Advanced Placement Classes
All Linn-Mar High School students who meet the prerequisites are able to take AP classes. Many colleges and universities accept AP courses for college credit, depending on individual exam scores. Each college and university has their own policies for each exam, so be sure to check their websites for more information.
Please note: All courses listed below are offered at the time of registration, but only classes that reach a minimum number of students will be taught the following year.
More information about AP Courses and Credit can be found on the AP Students site
AP Art History
Students will develop an understanding and knowledge of diverse historical and cultural contexts of architecture, sculpture, painting and other media. Students examine and critically analyze major forms of artistic expression from the past and the present. This course engages students at the same level as an introductory college art history survey and will prepare students to take the AP exam.
AP Biology
This course is an in-depth study of the field of biology. It is designed to prepare students for successful completion of the College Board exam. Areas of emphasis include energy pathways; cell, genetics and genetic engineering; and organisms and their environments.
AP Calculus AB
This course is roughly equivalent to a college Calculus I course devoted to topics in differential and integral calculus, including concepts and skills of limits, derivatives, definite integrals, and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus.
AP Calculus BC
This course is equivalent to a full year of college Calculus, including Calculus I and II. Students will analyze and solve non-trivial mathematical problems related to calculus. Mathematical modeling and communication will be emphasized. The course surveys the mathematics of change from elementary derivatives through sophisticated integrals to infinite series.
AP Chemistry
This course is a three-quarter block course covering the basics of chemistry at the college level. Students may elect to take the national AP Chemistry exam for college credit in the spring. Areas of emphasis include atomic structure, molecular bonding, thermochemistry, kinetics, and chemical equilibrium.
AP Comparative Government
AP Comparative Government is a semester-long (block) course comparing governmental systems of Great Britain, Russia, China, Mexico, Nigeria and Iran. It is intended to follow US Government in greater depth and introduce students to more global international relations concepts and a broader, current understanding of the world we live in.
AP English Literature & Composition
This course is for highly motivated students capable of college level work. Students are encouraged to develop critical thinking skills through the study of complex literature and writing numerous literary analysis. (Offered online as an independent study class through the Iowa Online AP Academy for the 2017-2018 school year.)
AP English Language & Composition
This independent study class is offered through the Iowa Online AP Academy. Enrollment is limited to six students per year and is offered to students identified for TAG programming. It will engage students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts, and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes.
AP Macroeconomics
This independent study class is offered through the Iowa Online AP Academy. Enrollment is limited to six students per year and is offered to students identified for TAG programming. Students will cultivate their understanding of the principles that apply to an economic system as a whole by using principles and models to describe economic situations and predict and explain outcomes with graphs, charts, and data as they explore concepts like economic measurements, markets, macroeconomic models, and macroeconomic policies.
AP Microeconomics
This course will focus on economic concepts (scarcity, choice, incentives); supply, demand, and markets; product markets (production, productivity, competitive markets); resource markets (demand for resources, wage rates); microeconomics of government; microeconomic issues and policies.
AP Music Theory
This course provides students with the opportunity to develop, practice, and master music theory skills essential to success in postsecondary music theory course work.
AP Physics 1
Physics I is NOT a prerequisite for this class. Students may take the AP Physics 1 exam in May. This course covers College
Physics I. Students taking this class should have a strong interest in the practical applications of mathematics to real-life scenarios. Areas of emphasis include; experimental design, kinematics, newton’s laws, gravitation, electricity, and waves.
AP Physics 2
Physics I or AP Physics 1 is a prerequisite for this class. Students may take the AP Physics 2 exam in May. This course covers College Physics II. Students taking this course should have a strong interest in the practical applications of mathematics to real-life scenarios. Areas of emphasis include; experimental design, thermodynamics, fluid-mechanics, optics, electric circuits, magnetism, and modern physics.
AP Psychology
Areas studied: history and approaches, states of consciousness, biological bases of behavior, cognition, testing and individual
differences, sensation and perception, motivation and emotion, abnormal psychology and treatment, and social psychology. College level work is expected, as this is a college level course.
AP Statistics
The course is divided into four major themes: exploratory data analysis, probability, statistical inference, and planning and conducting a study. The content reflects a typical introductory course in statistics.
AP U.S. Government
Several topics are covered in this course including “Constitutional underpinnings, political beliefs & behaviors, political parties, interest groups & mass media, institutions of national government, public policy, and civil rights and civil liberties.
AP U.S. History
This course is designed to prepare students for success on the Advanced placement United States History exam. Students will participate in reading primary and secondary history materials, lectures research projects, and group and individual presentations. College level work is expected in this survey course which covers the full range of United States history from the earliest European explorations to the present.
AP World History
This is a three quarter-long course beginning in 2nd quarter. Students may take the AP World History: Modern exam in May. This course is a broad survey of the major periods of human history from a global comparative perspective. Students will study the events and trends that have shaped the world into what it is today, while refining their study, writing and critical thinking skills.