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Grade 12 curriculum

A full 180-day school year in 4 courses: British & World Literature, Precalculus, Earth & Environmental Science and U.S. Government & Economics. Every unit and lesson is listed below. Unit 1 of every course is free to try, and KidUniversity Plus unlocks the rest for your whole family.

  • 4 courses
  • 88 units
  • 632 lessons
  • 88 unit tests

Grades 9 to 12 also get SAT® and ACT® prep.

British & World Literature

24 units · 156 lessons · 24 unit tests · 180 school days

Try Unit 1 free
Unit 1FREE

Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons

6 lessons + unit test

What did a hero have to be in a world where fame was the only thing that outlived you?
  1. The Anglo-Saxon World and the Heroic Code
  2. Grendel: The Monster at the Door
  3. Kennings, Alliteration and the Caesura
  4. Beowulf as Epic Hero
  5. Fate, Faith and the Dragon
  6. The Elegy: The Seafarer
  7. Unit 1 Test: Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons
Unit 2

Chaucer and the Medieval World

6 lessons + unit test

How does a group of travelers telling stories become a portrait of a whole society?
  1. Reading Middle English: The General Prologue
  2. Portraits of the Pilgrims
  3. Satire of the Church: Monk, Friar and Pardoner
  4. The Pardoner's Tale: Greed and Irony
  5. The Wife of Bath and Her Tale
  6. The Frame Story and Medieval Society
  7. Unit 2 Test: Chaucer and the Medieval World
Unit 3

The English Language: History and Vocabulary

7 lessons + unit test

How did English become a language with words from everywhere, and how can that history help you read?
  1. From Old English to Modern English
  2. Greek and Latin Roots in Academic Words
  3. Norman French and the Layers of English
  4. Words From Literature and Myth
  5. Reading Older English: Archaic Words in Context
  6. Connotation, Denotation and Nuance
  7. Etymology and Reference Tools
  8. Unit 3 Test: The English Language: History and Vocabulary
Unit 4

Shakespeare's Sonnets

5 lessons + unit test

How can fourteen lines hold an argument about love, time and death?
  1. The Shakespearean Sonnet: Form and Meter
  2. Sonnet 18: Poetry Against Time
  3. Sonnet 29: Despair and the Turn
  4. Sonnet 73: Extended Metaphors of Aging
  5. Sonnets 116 and 130: Defining Love
  6. Unit 4 Test: Shakespeare's Sonnets
Unit 5

Macbeth: Ambition and Guilt

7 lessons + unit test

What happens to a person who gets exactly what he wants by doing what he knows is wrong?
  1. Tragedy and the Witches' Prophecy
  2. Lady Macbeth and the Art of Persuasion
  3. The Dagger Soliloquy and the Murder
  4. Motifs: Blood, Sleep and Darkness
  5. Tyranny: Banquo's Ghost and Macbeth's Descent
  6. Equivocation and the Sleepwalking Scene
  7. "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow": The Tragic End
  8. Unit 5 Test: Macbeth: Ambition and Guilt
Unit 6

Hamlet: Thought and Action

7 lessons + unit test

Why does a man who knows exactly what he must do find it so hard to do it?
  1. Denmark Out of Joint
  2. Polonius: Advice and Characterization
  3. Madness: Real or Performed?
  4. "To Be, or Not to Be"
  5. The Play Within the Play and the Prayer Scene
  6. Ophelia, Gertrude and Hamlet's Women
  7. Yorick and the Final Scene
  8. Unit 6 Test: Hamlet: Thought and Action
Unit 7

The Literary Analysis Essay

7 lessons + unit test

How do you prove a claim about a work of literature so that a skeptical reader agrees?
  1. Reading the Prompt and Building a Thesis
  2. Choosing and Embedding Quotations
  3. Analysis: Explaining How Evidence Proves the Claim
  4. Building Body Paragraphs
  5. Introductions and Conclusions
  6. MLA Style for Literature
  7. Revising: Literary Present, Voice and Precision
  8. Unit 7 Test: The Literary Analysis Essay
Unit 8

The Metaphysical Poets

5 lessons + unit test

How can an outrageous comparison make us think harder about love, faith and death?
  1. Wit and the Conceit: "The Flea"
  2. The Compass Conceit: "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"
  3. Paradox: "Death, Be Not Proud" and Meditation 17
  4. George Herbert: Shape and Faith
  5. Marvell and Carpe Diem
  6. Unit 8 Test: The Metaphysical Poets
Unit 9

Milton and the Epic of Choice

5 lessons + unit test

If people are free to choose, why do they choose to fall — and what do they find afterward?
  1. Milton's Life and "When I Consider"
  2. The Epic Invocation: Paradise Lost, Book 1
  3. Satan: Rebel Hero or Villain?
  4. The Fall: Free Will and Temptation
  5. "Hand in Hand": The Ending and the Fortunate Fall
  6. Unit 9 Test: Milton and the Epic of Choice
Unit 10

