I would say that Zumdahl's World of Chemistry is used for Reg Chem but other's may have a different take. :) Here's a high school's site where it's used for Reg Chem: Study questions with answers and chapter reviews My flipping point for deciding whether a text is Reg Chem or Honours Chem is its treatment of equilibrium. I did the online quiz for that chapter from the publisher's site here: http://www.classzone.com/cz/books/woc_07/book_home.htm?state=IL It doesn't involve a mathematical treatment of equilibrium - for me, that would put it in the Reg Chem category. If you still want to use it, I think any of the Amazon versions would be fine. They're all just older or newer editions of the same text - the 1st ed looks like it has test tube tops on the cover (2002), the 2nd ed has someone surfing (2007), and the 3rd ed looks like it has someone parasailing (2011). There is also an update of the 1st edition that has a 2005 date. Just make sure that the title is "World of Chemistry" and the author is Zumdahl. Zumdahl has other texts - his AP one is just entitled "Chemistry". As long as you stick with "World of Chemistry", you shouldn't be getting an AP text.

I also agree with Regentrude - TWTM suggestions for science at the high school level would be great for a philosophy/history of science course or as a supplement in a more traditional science course but extremely difficult to use to teach science concepts and how to work problems. Having said that :D, there were two other threads recently that talked about this: Science and the reading of Hippocrates Science with living books not textbooks - can it be done at the hs level The second link isn't completely about using source materials but I did get this link from post #43 by Faithr: Science reading list for Grades 9-12 from The Great Books Foundation I don't know how the above list compares to the one in TWTM but I thought it might be what you're looking for. Just keep in mind - TWTM is an unbeatable resource for most subjects but it's OK to not follow the rhetoric science suggestions - particularly if you have a STEM-bound student. Unless you have a VERY motivated and unique student who already has a good, solid foundation in traditional high school level science, TWTM rhetoric science section will probably not get a STEM-bound student where they need to go.

:hurray: Thank you (and the original authors!) so much!

Hope your son feels better soon. And the soup sounds awesome. :) Out of curiousity... Do you put red wine in it? I have a cream of wild rice/mushroom soup recipe that calls for a bit of red wine at the end. I wasn't sure how it would taste the first time I made it but it turned out well. I hear you about the cold and snow. It's still freezing hard here at night and we still have snow pack along the north sides of treelines and in the bush. At this rate, we'll simply miss summer and before we know it, it'll be next winter. :grouphug: for putting up with the weather.

Asta, are the schools getting rid of science labs the middle schools & high schools or the universities?

Regentrude, do you happen to have a link for where you purchased this? Was it here? http://vistahigherle...nd-edition.html Do they allow homeschoolers to purchase instructor materials? How much prior language instruction would the student have to have to do this program? Sorry for all the questions! :D KK - we've been using the stuff from N'Allenart French. It's not exactly secular but it's sort of a Canadian version of non-secular, KWIM? :) The author occasionally has a character reading a bible or one of the sentences to translate will be "We are going to build a church." I think in one of the books, there was a little story about Easter. I was just flipping through Book 4 of the L'Art de lire series and there's bible verse given in French at the bottom of one of the pages but it's just there - it has nothing to do with the lesson and the kids don't have to do anything with it. None of it is terribly in your face and it just sort of seems to pop up randomly - it isn't the theme of the books. We're agnostic and I haven't found that it's bothered me but I guess if you're looking for completely secular, this wouldn't fit the bill. From Grades 3-8, it's a very low-key and non-demanding curriculum. She has a high school course that's meant to meet the university-stream Grade 9 Ontario requirement for French but it requires some previous knowledge of French (students here begin French in Grade 3). Here are some sample pages (opens a pdf!). ETA: In the sample pages for Grades 3-8 (opens a pdf!), here's a mention of God: "It is interesting that French always uses the more familiar tu when addressing God, instead of the more formal vous. This emphasizes the close relationship that God desires to have with us. The English language once made the same distinction. Our words thou and thee correspond to the French tu and toi. Though they are now archaic, they were once part of everyday language." She then just goes on with the rest of the explanation of French grammar and religion doesn't come up again. Just sort of random "drive-by" mentions. :)

:iagree: I just finished the thread. I think I have a science-crush on Lewelma. :blush: :D

I must have missed this thread the first time around. :ohmy: :laugh: I've only read the first page (will keep on reading) but just wanted to say what a wonderful, well-written explanation for what evolution is and isn't - thank you to Lewelma and the others! If anyone is concerned that they are misunderstanding the term "evolution" and so are having a difficult time evaluating information to come to their own conclusion, Ruth does a wonderful job explaining in the thread linked above. :hurray:

