Curriculum Detail

Discover Our Curriculum

Science

The Science Department works to ensure that all students understand how science influences their lives and to enable them to use their knowledge of science and its methods in future problem solving and decision making.  A lifelong curiosity about the world around them is cultivated through such teaching methods as laboratory investigation, class discussion and formal instruction.

Throughout the grades the following skills are stressed: observation, critical analysis, and the ability to draw conclusions make predictions and design experiments.  Mathematical and writing skills are drawn upon extensively, and computer skills are developed as an aid to handling data.  For students with special interest and ability in science, the department offers a challenging and diverse selection of advanced courses.

  • Science 5

    Energy and Environment

    Through highly relevant social contexts, students experientially develop and use key concepts of physics and chemistry to explore the critical roles of energy and water in their lives, expanding upon themes introduced through their explorations at Dead Horse Bay in the Lower School. Students examine principles of force, motion, and electric circuits in the context of the NYC subway system and the environmental impact of public transportation. Students explore principles of energy and properties of water by examining NYC’s energy and water supply as well as waste disposal and sewage treatment. The principles of energy and water are applied in the study of weather and the Manhattan microclimate. Through the year, students investigate, hypothesize, work cooperatively, reach conclusions, analyze and compare results, and use their natural curiosity to engage in the spirit of scientific inquiry as they develop a working definition of environmental sustainability and how the physical and living environments are intertwined.

  • Science 6

    Physics and Geology

    Students develop descriptive models of motion through data collection and graphical analysis and then investigate causal models of motion by representing physical situations with force diagrams. Energy is described in terms of mechanisms of energy storage and energy transfer and students research alternative energies. Geologic contexts, from continental drift, to geothermal energy, to wave propagation in earthquakes, to electric currents creating Earth’s magnetic field, to the kinds of light reaching Earth from the sun, provide a deep context for applying physical principles. Students conclude the course by building a Rube Goldberg machine of their own design that incorporates a variety of simple machines and energy transfers.


  • Science 7

    In the 7th grade Students will begin a two-year study of the living world. Over two years students will be exploring five major themes in Biology: Chemistry of Life, Cell Structure and Function, Genetics, Evolution, and Ecology. In the 7th grade students will move through the Chemistry of Life Unit, Cell Structure and Function unit and be introduced to Genetics. To learn key course concepts students will participate in citizen science projects, lab experiments, study and analyze data collected in the field and lab, project-based learning, collaboration, written reflections and discussions.

  • Science 8

    In the 8th grade students will complete their two-year study of the living world by exploring units on Modern Genetics, Evolution and Ecology.  To learn key course concepts students will participate in citizen science projects, lab experiments, study and analyze data collected in the field and lab, project-based learning, collaboration, written reflections and discussions.
139 West 91st Street | New York, NY 10024-1326 | (212) 873-1650
Located on the Upper West Side of New York City, Trinity School is a college preparatory, coeducational independent school for grades K-12. Since 1709, Trinity has provided a world-class education to its students with rigorous academics and outstanding programs in athletics, the arts, peer leadership, and global travel.