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How We are Using Apologia's Physical Science

For 8th grade science we used the book Exploring Creation With Physical Science by Dr. Jay L. Wile, published by Apologia Educational Ministries. If you want more information about this science curriculum the web address is http://www.highschoolscience.com. The website has generous samples of the science books so that you can try it before you buy it. Apologia's Physical Science, is very readable, it pulled me in and I couldn't put it down for awhile. Dr. Wile's writing style is conversational and friendly.

Ideally (but not necessarily) your child should have completed a pre-algebra course before starting this program. Officially, Dr. Wile recommends that the student should have finished 7th grade math before starting this course. Your student will need to be able to understand the math equations in Apologia's Physical Science.

Unit multipliers (click the link for a mini lesson) are the most common math equation in the book. Sometimes called unit converters, these types of equations are important to master because the science student will see them often in the sciences. Dr. Wile explains how to use unit multipliers in Module 1 of the science book. Another equation in Exploring Creation With Physical Science is this one: F=(mass)(acceleration). I think the use of math in Apologia's Physical Science is a great benefit to the student.

LAB: From Apologia's Knowledge Base this article: [links open in new window]
Sample Physical Science Lab Report

Michelle's Blog Article about Lab Reports

Dr. Wile suggests that the student keep a science notebook. Any composition book would work well, our favorite are the sewn composition books. As an alternative, I have made lab sheets that might be useful for a science notebook or co-op class to go with the study of Apologia's Physical Science. However, if your child is going to continue studying the sciences, I recommend using a sewn composition book and learning how to make a good lab notebook by hand.

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The Lab Sheets
Note: It is better to use sewn composition books than the forms below.

  The lab sheets are in Adobe Acrobat format. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to access the Acrobat files.

Lab sheets for: 
 Apologia's Physical Science  

Pre-2007 2007
Page one: Basic Lab Sheet Page two: Lab Summary sheet

Drawing Sheet ~this one has only the header

Drawing and Describing sheet ~has lines 
for writing on the lower third part of the paper

 Lab Chart with ruled lines Compare 6 items 
such as in experiment 1.3

Weather Chart 1
Designed to collect data for modules 7 and 8. Collect weather data for 14 days.

Weather Chart 2
 Similar to chart above except this one has more space. Collect data for 7 days.

 All of these have two pages.
First page add the materials list, purpose, and the data. Write summary on the second page.

All Ruled
Basic 2-Page Lab ruled lines

Blank Data
2-Page Lab with blank space in Data

Chart Data
2-Page Lab with chart space in Data
 

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Other Resources:

Periodic Chart of the Elements

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A scan of the insulated copper wire from experiment 1.1.  

 

~What Others Are Saying About  Dr. Jay L. Wile's wonderful physical science book~

"Since using this science curriculum, my daughter enjoys science again!"

"My children love this book because it is speaking to them, not at them."

 

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About the Schedule for Edition Two

I do not have the edition 2 book and I was told that it is not very different from edition one. I compared the contents and lab lists and found that it was true, the editions are very similar.

(Aug 29, 2007) Donna May has looked over this schedule and made page number and figure number corrections. Donna also generously contributes her co-op schedules for Apologia books. Thank you Donna May! :-)

This schedule is a complete overhaul of edition one. Most of the labs are scheduled on a day by themselves. That means the day before or after, the student will read beyond the lab but not do the lab. The main reason I did this is because the experiments and lab write-ups can be very time consuming and those items deserve time because they are an important part of the class.

I hope this schedule works well for you.
Donna

Back to edition two schedule