Science
STORIES
![SERC Students Welcome Potomac Science Fellow]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1666790960/potomac/toph6quyt0p9b2le4fds/CohenScience_serc.heic","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1666790960/potomac/toph6quyt0p9b2le4fds/CohenScience_serc.heic","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1666790960/potomac/toph6quyt0p9b2le4fds/CohenScience_serc.heic","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1666790960/potomac/toph6quyt0p9b2le4fds/CohenScience_serc.heic","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1666790960/potomac/toph6quyt0p9b2le4fds/CohenScience_serc.heic","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1666790960/potomac/toph6quyt0p9b2le4fds/CohenScience_serc.heic","width":2200}])
![Students pose for a group photo for the Sustainability Shark Tank class]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1652915456/potomac/fzy5z6uveflmnmukmrni/Sust_sharkTank.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1652915456/potomac/fzy5z6uveflmnmukmrni/Sust_sharkTank.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1652915456/potomac/fzy5z6uveflmnmukmrni/Sust_sharkTank.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1652915456/potomac/fzy5z6uveflmnmukmrni/Sust_sharkTank.png","width":1000}])
Each science course at Potomac emphasizes practical investigation of the physical or natural world. Students are encouraged to synthesize facts into concepts, build models, and use scientific literature and databases to build foundations for understanding scientific inquiry.
Potomac’s science program supports learning by doing through
- collaboration and risk-taking
- project-based work
- critical and analytical thinking
- hands-on lab work
Our curriculum encourages curiosity about our natural world.
In the lab and in the field
Opportunities for high-level lab and fieldwork are part of the science program at Potomac across all divisions. In the Upper School we focus on expanding knowledge of specific topics and cultivating scientific thinkers. Our extensive labs provide ample resources to work on independent research, tinker with robotics, and to view challenges as opportunities.
Requirements
The minimum requirement in science is the completion of three years of departmental courses Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.
Course Spotlights
Following an introduction to population growth and ecosystem energy requirements, students will focus their interest on the human population. They will evaluate census data and case studies illustrating the interconnections between environments and population growth in several countries. Using this knowledge, they will choose one issue to further investigate its implication on the relationship between a population's well-being and environmental health. Laboratory investigations will be incorporated throughout the semester to illustrate the factors that regulate population growth, the energy needs of various ecosystems, and the interdependence of environmental equilibrium and population growth. This course is also open to juniors.
This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of neuroscience. We will learn the fundamentals of brain anatomy, the chemical processes that underlie its physiology, and common pathologies that affect the brain.
While traditional high school chemistry courses focus on predicting products and studying the properties of chemical reactions, organic chemistry focuses on the specific mechanisms by which bonds are broken and formed.