Biology

Tenth grade Biology appears where a district runs a Physical Science or Physics-first sequence in ninth grade, so students meet biology with a year of quantitative science already behind them. The syllabus is the standard or honors biology course — cells, energy, genetics, evolution and ecology — but taught at a faster pace and with more mathematical treatment.

The step up from ninth grade shows in genetics and ecology, where students handle dihybrid crosses, chi-square goodness-of-fit, Hardy-Weinberg calculations and quantitative population models. Honors sections often serve as the direct feeder into AP Biology, so grades here influence course placement for the following two years.