Advanced Placement (AP) Classes
To find out how different universities will accept AP credit, please visit this website.
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We offer the following AP classes at FZN. If you have any questions, please contact our AP Coordinator, Ms. Katie Hunn.
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AP Art History - The AP Art History course explores such topics as the nature of art, its uses, its meanings, art making, and responses to art. Through investigation of diverse artistic traditions of cultures from prehistory to the present, the course fosters in-depth and holistic understanding of the history of art from a global perspective. Students learn and apply skills of visual, contextual, and comparative analysis to engage with a variety of art forms, constructing understanding of individual works and interconnections of art-making processes and products throughout history.
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AP Biology - AP Biology is a full year elective lab course designed to be the equivalent of an introductory college-level biology course. This is a rigorous course that requires critical thinking and advanced quantitative applications. This course is organized around overarching themes such as evolution, cellular processes, genetics, information transfer, ecology, and interactions among organisms and their environment. AP Biology is designed to prepare students for the AP Biology Exam and prepares students for the Advanced Science and ACT/College Placement Pathways. AP biology can be taken for college credit. Students are expected (although not required) to take the AP Biology test in May and are responsible for the cost of the exam. Students should expect significant work outside of the regular class and some preparatory work may be required at the discretion of the teacher. It is strongly recommend that Pre-AP Biology and Pre-AP Chemistry be taken prior to taking this course.
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AP Calculus A/B - AP Calculus is a highly rigorous, full-year course, and is recommended for students entering fields of study in mathematics, sciences, engineering and economics. The course includes techniques and applications of differentiation and integration of algebraic, trigonometric, exponential and logarithmic functions. Since graphing calculators are used extensively in the development of these topics, access to a graphing calculator is highly recommended. Students will also be expected to complete calculations mentally and with pencil-and-paper.
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AP Calculus B/C - AP Calculus is a highly rigorous, fast paced, full-year course, and is recommended for students entering fields of study in mathematics, sciences, engineering and economics. The course covers all AP Calculus AB topics as well as parametric, polar and vector functions with applications of differentiation and integration, polynomial approximation techniques, and convergence/divergence. Since graphing calculators are used extensively in the development of these topics, access to a graphing calculator is highly recommended. Students will also be expected to complete calculations mentally and with pencil-and-paper.
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AP Chemistry - AP Chemistry is a full year intensive lab course designed to be the equivalent of a college introductory chemistry course. Major areas of study will include structure and states of matter, intermolecular forces and bonding, kinetics, thermodynamics, and equilibrium. AP Chemistry is designed to prepare students for the AP Chemistry Exam and prepares students for the Advanced Science and ACT/College Placement Pathways. AP Chemistry can be taken for college credit. Students are expected (although not required) to take the AP Chemistry test in May and are responsible for the cost of the exam. Students should expect significant work outside of the regular class and some preparatory work may be required at the discretion of the teacher. It is strongly recommended that Pre-AP Chemistry be taken prior to taking this course.
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AP Comparative Government - AP Comparative Government and Politics is a semester elective course offered to seniors. This course introduces students to fundamental concepts used by political scientists to study the processes and outcomes of politics in a variety of country settings. The course aims to illustrate the rich diversity of political life, to show available institutional alternatives, to explain differences in processes and policy outcomes, and to communicate to students the importance of global, political and economic changes. Comparison assists both in identifying problems and in analyzing policy-making. Six countries form the core of the AP Comparative Government and Politics course: China, Great Britain, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia.
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AP Computer Science A - AP Computer Programming, a highly rigorous, year-long course. Students will apply previous programming knowledge to the syntax of Java. Among the topics covered are classes, objects, inheritance, and code re-usability. This course is designed to prepare students for the Advanced Placement Computer Science A exam near the end of the spring semester
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AP Computer Science Principles - This course aims to develop student’s computational thinking, generate excitement about career paths that utilize computing, and introduce professional tools that foster creativity and collaboration. This course can be a student's first course in computer science. CSP helps students develop programming expertise and explore the workings of the Internet. Projects and problems include app development, visualization of data, cyber security, robotics, and simulation. Computer Science Principles aligns with the College Board’s 2013 CS Principles framework
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AP Economics - The purpose of the AP Economics course is to give students a thorough understanding of the principles of micro and macroeconomics that apply to the functions of individual decision makers, both consumers and producers, within the economic system. It places primary emphasis on the nature and functions of product markets, and includes the study of factor markets and of the role of governments in promoting greater efficiency and equity in the economy. The study of national income and price-level determination and also developing students’ familiarity with economic performance measures, the financial sector, stabilization policies, economic growth, and international economics will be included. Students are expected (although not required) to take Advanced Placement Microeconomics and Macroeconomics exams.
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AP Environmental Science - AP Environmental Science is a full year course designed to be the equivalent of a college introductory environmental science course. This course focuses on natural and human-made challenges. The goal of the AP Environmental Science course is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them. AP Environmental Science is designed to prepare students for the AP Environmental Science Exam and prepares students for the Advanced Science and ACT/College Placement Pathways.
