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Is Physical Science needed for 9th or at all?


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I'm currently doing Apologia General Science. I think the Apologia Physical Science will be too difficult for my next year 9th grader. I have it because I have a 9th grader this year who is using it. I can't seem to find anyone else that has Physical Science and couldn't find it in the "Mother Load" listed. I was under the impression that Physical Science is necessary. Is that true? What do you do for 9th other than Biology?

Edited by Mom28kds
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My dd#1 did "physics first". She had the math for an algebra-based physics class. 

I think my dd#2 did a conceptual physics class in 9th. Very little math because she didn't already have the math that her older sister had in the same grade.

Not sure what dd#3 will do next year. Maybe Meteorology. ;)

ETA:  A "physical science" course like Physics or Chemistry is often required for admission to college, but not the class called "physical science." That's more an intro (survey) course to both of the above.

Edited by RootAnn
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One of mine did a public school physical science text that her co-op teacher chose in 9th grade.

The other did Apologia physical science in 7th grade, biology in 8th grade, chemistry in 9th, anatomy/physiology in 10th, and Astronomy in 10th. That left room for physics in 12th, but she chose no more science in 12th. Our state and colleges only require three labs sciences, which she has. I suppose of one wanted to know if she'd done physical, we could let them know she completed it earlier, but we've not run into any problems. She's isn't going into a stem program though. 

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Two of my boys had the standard biology/chemistry/physics.

One boy had physical science/biology/chemistry.

Check your state requirements and the requirements of in state colleges to get a feel for what is required and/or accepted. Our state requires biology and then either chemistry or physics and one other science. So for my ds that took physical science that was his "other science".  Earth science is also a legitimate "other science" that would be good for a 9th grader that isn't ready for one of the others.

Now, for competitive schools physical science or earth science is not impressive. But- those are acceptable high school courses for 9th grade for an average student and will be "good enough" for most students at most schools. A student could take one of those in 9th and still take physics or an AP Science later in high school if they decided they wanted a stronger science on their transcript.

 

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Yeah, she struggles in school and probably won't attend college. I haven't seen many Physical Science courses out there. Our local high school does Physical Science in 9th but we aren't bound to what the system does. Just wondering if most people needed to have it then I needed ideas of other places that might cover the basic information needed without going into too much depth. 

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You might look at Guest Hollow's High School Science for that kid. Scroll down until you see "Science." They are non-traditional, light ways to cover traditional high school science topics. You can tailor the level & amount to your kid's needs since you are planning for a kid who might not be college bound.

I used the Chemistry with a kid last year, finding some items at the library, skipping some, and buying others right before we got to them so I could see what I needed without getting too much that we wouldn't use. We did one day "in the kitchen" together each week which was fun for both of us. I ended up finding more kitchen chenistry examples (some from the books inckuded & some from the internet) because her things ran out at a certain point.

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8 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

You might look at Guest Hollow's High School Science for that kid. Scroll down until you see "Science." They are non-traditional, light ways to cover traditional high school science topics. You can tailor the level & amount to your kid's needs since you are planning for a kid who might not be college bound.

I used the Chemistry with a kid last year, finding some items at the library, skipping some, and buying others right before we got to them so I could see what I needed without getting too much that we wouldn't use. We did one day "in the kitchen" together each week which was fun for both of us. I ended up finding more kitchen chenistry examples (some from the books inckuded & some from the internet) because her things ran out at a certain point.

Thank you. Was Guest Hollow difficult to follow with all the moving pieces? She struggles with EF.

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Are you looking for something she does almost completely by herself? If so, I'd only assign one thing at a time & streamline the schedule for her. If you are there to start her off each day or each week to help her pick what to do, it should be doable. I took the digital schedule & cut out what I didn't want her to do & worked 2-3 weeks out from what she was working on. My kid had a reading time 3x/wk, a computer time 2x/wk, and a lab day (with me). So she just "did the next thing." But I'd already pared it down. 

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Most colleges do not require specific sciences. A few do want Biology and Chemistry, but most are flexible. All a majority of the regular colleges are looking for is 3 (maybe 4) credits of Science, with usually 2 (sometimes 3) of those credits "with labs". So that gives you a lot of room as far as what Science subjects to cover. While Physical Science-Biology-Chemistry-Physics or Biology-Chemistry-Physics-Advanced science (of one of those 3) tends to be the "traditional" progressions, since colleges are flexible, that gives you a LOT of room for working with your student's interests.

