BJU vs Apologia Science-I'm confused!

[SkiMom]

I've read all the threads comparing these two programs, but I am still really torn about which path to take. I have a question that I am hoping someone will be able to explain to me. Are BJU and Apologia regular courses comparable in the content they cover? I know that BJU Biology covers human anatomy, but with Apologia you have to take the advanced biology course to get human anatomy. So...why would I want to spend two years studying with Apologia just to cover the same content as I could cover in one year with BJU? And...what about Apologia Chemistry and Physics? Do you have to take all the advanced courses to cover the same content as in the regular BJU courses? This can't be right...I'm sure I'm missing something here. I've tried comparing their scope & sequence/table of contents, but I can't figure it out. Help...I'm confused! :001_huh: TIA.

[Michelle in MO]

No, I think you have it right---BJU covers in one year of Biology what Apologia takes two years to cover. Nevertheless, we did Apologia because it was fairly understandable from the student's point of view, and with three girls (we're not homeschooling this year, but did for seven years before this year) I needed something that was easy for my oldest daughter to understand. For us, that route worked out very well, as my oldest is doing Advanced Biology using the Campbell's text, and it's a challenging text. She did Apologia Biology in 9th grade, Chemistry in 10th, and this year she's doing the Advanced Biology with the Campbell's text at school. Apologia Chemistry I thought was actually quite good---for the first time I was able to really understand how to balance chemical equations.

If I had gone the route of using BJU's science materials, I would have gone either the DVD route or the HomeSat route, to help further explain the lessons.

Oh---I also using the Teaching Company's high school level DVD's for Chemistry (http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/CourseDescLong2.aspx?cid=111) with Frank Cardulla, which further helped to explain concepts like balancing chemical equations, molarity, Avagadro's number, valances, ions, etc.

HTH!

[SkiMom]

Thanks Michelle,
So is it the same with Chemistry and Physics?

[Michelle in MO]

Thanks Michelle,
So is it the same with Chemistry and Physics?
I think (not completely certain) that chemistry covers what most h.s. kids do in one year of high school chemistry. When I enrolled our three girls in private school, which they started this past autumn, I compared what we did in chemistry compared to what the kids in their private h.s. covered in chemistry. They did more experiments, but they did them in pairs. However, as far as content actually covered---yes, she covered the same topics that the kids in h.s. chemistry covered. Their actual book and table of contents was larger and longer, but I specifically asked the teacher, "What concepts did they cover?" They covered the same material that I covered. According to the Apologia website, I believe that Dr. Wile considers Chemistry and Advanced Chemistry together to be equivalent to AP Chemistry; the same is true of Physics and Advanced Physics, and Biology and Advanced Biology. However, with each of those, should you choose to go the route of taking the AP Exam, I would still have your dc use an AP exam test prep. book. If you wanted your dc to take the AP Biology exam, I would recommend sandwiching one year of the chemistry in between, if possible, and also having him/her study evolutionary theory in depth on the side, even if you don't believe in all of evolutionary theory, because I'm pretty certain that it's covered in the AP Bio. test.

Personally, I like the idea of two years of biology in high school, one for covering the kingdoms, cells, etc., and one year for covering human anatomy and physiology. Yes, BJU covers everything in one year, but it's not like students who have used Apologia have not been exposed to the study of the human body before; it's covered in less depth in the General Science book. I took two semesters of anatomy and physiology, separate from regular biology, in college, and personally I was glad that I did.

There are sometimes lively discussions regarding the two programs---BJU and Apologia. If you plot your course carefully, making sure that you know what route you want to go, whether or not you want your dc to take the AP exams, etc., you can't go wrong, either way. If you use Apologia, just be aware you should do both Biology and Advanced Biology and study evolutionary theory; if you use BJU, you will cover more in one year, but I've heard (again, I'm couching this from my own frame-of-reference, since I did not use BJU Bio.) that BJU is a little less student-friendly, and in that case I would use their DVD's or HomeSat.

Just my .02 worth!

[mamaof2andtwins]

My son has preferred the layout of the BJU texts to those of the Apologia texts. He likes that the BJU books are broken down neatly into 3-4 sections. He actually likes the typical section and chapter review questions. He just generally likes the look and feel of BJU over Apologia. So, that is why we went with it.

Jennie

[SusanAR]

I know that BJU Biology covers human anatomy, but with Apologia you have to take the advanced biology course to get human anatomy. So...why would I want to spend two years studying with Apologia just to cover the same content as I could cover in one year with BJU? :001_huh: TIA.

I think the major difference is that the Apologia expects you to complete the entire book in a school year whereas BJU and others do not. There are 25 chapters and almost 800 pages in the BJU Biology book, and the the teacher's notes state that after allotting the time to the....

"...units they would like to teach, most teachers find that they still have too much material to cover and need to make adjustments."

So, if you cover the entire book, it will take more than a year.
Sometimes this point is overlooked when discussing BJU vs Apologia.

