Length: Single Semester or Full Year (10 credits each semester)
Contact: Science Leader

Recommended Background

Completion of Year 10 Science with a B Grade or better and/or teacher recommendation.

Course Description

Students investigate biological systems and their interactions, from the perspectives of energy, control, structure and function, change, and exchange in microscopic cellular structures and processes, through to macroscopic ecosystem dynamics. These investigations allow students to extend the skills, knowledge, and understanding that enable them to explore and explain everyday observations, find solutions to biological issues and problems, and understand how biological science impacts on their lives, society, and the environment. They apply their understanding of the interconnectedness of biological systems to evaluate the impact of human activity on the natural world.

The three strands of science to be integrated throughout student learning are:

• Science Inquiry Skills
• Science as a Human Endeavor (SHE)
• Science Understanding.

Topics included are (two will be studied in each semester):

• Cells and Microorganisms.
• Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics
• Infectious Disease
• Multicellular Organisms.

Assessment

Students demonstrate evidence of their learning though the following assessment types:

• Investigations Folio: Design Investigation and a SHE Investigation
• Skills and Application tasks: test/semester exam or research assignments.

Leads To

Stage 2 Biology