Fundamentals of Middle School Science: Physics, Chemistry, and Biology

A grade for the class is available if requested. Requirements for a grade are to complete all three tests and 6 of the at-home projects of the learner’s choosing.  

Save $18 on enrollment when you use coupon code DANLEYSAVE18  by January 2, 2025.

REFUND POLICY: Full refund until 12 hours after the first class meeting (6 hours in the summer).  If you do not notify me within 12 hours of the first class that you wish to be refunded, you will need to contact Outschool support to request a refund which they may or may not grant. 

In this course students will gain a solid foundation in the fundamentals of physics, chemistry, and biology.  We'll start with five classes of physics, then move into five classes of chemistry, and finish with five classes of biology.  Previous concepts will be integrated into later topics when relevant.  Images, hands-on activities, and practice questions will help solidify the concepts in class.  Also provided are optional homework problems, reading assignments, and project-based assignments that students can do at home as well as optional tests at end of each unit (physics, chemistry, and biology).

Students should have basic equation-solving skills for the physics portion of the course but a student who catches on quickly would probably be fine without it.  

Class 1 
 Studies of motion: speed, velocity, acceleration.  After introducing the topics and Galileo’s experimental determination of the earth’s gravitational constant, we will look at calculations involving these quantities.  

Class 2 
Newton’s Universal Laws of Motion, gravity, mass, and weight.  We will explore how Newton’s Universal Laws of Motion apply to space travel as well as the world around us, distinguish between mass and weight and discuss how gravity affects weight.

At home project: BUILD A BALLOON CAR


Class 3 
Energy and the First Law of Thermodynamics.  We will look at energy, work, and power and the differences between kinetic and potential energy.  We will explore the first law of thermodynamics and methods of heat transfer.  

At home project: BUILD A PAPER ROLLER COASTER


Class 4 
The Second Law of Thermodynamics and electrical circuits.  We will explore the tenets of the Second Law of Thermodynamics and discuss entropy.  We will then take a look at electricity and simple circuits along with Coulomb’s Law and Ohm’s Law.

At home project: CREATE A LIGHT UP LED CARD


Class 5 
Electromagnetic Waves.  We will explore the relationship between electricity and magnetism.  We will discuss electromagnetic waves and their interaction with matter.  

At home project: MAKE A SOLAR POWERED OVEN


Class 6 
Models of the Atom.  We will discuss the history of the atom and the various models that led to our current understanding of the atom, the quantum mechanical model.  

At home project: MAKE A BOHR MODEL OF THE ATOM


Class 7 
The Periodic Table. We will talk about how elements are arranged on the periodic table according to their chemical properties along with discussions of isotopes, valence electrons, atomic mass, and atomic number.

At home project: SPEAK IN ELEMENTS (LEARN THE PERIODIC TABLE BY CREATING A GAME AND WEARABLE ART)


Class 8 
Chemical Bonding.  We will look at how atoms combine with ionic bonding and covalent bonding.  Students will understand how to draw basic Lewis dot structures and how to write basic formulas for ionic compounds.

At home project: MAKE YOUR OWN LAVA LAMP


Class 9 
Chemical Reactions and States of Matter.  We will learn how to balance chemical equations, examine the states of matter, and look at endothermic and exothermic reactions. 

At home project: MAKE ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE 


Class 10 
Organic Chemistry.  We will examine the functional groups of alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, alcohols, carboxylic acids, and esters.  We will examine isomers, see how esters can be formed from alcohols and carboxylic acids, and look at distillation as a method of separating compounds by their boiling points.  

At home project: DISTILL YOUR OWN WATER


Class 11 
The Cell.  We will take a look at the construction of both plant and animal cells with respect to organelles and transport across the cell membrane and discuss photosynthesis and respiration.  

At home project: MAKE A 3-D MODEL OF A CELL


Class 12 
Proteins.  We will explore how proteins are constructed and how they keep our bodies running by functioning as enzymes.  We will also take a look at how drugs work to correct problems with enzyme function.  

At home project: EXPERIMENT WITH ENZYMES


Class 13 
DNA.  We will discuss the function of DNA and take a look at its structure.  We will also see how DNA is transferred to new cells in both mitosis and meiosis.  

At home project: CREATE A MITOSIS FLIPBOOK


Class 14 
The Genetic Code.  We will see how RNA functions to create proteins from the instructions given by DNA and will look at how mutations in the DNA can affect protein function.

At home project: HOW HIGH CAN YOUR SLIME BOUNCE


Class 15 
DNA manipulations.  We will explore how scientists are engineering DNA to produce insulin and other proteins artificially, how PCR can allow scientists to make large quantities of a particular stretch of DNA, and how DNA is used in forensics science to help catch criminals.  

At home project: EXTRACT YOUR OWN DNA