I will add that we began Apologia but switched to BJU because I felt that it covered cellular biology in greater depth. We studied through chapter 19 in one year, but we covered every section and all the labs. We are studying Apologia A & P this year.
FWIW, the majority of my dd's ps Advanced Biology course involved studying the biochemistry/cellular respiration units. VERY LITTLE time was spent on organisms, and human anatomy and physiology wasn't covered at al :001_huh:l.

HTH,
SusanAR

[SkiMom]

Wile considers Chemistry and Advanced Chemistry together to be equivalent to AP Chemistry; the same is true of Physics and Advanced Physics, and Biology and Advanced Biology. !

This is where I am still confused. If Apologia Biology and Advanced Biology together are considered equivalent to an AP course, then wouldn't BJU Biology also be considered an AP course...since it covers the same content? I am not concerned that my ds have an AP course...I just want to make sure that if we use Apologia for chemistry and physics that he will be getting the equivalent of the BJU course...without having to spend twice the time on it. KWIM?

To be honest, I am not really concerned about biology either, since my son is more interested in physics. However, I keep looking at the way Apologia biology is set up, and wondering if all the Apologia high school courses are set up the same way. The reason I keep mentioning the biology course is because it ie easier for me to see that BJU and Apologia don't cover the same material in their regular biology course....but I can't tell about chemistry and physics.

I realize that my ds could just do the Apologia courses and then take an extra year to cover the Advanced Physics course...but because I am so torn between which program to use I really would like to understand the content coverage better to help me decide.




I've heard (again, I'm couching this from my own frame-of-reference, since I did not use BJU Bio.) that BJU is a little less student-friendly, and in that case I would use their DVD's or HomeSat.

Just my .02 worth!

If I decide to go with BJU we would most definitely be using the DVD's.

Thanks for your help Michelle!

[Michelle in MO]

This is where I am still confused. If Apologia Biology and Advanced Biology together are considered equivalent to an AP course, then wouldn't BJU Biology also be considered an AP course...since it covers the same content? I am not concerned that my ds have an AP course...I just want to make sure that if we use Apologia for chemistry and physics that he will be getting the equivalent of the BJU course...without having to spend twice the time on it. KWIM?

I did not use BJU for Biology. You might try posting a different question on this board, about how to prepare for the AP Biology exam, and the best way to do that. For example, my oldest is doing Advanced Biology now at the school she's enrolled in, although she won't be taking the AP Biology exam. But, they are using a text by Campbell's (and the name escapes me right now), which is much more challenging and covers more microbiology and chemical processes within the body, I believe. There are some on these boards that have used the Campbell's text successfully.

But the BJU text? I'm not sure if doing BJU in one year (or however long it would take) would be equivalent to AP Bio. BJU still probably would not cover evolution in depth, since it is written from a creationist viewpoint. With either text---Apologia or BJU---your student would still have to use other materials to study evolutionary theory in order to prepare for the AP Bio exam (or, so I've heard). What I do know is that Dr. Wile states on his website that doing Apologia Biology and Advanced Biology would prepare a student for the AP exam. If I were going that route, I would still have my daughter study evolutionary theory and get a good test prep. book.

You might try a separate thread on this, asking specifically about how to prepare for the AP Bio exam, or whether BJU Biology is sufficient preparation for that exam. I wish I could give you clearer answers, but I really did not use BJU's Biology; I have used BJU science materials before, though, and for myself I found they required more teacher preparation that Apologia. Also, try sending a PM to Quiverof10 (Jean), whom I believe used BJU materials and I think she's having one of her kids do both Biology and Advanced Biology with Apologia this year. She might be able to help you better than I can.

Sorry to not be able to help more. :(

[CynthiaOK]

I've used Apologia Biology, BJU Biology, Apologia Chemistry, and Singapore Chemistry as well as some other sciences. When comparing table of contents, one must realize that the depth to which those subjects are covered is not determined by the TOC. The lady who taught our BJU Biology had previously taught in a local school. She felt that the BJU would be considered AP. I also heard this from some other people on the web. I don't think it would take 2 years to do BJU while it does take that long to do Apologia. And, I know that the depth of the BJU was greater than the depth of Apologia Biology (I can't compare the Advanced books, though). I am finding the same thing with the chemistry. The Apologia chemistry covers the topics, but the depth and variety of problems don't compare to Singapore Chemistry.

One way to look at it (and I know this is overly simplistic) is that Keys to Algebra covers all the topics of an Algebra course, but when compared side by side, Keys to just doesn't provide the same depth of problems as a textbook.

BJU is much more difficult to teach than Apologia. And Apologia isn't going to ruin a student going to college. Personally, I didn't want to be locked into 2 years of biology in order to cover, perhaps in more depth, the same subjects covered in a one year program. This allows my son to have an extra year to pick a science he is interested in - marine life, geology, astronomy, etc.

[hihoboneo]

BJU is more teacher taught, and Apologia is meant to be student taught, that is why there are not any teachers manuals. Each book in Apologia can be counted as a credit, for HS books that is.
I'm not sure I answered all of your question, but I hope that helps some.
Blessings,
BOnnie