I don't think I've waded into one of these threads before but I've been doing a lot of reading for personal interest lately so I thought I'd give it a go. :) For the record - I am an agnostic who was once Christian (Baptist) and is slowly leaning towards... I'm not sure. :D I studied science (chemistry) at university. I applaud all those who are seeking to gain more knowledge. In the creation/evolution debate, though, I wanted to voice a caution - mostly to keep in mind when reading the creationist materials but occasionally it may creep in on the other side - beware the fallacy of bifurcation. Proving evolution wrong doesn't make creationism right or vice versa. If someone wants to really delve into solid reasons for accepting one or the other, remember there may very well be Options 3, 4, 5, etc. that we simply haven't thought of yet. It would be like saying "If you're not a blond, you must be a redhead" even though you could also be a brunette, gray-haired, or even bald. :D If one can, one should try and avoid materials that seem to use this method for "proving" anything whether it be creationism, evolution, or anything else. Just my two cents. :)

Nope - it's international. :) I taught AP Chemistry (among other things) here in Ontario before I quit teaching to homeschool my dd. Many Canadian universities will give credit for high scores on AP exams plus it's a way for us in Canada to have some sort of standardized test scores to show post-secondary institutions since we don't have SAT or ACT testing. Although, having said that, we can also have our students write the SAT or ACT if we want those scores to put on transcripts. My dd is looking towards Waterloo and they're one of the tougher Canadian universities on homeschoolers. They strongly suggest that homeschoolers have some sort of externally validated grades or scores when they apply - they specifically suggest the SAT or ACT on their website (as well as 6 accredited 12U courses from either a brick & mortar high school or someplace like ILC or VLC). They won't accept APs for credit but I figured having AP scores on my dd's transcript would at least show them she's capable of that level of work. Here's the website for AP Canada: http://apcanada.collegeboard.org/ According to that, close to 17 000 students wrote AP exams in Canada last year. Nothing in comparison to the States but we do have a much smaller population to pull from. ;)

I just added some things to the Homeschool High School Biology thread so you might find some ideas there. :) Your son will probably find a huge leap in difficulty between Plato/Apologia Chemistry and AP Chemistry. AP should be the challenge he's looking for. ;) I'm not a physics expert so hopefully some of the others will chime in but Conceptual Physics might be too easy for him if he's very mathy, which it sounds like he is. It also might not be the best preparation for him to go on and take AP Physics. Be aware that AP Physics is changing as of the 2014-2015 school year so I can't guarantee the resources listed below will still be applicable at that time. :) AP Physics is offered at: PA Homeschoolers - Physics B Oak Meadow Physics B (enrollment only) through CTY (scroll down to the bottom) CTY directly - Physics B Educator.com offers two sections of Physics B: http://www.educator....cs-b/fullerton/ http://www.educator....hysics-b/jishi/ And one section each of the Physics C courses: http://www.educator....agnetism/jishi/ http://www.educator....echanics/jishi/ Other resources: MIT Open Courseware A Plus Physics HippoCampus has stuff for Physics B and C Learn AP Physics Monterey Institute for Technology and Education has lessons for Physics B and C (as well as some other AP courses!)

I've added the public school texts. :) I listed them at the end of the posts dealing with Reg, Honours, or AP Bio depending on which level they belonged to. I didn't go into as much detail as the other entries - sorry! I also didn't list very many for Reg or Honours Bio. I know there are probably many different ones in use in the public schools but I just stuck with the ones that seemed to come up on the forum quite often. Please feel free to add to the thread with more resources, texts, or websites! :)

Thanks for the heads-up, Arcadia. I'm not sure what the girl will want to do eventually - she's still in middle school right now - but I'll let her mom know all the info everyone has been so kind to share and they can decide from there. I'm only familiar with teaching from the RCM syllabus but I'm willing to go another route if that's what she needs. :) My own dd does RCM here in Ontario and she can earn a Grade 11 credit for Grade 7 Piano + Intermediate Rudiments and a Grade 12 credit for Grade 8 Piano + Advanced Rudiments which is kind of nice. I'd also like her to take AP Music Theory if I can find somewhere that's willing to offer the exam - I think it'll be a good balance for the science and math APs.

Thanks, Ali! I think you're right - states seem to have separate programs. I think there are national programs as well - I cross-posted my question to the high school board and got some responses there, too. Now I have some great options to present to my friend and her dd. Thanks again!

Thanks, Ruth! Now I have a few options I can present to my friend and her dd and see which way they'd like to go. :)

Thanks, Arcadia! I knew it had something to do with Carnegie Hall I just couldn't remember what. :D Thanks so much for the links!

I was wondering the same thing about online B.Sc. degrees - particularly in Chem. How can a student have any wet lab experience in Chem at the university level without attending a brick & mortar building at least part of the time? I have a fairly extensive collection of lab equipment at home here for my dd for homeschooling high school but nothing even approaching what was available at the Chem Dept. when I was at university. Maybe wet labs aren't even done anymore. Is it all virtual - even if a student attends a brick & mortar university? That would be sad. :(

