Explore the concepts and methods of physical analysis in AP Physics 1, with a particular focus on classical mechanics. You’ll build and understand the ability to reason qualitatively and quantitatively, with your instructor there as a resource. You’ll spend instructional time engaging with the textbook, online lectures, simulations, discussions, hands-on labs (constituting 25% of instructional time), problem-solving screencasts, homework problems, a final project, and tests/exams.

Lawyers, doctors, and mathematicians use logic while building arguments, diagnosing diseases, and proving theorems. This course explores the techniques of logic while developing your analytical reasoning skills and your ability to produce arguments and identify fallacious reasoning. After learning foundational concepts such as validity, soundness, and consistency, you’ll explore the process of evaluating language-based arguments. You and your classmates will identify common fallacies, discern patterns of proper reasoning, and use Venn diagrams to evaluate syllogisms.

What can make a dog a most trusted friend? How do dogs build unbreakable bonds with their owners? What circumstances test these bonds? In this course, we will read four books exploring the unique characteristics of dogs and the humans who care for and learn from them. Whether you know a family who is changed forever by a puppy or a dog that has saved a human life through their honed instincts, you will be gripped by emotion through these stories.

Explore the history, culture, traditions, and beliefs of world civilizations across Europe, North America, and South America. This course emphasizes commonalities and differences among civilizations and prepares you for future work in pre-AP social studies classes. Learn to think chronologically and understand the major forces of societal change and order, as well as the cause-and-effect relationships throughout historical experience, through collaborative work and discussion with classmates in synchronous meetings.

IBM founder Thomas J. Watson once said, “Business is a game—the greatest game in the world if you know how to play it.” In today’s global marketplace, understanding game theory—the branch of mathematics that focuses on the application of strategic reasoning to competitive behavior—is key to success in business and economics. This course uses game theory as a framework from which to analyze a variety of real-world economic situations. You’ll analyze simple games to learn how they can be used to model actual situations encountered by entrepreneurs and economists.

Reasoning, logic, and critical thinking are the building blocks of intellectual inquiry. Focus on developing these skills through problem-solving and exposure to a wide range of topics in mathematics as you are introduced to the idea of mathematical proof and deductive logic.

Starting with foundational tools such as truth tables, logic trees, and Venn diagrams, explore ideas of validity, consistency, and sound reasoning. By doing so, you’ll learn the differences between axioms and hypotheses and how to use both to obtain results.

Nearly one in six people globally has a neurological disorder. Despite how common they are and how effective treatment can be, neurological disorders are often misunderstood and marginalized. Explore the causes and treatments of neurological disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, visual agnosia, anxiety, and depression. Individually and collectively, analyze fictional and nonfictional case studies as you consider diagnostic tools, formulate diagnoses, and determine potential treatments.

This philosophy course explores questions of human nature in light of recent technological breakthroughs in communication, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and modern warfare. You will consider how our ability to transform our environment affects the way we perceive and value human life. From current and historical contexts, you’ll evaluate philosophical questions like: how did the agricultural revolution impact social order? When do cybernetic implants transform a person into a machine? In what sense is your online identity “you”?

An introduction to poetry and poetic concepts, this course covers musical aspects of poetry, the patterns and conventions of sound, and the effects they have on readers. Imagery in poems is also explored. You’ll write your own poems as well as read and comment on the work of renowned poets including Elizabeth Bishop, William Carlos Williams, and Langston Hughes. Along the way, you’ll revise your work based on in-depth critiques from the instructor.

BAM! POW! ZAP! Everyone knows Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, and Captain America, but superheroes can come in many shapes and sizes. Must a superhero fight crime? Is Elsa from Frozen a superhero—and what about BB-8, Gru, or Moana? How do storytellers draft heart-stopping tales of suspense? Explore these questions and more on this heroic writing adventure. Like the professional writers at Disney, you’ll learn to craft creative stories using literary techniques like descriptive writing, symbolism, plot structure, and figurative language.