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Instructor: Kim Mixson

Major Concepts/Content

The purpose of this course is to provide opportunities to study the concepts of matter, energy, and forces of energy through exploratory investigations, activities, and applications.

The content should include, but not be limited to, the following:
- unifying concepts and processes of science
- properties and changes of properties of matter
- motions and forces
- types of energy and transfer of energy
- interactions among science, technology, and society

Course Objectives

Conduct safe scientific investigations that demonstrate application of unifying concepts and processes of science and scientific habits of mind.
Demonstrate understanding of the properties and changes of properties in matter.
Demonstrate knowledge of the transfer of energy.
Demonstrate understanding of forces and motion.
Describe how the physical sciences interact with technology and society.

Evaluation

Students will be graded using a point system for determining grades. Each assignment, test, or project has a certain number of points possible. For example, all tests are worth 100 points, quizzes 50 points, and homework assignments are worth 0-30 points. To determine a student’s grade at the end of the nine weeks, the number of points that the student earned will be divided by the number of points possible. That percentage will be assigned a letter grade using the following scale:

90-100	A
80-89	B
70-79	C
60-69	D
0-59	F

******* In Grades 6-12, a nine weeks test will constitute 25 percent of the final nine-week average. When a semester examination is given on a nine-week grading schedule, the examination will count no more than 20 percent of the semester grade.

Make-Up Work

It is the responsibility of the student to ask for make-up work or collect their make-up work from the folder after an absence. Students will have the same number of days to ask for and complete the make-up work as the length of their absence.

Late Work

Late work will be accepted only one day late and points will be deducted for late work.