Course: 9th Grade Science - Standard

Course description:

In this three-part course, the student is first taught to acquire the habits of wonder and careful observation of nature.

The student first reads wonderful short essays by Henri Fabre - the great French entymologist (one who studies insects). Fabre is such a wonderful writer, so interesting and full of genuine wonder, that he makes the insect world come alive. Truly, it is difficult to stop reading his works. The student is expected to perform at least one natural science project in this course.

After the nature studies, the student is guided through a variety of concepts in science. These concepts are necessary in order to proceed further in any organized and systematic science such as biology, chemistry, or physics. These concepts include logical concepts such as genus, species, specific difference, and careful definitions; concepts in measurement; matter, weight, mass, gravity; motion and Newton's laws. The student then applies some of these to particulars, such as color, light, and electromagnetic radiation, and much more.

The course ends by having the student read and perform experiments following an interesting and informal treatise called The Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday (a great English scientific observer). This lecture to young people concerns something which at first thought might seem insignifcant or uninteresting, but what turns out to be anything but: the humble wax candle. The finale of the course is the unexpected but true comparison of the candle's combustion process with that of food being digested by the human body.

This is a modular course. Please click on any of the links below to see details for the subcourses.

Course fee:

$ 151

Subcourses:

Nature Observations and Experiments with Jean-Henri Fabre
Concepts In Modern Science
The Chemical History of a Candle