The Enlightenment and Satire

6 lessons + unit test

How can a writer use laughter, and even horror, to make readers see what is wrong with their world?
  1. The Age of Reason
  2. Swift's "A Modest Proposal"
  3. The Tools of Satire
  4. Gulliver's Travels: Satire as Voyage
  5. Alexander Pope and the Heroic Couplet
  6. Samuel Johnson and the Dictionary
  7. Unit 10 Test: The Enlightenment and Satire
Unit 11

Advanced Grammar: Syntax and Sentence Craft

7 lessons + unit test

How do the shapes of sentences control what a reader notices and feels?
  1. Clauses and Sentence Types
  2. Phrases: Participial, Appositive and Absolute
  3. Parallel Structure
  4. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
  5. Semicolons, Colons and Dashes
  6. Hyphens, Restrictive Clauses and 'That' vs. 'Which'
  7. Usage Changes: Rules, Myths and References
  8. Unit 11 Test: Advanced Grammar: Syntax and Sentence Craft
Unit 12

The Romantics: Blake, Wordsworth and Coleridge

7 lessons + unit test

Why did a generation of poets turn from reason to feeling, nature and imagination?
  1. The Romantic Revolution
  2. Blake: Innocence and Experience
  3. Blake's "London"
  4. Wordsworth: Emotion Recollected in Tranquility
  5. Wordsworth: Nature and the Modern World
  6. Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
  7. Coleridge: "Kubla Khan" and the Imagination
  8. Unit 12 Test: The Romantics: Blake, Wordsworth and Coleridge
Unit 13

The Romantics: Keats and Shelley

6 lessons + unit test

What can art and imagination hold onto in a world where everything passes?
  1. Shelley: "Ozymandias"
  2. Shelley: "Ode to the West Wind"
  3. Keats: "When I Have Fears" and Negative Capability
  4. Keats: "Ode on a Grecian Urn"
  5. Keats: "Ode to a Nightingale" and "To Autumn"
  6. Byron, Mary Shelley and the Romantic Hero
  7. Unit 13 Test: The Romantics: Keats and Shelley
Unit 14

The Victorian Novel: Dickens and the Brontës

7 lessons + unit test

How did novels help readers see the costs of a fast-changing society and the inner lives of people in it?
  1. The Victorian Age: Progress and Its Problems
  2. Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities
  3. Dickens: Hard Times and Social Criticism
  4. Dickens: Great Expectations and the Coming-of-Age Novel
  5. Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre
  6. Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights
  7. Reading Victorian Prose: Narrators and Long Sentences
  8. Unit 14 Test: The Victorian Novel: Dickens and the Brontës
Unit 15

Victorian Poetry: Tennyson, Browning and Hardy

6 lessons + unit test

How did poets respond to an age of doubt, empire and rapid change?
  1. Tennyson: "Ulysses" and the Will to Strive
  2. Tennyson: Duty, Grief and Doubt
  3. Browning: The Dramatic Monologue
  4. Love and Faith: Barrett Browning and Arnold
  5. Hardy: Irony and Chance
  6. Hardy: "The Darkling Thrush" and a New Century
  7. Unit 15 Test: Victorian Poetry: Tennyson, Browning and Hardy
Unit 16

The College Application Personal Essay

7 lessons + unit test

How do you show a stranger who you are in 650 words?
  1. What Admissions Readers Want
  2. Finding Your Story
  3. Show, Don't Tell
  4. Structuring the Essay
  5. Reflection: The 'So What?'
  6. Voice, Tone and Authenticity
  7. Revising Under a Word Limit
  8. Unit 16 Test: The College Application Personal Essay
Unit 17

Poets of the First World War

5 lessons + unit test

How did soldier-poets tell the truth about a war that the official language of glory tried to hide?
  1. 1914: Idealism and Rupert Brooke
  2. Owen: "Dulce et Decorum Est"
  3. Owen: "Anthem for Doomed Youth" and the Pity of War
  4. Sassoon: Satire From the Trenches
  5. Remembrance and Comparing War Poems
  6. Unit 17 Test: Poets of the First World War
Unit 18

Early Modernism: Joyce and Yeats

7 lessons + unit test

How did writers 'make it new' when the old certainties of the 1800s fell apart?
  1. What Was Modernism?
  2. Joyce's Dubliners: "Araby"
  3. Joyce: "Eveline" and the Choice Not Made
  4. Joyce: "The Dead"
  5. Yeats: Ireland, Memory and Myth
  6. Yeats: "The Second Coming"
  7. Yeats: "Sailing to Byzantium"
  8. Unit 18 Test: Early Modernism: Joyce and Yeats
Unit 19

Woolf and the Modern Essay

6 lessons + unit test

How can an essay think out loud, persuade quietly and change how we read and live?
  1. The Essay Tradition: Montaigne and Bacon
  2. Woolf: "Modern Fiction" and the Inner Life
  3. Woolf: "Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown"
  4. Woolf: "How Should One Read a Book?"
  5. Rhetorical Analysis of an Essay
  6. Writing an Essay of Ideas
  7. Unit 19 Test: Woolf and the Modern Essay
Unit 20

