Science
Year 9
Transition
Teacher’s
guide
Introduction
This test has been designed to help teachers make professional judgements about their students’
readiness for GCSE. It assesses the working scientifically strands of the NC2014; specifically Scientific
attitudes, Experimental skills and investigations and Analysis and evaluation. There are mark boxes on
the front cover to record a pupil’s scores in these three strands.
The questions in this test have been selected based on their suitability to assess aspects of working
scientifically as mentioned above. They are previous KS3 science national curriculum test questions that
have been agreed as suitable by test development and assessment experts at AQA.
Support Materials
To accompany the PDF of the test and teacher’s guide, which contains mark schemes/commentaries,
there is a spreadsheet to enter marks that will enable evaluation of performance and allow comparisons
across the school.
A summary of the focus of each question is available, along with commentaries on common
misconceptions and implications for teaching and learning as part of the teacher’s guide. Exemplar
material will also be available in due course, along with resources to help build students understanding in
areas where they need further support.
Administering the test
There are no formal time limits, but an hour is recommended to allow the vast majority of pupils to show
what they can do.
Less able pupils may find the final three questions very challenging so you may wish to consider giving
those pupils only the first nine questions.
Coming soon
For 2017, The Assessment Research Community - ARCommunity intends to develop newlycommissioned tests written specifically for the NC2014. This work will be done in partnership with AQA’s
Centre for Education Research and Practice, Doublestruck (the creators of Testbase and Exampro) and
practising teachers. If you are interested in taking part in this work please follow this link.
1
Question 1
Rucksack materials
“Implications for teaching and learning”
Assessment of learning
What this question is intended to assess …
Assessment for learning
What your students’ responses could be revealing about
their understanding, and what you could do next …
This KS3 question is about:
Student responses:
Working scientifically
The original lower attaining Year 9 cohort who answered
this question found it of intermediate difficulty overall.
•
•
•
•
•
exploring questions that can lead to a scientific enquiry
identifying and controlling variables for a fair test
selecting appropriate equipment in order to carry it out
interpreting data presented in tables and presenting
explanations of the data
Some students, in particular, struggle with providing full
reasons and explanations, and controlling variables for
fair testing.
What you could do next:
Looking ahead to GCSE:
At GCSE these Working Scientifically skills are all
essential, where students will be looking at more
complex situations, tables with more data and further
consideration of the control of variables.
2
• Ask students to generate as many questions as
possible (How does X affect Y?) in various situations
and then decide whether they might be explored
scientifically, and if so how – can we control and
measure the variables? (All the questions generated
do not have to be actually carried out in class.)
• Ask students to identify, and put into words to explain,
why some methods involve a fair test and others do
not. Do not allow pupils to loosely refer to ‘fair testing’,
without also explaining what it means in that specific
situation i.e. what is being varied, what is being
controlled and what is being measured.
• Show a range of common lab equipment to clarify
their proper names, discuss the precision possible
and what is required by the enquiry question (e.g.
measuring cylinder or beaker? clock or stopwatch/
timer? ruler or tape measure?)
• Using tables with rows and columns labelled and
data provided, ask students to draw conclusions by
extracting data form the table, giving reasons.
Mark point
Mark
(a) 1
WSB4
1
Answer
Accept
Zoe
Additional Guidance
if more than one box is ticked, award
no mark
Any one from
• best needs to be defined
(a) 2
WSC13
1
‘best needs to be described’
‘you do not know what best means’
• best is not observable or
measurable
• best is subjective
‘it is not doable’; ‘best is an opinion
or judgement’; ‘best is not clear’
Any one from
• use the same area of material
each time
• use the same volume of water
(b) (i)
WSB6
1
do not accept ‘do it more than once’
‘measuring beaker’, ‘clock’ or ‘timer’
or ‘watch’
do not accept ‘cylinder’ or ‘measuring
tube’ or ‘measuring jug’
Any one from
(b) (ii)
WSB7
1
(c) 1
WSC12
1
(c) 2
WSC13
‘same amount of material’
‘same size of rucksack’
‘same amount of water’
‘same liquid’
‘same timing’
‘allow the water to drip through the
material for the same length of time’
‘keep the temperature the same’
1
• measuring cylinder
• stopclock or stopwatch
• B
• the smallest volume of water
passes through the material
if more than one box is ticked, award
no mark
‘only 5 cm3 passed through’
‘less water passed through’
‘not as much water gets through’
answers must include or imply a
comparison:
‘5 cm3 passed through’ is insufficient;
‘not much water gets through’ is
insufficient
TOTAL MARKS 6
3
Question 2
Shoe on ramp
“Implications for teaching and learning”
Assessment of learning
What this question is intended
to assess …
Assessment for learning
What your students’ responses could be revealing about their understanding,
and what you could do next …
This KS3 question is about:
Student responses:
Working scientifically
The original lower attaining Year 9 cohort who answered this question found it
of intermediate difficulty overall, although part (b) slightly harder.
