In the ten and eleven age group, students build the confidence to maneuver around a science laboratory. They learn proper lab etiquette, gain valuable experience working with lab equipment, and improve their analytic and critical thinking skills. The theme of the 5-6th grade classes is discovery, which gives students a sense of ownership of their learning to spark a deeper love of learning. 

Chemical Reactions
Chemical Reactions is our follow-up to the previous year's Chemistry. It will build on the concepts of Chemistry, but it is not necessary to have taken Chemistry to enroll in this course. We will do an in depth study of the elements on the Periodic Table. Students will discover properties of different elements, how they behave, and how they interact with different chemicals. This hands-on, exploration course gives students the freedom to make their own observations, conduct their own experiments, and analyze the data that they collect.

• Periodic Table of the Elements
• Chemical reactions
• Elemental properties
• Reactivity Series
• Balancing Chemical Equations
• Decomposition Reactions
• Synthesis Reactions
• Combustion Reactions
• Single Displacement
• Double Displacement

Anatomy
Anatomy prepares students for the Introductory Lab Sequence (ILS) Biology lab. Students will study the animal anatomy through dissection and models. This course gives students the opportunity for dissection at an early age when they are ruled by curiosity. Students will discover different organs and systems of a variety of organisms. The course will build up to human anatomy where students will compare what they learned from other species to figure out how the human body works.

• Characteristics of life
• Specialized tissues
• Organ systems
• Interdependence of organ systems
• Dissections
• Skeletal structure
• Comparative anatomy
• Physiology

Optics
Optics is our physics course offering for the year. Students will experiment with different configurations to discover the laws of physics that govern how light behaves.

• Light spectrum
• Diffraction
• Refraction
• Mirrors
• Lens
• Ray Diagrams
• Microscope Lens
• Telescopes
• Spectacles

Principles of Chemistry
Principles of Chemistry emphasizes the diversity of matter through the study of atoms, molecules, and the elements of the periodic table. Students will perform experiments to familiarize themselves with scientific instruments and procedures. Students learn how to measure, weigh, and record data and observations in preparation for QuantumCamp laboratory classes. Students are responsible for completing a lab notebook to keep track of their experiments and discussions.

• Lab Safety
• Atoms, Molecules, Molecular Bonds
• Periodic Table
• Conservation of Matter
• Evaporation and Condensation
• Solids, Liquids, and Gases
• Solutions and mixtures
• Crystal Growing
• Density and Surface Tension
• Acids and Bases
• Rate of Reactions
• Combustion

Electricity
Electricity will cover the basics of charges, currents, batteries, and circuits. Students will perform experiments to get a better understanding of how electricity works. This course has units on magnetism with real life applications of the concepts and demonstrates how electricity and magnetism are related.

• Electricity
• Magnetism
• Circuits
• Power generation
• Electromechanical devices
• Electronics

Geoscience
Geoscience is an in-depth tour of the changes in Earth’s geology over time. Through this course, students will be exposed to the geological richness of the bay area.

• Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic Rocks
• Rock Identification
• Minerals
• Mineral Identification
• Crystallography
• Rock Cycle