Sorry - this isn't exactly high school related but I thought I might be more likely to find folks here involved in examination courses for piano. Please forgive the cross-post! X-post from the Gen. Ed. board: I'm teaching piano to a friend's dd and she's ready to move on from method course books to examination courses. Here in Canada, we use the Royal Conservatory (http://www.rcmusic.ca/) syllabus and books but my friend lives just across the border in Minnesota. At this point, her daughter isn't sure if she wants to go on to do piano exams but still wants to keep her options open in that direction. Is there something similar to RCM in the States? Are there state specific organizations or is there a national organization? I've done a bit of Googling but couldn't really find the info I was looking for. I could use RCM materials with her but I'd like her to be able to take exams and earn high school credits if that's what she wants and I can't figure out if RCM exams taken in Canada would do that for her. Can any of the piano peeps help? :) ETA: I thought I had found a website a little while ago that talked about Carnegie courses?? I can't find the site now, though. :(

I'm teaching piano to a friend's dd and she's ready to move on from method course books to examination courses. Here in Canada, we use the Royal Conservatory (http://www.rcmusic.ca/) syllabus and books but my friend lives just across the border in Minnesota. At this point, her daughter isn't sure if she wants to go on to do piano exams but still wants to keep her options open in that direction. Is there something similar to RCM in the States? Are there state specific organizations or is there a national organization? I've done a bit of Googling but couldn't really find the info I was looking for. I could use RCM materials with her but I'd like her to be able to take exams and earn high school credits if that's what she wants and I can't figure out if RCM exams taken in Canada would do that for her. Can any of the piano peeps help? :) ETA: I thought I had found a website a little while ago that talked about Carnegie courses?? I can't find the site now, though. :(

Leatherman Micra, library card, and my OEF (Ontario Equestrian Federation) card so I can get discounts on ration balancer :)

Thanks Regentrude! My dd very much likes the layout and writing style of a Chang-style text and can't stand most texts written for high school so I'm mostly wondering if the Serway & Vuilles has the same "to-the-point" kind of writing that Chang does (I know Chang is chem but that's an example of the kind of writing style she prefers). No hurry. :)

Wondering if anyone knows anything about this text. When I was digging for astronomy resources, I came across course websites for General Physics I & II from one of the same profs that had an astronomy course website: General Physics I with Dr. D. Luttermoser from East Tennessee State U General Physics II (same prof) There are certainly a ton of useful resources here so I was just wondering about the quality and readability of the text. :)

Was doing some online digging to see what kind of resources are out there for Chaisson's Astronomy Today and I thought I'd share what I found. :) Regentrude has kindly shared the companion website for either the 4th or 5th edition in the past (sorry, Regentrude - I can't remember which!) but I'll share them both here again: Companion website for the 4th ed Companion website for the 5th ed I've found a number of college websites where the text is being used for a course and most have course webpages with syllabi. Some are definitely more useful than others - here are a few that I thought had a plethora of lecture notes, quizzes, practice exams, and other goodies: Astronomy I course using 1st half of 7th edition of text (from East Tennessee State University) Astronomy II course using 2nd half of 7th edition of text (from East Tennessee State University) The above two courses have the same prof. Astronomy 1000 course from Georgia Southern using all of the 7th edition The webpage layout on this one leaves something to be desired but, as you scroll down, the prof gives an outline of each lesson he's going to give including what sections of the text are covered, his lecture notes in PDF, and other links to websites that correspond to the lecture topic. If you scroll aaaaaaaaalllllllllllllll the way to the bottom, he has two very short practice exams with answers. Another Astronomy II course from East Tennessee with a different prof using the 6th edition Has links to a lecture syllabus which could be used to schedule part of the text, lecture notes in PDF, problem sets in PDF (no answers, though), exam reviews in PDF (no answers here, either), and 5 different practice exams (in PDF) WITH posted answers including a 100 mc question final exam! Apparently, a student doesn't have to take Astronomy I to take Astronomy II, though, so you could use his materials but only cover part of the text. Introduction to Astronomy at UTexas at Austin using Volume 2 of the 6th edition (apparently, you can get the text split into 2 volumes) Course at the University of Wisconsin using Volume 2 of the 7th edition (prof says the 6th edition is OK but pages won't necessarily match up)

Sorry - no offense was intended! That's why I said it's possible I could just be fussing over semantics. :D My comments were just sort of a scholarly bunny-trail in my own mind. I just wondered if anyone else had come across the two terms and what others thought of how they both related to diversity. I appreciate your thoughts - I really do. :)

Forgive me, mytwomonkeys - I don't mean to seem as though I'm singling you out but the above part of your post made me think of something... I always thought that the concept of a "melting pot" country was sort of mutually exclusive with the idea of diversity. I remember learning two different terms - "melting pot" and "mosaic". A melting pot country certainly allows immigrants in but encourages them to assimilate with the mainstream culture of that country - hence a "melting pot" where all ingredients are melted together to become a uniform whole. A mosaic country encourages immigrants to come but also to maintain the culture of their country of origin - hence a "mosaic" where each tiny individual piece remains distinct but, overall, they all work together to create a larger picture. Years ago in high school, I was taught that the US is a "melting pot" country and Canada is a "mosaic" country. I think that probably isn't so much true for either country anymore but I thought the idea that "melting pot" = "diversity" seemed a bit odd. But I could just be fussing over semantics. :D