Math and Science Sequence for an aspiring scientist?

[CAMom]

Hi All~

 

It's been a while since I've been on the high school board. :) My oldest is a college graduate and my middle is a junior in college.

 

My youngest will be in jr high next school year, so I am beginning to map out his journey.

 

At this point, he is insistent that he wants to major in physics in college. Whether he sticks with physics or not, I am fairly confident he will go a math/science/computer science route in college.

 

He is currently 5th/6th grade. We should be good to go for pre-algebra next school year.

 

Any suggestions for a math and science sequence beginning in 7th grade for a strong math/science kid (who is most likely gifted) wanting to pursue the same in college? His conversations include very selective colleges.

 

Thanks for any thoughts!

[regentrude]

I am a physics professor whose homeschooled DD majors in physics at a very selective college.

The most important math is a rock solid mastery of prealgebra and algebra. I advise to take whatever time is necessary to make sure your son achieves that. Take it from there.

For a strong student, the math sequence could look like this:

8th algebra, 9th geometry, 10th algebra 2, 11th precalc, 12th calculus. We used AoPS, because it is the most rigorous, strongest in concept, deepest in coverage. It teaches a way of thinking  about math that is of tremendous value to a physicist.

 

I am strongly in favor of a physics first sequence. Both my kids took algebra/trig based physics as their first high school science in 8th/9th grade. 

If the student aspires to a highly selective top college, taking calculus based physics in 11th /12th would be a good idea. This allowed my DD, who majors in physics at a top tier college, to take the honors introductory physics sequence which was significantly more challenging and would not have been doable without having had a standard calc based physics during high school.

Whatever else you do science wise does not matter that much. In middle school ,we did interest led with library books and documentaries. Make sure you check all boxes in high school and are able to tick off bio and chem in case these are required.

[Mike in SA]

Are you planning a 1-science track, or considering more than that?

 

For math, if you have a little leeway, I'd also suggest throwing in the intro to counting & probability text.  Although it is a ways away, statistical mechanics & thermodynamics can be a bear if probability and statistics don't feel natural.  Having exposure early will help a bunch.  However, the basic sequence Regentrude described shouldn't be sacrificed for the sake of stats (especially not AP stats, which will be borderline useless).

 

Younger DS is also an aspiring physicist, and is keeping a continuous physics study going while also doing another science.  It's pretty rough, though - I wouldn't suggest it until your son is an extraordinarily quick worker or is absurdly dedicated (ours is the latter).  On the flip side, it gives him early exposure to some of the tougher topics, like all the math needed to understand relativity.

 

[kiana]

+1 for "take as much time as you need to make sure the basics are solid". 

 

There are far too many students in my math classes who have exposure to advanced topics but never actually grokked the basics fully, and this really hurts them in more advanced classes where they need to tie together knowledge from multiple classes or apply what they've learned. 

[Mike in SA]

+1 for "take as much time as you need to make sure the basics are solid".

 

There are far too many students in my math classes who have exposure to advanced topics but never actually grokked the basics fully, and this really hurts them in more advanced classes where they need to tie together knowledge from multiple classes or apply what they've learned.

To add to this - and I'd bet there is complete agreement here - trig should be just as automatic as algebra.

 

I'll also echo the call for AOPS. It has the best coverage of the fundamentals I've seen, including a solid dose of complex analysis and trig in the intermediate algebra and precalculus. Spend as much time as you need on solid prealgebra, though.

[GoodGrief]

My 19 year old is rocking her math and science classes this year as a freshman at Princeton. Engineering major, and recently got the highest score in the class on a chemistry exam (opportunity for mom brag, I take them all ;-) )

 

She did Teaching Textbooks prealgebra-Alg 2, starting in 5th grade and finishing the sequence in 8th grade. Science was not terribly structured. In middle school, she read some science history books (maybe by Hakim?), worked through a chemistry lab kit, there may have been some K12 science in there for a year or two. I really liked K12 science for elementary.

 

She did Derek Owens precalc and AP Calc AB in 9th and 10th, then dual enrollment Calc 2 and 3, finishing up with AP Statistics in senior year.  For high school science, it was Apologia physics in 9th, Apologia chemistry in 10th (each with weekly labs run by a homeschool group here), AP Biology with AP Homeschoolers in 11th, and AP Comp Sci by AP Homeschoolers for 12th.

 

So, really, for her, nothing too hard core as far as math and science in the high school years.  She was advanced, but using programs that are considered light by many on the boards. :-) Honestly, I messed up her senior year science, not realizing that some places consider comp sci to be math. She was super involved in sports, so none of those summer science programs for her either.

 

 

[CAMom]

+1 for "take as much time as you need to make sure the basics are solid". 

 

 

 

I could see him possibly doing more than one science class a year for some of his high school years. My older son did that for two years of high school, if I remember correctly.

 

Thank you all for the input! I haven't had to be in this planning phase for a few years now and feel competent but a little rusty. :) I needed some perspective from the ones who helped me get my other two the solid foundation they needed.