Advanced Topics in Chemistry: Applications in Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Environmental Chemistry

All-Gender Course; Prerequisite - Successful completion of at least one year of high school chemistry; Fall semester or Full-year course
COURSE DESCRIPTION
In this Advanced Chemistry course, students apply that basics they learned in general or AP Chemistry as we explore topics in biochemistry, organic chemistry, and environmental chemistry. Students learn how to classify different types of organic molecules and examine how organic molecules impact many aspects of our day to day life, from the food industry to the oil industry.  Students draw connections to their backgrounds in biology and general chemistry by examining the chemical reactions in cellular respiration and photosynthesis. Students then apply their knowledge by designing molecules that could make cellular respiration more efficient and by hypothesizing chemicals that could potentially help plants grow in adverse conditions. When studying the chemistry of pharmaceuticals, students simulate the running of ethical drug trials and critically evaluate the pros and cons of drug-company funded research. Drawing on the foundations of organic chemistry, students analyze the impacts of various substances on the environment. By the end of the first semester, students are positioned to research the chemistry behind biological processes that they've developed curiosity about.
WHAT STUDENTS SAY

Advanced Topics in Chemistry is a new course for 21/22 school year at One Schoolhouse. To read what students have said about other One Schoolhouse courses, visit our What Students Say webpage!

WHAT STUDENTS DO
Learning is an active process at One Schoolhouse. Students design, create and apply. And, they engage with classmates and connect with their teachers through discussions, video conferences, and projects. Specifically, in this class students will:
  • Set goals that drive their learning. Students reflect regularly on their growth, and meet on video chat with their online teacher to review progress towards their goals.
  • Have choice in how they learn new content and practice new skills. Students are given agency to determine the best ways for them to learn.
  • Apply what they are learning to the real world. Learning is meaningful and connects to concepts outside the classroom.
  • Practice constructive engagement in a diverse and changing world. Students interact with classmates from across the country and around the world.
  • Gain academic maturity. Online learning takes greater discipline and independence than a traditional face-to-face classroom. Teachers support students to build this skill.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SECOND SEMESTER?
Students wishing to pursue a positive psychology project may enroll in the course for the full year. For students continuing into Semester II, the course shifts into personalized, project-based work, where students engage in deep, sustained inquiry; authentic and iterative research; critical analysis; and rigorous reflection, revision, and assessment as they journey through a self-designed, long-term activism, design, or research project on the topic of their choosing. Guided by a One Schoolhouse teacher, students pursue individual study/self-assessment or collaborative seminar/peer-review. Pathway options from which students choose include:
  • Spring Activism Seminar: In this seminar, students identify a need and create a plan to effect economic, environmental, political, or social change in a target community.  Utilizing a social science approach to research and evaluation, students are guided through the process of planning the deployment of a novel idea and identifying markers of success.  Students may create a strategic plan for a club or non-profit or design an artistic product in this seminar. 
  • Spring Design Seminar:  In this seminar, students design a technological solution to a real-world problem.  Through the engineering design process/scientific method, students gather and analyze data to determine the effectiveness of their model or the accuracy of their hypothesis.  Students may prototype and produce a public product in this seminar. 
  • Spring Research Seminar:  In this seminar, students answer a theoretical or ethical question.  Utilizing the social science/humanities tools for source evaluation, students collect, critique, and evaluate artifacts or primary source documents to explore their thesis.  Students may create a written or multimedia product in this seminar. 

Upon completion of their inquiry-driven project, students will have gained academic maturity and expanded their ability to engage in a diverse and changing world. They will be able to draw and defend conclusions from theoretical underpinnings, contextual background, and mathematical analysis or source evaluation. Finally, they will have created and tested something useful of their own design or will be able to defend a position based on their own research.​
SIGNATURE ACTIVITIES
Examples of signature activities and projects for this course are:
  • Debunk weight loss drugs.
  • Design a performance enhancing drug to facilitate more efficient cellular respiration.
  • Design a better miracle grow formula for plant.
COURSE APPROVAL
This course is approved by the NCAA.
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One Schoolhouse is fully accredited with the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges through December 1, 2025; we are an approved online publisher for the University of California. 
Megan Labbate
she/her/hers
Science Teacher
BA Skidmore College
​MEd University of Michigan