Get Your Goggles and Aprons On: Preparing for Science Classes in the New Year

Students performing an experiment. Photo Cred: Watauga Yearbook

Sofia Carmichael, Staff Writer to The Powderhorn 

Between teachers leaving and recent budget cuts, administration has had to make some changes to the classes for the upcoming school year and science is no exception. Some classes are changing to A/B, some are having limited spots, and some are just being cut all together. 

“We will have 9 and a half science teacher positions instead of 10, so that automatically is going to change class sizes,” said Science Department Chair Jackie Blow. “But really what we tried to do was keep everything and prioritize everything. If we can do anything, can we at least have one of everything?”

Schedule changes regarding science classes for next year have developed over the past couple of weeks, and many have heard rumors that AP’s were the most at risk. 

“Originally the conversation was we might have to alternate and have AP Chemistry taught one year and then AP Bio the next”, said Blow. “Some of the teachers I talked to were really frustrated by that, because shouldn’t AP be prioritized?”

Fortunately, administrators and teachers worked to save the availability of AP science courses. All previously offered classes are staying, but there will be some differences in how they fit into students’ schedules. 

“AP Physics and AP Bio are going to A/B, so they will be year long instead of just a semester,” said Blow. “And AP Chemistry is going to stay the way it is.”

Those students who are interested in the science electives are being affected more. Zoology is the only elective being cut, but others are still going to be a struggle to get into. 

“It’s going to be a reduced number of sections open”, said Blow. “There will be a couple less offerings of Anatomy and Forensics.”

Teachers and students alike hope that science classes will continue to be prioritized in the future and that some of the classes that are being taken away will work their way back into the catalog. 

“I would love to see all of the courses put into the registration and see what students signed up for, and then make these decisions,” said Blow. “If three people sign up for AP Physics, then we shouldn’t offer AP Physics next year, and that makes me sad but that's the reality. That's how I feel like we would be serving students and giving them what they need.”

Going into the new school year, science classes are undergoing some minor changes, but still every student is required to have an earth and environmental science credit, a biology credit, and finally a chemistry or physics credit. Students should ask themselves, which is best for them. Chemistry or physics? 

Chemistry is ideal for students who want to learn about concepts focusing on the composition of matter and how elements interact with one another to make up everything around us. While the class is interesting, there is a lot of extra work that goes into it. 

“In AP Chem there are so many different things going on at once,” said Junior Janie Beach-Verhey.  “We have to know tons of little things in order to get a question right. It is a combination of math, memorization, and understanding concepts on a deeper level. There are so many moving parts and oftentimes it is very hard to keep up, but when you know what you're doing, it is super fun!!”

Although difficult, chemistry provides students with a lot of useful and interesting information. Additionally, the classes at our school give great opportunities for application of concepts learned. From doing titrations to precipitate reactions, labs in chemistry are thrilling and a fun way to apply your knowledge. 

“The most fun part of chemistry for me is the labs,” said Nystrom.  You get to do all kinds of fun experiments and light things on fire every once in a while.

Physics classes are perfect for people who are more interested in doing calculations and problem solving. Classes also allow for students to utilize concepts learned through various projects. 

“If I had to choose between the two for the first time, I would probably take AP Physics,” said Nystrom. “I personally found physics a bit more interesting, as it involved more creative problem-solving and application of general principles than chemistry, which has a lot of memorization of rules and exceptions.”

In recent years, students have started to bypass honors and just take AP, and while students might be able to survive physics, chemistry would be a challenge. 

“I took Honors Chem before AP,” said Beach-Verhey. “I think it was extremely beneficial. So much material that we have learned in AP chem builds on what you learn in honors. I feel like I would be extremely lost and overwhelmed if I had not taken honors.”

While both classes are beneficial for future careers, Chemistry has more general applications and is closer to the classes you will see in college. 

“If you're planning to study engineering in college, you'll most likely have to take both anyway,” said Nystrom.  “In that case, I'd recommend taking AP Chemistry instead of AP Physics because AP Physics is algebra-based,while college physics classes are calculus-based, so it won't help you as much.”