World Classics: Tagore, Chekhov and Tolstoy

7 lessons + unit test

What do writers from India and Russia show us about longing, freedom and how to live?
  1. Reading Literature in Translation
  2. Tagore: Gitanjali
  3. Tagore: "The Kabuliwala"
  4. Chekhov: "Misery" and the Story of Mood
  5. Chekhov: "The Lady with the Dog"
  6. Tolstoy: "How Much Land Does a Man Need?"
  7. Tolstoy: The Big Questions
  8. Unit 20 Test: World Classics: Tagore, Chekhov and Tolstoy
Unit 21

Style and Rhetoric: Revising Like a Pro

7 lessons + unit test

What separates writing that is merely correct from writing that is clear, strong and memorable?
  1. Concision: Cutting the Clutter
  2. Active and Passive Voice
  3. Strong Verbs and Precise Diction
  4. Sentence Variety and Rhythm
  5. Rhetorical Devices for Emphasis
  6. Tone and Register for Your Audience
  7. Cohesion: Making Paragraphs Flow
  8. Unit 21 Test: Style and Rhetoric: Revising Like a Pro
Unit 22

Literary Analysis: Comparison and Research

7 lessons + unit test

How do you build an argument that draws on several texts, critics and interpretations?
  1. Writing a Comparative Thesis
  2. Organizing a Comparison
  3. Critical Lenses
  4. Using Sources: Quote, Paraphrase, Summarize
  5. MLA Works Cited for Research
  6. The Timed Literary Essay
  7. Comparing Interpretations and Adaptations
  8. Unit 22 Test: Literary Analysis: Comparison and Research
Unit 23

Review: Beowulf to the Enlightenment

8 lessons + unit test

What threads — heroism, faith, ambition, wit — connect a thousand years of English literature?
  1. Review: Old and Middle English
  2. Review: Shakespeare's Sonnets
  3. Review: Macbeth
  4. Review: Hamlet
  5. Review: Metaphysical Poets and Milton
  6. Review: The Age of Satire
  7. Review: Language and Vocabulary
  8. Review: Essay Writing and Grammar
  9. Unit 23 Test: Review: Beowulf to the Enlightenment
Unit 24

Review: The Romantics to the Moderns

8 lessons + unit test

How did literature change from the Romantics' faith in nature to the Moderns' search for new forms?
  1. Review: Blake, Wordsworth and Coleridge
  2. Review: Keats, Shelley and Their Circle
  3. Review: The Victorian Novel
  4. Review: Victorian Poetry
  5. Review: Poets of the First World War
  6. Review: Joyce, Yeats and Woolf
  7. Review: World Classics
  8. Review: Personal Essay, Style and Research
  9. Unit 24 Test: Review: The Romantics to the Moderns

Precalculus

22 units · 158 lessons · 22 unit tests · 180 school days

Try Unit 1 free
Unit 1FREE

Functions and Their Graphs

6 lessons + unit test

How can one rule turn every input into exactly one output, and what does its graph tell us?
  1. What Makes a Function
  2. Domain and Range
  3. Reading Graphs: Increasing, Decreasing, Extrema
  4. Even and Odd Functions
  5. Transformations of Functions
  6. Piecewise and Absolute Value Functions
  7. Unit 1 Test: Functions and Their Graphs
Unit 2

Composition and Inverse Functions

6 lessons + unit test

How do we chain functions together, and how do we undo them?
  1. Combining Functions
  2. Composition of Functions
  3. Decomposing Functions
  4. Inverse Functions
  5. Finding Inverses Algebraically
  6. Graphs of Inverses and One-to-One Functions
  7. Unit 2 Test: Composition and Inverse Functions
Unit 3

Polynomial Functions

8 lessons + unit test

How do the degree, coefficients and zeros of a polynomial shape its graph?
  1. Quadratic Functions in Vertex Form
  2. Polynomial Degree and End Behavior
  3. Zeros and Multiplicity
  4. Polynomial Long Division
  5. Synthetic Division and the Remainder Theorem
  6. The Factor Theorem
  7. The Rational Root Theorem
  8. Complex Zeros and the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra
  9. Unit 3 Test: Polynomial Functions
Unit 4

Rational Functions and Asymptotes

8 lessons + unit test

What happens to a fraction of polynomials near the numbers it can't use, and far away?
  1. What Is a Rational Function
  2. Vertical Asymptotes and Holes
  3. Horizontal Asymptotes
  4. Slant Asymptotes
  5. Graphing Rational Functions
  6. Solving Rational Equations
  7. Polynomial and Rational Inequalities
  8. Rational Models
  9. Unit 4 Test: Rational Functions and Asymptotes
Unit 5

Exponential Functions and Models

7 lessons + unit test

Why do some quantities grow by the same factor again and again, and how do we model them?
  1. Exponential Functions
  2. Growth and Decay Rates
  3. Compound Interest
  4. The Number e and Continuous Growth
  5. Graphs of Exponential Functions
  6. Half-Life and Doubling Time
  7. Exponential Models from Data
  8. Unit 5 Test: Exponential Functions and Models
Unit 6

Logarithms

8 lessons + unit test

What exponent do we need, and how do logarithms turn multiplication into addition?
  1. What Is a Logarithm
  2. Common and Natural Logarithms
  3. Graphs of Logarithmic Functions
  4. The Product and Quotient Rules
  5. The Power Rule
  6. Expanding and Condensing Logarithms
  7. Change of Base
  8. Logarithmic Scales
  9. Unit 6 Test: Logarithms
Unit 7