• developing a line of enquiry from
a question of the student’s choice
• identifying and controlling
variables for a fair test
• selecting appropriate equipment
in order to carry it out
Looking ahead to GCSE:
While this situation is a simple one
and requires no predictions of results,
at GCSE these Working Scientifically
skills are all essential for more
complex situations, and predictions/
hypotheses might also be expected.
Some lower attaining students, in particular, struggle with generating
questions, identifying independent and dependent variables, and controlling
variables for fair testing.
What you could do next:
• Clarify the meaning of the terms ‘independent’ and ‘dependent’ with
reference to variables. Use the words ‘factor’ and ‘variable’ - both are
required at KS3 and GCSE.
• Use the words ‘prediction’ and ‘hypothesis’- both are required at KS3
and GCSE.
• Ask students to generate as many questions as possible (How does
X affect Y?) in various situations and then decide how they might be
explored scientifically, with the variables identified as independent/
dependent, and then controlled and measured. Ask for simple predictions
of how X might affect Y, and ask for reasons. (All the questions generated
do not have to be actually carried out in class.)
• Show a range of common lab equipment to clarify their proper names,
discuss the precision possible and what
is required by the enquiry question (e.g. measuring cylinder or beaker?
clock or stopwatch/timer? ruler or tape measure?)
4
Mark point
(a)
WSB4
WSB6
Mark
1
Answer
Accept
any suitable independent variable
such as
specific variations in objects, such
as ‘weight’ or ‘mass’ or ‘surface area’
or ‘type of trainer sole’ or ‘type
of shoe’
•
•
•
•
the surface
the angle of the slope
the kind of object
the size of the push
any suitable dependent variable
such as
(b) 1
WSB4
WSB6
(b) 2
WSB4
WSB7
WSB8
1
• the distance travelled
• the time to move down the ramp
• the force needed to start the
object moving
• the angle of the ramp at which the
object starts moving
any appropriate equipment to
measure the dependent variable
such as
1
•
•
•
•
1
•
•
•
•
•
‘angle or height of ramp’
‘speed’
‘tape measure’
‘clock’
a dependent variable (DV) without
an independent variable (IV) can
gain credit
do not accept a measurement
strategy if a DV is not given or
is incorrect
ruler or metre rule
stopwatch or timer or light gates
newton meter
protractor
any appropriate control variable
such as
(c)
WSB4
WSB6
‘the time to reach a given point’
Additional Guidance
‘distance travelled’
the object used
the angle of the slope
the surface used
the height of the ramp
the length of the ramp
only give credit for a control variable
which does not conflict with the
suggested investigation
TOTAL MARKS 4
5
Question 3
Swing in park
“Implications for teaching and learning”
Assessment of learning
What this question is intended to assess …
Assessment for learning
What your students’ responses could be revealing about
their understanding, and what you could do next …
This KS3 question is about:
Student responses:
Working scientifically
Of the original Year 9 cohort who answered this question,
lower attaining students found it more difficult than higher
attaining ones, and many of these did not even attempt to
answer some parts of it.
• interpreting data from tables to identify patterns
in results to draw conclusions
• evaluating data to decide whether or not it
supports conclusions
• making predictions about further results
Looking ahead to GCSE:
At GCSE these Working Scientifically skills are all
essential, where students will be looking at more
complex situations, tables with more data and further
consideration of the control of variables.
6
Students may struggle with the large amount of
information in the introduction to the tables of results, and
with drawing conclusions.
What you could do next:
• Using various described situations where variables
are changed, ask students to sketch out a plan of their
own results tables. (What would you have as columns
and rows?)
• Using various sketched out tables with rows and
columns labelled but minimum details of the situation,
ask students to describe what is being changed
and measured.
• Using tables with rows and columns labelled and data
provided, ask students to agree/disagree/not sure with
a number of suggested conclusions, giving reasons.
• Encourage students to describe results in the form
‘The …er the X, the …er the Y’, or similar.