That means you could do some interesting, non-traditional sciences all through high school:

- Ecology or Environmental Science -- a life science overview
- Equine Science (horses) -- a life science topic
- Horticulture -- a life science topic
- Botany -- a life science topic
- Astronomy -- an earth science topic
- Earth Science/Geology -- earth science
- Meteorology (weather) -- an earth science topic
- Kitchen Chemistry -- chemistry topics
- Forensic Science -- chemistry/physics topics
- Integrated Science -- topics from all of the science areas

Check out PAGE 5 of the "High School Motherlode #2" thread pinned at the top of the high school board for more ideas about alternative topics for Science.


ETA -- PS:
We did NOT care for Apologia at all. Both DSs did the Biology, and DS#1 did the Chemistry. We switched away after that.

Also, "Physical Science" is now starting to be called "Integrated Chemistry & Physics" -- so you might search for that name. If wanting a different Physical Science program:

Christian
- Switched on Schoolhouse -- 9th grade = Physical Science
- Abeka -- 9th grade = Physical Science
- Bob Jones -- 9th grade = Physical Science
- Novare -- for gr. 7-10

Secular
- Exploration Education -- for gr. 7-10
- Study.com -- high school physical science

Edited by Lori D.
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2 hours ago, RootAnn said:

Are you looking for something she does almost completely by herself? If so, I'd only assign one thing at a time & streamline the schedule for her. If you are there to start her off each day or each week to help her pick what to do, it should be doable. I took the digital schedule & cut out what I didn't want her to do & worked 2-3 weeks out from what she was working on. My kid had a reading time 3x/wk, a computer time 2x/wk, and a lab day (with me). So she just "did the next thing." But I'd already pared it down. 

Yes, I'm home with her so I'll check to see what I think I can figure out. Thank you so much 🙂 

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2 hours ago, Lori D. said:

Most colleges do not require specific sciences. A few do want Biology and Chemistry, but most are flexible. All a majority of the regular colleges are looking for is 3 (maybe 4) credits of Science, with usually 2 (sometimes 3) of those credits "with labs". So that gives you a lot of room as far as what Science subjects to cover. While Physical Science-Biology-Chemistry-Physics or Biology-Chemistry-Physics-Advanced science (of one of those 3) tends to be the "traditional" progressions, since colleges are flexible, that gives you a LOT of room for working with your student's interests.

That means you could do some interesting, non-traditional sciences all through high school:

- Ecology or Environmental Science -- a life science overview
- Equine Science (horses) -- a life science topic
- Horticulture -- a life science topic
- Botany -- a life science topic
- Astronomy -- an earth science topic
- Earth Science/Geology -- earth science
- Meteorology (weather) -- an earth science topic
- Kitchen Chemistry -- chemistry topics
- Forensic Science -- chemistry/physics topics
- Integrated Science -- topics from all of the science areas

Check out PAGE 5 of the "High School Motherlode #2" thread pinned at the top of the high school board for more ideas about alternative topics for Science.


ETA -- PS:
We did NOT care for Apologia at all. Both DSs did the Biology, and DS#1 did the Chemistry. We switched away after that.

Also, "Physical Science" is now starting to be called "Integrated Chemistry & Physics" -- so you might search for that name. If wanting a different Physical Science program:

Christian
- Switched on Schoolhouse -- 9th grade = Physical Science
- Abeka -- 9th grade = Physical Science
- Bob Jones -- 9th grade = Physical Science

Secular
- Exploration Education -- for gr. 7-10
- Novare -- for gr. 7-10
- Study.com -- high school physical science

This helps so much. Thank you for giving me some ideas that would work. It gives me confidence that I have other alternatives. I'll see what might interest her and go from there 🙂 I'll be checking these out as well.

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21 hours ago, Mom28kds said:

I'm currently doing Apologia General Science. I think the Apologia Physical Science will be too difficult for my next year 9th grader. I have it because I have a 9th grader this year who is using it. I can't seem to find anyone else that has Physical Science and couldn't find it in the "Mother Load" listed. I was under the impression that Physical Science is necessary. Is that true? What do you do for 9th other than Biology?

Masterbooks may have some courses that suit your needs. 

They're also geared towards independent learning.

Edited by Islandgal
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There are high school texts geared to dyslexic students that have a lower reading level but cover the standard course objectives for high school classes. One series that I tried with Geezle is Power Basics but there are others. It didn't work for us because ds has different issues, but a used copy is less than $10 so I'd give them a try to see if they would work for you. Here's the link to the Earth & Space Science, but there are books for every subject:

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Basics-Earth-Space-Science/dp/0825156343/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=power+basics+earth+and+space+science&qid=1579265584&sr=8-1

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