Exponential and Logarithmic Equations

7 lessons + unit test

How do we solve for an unknown exponent, and how long will growth or decay take?
  1. Solving Exponential Equations with Common Bases
  2. Solving Exponential Equations with Logs
  3. Solving Logarithmic Equations
  4. Extraneous Solutions
  5. Finding Time in Growth and Decay Models
  6. Logistic Growth
  7. Choosing a Model
  8. Unit 7 Test: Exponential and Logarithmic Equations
Unit 8

Angles and Radians

6 lessons + unit test

How can we measure angles by distance around a circle instead of by degrees?
  1. Angles in Standard Position
  2. Radian Measure
  3. Converting Degrees and Radians
  4. Coterminal and Reference Angles
  5. Arc Length and Sector Area
  6. Angular and Linear Speed
  7. Unit 8 Test: Angles and Radians
Unit 9

The Unit Circle and Trig Functions

8 lessons + unit test

How can a circle of radius 1 define sine and cosine for every angle?
  1. Right Triangle Trigonometry
  2. Special Right Triangles
  3. The Unit Circle
  4. Trig Functions of Any Angle
  5. Signs of Trig Functions by Quadrant
  6. Using Reference Angles
  7. Reciprocal Trig Functions
  8. The Pythagorean Identity
  9. Unit 9 Test: The Unit Circle and Trig Functions
Unit 10

Graphs of Trigonometric Functions

8 lessons + unit test

How do sine and cosine waves model things that repeat, like tides, sound and seasons?
  1. Graphing Sine and Cosine
  2. Amplitude and Period
  3. Phase Shift and Vertical Shift
  4. Writing Equations from Graphs
  5. Graph of Tangent
  6. Graphs of Reciprocal Functions
  7. Modeling Periodic Phenomena
  8. Damped and Combined Waves
  9. Unit 10 Test: Graphs of Trigonometric Functions
Unit 11

Inverse Trig Functions and Trig Equations

7 lessons + unit test

If we know a sine or cosine value, how do we find every angle that produces it?
  1. Inverse Sine
  2. Inverse Cosine and Inverse Tangent
  3. Compositions with Inverse Trig
  4. Solving Basic Trig Equations
  5. Trig Equations on an Interval
  6. Quadratic-Type Trig Equations
  7. Applications of Trig Equations
  8. Unit 11 Test: Inverse Trig Functions and Trig Equations
Unit 12

Trigonometric Identities

8 lessons + unit test

Which trig expressions are secretly equal, and how can we prove it?
  1. Fundamental Identities
  2. Simplifying Trig Expressions
  3. Verifying Identities
  4. Sum and Difference Formulas
  5. Double-Angle Formulas
  6. Half-Angle Formulas
  7. Power-Reducing and Product-to-Sum
  8. Solving Equations with Identities
  9. Unit 12 Test: Trigonometric Identities
Unit 13

Laws of Sines and Cosines

7 lessons + unit test

How can we solve any triangle, not just right triangles?
  1. Solving Right Triangles
  2. The Law of Sines
  3. The Ambiguous Case
  4. The Law of Cosines
  5. Area of a Triangle with Sine
  6. Heron's Formula
  7. Navigation and Surveying Problems
  8. Unit 13 Test: Laws of Sines and Cosines
Unit 14

Vectors

8 lessons + unit test

How do we describe and combine quantities that have both size and direction?
  1. What Is a Vector
  2. Component Form and Magnitude
  3. Adding and Scaling Vectors
  4. Unit Vectors and Direction Angles
  5. Vectors in Real Contexts
  6. The Dot Product
  7. Angle Between Vectors
  8. Projections and Work
  9. Unit 14 Test: Vectors
Unit 15

Polar Coordinates

6 lessons + unit test

What if we located points by distance and angle instead of left-right and up-down?
  1. Plotting Polar Points
  2. Converting Points Between Polar and Rectangular
  3. Converting Equations
  4. Polar Graphs: Circles and Lines
  5. Roses, Cardioids and Limaçons
  6. Symmetry and Spirals
  7. Unit 15 Test: Polar Coordinates
Unit 16

Complex Numbers in Polar Form

7 lessons + unit test

How does writing complex numbers with a length and an angle make multiplying, powers and roots easy?
  1. Complex Number Review
  2. The Complex Plane and Modulus
  3. Polar Form of a Complex Number
  4. Multiplying and Dividing in Polar Form
  5. De Moivre's Theorem
  6. Roots of Complex Numbers
  7. Roots of Unity
  8. Unit 16 Test: Complex Numbers in Polar Form
Unit 17

Parametric Equations

6 lessons + unit test

How can we describe not just the path of a moving object but where it is at each moment?
  1. What Are Parametric Equations
  2. Graphing Parametric Curves
  3. Eliminating the Parameter
  4. Writing Parametric Equations
  5. Projectile Motion
  6. Parametric Circles and Ellipses
  7. Unit 17 Test: Parametric Equations
Unit 18

