Science

Ninth grade is where science stops being one subject and becomes a sequence of choices. Most districts run the traditional order (Biology, then Chemistry, then Physics) while a growing number run Physics first, on the argument that mechanics and energy underpin the other two. A third group teaches a combined Physical Science course covering chemistry and physics across the year.

Whichever route a school takes, the change from middle school is the same: laboratory reports, quantitative data and mathematical reasoning start carrying the grade. It is also the year the sequence gets locked in, because ninth grade placement determines whether a student can reach AP science by twelfth. If you already know which course your child is taking, the Biology, Chemistry and Physics pages for this grade set out that syllabus in full.