Students will learn about natural selection and evolution and the development of ideas over time by examining the diversity of life on Earth as a function of past events and genetically driven adaptations. Students will -

• use models and diagrams to represent the relationship between DNA, genes and chromosomes
• investigate patterns of inheritance of a simple characteristic through generations
• outline processes involved in natural selection
• evaluate and interpret the evidence for evolution
• examine the concept of geological time.

Students will research, link and recognise patterns, order and organisation within the periodic table. Students will -

• examine atomic structure in greater detail and conduct a range of experiments that involve a transfer or sharing of electrons
• look at what makes a chemical reaction happen and investigate factors that affect the rate of a chemical reaction
• predict the products of chemical reactions and use word and symbol equations to represent them.

Students will -

• establish through practical activities that all life requires both coordinated and interdependent systems to respond to their changing environment
• explore the interactions between the living and non-living components of ecosystems, including predator/prey relationships and the impact of bushfires, drought and flooding on ecosystems
• discover how global systems, specifically the carbon cycle, relies on the interactions involving the biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere
• analyse how models and theories such as climate change have developed over time and discuss the factors that prompt their review
• develop questions and hypotheses and independently design and improve appropriate methods of investigation and data collection
• develop skills in communicating scientific research.

Students will explain the concept of energy conservation by examining key theories and by conducting experiments relating to force, mass and acceleration of moving objects. Studies will focus on our everyday world and outer space. Students will -

• examine how the total energy is conserved during energy transformations
• investigate energy transformations during real interactions such as in crashes
• explore the predictability of motion using Newton’s three laws of motion
• undertake practical activities relating to motion and forces
• examine the Big Bang Theory and the evolution of the universe.

This elective aims to develop students’ ability to think scientifically and to make informed decisions about contemporary issues, the environment and the kind of society in which they wish to live. It also encourages them to continue to develop their curiosity about the world around them. Students will -

Investigate developments throughout the history of pharmaceuticals and the role they have played in improving human life expectancy and quality of life
• apply chemical equations to summarise chemical reactions related to production of pharmaceuticals
• explain the role of DNA and genes in cell division and genetic inheritance and its importance to our lives
• examine the formation of the Universe in terms of the Big Bang theory
• consider the links between science and occupations now and in the future.