Mark point
(a)
WSC12
Mark
Answer
Accept
Additional Guidance
both answers are required for
the mark
A and B
1
answers may be in any order
Any one from
(b) (i)
WSC12
1
• the longer the string, the longer it
takes
accept the converse
• the longer the string the more time
it takes
A and C and D
(b) (ii)
WSC12
WSC14
1
(c)
WSB5
1
references to both length and time
are required for the mark
‘B and C and D’ if part (a) is correct
answers may be in any order
all three answers are required for
the mark
E: 10.0
F: from 18 to 25
‘10’
both answers are required for
the mark
TOTAL MARKS 4
7
Question 4
Mirror
“Implications for teaching and learning”
Assessment of learning
What this question is intended to assess …
Assessment for learning
What your students’ responses could be revealing about
their understanding, and what you could do next …
This KS3 question is about:
Student responses:
Working scientifically
The original Year 9 cohort who answered this question
found it relatively easy overall, although lower attaining
students struggled more with part (b) where they were
asked to read a value from a graph (unusually, from the
Y axis to the X axis).
• interpreting data presented in tables and graphs
• evaluating data in terms of possible errors
Light waves
• using ray models for reflection and refraction
Looking ahead to GCSE:
At GCSE these Working Scientifically skills are all
essential, where there are higher expectations around
identifying issues of accuracy, and drawing and
reading graphs.
An understanding of ray models is not required in all
GCSE specifications.
8
What you could do next:
• Using tables with data provided (contrived, if
necessary), ask students to identify unusual data
that do not fit with general patterns, and encourage
sophisticated answers (rather than simplistic ones e.g.
‘it looks wrong/doesn’t fit the pattern’)
• Ask students to read data from a range of different
graphs where the point does falls between easilyidentifiable lines. Do this in both directions i.e. from X
axis to Y axis, and vice versa.
Mark point
(a)
WSC12
WSC14
(b)
WSC11
PC4.38
Mark
1
Answer
Accept
Additional Guidance
65
‘number 4’ or ‘the fourth’
it is different from the angle of
incidence
‘it is not 60°’ or ‘it should be 60°’
both the answer and the correct
explanation are required for the mark
or all the others are the same
‘the angle of reflection and the angle
of incidence should be the same’
‘it is 5° out’; ‘they are not the same’
1
award a mark for ‘60°’ if the
explanation is correct
‘they go up in tens’ is insufficient
‘it does not fit the pattern’
is insufficient
a number from 30 to 32
TOTAL MARKS 2
9
Question 5
Ruler reaction times
“Implications for teaching and learning”
Assessment of learning
What this question is intended
to assess …
Assessment for learning
What your students’ responses could be revealing about their understanding,
and what you could do next …
This KS3 question is about:
Student responses:
Working scientifically
The original Year 9 cohort who answered this question found it of
intermediate difficulty overall, although both lower and higher attaining
students struggled more with parts (b) and (e), about accuracy and reliability.
• identifying and controlling
variables for a fair test
• planning for accuracy, and
considering reliability of methods
and results
Looking ahead to GCSE:
At GCSE these Working Scientifically
skills are all essential, where there
are higher expectations around
identifying issues of accuracy and
reliability of results after observations.
Some students are not specific about ways to improve accuracy and reliability
and need to give detail about exactly why a change will make method better.
What you could do next:
• Clarify the meaning of the terms ‘independent’ and ‘dependent’ with
reference to variables. Use the words ‘factor’ and ‘variable’ - both are used
at KS3 and GCSE.
• Ask students to generate as many questions as possible (How does
X affect Y?) in various situations and then decide how they might be
explored scientifically, with the variables identified as independent/
dependent, and then controlled and measured. (All the questions
generated do not have to be actually carried out in class.)
• Clarify the meaning of the terms ‘accuracy’, ‘precision’, ‘repeatability’ and
‘reproducibility’ – all are required KS3 and GCSE.
• Using the questions and methods identified above, ask students to explain
in each case how the method could be made as (1) accurate and (2)
precise as possible, and what you could do to see if the results are (1)
repeatable and (2) reproducible.