Conic Sections

8 lessons + unit test

What curves do you get by slicing a cone, and why do they show up in orbits, dishes and lenses?
  1. What Are Conic Sections
  2. Circles
  3. Parabolas: Focus and Directrix
  4. Ellipses
  5. Hyperbolas
  6. Completing the Square to Identify Conics
  7. Eccentricity
  8. Applications of Conics
  9. Unit 18 Test: Conic Sections
Unit 19

Matrices

8 lessons + unit test

How can a grid of numbers store data, solve systems and transform shapes?
  1. Matrix Basics
  2. Adding and Scaling Matrices
  3. Matrix Multiplication
  4. Identity and Determinants
  5. Inverse Matrices
  6. Solving Systems with Matrices
  7. Row Reduction
  8. Matrices as Transformations
  9. Unit 19 Test: Matrices
Unit 20

Sequences and Series

8 lessons + unit test

How do we describe number patterns, and what happens when we add up infinitely many terms?
  1. Sequences and Notation
  2. Arithmetic Sequences
  3. Geometric Sequences
  4. Recursive Formulas
  5. Sigma Notation
  6. Arithmetic Series
  7. Geometric Series
  8. Infinite Geometric Series
  9. Unit 20 Test: Sequences and Series
Unit 21

Counting and the Binomial Theorem

6 lessons + unit test

How can we count arrangements without listing them, and how does counting help us expand powers?
  1. The Counting Principle
  2. Permutations
  3. Combinations
  4. Pascal's Triangle
  5. The Binomial Theorem
  6. Mathematical Induction
  7. Unit 21 Test: Counting and the Binomial Theorem
Unit 22

An Introduction to Limits

7 lessons + unit test

What value does a function approach, even when it never gets there, and why does that open the door to calculus?
  1. The Idea of a Limit
  2. Limits from Tables and Graphs
  3. One-Sided Limits
  4. Limits by Substitution and Factoring
  5. Limits at Infinity
  6. Continuity
  7. The Tangent Line Problem
  8. Unit 22 Test: An Introduction to Limits

Earth & Environmental Science

22 units · 158 lessons · 22 unit tests · 180 school days

Try Unit 1 free
Unit 1FREE

The Universe and the Big Bang

7 lessons + unit test

How do we know the universe began about 13.8 billion years ago, and how big is it?
  1. Scale of the Universe
  2. Light as a Messenger
  3. Spectra and Redshift
  4. Hubble's Law and Expansion
  5. Evidence for the Big Bang
  6. The First Elements
  7. Galaxies
  8. Unit 1 Test: The Universe and the Big Bang
Unit 2

Stars and Nuclear Fusion

7 lessons + unit test

How do stars shine, how do they change over their lives, and where did the elements come from?
  1. How the Sun Shines
  2. Inside the Sun
  3. Brightness, Color and Temperature
  4. The H-R Diagram
  5. Life of a Sun-like Star
  6. Massive Stars and Supernovas
  7. Stars Make the Elements
  8. Unit 2 Test: Stars and Nuclear Fusion
Unit 3

The Solar System

7 lessons + unit test

What is in our solar system, and what rules govern how its objects move?
  1. A Tour of the Solar System
  2. Gravity and Orbits
  3. Kepler's Laws
  4. Moons, Tides and Eclipses
  5. Seasons and Earth's Tilt
  6. Asteroids, Comets and Meteors
  7. Exploring Space
  8. Unit 3 Test: The Solar System
Unit 4

Earth's Formation and Early History

7 lessons + unit test

How did Earth form 4.6 billion years ago, and how did it become a planet with oceans, air and life?
  1. The Solar Nebula
  2. Building Planets
  3. A Molten Early Earth
  4. Where the Moon Came From
  5. Oceans and the First Atmosphere
  6. Early Life and Oxygen
  7. Clues from Meteorites and Moon Rocks
  8. Unit 4 Test: Earth's Formation and Early History
Unit 5

Geologic Time

7 lessons + unit test

How do geologists read the ages of rocks and the history of life written in them?
  1. Deep Time
  2. Relative Dating
  3. Radioactive Decay and Half-Life
  4. Radiometric Dating
  5. Fossils and Index Fossils
  6. The Geologic Time Scale
  7. Mass Extinctions
  8. Unit 5 Test: Geologic Time
Unit 6

Earth's Interior and Plate Tectonics

8 lessons + unit test

What is inside Earth, and why do continents move?
  1. Layers of the Earth
  2. Seismic Waves Reveal the Interior
  3. Continental Drift
  4. Seafloor Spreading
  5. Plates and Mantle Convection
  6. Divergent Boundaries
  7. Convergent Boundaries
  8. Transform Boundaries and Hot Spots
  9. Unit 6 Test: Earth's Interior and Plate Tectonics
Unit 7

Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Mountains

7 lessons + unit test

How do moving plates make earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain ranges?
  1. Faults and Stress
  2. How Earthquakes Happen
  3. Locating an Earthquake
  4. Measuring Earthquakes
  5. Volcanoes and Magma
  6. Types of Volcanoes
  7. Mountain Building
  8. Unit 7 Test: Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Mountains
Unit 8

