SCIENCE

CASA requires students to have 3 credits of Science for graduation. Science courses are offered both live-taught and online. 

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LIVE-TAUGHT SCIENCE COURSE OFFERINGS

 

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BIOLOGY

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Course Overview:  This course provides a general introduction to students in the major areas of biology: living things and their classification, functions and importance of prokaryotic & eukaryotic systems, organization of life, cellular processes, energy flow, reproduction, and heredity. This course is to teach students to appreciate the value of life and how it exists and reproduces in order to be maintained. Emphasis is on the practical and functional aspects in an effort to make the students more aware of their environment, its changes, and man's place therein. At the end of the course, students will take the Pennsylvania Biology Keystone exam; passing at the proficient or advanced level is required for graduation in the state of Pennsylvania. This course is offered to students in grades 9 and/or 10.

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Units of Study:

• The Nature of Science and Living Things

• The Chemical Basis for Life

• Basic Biological Principles

• Bioenergetics

• Homeostasis and Cellular Transport

• Cell Growth and Reproduction

• Genetics

• Biological Diversity and Evolution

• Ecology

 

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EARTH SCIENCE

 

Course Overview:  Earth Science is the combined study of how geology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, chemistry, and biology impact Earth and its place in the universe. This engaging course will investigate the Earth and its part of a larger system, as well as the various systems within the Earth and its’ natural environment including rocks and fossils, internal processes, plate tectonics, physical processes, ocean ecosystems, alternative energy sources, and meteorological processes and patterns. This course is offered to students in grades 10, 11, and/or 12.

 

Units of Study:

• Astronomy

• Historical Geology – Earth’s History, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils

• Geological Forces

• Oceanography

• Meteorology

 

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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

 

Course Overview:  Environmental Science, sometimes referred to as Ecology, is the study of the relationships and interdependence of organisms and their connection to the nonliving, or abiotic, factors in the natural world. This course provides students with a profile of the living relationships, abiotic factors, human influences, environmental policy, and current state of Earth’s ecosystems. This course is offered to students in grades 10, 11, and/or 12.

 

Units of Study:

• Ecosystem Ecology

• Biomes and Biodiversity

• Biological and Human Populations

• Earth Systems and Resources

• Land Use

• Energy Resources and Consumption

• Pollution: Aquatic, Atmospheric, and Terrestrial

• Global Change and a Sustainable Future