Newcastle High School - Blue Racer Yearbook (Newcastle, OK)

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20 MATH— SCIENCE DEPTS. Dissecting an earth- worm in Biology class are Jo Nell Crawford, David Speere, Diana Housh, and Glenda Shores. Hand Talk is used by Mr. Don Young, Alaebra I teacher. Math Science: Earthworms, Chemicals, Suspension Bridges, Curves, Logarithms, and Magic Squares Spilled bromide, peculiar o- dors, and forgotten formulae pre- sented challenges for students in the math and science departments. Seven different courses were offered with a total of ten classes scheduled. General Science usually ful- filled the science requirement for graduation. Freshmen had interest- ing sessions experimenting with chemicals, pu 11 ey systems, and general dissections. If a student wished to go a step further in his science pursuits. Biology was the logical course. The details of dissecting and prob-

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ferent the whole year. After mastering state and nation- al levels of history, students fur- thered their history knowledge by taking World History. The two clas- ses, open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, travelled from the Pa- leolithic Era and touched on all the important dates in history up to the present day. Taking tests in Mr. Greg Pierson's classes was brain stretching, so Jeopardy was played to relax the class members. It also built up a little competition between the juniors and seniors. Discussing current events from the Daily Oklahoman, the POD class gave reports, made notebooks. and went on trips to see court ses- sions . The ten students and teacher, Mr. Jay Barnett, argued through the year on the issues of President Nixon, smoking, Watergate, foreign aid, social security, the Vietnam War, law enforcement, and Ann Lan- ders . Learn by your mistakes is a well-known phrase, yet over and over andoveragain, people make the same ones. Why take History? Other than the fact that Oklahoma and American History are required in order to grad- uate, there is always the chance of tel ling your grandkids about the good old days! Hard at work is Mrs. JoAnn Holy trying to get the lesson through to the juniors. Reading her Oklahoma History is Sherell Brown, while Frankie Wesnidge asks a ques- tion. HISTORY 19

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ing into the basics of biology made excellent preparation for college. Another c o 11 ege prep course was Chemistry. Generating oxygen, hydrogen, and other gasses took up much of the lab time. Students learned about the composition of compounds and molecules, energy levels in atoms, and functions of the periodic table of the elements. Freshmen strengthened their math education with Algebra I. This course laid the foundation for all future mathematical learning. In Algebra II, ambitious stu- dents examined more deeply the mysteries of algebraic structure. Quadratic equations, two-variable equations, and conic equations made for mind-stretching assign- ments . Interest in curves can lead to many things, but for some students it led to the study of geometry. Re- lationships between curves, lines, angles, and circles were studied. The practical applications of mathematics were emphasized in High School Math. This course was designed for students who needed a math credit or who wished to re- fresh their mathematical skills be- fore graduation. Chemistry is not all experiments, Danny Paxton discovers as he tackles the pile of paperwork. Tish Carter and Kathy Eades make a weighty test of strength on their suspension bridge for the class contest in General Science. MATH-SCIENCE DEPTS. 21