Minerals

7 lessons + unit test

What are minerals, how do we tell them apart, and why do we depend on them?
  1. What Is a Mineral?
  2. Atoms and Crystals
  3. Identifying Minerals
  4. Hardness and the Mohs Scale
  5. Silicates and Other Groups
  6. How Minerals Form
  7. Minerals We Use
  8. Unit 8 Test: Minerals
Unit 9

Rocks and the Rock Cycle

7 lessons + unit test

How do rocks form, change and tell the story of Earth's past?
  1. Three Families of Rock
  2. Igneous Rocks
  3. Sedimentary Rocks
  4. Metamorphic Rocks
  5. The Rock Cycle
  6. Reading Rock Layers
  7. Rocks in Everyday Life
  8. Unit 9 Test: Rocks and the Rock Cycle
Unit 10

Weathering and Erosion

7 lessons + unit test

How do water, ice, wind and gravity break down mountains and reshape the land?
  1. Mechanical Weathering
  2. Chemical Weathering
  3. Rates of Weathering
  4. Water as an Agent of Erosion
  5. Glaciers
  6. Wind and Gravity
  7. Deposition and Landforms
  8. Unit 10 Test: Weathering and Erosion
Unit 11

Soils

7 lessons + unit test

What is soil, how does it form, and why is protecting it so important?
  1. What Soil Is Made Of
  2. How Soil Forms
  3. Soil Horizons
  4. Soil Texture
  5. Soil and Life
  6. Soil Erosion and Conservation
  7. Soil, Food and People
  8. Unit 11 Test: Soils
Unit 12

The Water Cycle

7 lessons + unit test

How does water move through Earth's systems, and why does its unusual chemistry matter so much?
  1. Earth's Water Budget
  2. Why Water Is Special
  3. Evaporation, Condensation and Precipitation
  4. Runoff and Watersheds
  5. Groundwater and Aquifers
  6. Rivers and Lakes
  7. Fresh Water and People
  8. Unit 12 Test: The Water Cycle
Unit 13

The Oceans

7 lessons + unit test

How do the oceans move heat, water and life around the planet?
  1. The Ocean Floor
  2. Seawater
  3. Surface Currents
  4. Deep Ocean Circulation
  5. Waves
  6. Tides
  7. Coasts and Ocean Life
  8. Unit 13 Test: The Oceans
Unit 14

The Atmosphere

7 lessons + unit test

What is the air made of, how is it layered, and how does sunlight power its motion?
  1. Composition of the Air
  2. Layers of the Atmosphere
  3. Air Pressure
  4. Energy from the Sun
  5. Heat Transfer in the Atmosphere
  6. The Greenhouse Effect
  7. Global Winds
  8. Unit 14 Test: The Atmosphere
Unit 15

Weather

8 lessons + unit test

What makes clouds, rain, storms and fronts, and how do forecasters predict them?
  1. Humidity and Dew Point
  2. Clouds
  3. Precipitation
  4. Air Masses and Fronts
  5. Highs, Lows and Local Winds
  6. Thunderstorms and Tornadoes
  7. Hurricanes
  8. Forecasting the Weather
  9. Unit 15 Test: Weather
Unit 16

Climate

7 lessons + unit test

What controls Earth's climate, and how do we know how it changed in the past?
  1. Weather vs. Climate
  2. What Controls Climate
  3. Climate Zones
  4. Feedback Loops
  5. The Carbon Cycle
  6. Natural Climate Change in the Past
  7. Reading Climate Data
  8. Unit 16 Test: Climate
Unit 17

Climate Change Today

8 lessons + unit test

How do scientists know Earth is warming because of human activity, and what can we do about it?
  1. The Evidence for Warming
  2. Why Scientists Know Humans Are the Cause
  3. Melting Ice and Rising Seas
  4. Oceans in a Warming World
  5. Extreme Weather and Ecosystems
  6. Climate Models and Projections
  7. Cutting Emissions
  8. Adapting to Change
  9. Unit 17 Test: Climate Change Today
Unit 18

Natural Resources

7 lessons + unit test

Where do the materials we depend on come from, and how can we use them wisely?
  1. Renewable and Nonrenewable
  2. Mineral Resources and Mining
  3. Ore Deposits
  4. Water as a Resource
  5. Land and Forests
  6. Recycling and the Circular Economy
  7. Weighing Costs and Benefits
  8. Unit 18 Test: Natural Resources
Unit 19

Energy Resources

7 lessons + unit test

Where does our energy come from, and how do the choices compare for people and the planet?
  1. Fossil Fuels
  2. Nuclear Power
  3. Solar Power
  4. Wind and Water Power
  5. Geothermal and Biomass
  6. Comparing Energy Sources
  7. Energy Efficiency
  8. Unit 19 Test: Energy Resources
Unit 20

Natural Hazards

7 lessons + unit test

How do natural hazards shape where and how people live, and how can we reduce the damage they cause?
  1. Hazard, Risk and Disaster
  2. Earthquake Risk
  3. Volcanic Hazards
  4. Tsunamis
  5. Floods
  6. Landslides and Wildfires
  7. Drought, Heat and Storms
  8. Unit 20 Test: Natural Hazards
Unit 21