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AP U.S. Government - AP Government and Politics is full-year elective course offered to juniors and seniors. AP Government offers students the opportunity to read and analyze materials in a college-level text and in various primary and secondary sources as they study the relationship between politics and government. This course includes a comprehensive study of the art of politics and the workings of contemporary American political behavior as a primary social force. Students with a special interest in political science, law, or citizen’s political involvement will participate in a variety of activities which will allow them to put theory into practice. Students are expected, although not required, to take the course’s Advanced Placement Exam at the end of the year. There is a charge for this exam. Students will also take the state-required EOC at the end of the year. This course fulfills the United States Government graduation requirement. In order to meet state graduation requirements, all students must pass the U.S. and Missouri Constitution Exams.
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AP Language and Composition - AP Language and Composition is a year-long, college-level course designed for the serious student of communication arts. Through close reading and frequent writing, students will develop the skills necessary to analyze literature (fiction and nonfiction) using rhetorical devices. Reading will include works of autobiographers, biographers, diarists, critics, essayists, journalists and writers of history, politics, science and nature, and writers of fiction. Students will compose in a variety of modes for a variety of purposes and develop an awareness of the way genre conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. Writing will include both formal and informal contexts of expository, narrative, analytical and argumentative essays, and research-based pieces.
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AP Literature and Composition - AP Literature and Composition is a rigorous, year-long, college-level reading and writing course concentrating on mature literature from American, British and world writers from the sixteenth century to contemporary times. Applying critical theory while close reading these texts, students will deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read, students consider a work’s structure, style, and themes, as well as smaller scale elements, including the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone. Although critical analysis makes up the bulk of student writing for the course, well-constructed creative writing assignments may help students see from the inside how literature is written.
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AP Music Theory - The AP Music Theory course corresponds to a typical introductory college music theory course that covers topics such as musicianship, theory, musical materials, and procedures. Musicianship skills, including dictation and other listening skills, sight singing, and harmony, are considered an important part of the course. Through the course, students develop the ability to recognize, understand, and describe basic materials and processes of tonal music that are heard or presented in a score. Development of aural skills is a primary objective. Performance is also part of the curriculum through the practice of sight singing. Students understand basic concepts and terminology by listening to and performing a wide variety of music. Notational skills, speed, and fluency with basic materials are also emphasized.
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AP Physics - Algebra Based - AP Physics 1 is a full year intensive lab course designed to be the equivalent of a college introductory algebra-based physics course. Topics include, kinematics, Newton’s Laws of motion, work energy and power, systems of particles and linear momentum, rotation, oscillations, and electrostatics. Students are expected to apply a significantly higher level of mathematics to the concepts studied in this course. AP Physics 1 is designed to prepare students for the AP Physics 1 Exam and prepares students for the Advanced Science and ACT/College Placement Pathways.
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AP Physics C -Mechanics - AP Physics C is a full year intensive lab course designed to be the equivalent of a one-semester, calculus-based, college-level physics course. The course explores topics such as kinematic equations, Newton’s laws of motion, work, energy and power, systems of particles and linear momentum, circular motion and rotation, oscillations and gravitation. Introductory differential and integral calculus is used throughout the course. It is especially appropriate for students planning to specialize or major in physical science or engineering. AP Physics C is designed to prepare students for the AP Physics C Exam and prepares students for the Advanced Science and ACT/College Placement Pathways.
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AP Psychology - AP Psychology is a year-long course that introduces students to the systematic and scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. Students explore and apply psychological theories, key concepts, and phenomena associated with such topics as the biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, learning and cognition, motivation, developmental psychology, testing and individual differences, treatment of abnormal behavior, and social psychology.
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AP Statistics - AP Statistics, is a rigorous full-year course recommended for all college-bound students. Students will examine statistics through data patterns and deviations from these patterns, sampling and experimentation, using probability and simulation to explore random phenomena, and statistical inference through estimating parameters and hypothesis testing. Every student should have a scientific calculator.
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AP Studio Art - AP Studio Art is designed for the mature art student; it is the culmination of hard work in Introduction to Art and two other semester long Visual Arts courses. Students utilize their creativity, motivation, and artistic ability to create a body of high quality artworks. Materials are limited only by student creativity! Students will choose to work in two-dimensional or three-dimensional medias for this year long course, wherever their strengths lie! Furthermore, the class is weighted and AP credits can be earned! More information about AP Studio Art can be found at the College Board’s site for 2D Design or FZSD AP Studio Art site. If you have any questions, please email Ms. Rericha at jrericha@fz.k12.mo.us. When enrolling for FZN classes, select AP Studio Art: 2D.
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We are so proud of our former students who have taken AP Studio Art! Click on their name to check out their portfolio.
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AP U.S. History - AP United States History is a year-long elective course offered to juniors and seniors. The course is designed to cover the history of the United States from Columbus to the present. The course explores major themes, events, people, and their relationships as well as, economic, political, diplomatic, and social issues. This college level class is a weighted grade and will develop students’ reading, writing, and critical thinking skills through the use of historical documents and primary sources. This course will require extensive reading, writing, and researching.
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AP World History - AP World History is a year-long elective course offered to sophomores, juniors and seniors. The course takes a chronological, as well as, a thematic approach to the study of world societies and contacts between peoples, pre-600 B.C.E to present. Students apply content knowledge to understand continuity and change among and between different parts of the world. This college-level class is a weighted grade and will develop students’ reading, writing, and critical thinking skills through the use of historical documents and primary sources.
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