Abilene High School - Orange and Brown Yearbook (Abilene, KS)

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sions, possibly because it was so developed in the history of the race. The first Geometry was a crude kind of land measurements and it was several hundred years before solids were discovered. WVith the use of drawings only, Solid Geometry rc- quires a more vivid space-imagination than does Plane Geometry, but with actual models of cubes, cylinders and spheres, the work becomes quite simple. The theorems' of Plane Geometry are employed freely, and a large part of the work consists of combining and applying these wherever possible. The content value of Solid Geom- etry is greater as a Whole than that of Plane Geometry. The measurement of sur- faces and volumes is worked out by means of algebraic formulas, and the exerciscs consist to a large extent of applications of these formulas. COMMERCIAL ARITHMETIC The course in Commercial Arithmetic covers one term, and is open to any High School student. 'Ihe primary object is to give practical training and drill to those students who intend to take up commercial work later. The course is not at all technical, however, and the simple business applications made are such as every one should be familiar with. A thorough and systematic review of the fundamental processes-addition, sub- traction, multiplication and division-is given, including whole numbers, common fractions-, and decimals. Abundant drill exercises are furnished through which pupils may learn to deal with numbers accurately and with reasonable speed. Pro- portion, square root, and niensuration, with common business measurements, are discussed later, and application made to practical problems of an industrial nature. The general applications of Arithmetic to business are made under the following topics: Accounts, buying and selling, borrowing, loaning, and investing money, and cancelling indebtedness. lt is not forgotten, however, that before the average per- son invests money, he must save it, and problems dealing with efficient household management are given. The emphasis is laid not so much on the method of solution and results, as on tl1e application of topics to the affairs of the ordinary individual. lt does not mat- ter very much whether or not a pupil knows what the yearly cost of an accumulative bond is, but it may make a great deal of difference to him later if he realizes that a little over S25 of his own money saved and put at interest every year at 6 per cent will amount to S1000 in 20 years. lt causes some amusement to see 10 minutes of labor at the rate of 12c an hour counted in the cost of canning one jar of fruit, but the pupil who works out problems of this kind will come to see that the really ridicu- lous thing is the hap-hazard housekeeping which puts no money value whatever on home labor. A course in Lonimercial Arithmetic cannot train a boy to become an expert business man any more than it can train a girl to become an efficient home maker, but it has accomplished its aim if it teaches boys and girls to have an in- telligent appreciation of efficiency and business management both in making a living and keeping a home. Department of Science GENERAL SCIENCE The Science courses offered in a High School Curriculum have of late become so numerous and specialized that no student can longer hope to cover the whole field. These courses, however, are so inter-related that some knowledge of all is necessary for a mastery of any particular branch. What a beginner in Science should have is an understanding of some of the general principles underlying all the sciences, before attempting to specialize along any particular line. This condition is met by the course offered in Elementary or General Science. While the aim of the course is not to have the student acquire but rather TWENTY-FIVE 2 ' I' E

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TWENTY-FOUR g ,.,1 SNAPSHOTS IN THE BUILDING

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Correlate facts, still the course supplies the student an abundance of useful infor- mation. The subject matter deals with the every day experiences of life, giving the How and Why of many natural phenomena without becoming technical. Material peculiarly suited to the minds of the beginners in High School is selected from the abundance of information to be obtained from the realms of Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Agriculture, etc., and organized into a unified whole. In this course many of the wonders of the physical world surrounding the student, as Well as the scientific world of man's creation, are explained, many of the miracles and unexplained phenomena about him become intelligible and useful to him. PH YSIOGRAPHY Physiography deals in part with the relation of the earth to the sun, but more especially with its relation to man. A study of the solar system reveals the cause of seasonal changes, climatic zones, day and night, tides, and the phases of the moon. The three most general physiographic features of the earth are, the atmosphere, the ocean, and the solid crust. The atmosphere varies as to pressure, temperature and moisture content. The proper variation of these factors results in the produc- tion of winds, clouds, and precipitation in its various forms. The ocean is the Hhigh- way of the nationsf, Its waters are acted on by the wind to produce waves and ocean currents, by the sun and moon to produce tides. These movements of the water are responsible for the complete alteration of the outline of continents. The crust of the earth is not fixed, but is continually undergoing changes. Rocks are formed and later decomposed into soil. Mountains rise out of the ocean, exist fO1' a time, are worn down by the variors erosive and weathering agents until they are completely obliterated. River systems, lakes, volcanoes, and water falls develop and later cease to be. Even continents come and go. The physiographic features of the earth and the changes they undergo are respon- sible for the production and distribution of our present forms of animal and plant life. The plant life in turn is a vital factor in determining national development and prosperity. PHYSICS The year's course in Elementary Physics embraces a study of mechanics, heat, sound, light and electricity. The attempt is made to preserve the golden mean be- tween an empirical and a purely technical course. Frequent use is made of every day phenomena in illustrating the principles of Physics. A collateral laboratory course is given along with the text-book work, the aim being to dovetail the fund of information about things physical already possessed by the student with results obtained in the laboratory. A number of problems are introduced for the purpose of fixing in the student's mind the applications of general principles to a variety of specific cases. The subject is studied as far as possible from the local standpoint. In case a study is being made of hydrostatics and hydraulics, the local municipal water system becomes a topic for discussion. In case it be heat, the operation and points of su- periority of the heating systems of the school buildings and homes is made clear. Should the class be faniiliarizing themselves with the gas laws and their application in refrigeration, the local gas plant and the Belle Springs creamery are inspected. The subject of current electricity is illuminated by making a visit to the power plant Where the student has an opportunity of seeing how electrical energy is generated on a commercial scale. The Physics laboratory is fitted with water, gas, and the city current connec- tions. It contains a dark room in which experiments in light are performed and demonstrations made of various electrical discharges. The department possesses, in addition to the apparatus required for the performance of the regularly prescribed experiments, a number of pieces of apparatus which are invaluable for class demon- stration purposes. The experiments performed by the students during the past year are as follows: l. Determination of relation between diameter and circumference of sphere. 2. How to find the volume of a cylinder. TWENTY-SIX ll . 7 ,ml