ASTRONOMY I (AS1-B)
St. Thomas Aquinas AcademyDesigned as part of Greek Studies I, B Track.
Astronomy I & II: Two-part, full-year course. Weeks 1-7 discuss the Church's approach to cosmology with Mary O. Daly's Creator and Creation 3e alongside Br. Guy Consolmagno's Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist, a lively and enjoyable book that exposes the absurdity of modern media's claim that religion and science are at war. Starting Week 8 we explore the design of the universe with The Essential Cosmic Perspective 5e. The text introduces to the student key physics concepts and the nature and size of celestial bodies in our solar system and beyond. The beauty of the heavens comes to life with the text's gorgeous pictures and top-notch diagrams. The Essential Cosmic Perspective 5e is a lower division college text for non-math majors, which makes strong reading skills a prerequisite for this
ORDERING INFORMATION
Basic information about the books and materials for this course follows; see your Academic Packet or STAA Study Guide for full ordering details and commentary about each resource.
A portion of every purchase made on Amazon after following the links here goes to help support St. Thomas Aquinas Academy's work. Thank you so very much for thinking of STAA when placing your book and general Amazon orders.
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STAA Study Guide: Astronomy IB and IIB
Single-subject booklet that includes the study guides for two semesters of science.
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Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist [ORDER USED]
229 pages; non-consumable
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Creator and Creation, 3rd Edition
Nihil Obstat; 119 pages; 4 part discussion; annotated bibliography, appendix (includes John Paul II on evolution), index. From the publisher's website: "This book allows another choice to the Creationism-Darwinism dilemma. The Catholic Church has wisely refrained from endorsing any particular scientific theory about these matters, but She does teach the unity of truth, and that is the emphasis here. This book carries a Nihil Obstate and an Imprimatur which means it has nothing contrary to Catholic teaching." St. Thomas Aquinas Academy uses this title and Christopher Baglow's "Faith, Science, and Reason" in multiple high school science courses.
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
846 pages. Any edition from any publisher will do. It is standard practice to reference the Catechism as "CCC" in print. The STAA course plans follow this practice.
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Essential Cosmic Perspective, The (5th Edition)
624 pages. This is a nonconsumable text so ordering a used copy is a great idea to save money. Siblings can easily share the same book. When ordering this book new or used, make sure you order the FIFTH EDITION. All that is needed is the FIFTH EDITION student textbook.
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Colored Pencils (Prismacolor 24 Color Pencil Set recommended)
Art and science assignments often call for colored pencils. Students will need at least the colors of the rainbow, black, gray, and white. Any brand or pack of colored pencils will do. Pencil texture, number of colors, and price make the Prismacolor set of pencils our favorite.
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The quarter end tests for this course can be found in the Teaching-Parent Resource Library. Sign in to the Student Zone with your teaching-parent username and password, click on the Teaching-Parent Resource Library, click on the APPENDIX OF FORMS, and look up the name of this course to download/print the PDF document. Do not share the quarter end tests with your students before the scheduled in-class testing period.
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There are online resources such as weekly reading quizzes, special downloads, advisor support through the Q & A forum, occasional slide shows or videos, and more for this course. To activate your student's online access, 1) submit the Course Registration form after your annual planning appointment, 2) register for the live class, or 3) register for the "Independent Study with Online Support Option." After completing one of the registration options, students (and teaching-parents) may use their usernames and passwords to sign into the member site. The STAA Student Zone is available each school year from August 1 to July 15.
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OPTIONAL RESOURCE
Imprimatur; 326 pgs.; 3 units; appendix; index.
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OPTIONAL RESOURCE
The Universe: The Complete Season 1
Purchase, borrow, or watch episodes from this series when conveniently available to you. Online streaming of episodes may be available at www.netflix.com, www.hulu.com, www.historychannel.com, and Amazon Instant Video.
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OPTIONAL RESOURCE
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
200 pages. Also available on the Vatican website.
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OPTIONAL RESOURCE
Small-group, advisor-led live online class for students in Grades 9 through 12 that meets every other academic week of the first semester. Advisor grading of assignments is also available for students registered for this live class.
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OPTIONAL RESOURCE
The Universe: The Complete Season 2
Purchase, borrow, or watch episodes from this series when conveniently available to you. Online streaming of episodes may be available at www.netflix.com, www.hulu.com, www.historychannel.com, and Amazon Instant Video.
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OPTIONAL RESOURCE
The Universe: The Complete Season 3
Purchase, borrow, or watch episodes from this series when conveniently available to you. Online streaming of episodes may be available at www.netflix.com, www.hulu.com, www.historychannel.com, and Amazon Instant Video.
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OPTIONAL RESOURCE
The Universe: The Complete Season 4
Purchase, borrow, or watch episodes from this series when conveniently available to you. Online streaming of episodes may be available at www.netflix.com, www.hulu.com, www.historychannel.com, and Amazon Instant Video.
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