Ecosystems and Earth's Cycles

7 lessons + unit test

How do energy and matter move through ecosystems, and how has life shaped the planet?
  1. Energy Flow in Ecosystems
  2. The Nitrogen Cycle
  3. Phosphorus and Nutrients
  4. Biomes
  5. Life Shapes the Planet
  6. Populations and Carrying Capacity
  7. Biodiversity
  8. Unit 21 Test: Ecosystems and Earth's Cycles
Unit 22

Human Impact and Sustainability

8 lessons + unit test

How are humans changing Earth's systems, and how can we meet our needs without harming the future?
  1. Human Population and Footprint
  2. Air Pollution
  3. Water Pollution
  4. Plastics and Waste
  5. Habitat Loss and Invasive Species
  6. Sustainable Cities and Farms
  7. Modeling Sustainability
  8. Making Choices for the Future
  9. Unit 22 Test: Human Impact and Sustainability

U.S. Government & Economics

20 units · 160 lessons · 20 unit tests · 180 school days

Try Unit 1 free
Unit 1FREE

Foundations of Government

8 lessons + unit test

Where does government get its power, and what is it for?
  1. What Government Does
  2. Forms of Government
  3. The State of Nature and the Social Contract
  4. John Locke and Natural Rights
  5. Montesquieu and the Separation of Powers
  6. Rousseau, Hobbes and Popular Sovereignty
  7. English Roots: Magna Carta to the English Bill of Rights
  8. Colonial Self-Government
  9. Unit 1 Test: Foundations of Government
Unit 2

The Founding Documents

8 lessons + unit test

How did the founders turn Enlightenment ideas into a working government?
  1. The Declaration of Independence
  2. The Articles of Confederation
  3. Why the Articles Failed
  4. The Constitutional Convention
  5. Compromises at the Convention
  6. Federalists and Anti-Federalists
  7. The Federalist Papers
  8. Ratification and the Bill of Rights
  9. Unit 2 Test: The Founding Documents
Unit 3

Principles of the Constitution

8 lessons + unit test

How does the Constitution give government power while keeping that power in check?
  1. Reading the Preamble
  2. How the Constitution Is Organized
  3. Popular Sovereignty and Limited Government
  4. Separation of Powers
  5. Checks and Balances
  6. Judicial Review
  7. Amending the Constitution
  8. A Living Document: Formal and Informal Change
  9. Unit 3 Test: Principles of the Constitution
Unit 4

Federalism and the Amendments

8 lessons + unit test

How is power shared between the nation and the states, and how has the Constitution grown?
  1. What Federalism Means
  2. Enumerated, Reserved and Concurrent Powers
  3. The Supremacy Clause and McCulloch v. Maryland
  4. The Commerce Clause
  5. Relations Among the States
  6. Money and Federalism: Grants and Mandates
  7. The Reconstruction Amendments
  8. Amendments of the Twentieth Century
  9. Unit 4 Test: Federalism and the Amendments
Unit 5

Congress

8 lessons + unit test

How does Congress represent the people and turn ideas into law?
  1. A Bicameral Legislature
  2. The House of Representatives
  3. The Senate
  4. Apportionment and Redistricting
  5. Powers of Congress
  6. Congressional Leadership and Committees
  7. How a Bill Becomes a Law
  8. Congress and Its Constituents
  9. Unit 5 Test: Congress
Unit 6

The Presidency and the Executive Branch

8 lessons + unit test

How much power should one person have, and what keeps it in check?
  1. Qualifications, Terms and Succession
  2. The President's Roles
  3. Executive Powers and Their Limits
  4. Foreign Policy and War Powers
  5. The Vice President and the Cabinet
  6. The Federal Bureaucracy
  7. Regulatory Agencies and Rulemaking
  8. How Presidential Power Has Grown
  9. Unit 6 Test: The Presidency and the Executive Branch
Unit 7

The Courts and Landmark Cases

8 lessons + unit test

How do courts interpret the Constitution, and how have their decisions changed American life?
  1. The Federal Court System
  2. How the Supreme Court Decides Cases
  3. Judicial Philosophies
  4. Marbury v. Madison
  5. Federal Power Cases
  6. Equal Protection Cases
  7. Rights of the Accused Cases
  8. Free Expression and Privacy Cases
  9. Unit 7 Test: The Courts and Landmark Cases
Unit 8

Civil Liberties

8 lessons + unit test

Where are the limits of individual freedom, and who decides?
  1. Liberties Versus Rights
  2. Freedom of Religion
  3. Freedom of Speech
  4. Freedom of the Press and Assembly
  5. The Second Amendment
  6. Search and Seizure
  7. Due Process and the Rights of the Accused
  8. Incorporation and the Right to Privacy
  9. Unit 8 Test: Civil Liberties
Unit 9

Civil Rights

8 lessons + unit test

How have Americans fought to make equal protection a reality?
  1. Equal Protection Under Law
  2. Slavery, Reconstruction and Segregation
  3. The Civil Rights Movement
  4. Civil Rights Laws
  5. The Struggle for Voting Rights
  6. Women's Rights
  7. Rights of Other Groups
  8. Debates Over Equality Policies
  9. Unit 9 Test: Civil Rights
Unit 10

