HS course, but they do accept BJ Phyical Science, which is a 9th grade course. I've seen them both and BJ is much more detailed.

HTH

[Julie in MN]

Kids in our big high school co-ops do take it in 9th, though 8th is more common.

Many of the public schools in our area also offer a more "general" science course for 9th graders not on the honors track (I believe it's called "natural science & lab 9" at the school in my city). The honors track would be Biology in 9th.

Julie

[jelbe5]

My dd (14, Freshman) is doing this course. We meet with two other families once for every module so our 9th graders can do the experiments together and have a lab experience with partners. We all live in IL where the homeschooling regulations are very relaxed. We are planning on doing Biology and Chemistry together in the future.

Adrianne in IL

[TXMary2]

We are going to use it for 9th grade. I would say it depends on what high school graduation requirments are in your area. Our district (which I don't have to follow anyway) only requires 3 years of science. My son will have 4 so it doesn't matter if we do Physical Science in 9th.

[Brigid in NC]

If your student is planning to take biology and chemistry in high school, then I think this would be perfectly appropriate in 9th grade. If you are not planning to include 3-4 years of science in high school, then I would look at the expectations of the colleges that your student might be interested in.

It seems like most colleges like or want to see biology and chemistry, and if you are on a science/engineering track, they will want to see physics, too. So if you have a liberal arts-oriented student, and plan to "check the box" with bio and chem, I suggest that Apologia's physical science is a great option for 9th.

Our public schools start with "Earth Science" in 9th grade. I find it hard to believe that that would be any more rigorous that the phys science option. (Plus, we love Apologia at our house -- we've gone from General Sci to Physics once, and are about to complete the cycle again with the second ds. Your student will learn a lot!)

Good luck!
~Brigid

[Martha in NM]

The content is not terribly difficult, so it allows a student to hone study skills before moving on to more difficult work in high school.

Using Physical Science in 8th will make it a lot easier to complete bio, chem, and physics and then one advanced text of choice. One of the commonest "transcript deficits" I hear about for home schooled students is that they're often light on science. Also, there is no way to predict how general expectations on the part of colleges (or by states which highly regulate home schools) may change in the next few years.

My son did Physical Science 9th, Biology 10th, Chem 11th, Physics & History & Philosophy of Science in 12th. Also, he had two years of high school algebra, geometry, and pre-calc on his transcript as well as one semester of college algebra. I was sure that was plenty for a student who by all appearances was headed for a a non-math or science major. Guess what? He changed his mind over the summer after graduating hs. The fact that he did not do calculus or one of the advanced Apologia texts hasn't derailed his plans; he's doing well as a first-semester college student, but he'd definitely have an easier time and would have saved time and money if he'd done both in high school.

My philosophy is "better to have it and not need it than need it not have it." :D Also, I think that math and science courses are valuable in themselves even for the student who is more inclined to a humanities/liberal arts pursuits. Of course, YMMV!

Martha

[Shelly in MD]

We are using Apologia Physical Science this year for 9th grade, and while I know it is *usually* used in 8th grade, it seems all right for 9th. Not overly challenging, but there is a good bit of terminology and general science included. It seems to me, like Brigid said below, that we still have time to do biology, chemistry, and physics. But, now I am wondering, is there something we should be adding in to make it more rigorous?

[Brigid in NC]

We are using Apologia Physical Science this year for 9th grade, and while I know it is *usually* used in 8th grade, it seems all right for 9th. Not overly challenging, but there is a good bit of terminology and general science included. . . . we still have time to do biology, chemistry, and physics. But, now I am wondering, is there something we should be adding in to make it more rigorous?

If it were me, I would not worry about making the Apologia course more rigorous. Apologia has worked so well for us, that I would hesitate to tweak it. I tell my kids that "'easy' means you've learned it." If you are worried about the rigor, just be sure to do most, if not all the labs, ramp up your lab report expectations, and insist that your kids do the work with excellence.

Just my .02. :001_smile:

[Martha in NM]

We are using Apologia Physical Science this year for 9th grade, and while I know it is *usually* used in 8th grade, it seems all right for 9th. Not overly challenging, but there is a good bit of terminology and general science included. It seems to me, like Brigid said below, that we still have time to do biology, chemistry, and physics. But, now I am wondering, is there something we should be adding in to make it more rigorous?

I wouldn't try to tweak the curriculum per se, but would suggest that you use the year to hone study skills by working on applying some of the principles taught in How to Read a Book and test review techniques. For example, I had ds design his own review sheet for module exams that went beyond the review questions in the text and included definitions, as well as generic descriptions of processes. I also had him do inspectional readings (taught in HTRAB) and outlines before beginning each module.

I'd also assign and discuss outside reading. This would be a good opportunity for discussing the logic of science, what constitutes proof, and evaluating the reliability of different sources.

[Shelly in MD]

Good suggestions; thank you! We actually have been doing a bit of that already, so you've made me feel good about our progress! We've been able to work on study skills, and it is interesting to me how much guidance is needed to learn study skills. I do need to expect more on the lab reports, so that was a good reminder for me. Thank you so much!