Science

With the current budget status, students are limited to taking one science class for the upcoming school year. Engineering does not count as a second science, which means a student could take physics (or any other science course) and Engineering.

Engineering Tech DOES count towards the physical science requirement for high school graduation.

A student must take at least two science courses to graduate. One of these science courses must be a life science (Biology, AP Biology, or Physiology) and one of these science courses must be a physical science (ISC, Chemistry, Chemistry Honors, AP Chemistry, Physics, Physics Honors, AP Physics, or ROP Engineering Tech). 

Yes, you must receive at least a "C" in your classes for it to count towards admission. 

The two "D" level courses must fall into at least two of the three "fundamental disciplines" (chemistry, physics, or biology). Their literature says, "Two years of laboratory science providing fundamental knowledge in at least two of these three disciplines: biology (which includes anatomy, physiology, marine biology, aquatic biology, etc.), chemistry and physics." 

Students should take the class or repeat if necessary. However, students MAY be able to meet UC requirements by SAT II examination alone. You can check the requirements on the UC Reference Site. Be sure to contact the UC system for your specific situation. 
  

Your first priority is to ensure that you fulfill the MV graduation requirements (one life and one physical science). Then you want to ensure you fulfill the requirements for the college to which you might want to apply. If you are applying to a School of Engineering or Computer Science, then you should definitely take some physics in high school. If you are applying to a School of Biological Sciences, then biology and possibly AP Biology is/are recommended. The best thing for you to do is visit the Career Center and look at the specific recommendations for the schools that you are applying for. The UC material states the following, "The University requires two years of laboratory science in high school, but many majors require additional science courses. Programs in the biological sciences and some natural resource fields require high school biology, chemistry and physics. Programs in the physical sciences, mathematics, engineering, agriculture and the health sciences require chemistry and physics, and recommend biology." This comes from their UC Quick Reference Site. 

Summer prep courses offered at other, non-FUHSD schools are an imperfect substitute for MV courses, particularly in the depth of the curriculum and the time spent in learning. Also, courses taken at other schools, unless they are pre-approved by an MV assistant principal, will not appear on a student's MV transcript, and will not earn credit toward graduation. Check with your MV assistant principal for more details.

These would be considered REPEAT classes. Courses that are repeated earn units only once, unless otherwise noted in the course description. Example: A student earns a D in Chemistry and then takes Chemistry the next year earning a B. The first Chemistry will remain on the transcript and will have a "repeat" notation next to it but will earn no units. The class with the higher grade (the Chemistry with the B grade) will earn the units and that new grade will be the one calculated in the GPA. A minimum grade of C is required for college eligibility. 
 

Students that have taken Precalculus have familiarity with trigonometry. Physics Honors students constantly use trigonometry, vector addition, analysis of slopes and areas of graphs and multivariable algebra. Experience in Precalculus is also recommended because the students will have additional experience in applying math concepts to physical situations and will have extra practice with word problems. Concurrent enrollment in Precalculus will help because students will be more successful with the additional math experience and more understanding of slopes and areas. 

To be successful in Chemistry Honors, you should have received a B or better in Biology. Also, you should have received a B or better in Geometry. Students that receive a C in Biology should not consider taking Chemistry Honors.

There are four major factors that should go into the decision. First, be sure that you are fulfilling your graduation requirements and admission requirements for the college you want to go to. Second, consider your interests and goals. What kinds of sciences do you enjoy - life or physical? Third, consider the teacher's recommendation for which science course to go into. Your teachers want you to succeed and will try to make a recommendation based on your strengths and interests. Finally, consider what other classes and commitments that you'll have next year. Try to balance academic and extracurricular commitments. 

It is not recommended. The AP science courses are designed as SECOND year courses. Students are expected to know and understand the material from the first course. Students that try to skip and go directly to the AP course will not have the adequate background knowledge to succeed as well as students that have had the previous experience. For this reason, we recommend you take the first year for each of our AP science courses. 

Chemistry students have, historically, struggled in AP Chemistry, primarily because of their lack of exposure to challenging and detailed topics. Chemistry Honors students are much better prepared for AP Chemistry, having "heard about" these difficult topics once before. Furthermore, the pace of AP Chemistry is quite fast, closer to that of Chemistry Honors. Please review Chem AP Grade data to help you make your decision. 

In the past, students who have taken AP Physics after having taken regular Physics were significantly outperformed by students whose preparation included Physics Honors. Over the past three years, approximately ten students have taken AP Physics after having taken regular physics. The typical grade for these students is a C, with D grades being quite common. Taking Physics Honors will give you much more preparation for AP Physics. 
  

First, all teachers have office hours - talk to your teacher, attend tutorial sessions, or use some of the resources your teacher may provide you (websites, practice materials, etc). If you are a Chemistry student, there is a special tutoring program that you can join. Chemistry tutoring is a peer tutoring program that involves collaboration between Chemistry AP, Chemistry Honors and Chemistry students where the Chemistry AP students will tutor Chemistry Honors students and Chemistry students, once a week, at lunch, under teacher supervision, on various concepts of Chemistry . Please talk to your Chemistry teacher if you are interested in this. 

If you go to the UC Course Search Website and type in "Monta Vista", you will see the current list. 

Physics AP as taught at MV is calculus-based physics, which is equivalent to the DeAnza classes Physics 4A and 4B. The Physics 50 class is algebra-based physics, which would be roughly equivalent to Physics or Physics Honors. Please note that DeAnza courses will not appear on a student's MV transcript, and will not earn credit toward graduation. However, if taken after completing the 10th grade and before beginning the 12th grade year, the classes can earn college credit. Check with your MV assistant principal for more details. 

Chemistry AP is probably most equivalent to the Chemistry 1 series at DeAnza (1A,1B,1C). 
  

Traditionally our district has offered summer school Biology for those students that failed during the school year. Second preference is then given to students with a "D." The course is not for students that want to take an enrichment course or take Biology early. Final information on what we'll offer and who can take the classes will be distributed by the District around April/May. 

The best time to take the SATII for Biology would be after taking the AP Biology course. Most of the topics are introduced in 9th grade biology, but the SATII goes into more depth - so a student will be more successful if they take it after the AP course. For the Biology SATII, there are two options that you can take: E or M. E is for Ecology, M is for Molecular. The Monta Vista AP Biology program is more molecularly-focused, so you may want to take that section. Based on the 2002 scores, students that took the M version had an average score that was 81 points higher than the E version. If a student did NOT take AP Biology and would like to take the SATII, then we would recommend the E version - since this information is fully covered in the 9th grade course and a student that didn't take AP wouldn't have some of the M information. Remember, though, that it is your choice on what to take and you should look over practice materials to help you make your decision. 
  

The transcript that our high school provides does not weight classes. That means an A in chem honors is worth the same as an A in chemistry in our district's GPA calculation. Some colleges will "weight" a certain number of honors/AP courses. For example, the UC system assigns extra grade points for up to four yearlong honors level or AP courses taken in grades 10, 11, and 12. (An A=5 points, B=4 points, C=3 points). A maximum of two yearlong courses taken in grade 10 are assigned honors points. Grades of D are not assigned extra honors points and are not recognized as "completion of course."