Elections, Parties, Media and Interest Groups

8 lessons + unit test

How do citizens, parties, the media and organized groups shape who governs and what government does?
  1. Political Ideology and Public Opinion
  2. Political Parties
  3. Third Parties and the Two-Party System
  4. Nominations and Primaries
  5. Campaigns and Campaign Finance
  6. The Electoral College
  7. Voting and Turnout
  8. Media and Interest Groups
  9. Unit 10 Test: Elections, Parties, Media and Interest Groups
Unit 11

State and Local Government and Civic Participation

8 lessons + unit test

How do governments closest to home work, and how can citizens take part?
  1. State Constitutions and Governors
  2. State Legislatures and Courts
  3. Local Government
  4. Direct Democracy in the States
  5. Tribal Governments
  6. Rights and Duties of Citizens
  7. Ways to Participate
  8. Evaluating Information and Civil Discourse
  9. Unit 11 Test: State and Local Government and Civic Participation
Unit 12

Scarcity and Choice

8 lessons + unit test

If we can't have everything, how do people and societies decide what to give up?
  1. Scarcity and the Factors of Production
  2. Opportunity Cost and Trade-offs
  3. Production Possibilities
  4. Thinking at the Margin
  5. Incentives
  6. Economic Systems
  7. Property Rights and the Rule of Law
  8. Productivity and Economic Growth
  9. Unit 12 Test: Scarcity and Choice
Unit 13

Supply and Demand

8 lessons + unit test

How do prices coordinate the choices of millions of buyers and sellers?
  1. The Law of Demand
  2. Shifts in Demand
  3. The Law of Supply
  4. Shifts in Supply
  5. Market Equilibrium
  6. Changes in Equilibrium
  7. Elasticity
  8. Price Ceilings and Price Floors
  9. Unit 13 Test: Supply and Demand
Unit 14

Market Structures and Market Failures

8 lessons + unit test

How does competition shape prices, and when might markets need help?
  1. Business Organizations
  2. Perfect Competition
  3. Monopoly
  4. Oligopoly
  5. Monopolistic Competition
  6. Antitrust and Regulation
  7. Externalities
  8. Public Goods and the Role of Government
  9. Unit 14 Test: Market Structures and Market Failures
Unit 15

Measuring the Economy

8 lessons + unit test

How do we know whether the economy is growing, and who is it working for?
  1. Gross Domestic Product
  2. Nominal and Real GDP
  3. The Business Cycle
  4. Measuring Unemployment
  5. Types of Unemployment
  6. Inflation and the Consumer Price Index
  7. Causes and Costs of Inflation
  8. Reading Economic Indicators
  9. Unit 15 Test: Measuring the Economy
Unit 16

Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve

8 lessons + unit test

What makes money valuable, and how do banks and the Fed manage it?
  1. What Money Is and Does
  2. The History of American Money
  3. How Banks Work
  4. How Banks Create Money
  5. The Federal Reserve System
  6. Tools of the Federal Reserve
  7. Interest Rates
  8. Financial Crises and Safeguards
  9. Unit 16 Test: Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve
Unit 17

Fiscal and Monetary Policy

8 lessons + unit test

What can government and the Fed do to smooth the ups and downs of the economy, and what are the trade-offs?
  1. The Federal Budget
  2. Where Tax Money Comes From
  3. Deficits and the National Debt
  4. Fiscal Policy
  5. Debates Over Fiscal Policy
  6. Monetary Policy
  7. Policy Trade-offs
  8. Recession and Recovery Case Studies
  9. Unit 17 Test: Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Unit 18

International Trade

8 lessons + unit test

Why do nations trade, and who wins and loses when they do?
  1. Why Nations Trade
  2. Absolute and Comparative Advantage
  3. Exchange Rates
  4. Balance of Trade and Payments
  5. Tariffs, Quotas and Trade Barriers
  6. Debates Over Free Trade and Protection
  7. Trade Agreements and Organizations
  8. Globalization and Development
  9. Unit 18 Test: International Trade
Unit 19

Personal Finance: Earning, Budgeting and Credit

8 lessons + unit test

How can you earn, manage and borrow money wisely?
  1. Income, Careers and Human Capital
  2. Reading a Paycheck
  3. Building a Budget
  4. Bank Accounts and Payments
  5. How Credit Works
  6. Credit Scores and Reports
  7. Simple and Compound Interest
  8. Borrowing for School, Cars and Homes
  9. Unit 19 Test: Personal Finance: Earning, Budgeting and Credit
Unit 20

Personal Finance: Saving, Investing, Taxes and Insurance

8 lessons + unit test

How can you protect what you have and build wealth over time?
  1. Saving and Emergency Funds
  2. Stocks, Bonds and Funds
  3. Risk, Return and Diversification
  4. Retirement Accounts
  5. Filing Income Taxes
  6. Insurance Basics
  7. Protecting Yourself from Fraud
  8. Your Financial Plan
  9. Unit 20 Test: Personal Finance: Saving, Investing, Taxes and Insurance

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