Science

About this course

Tenth grade is the most technically demanding year in the K-12 sequence. Chemistry moves to the quantum mechanical model of the atom, electron orbitals and configuration, periodic trends, intermolecular forces, VSEPR molecular geometry, stoichiometry, molarity, thermochemistry and enthalpy, reaction rates, chemical equilibrium, and redox and electrochemistry. Physics is worked with vectors: kinematics, projectile motion resolved into components with sine and cosine, Newton's laws including friction, circular motion and gravitation, the work-energy theorem, conservation of momentum, wave interference and diffraction, lenses and mirrors, and an introduction to nuclear physics. Biology covers the four classes of macromolecules, enzymes and activation energy, cellular respiration and photosynthesis as pathways, DNA replication, gene expression, mutation types, genetic disorders, biotechnology, immunity, and embryology. Earth science covers seismology, volcanism, the three rock classes in detail, ocean circulation, and Flood geology. Astronomy adds binary and variable stars, black holes, gravitational lensing, exoplanets, cosmological models, and the distant starlight problem. A stewardship unit covers nutrient cycles, climate data, environmental policy and law, renewable energy, land use ethics, and the link between global poverty and the environment.

There are 180 lessons in 15 units of 12, each planned for about 50 minutes, which fills a standard school year at one lesson a day. The first eight units carry the new material. The last seven revisit life science, earth science, physical science, astronomy, the human body, chemistry, and physics in freshly written lessons that are generally more approachable than the first pass, and within that second pass a few core topics such as the immune system, acids and bases, and work and energy come around more than once. A lesson opens with a wonder question, teaches through headed sections with tables and fully worked numerical examples, includes an observe-or-experiment and a record-and-share step, and closes with a ten-question multiple-choice quiz that grades itself. Homework is a written paragraph.

Two practical notes. First, the mathematics is real. Projectile problems use trigonometric components, stoichiometry uses molar mass and mole ratios, and equilibrium and kinetics involve rate expressions, so your student should have Algebra I finished and be comfortable with basic trigonometry. Second, listed materials are only pencil, paper, and crayons; there is no lab kit or supervised lab component, so documented lab work for a transcript would need to be arranged separately by you and your family. On worldview, the earth science unit teaches Flood geology, the astronomy unit engages the distant starlight problem directly, and the embryology lesson states that human life begins at conception and carries dignity from that moment. The climate lesson presents measured temperature and CO2 data, names the points on which models disagree, and lands on stewardship rather than alarm.

What the course covers

• Biological macromolecules, enzymes, respiration, and photosynthesis
• DNA replication, gene expression, mutations, and genetic disorders
• Biotechnology, immunity, and human embryology
• Quantum atomic model, orbitals, periodic trends, and VSEPR geometry
• Stoichiometry, thermochemistry, kinetics, equilibrium, and electrochemistry
• Vector kinematics, projectile motion, circular motion, and momentum
• Wave interference and diffraction, optics, and nuclear physics
• Seismology, volcanism, rock classification, ocean circulation, and Flood geology
• Stars, black holes, exoplanets, cosmological models, and the starlight problem
• Climate data, environmental policy, renewable energy, and land use ethics

What your student will be able to do

• Write electron configurations and predict molecular geometry using VSEPR
• Solve stoichiometry, molarity, and thermochemistry problems with correct units
• Resolve a launch velocity into components and solve projectile problems
• Apply conservation of momentum and the work-energy theorem
• Trace transcription, translation, and the effect of a point mutation
• Evaluate evidence in a contested area and state the positions on each side

Scope and sequence

All 15 units of Science for Grade 10, in the order they are taught.

Every lesson, by title

All 180 lesson titles are listed here — nothing is withheld until you download. Open a unit to read its contents.

One whole lesson, exactly as it comes

This is a real lesson taken from the middle of the course — the teaching text, the practice, the homework, and the first three quiz questions with their answers. It is not a marketing excerpt.

What you will need

Drawn from the materials named across all 180 lessons of this course. Most families already own most of it.