Scientific Practices and Laboratory Investigations

Master laboratory safety, scientific inquiry practices, equipment usage, and the evaluation of scientific models and theories.

Explain how matter is conserved and energy is transferred during photosynthesis and cellular respiration using chemical equations and models.

Investigate and explain how enzymes lower activation energy and catalyze cellular metabolic reactions under varying conditions.

Analyze how animal body systems interact to maintain homeostasis, absorb nutrients, reproduce, and defend against injury or disease.

Explain how plant vascular, reproductive, and response systems interact to carry out essential biological functions.

Investigate and evaluate how ecological relationships influence ecological community structure and overall ecosystem stability.

Analyze how disruptions to matter cycling and energy transfer through trophic levels affect overall ecosystem stability.

Explain the significance of carbon and nitrogen cycles to ecosystem stability and analyze the ecological consequences of cycle disruptions.

Explain how natural and anthropogenic environmental changes affect biodiversity and assess their impacts on ecosystem stability.

Understand atomic theory development, subatomic particle arrangements, isotopic variations, and atomic mass calculations.

Master quantum sublevels, ground-state electron configurations, and predictive trends across the periodic table.

Form ionic, covalent, and metallic bonds, construct nomenclature, draw Lewis structures, and determine molecular geometries.

Master mole conversions, molar mass calculations, stoichiometry, limiting reactants, and percent yield determinations.

Classify chemical reactions, balance chemical equations, graph energy profiles, and evaluate reaction kinetics.

Understand solution molarity, gas behaviors under kinetic molecular theory, and acid-base neutralization reactions.

Understand radioactive decay, half-life calculations, nuclear fission/fusion, and evaluate nuclear technology applications.

Explore STEM career pathways, research organizations, and real-world scientific mentorship opportunities.

Trace the historical evolution of atomic theory and model atomic structure, subatomic particles, and isotopic composition.

Quantify light energy and wave relationships and represent electron architecture through electron configurations and Lewis structures.

Explain the historical evolution of the periodic table, predict family properties from valence electrons, and analyze trends in atomic properties.

Name and write chemical formulas, model VSEPR geometries, and evaluate intramolecular and intermolecular properties.

Apply Avogadro's number, convert between mass, moles, and particles, calculate percent composition, and derive empirical and molecular formulas.

Balance chemical equations across five primary reaction types, classify aqueous reactions, and solve stoichiometry, limiting reactant, and percent yield problems.

Describe gas behavior using Kinetic Molecular Theory, perform ideal gas law and partial pressure calculations, and analyze solubility curves and dissolution factors.

Apply solubility rules to predict precipitate formation in double replacement reactions, calculate solution concentrations in molarity, and solve solution dilution problems using M1V1 = M2V2.

Differentiate strong vs. weak acids and bases, predict products in water-forming acid-base neutralization reactions, define pH, and calculate pH from hydrogen ion concentration.