Is it acceptable to skip Apologia Physical Science?

[Excelsior! Academy]

My oldest 2 dds are doing General right now and doing very well. Our plan has been to move straight into Biology, then move to Marine Biology. We would then progress to the other sciences. I have recently received advice that Physical Science shouldn't be skipped. What are your thoughts? My oldest will be in 9th that year, so it would be her first high school year if that makes a difference.

[Susan C.]

Dd is doing Apologia Chemistry right now. She did Biology last year. I thought Physical was prep. for those and Physics. Dd does remember things from Physical while doing Chemistry this year.

[M&M]

This is what we are doing now. Dd did General in 7th and Nature Study in 8th. She is now doing Biology. So far she is doing fine. I don't know if she will have a harder time in some of the other science books, maybe someone else can address this.

[Brindee]

I hope it's acceptable, since we didn't do it! DD is doing Biology this year, and will head to Chemistry next year....

[Musicmom]

I think it's fine. My dc never did Apologia General or Physical; they started with Biology in 8th grade and proceeded through Chemistry and Physics with no difficulty. They did do Rainbow Science in 6th and 7th, but I don't think that made a huge difference. I was at an Apologia seminar once several years ago where I believe they said a student could and should start right in with Biology in 9th grade, no matter what the science background had been up till then (in fact, they kind of advocated delighted-directed science for the earlier years!)

[Photo Ninja]

Apologia General and Physical Science are not pre-requisites for any other Apologia science course. Yes, you skip Physical Science without any negative consequences.

 

There is a big jump in the work load and details to learn between the General Science course and Biology, so be sure your dc know how to study the text. They may be surprised at the expectations of the tests and the amount of vocabulary they will learn in Biology. Just prepare them for that jump, and all should be well. My dc did Biology in 9th grade, as did their friends. It is quite appropriate for 9th grade.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Looking at the TOC, I didn't see anything that wouldn't be covered in any decent middle school coverage ALA WTM or covered in greater detail by high school sciences (bio, chem, physics.) I never really understood the value of this class, except for someone who really hasn't done much science before high school.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Thank you for the advice. I will skim through the books again. We will probably stick with our original plan of Biology in 9th.

[Donna A.]

My dd's doing Biology in 9th, and she didn't do Physical. She actually did General in 8th. We always did science in a pretty relaxed format in elementary, and she's doing great. I will say that having done General before jumping into Biology was helpful in the sense that it prepared her for Dr. Wile's method of teaching and study.

 

If you look at the recommended timeline on the Apologia website, they indicate that certain MATH courses are required before each level of Apologia, not science. ;) It appears that as long as they've done Alg 1 before Chemistry (and know how to study), they're good to go. :) http://www.apologia.com/store/

[Excelsior! Academy]

Thank you for the chart. That answered a lot of my questions.