TERTIARY & CAREERS PATHWAYS:
This unit focuses on the chemistry of living things and the environment. It explores the importance of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen as the building blocks of the molecules of life, reactions that these take part in and the specific molecules that are key to the living world. There is a focus on the cycling of elements that occurs in the natural system of the Earth and how the change of these within the natural cycles is upsetting a balance in our ecosystem.
Structure of DNA and its role in the inheritance of characteristics from generation to generation is considered. The effects that changing of the environment has on inheritance and how this leads to evolution and living things is also considered.
Contemporary issues in biochemistry, biology and the environment are also explored and the science behind the techniques being developed to overcome these challenges is examined.
While completing the unit students will also undertake an independent student lead investigation and use a variety of instruments to record and graph data in order to identify trends and patterns, form hypotheses and design experiment to test these hypotheses. They will present their findings as a scientific poster.
Learning Standards:
SCIENCE AS A HUMAN ENDEAVOUR
- scientific knowledge is contestable and is validated and refined over time through expanding scientific methods, replication, publication, peer review and consensus
- advances in technologies have enabled advances in science, while science has contributed to developments in technologies and engineering
- the use of scientific knowledge to address socio-scientific issues and shape a more sustainable future for humans and the environment may have diverse projected outcomes that affect the extent to which scientific knowledge and practices are adopted more broadly by society
- scientific knowledge may be interpreted in different ways by individuals and groups in society; the values and needs of society can influence the focus of scientific research
SCIENCE UNDERSTANDING
- genetic inheritance involves the function of DNA, chromosomes, genes and alleles, and the roles of mitosis and meiosis in passing on genetic information to the next generation; the principles of Mendelian inheritance can be used to predict ratios of genotypes and phenotypes in monohybrid crosses involving dominant and recessive traits
- chemical reactions are described by the Law of Conservation of Mass and involve the rearrangement of atoms; they can be modelled using a range of representations, including word and simple balanced chemical equations
- chemical reactions include synthesis, decomposition and displacement reactions and can be classified as exothermic or endothermic; reaction rates are affected by factors including temperature, concentration, surface area of solid reactants, and catalysts
- carbon is cycled on Earth through key processes including photosynthesis, respiration, fire, weathering, vulcanism and the combustion of fossil fuels; these processes change the composition of Earth’s interrelated systems (atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere) over time
- the dynamics of global climate change can be modelled and explained by examining the interactions between greenhouse gas emissions and energy exchanges within and between Earth’s systems; mitigating human-induced climate change requires addressing various activities including power generation, deforestation, manufacturing, transportation, food production and resource consumption
SCIENCE INQUIRY
- investigable questions, reasoned predictions and hypotheses can be used in guiding investigations to test and develop explanatory models and relationships
- valid, reproducible investigations to answer questions and test hypotheses can be planned and conducted, including identifying and controlling for possible sources of error and bias in sampling or in making observations; safe, ethical investigations include undertaking risk assessments and following protocols when accessing cultural sites and artefacts on Country and Place
- data and information can be organised, processed and summarised by selecting and constructing representations including tables, graphs, descriptive statistics, models, symbols, formulas and mathematical relationships
- information and processed data can be analysed and compared to identify and explain qualitative and quantitative patterns, trends, relationships and anomalies
- the validity and reproducibility of investigation methods and the validity of conclusions and claims can be evaluated, including by identifying assumptions, conflicting evidence, biases that may influence observations and conclusions, sources of error and areas of uncertainty
Recommendation:
Year 10 Science - Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science or Year 10 Science- Chemistry and Physics are highly recommended for students who wish to undertake VCE Chemistry
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