Scotch College

SCIENCE Year 7 – 2011

Rationale

The Science course constitutes a coordinated program with three broad aims:

1. Develop each student’s awareness and understanding of the working of the world about them, and to encourage and empower students to make informed decisions about themselves and their environments.

2. Develop skills in practical investigation research from a range of resources, and written, graphic, and oral communication.

3. Prepare students adequately to undertake a VCE course which includes Science subjects.

The course is based around an extensive program of practical work. Whenever possible (most lessons), students are encouraged to learn by doing, with emphasis on safety, the proper use of equipment, careful observation, enquiry, and deduction.

While much of the course is necessarily introductory in nature, a number of key scientific concepts, such as Force and Chemical Change, are examined in considerable depth. Students also learn a wide range of fundamental experimental techniques.

While students should acquire a certain amount of factual knowledge, the emphasis is placed on understanding the basic underlying principles so they can be applied to  to new situations.

Through each of the units, key scientific skills are introduced and developed including:

• Safe and correct handling of equipment and chemicals.

• Care and accuracy in observing, recording, and reporting.

• Interpretation of results with consideration for the inherent uncertainty.

• Classification of things according to their characteristics and properties.

• Correct use of basic scientific notation.

Course content

The course is arranged as a series of essentially independent units. Taken together they cover the important areas of Biology, Chemistry, Earth (Environmental) Science, and Physics. Wherever possible, these are set in real-life contexts and draw on current issues that are of interest to students.

The students are given an introduction to laboratory practices, equipment and safety, and to some fundamental measurement techniques. Over the course of the year they are introduced to chemical and physical change. They examine methods used for determining the purity of materials, and also methods for purifying them. Different types of force, and examples of their occurrence, as well as developing an understanding of how we identify when forces are balanced or unbalanced is examined. Forms of energy are studied and the transformations involved when things change. Biological structure and function through examination of the anatomies and life cycles of flowering plants is investigated along with the variety of life forms and the methods used by biologists to classify them.

These core units are supplemented by cross-curriculum project work designed and carried out by individual teaching teams. This type of work is important to the teams approach, and provides students with an opportunity to apply and extend the science work completed in the course of the core units.

In addition, computers are used in Science as tools for finding, storing, manipulating, and presenting information.

As well as using IT based research resources (including the internet) students will learn to present scientific information in a clear and effective manner through the use of diagrams, tables, graphs and charts. Many classes will also explore applications for multi-media tools during team-based project work.

Assessment

Students will undertake class tests on a regular basis and notes and practical work will also be assessed. In addition, students will complete research and communication tasks. The tasks reported at the end of each Semester are:

Semester One Semester Two

1. Class Tests 1. End of Year Test

2. Research and Communication 2. Class Tests

3. Practical Work 3. Research and Communication

4. Practical Work