Astronomy & Astrophysics

This 36-week course covers both ‘astronomy’ and ‘astrophysics.’ In the modern world, these terms are used interchangeably, but in the past they were distinct. ‘Astronomy’ was used to describe activities like cataloging and studying the motions of celestial objects, such as comets, stars, nebulae, and galaxies, while ‘astrophysics’ was used to describe the science of physics applied to these objects and the universe as a whole. In our course, students will gain an appreciation for both simple observation of the motions of the night sky and the physics of the universe and its contents.

This is a modern science laboratory course developed by a professional astrophysicist and is comprised of both well-established and cutting-edge material. Students will learn about the night sky, the solar system, stars, the Milky Way, the many galaxies in the observable universe, the origins of our universe, classical and modern physics, and the latest in theoretical cosmology.

In this course, students will learn much that is applicable to all of the natural sciences, including some of the history of science, some of the tools of science, and how science works. We recommend this as the first science course students take at the high school level.

Purchase the Astronomy and Astrophysics curriculum at the Castalia House store.

Textbook

This course makes use of free / low-cost online resources, including textbooks, simulated experiments, and videos. The core textbook is Astronomy Notes by Nick Strobel. It is available for free online both here on the SixDay Science website and on Professor Strobel’s Astronomy Notes website, or in print for a reasonable price.

Physics I & II

These two 36-week courses will cover all the fundamental topics in physics, both classical and modern.

This is a modern science laboratory course developed by a professional astrophysicist and will be comprised of both well-established and cutting-edge material. In Physics I, students will learn about Newtonian mechanics and electricity and magnetism. In Physics II, students will learn about fluid mechanics, thermal physics, waves and optics, and modern physics, including relativity, quantum mechanics, atomic and nuclear physics, particle physics, and the frontiers of physics.

In these courses, students will learn much that is applicable to all of the natural sciences, including some of the history of science, some of the tools of science, and how science works. We recommend Part I as the second science course students take at the high school level.

The Physics curriculum will be available May, 2015.

Textbook

This course will make use of free / low-cost online resources, including textbooks, simulated experiments, and videos. We are still in the planning stages, but we will likely choose one of two different options for the core textbook. The first is College Physics (algebra-based) by OpenStax College (affiliated with Rice University), available for free online in PDF, web-view, and ebook formats, or in interactive ebook and print formats for a reasonable price. The second is Light and Matter by Benjamin Crowell. It is available for free online in PDF and web-view formats, or in print for a reasonable price.

Science & the Bible

This elective course will cover topics in modern science, including astronomy, physics, and biology, and how they relate to the Bible.

This will be a crossover course between the sciences and the humanities (religion and philosophy). More details to come.