10
Mark point
Mark
Answer
Accept
Additional Guidance
• the distance the ruler dropped
‘how far until they caught it’
‘length or measurement on the ruler’
‘ruler’ is insufficient
‘length of ruler’ is insufficient
• where the hand grabbed the ruler
‘where she caught it’
‘mm’ or ‘cm’
Any one from
(a)
WSB6
WSB8
1
Any one from
(b)
WSA01
WSC14
1
(c)
WSB6
1
• to avoid the effect of her own
reaction time
‘she might stop the watch before or
after he reacted’
‘the time keeper would not have been
as accurate’ is insufficient
• the time is too short to measure
with a stopwatch
‘you cannot stop a stopwatch
straightaway’
‘it might be too fast for the stopwatch’
‘you can time incorrectly’
is insufficient
‘the ruler is more precise’
is insufficient
pupils
‘pupil’ or ‘friend’ or ‘person’
or ‘human’
Any two from
(d)
WSB6
2
• the position of the ruler above
the hand
‘height of ruler’
‘the height it is dropped from’
• the way the ruler is released
‘handedness’; ‘the same person
dropping it’
• the ruler
• distance between finger
and thumb
‘position of hand’ or ‘position of ruler’
• the conditions in the room
accept examples of
possible distractions
• measure to same finger of catcher
(e)
WSA01
WSB8
1
‘where she put her hand on the ruler’
is insufficient
• repeat the investigation or it
if more than one box is ticked, award
no mark
‘do more than one test with
each person’
do not accept ‘use more people’
TOTAL MARKS 6
11
Question 6
Washing powder
“Implications for teaching and learning”
Assessment of learning
What this question is intended
to assess …
Assessment for learning
What your students’ responses could be revealing about their understanding,
and what you could do next …
This KS3 question is about:
Student responses:
Working scientifically
The original Year 9 cohort who answered this question found it of
intermediate difficulty overall, although lower attaining students struggled
more with part (c), about understanding what they would need to observe
when carrying out the method.
• evaluating an investigative method
which has already been carried
out, and suggesting improvements
Looking ahead to GCSE:
At GCSE these Working Scientifically
skills are all essential, where there
are higher expectations around also
suggesting further investigations as
well as evaluating the current one.
Some students think that fair tests are about ‘keeping everything the same’,
rather than changing one variable while controlling others.
When suggesting improvements, greater efforts to control variables are
common, but fewer suggest repeating results.
What you could do next:
• Ask students to identify, and put into words to explain, why some methods
involve a fair test and others do not. Do not allow pupils to loosely refer
to ‘fair testing’, without also explaining what it means in that specific
situation i.e. what is being varied, what is being controlled and what is
being measured.
• When completing investigative work, extend discussion about how to
improve the present investigation (by, say, repeating results, or gathering
more data) into any further investigations that could follow on; and the
variables and methods that would be involved
• Using tables with rows and columns labelled and data provided,
ask students to draw conclusions by extracting data form the table,
giving reasons.
12
Mark point
Mark
Answer
Accept
Additional Guidance
Any one from
(a)
WSB8
1
• they left the cloth in water for
30 minutes
• they soaked the cloth for the
same time
‘cloth in both bowls was egg-stained’
ways of improving the investigation may be any two from
(i) a control
• same cloth(s) in each bowl
• same size fabric
• same level of staining on cloth
‘same amount of egg’ or ‘same
size stain’
• same amount of each powder
(b)
WSB8
2
• same volume of water added
• same temperature of water added
• same pH of solutions
‘use egg-stained cloth in water’
• repeat the test
(ii) improved reliability
• stir or agitate the cloth
(iii) improved procedure
• measure the water
‘measure the powder’
(iv) extend the
independent variable
• vary the amount of powder
• time how long it takes for the
stain to go
accept ‘longer time’
• vary the amount of egg stain
‘do it at different temperatures’
‘use different washing powders’
do not accept ‘use different stains’
• whether the cloths are stained
or not
‘how much egg is left on cloths’
‘the cloth’ or ‘the stain’ are insufficient
• level of staining or time taken to
remove stain
‘which cloth was the cleaner
or cleanest’
do not accept ‘cylinder’ or ‘measuring
tube’ or ‘measuring jug’
Any one from
(c)
WSB8
1
TOTAL MARKS 4
13
Question 7
Food amounts
“Implications for teaching and learning”
Assessment of learning
What this question is intended
to assess …
Assessment for learning
What your students’ responses could be revealing about their understanding,
and what you could do next …
This KS3 question is about:
Student responses:
Working scientifically
The original Year 9 cohort who answered this question found it quite difficult
overall, and especially parts (ai) and (di) which requires extracting information
form tables. Lower attaining students also struggled more with part (dii),
about estimating the dietary needs of the mother for a baby.
• interpreting data presented in
tables to draw conclusions
• applying mathematics and
calculating results
Nutrition and digestion
• content of a healthy human diet
• consequences of imbalances in
the diet
Looking ahead to GCSE:
At GCSE these Working Scientifically
skills are all essential, where there
are higher expectations around
greater use of calculations and
converting units of measurement.
An understanding of diet and
imbalanced diets are also further
developed at GCSE.
The question relies to a great extent on the student’s ability to interpret
complex tables, and to read the column headings carefully, while also taking
account of the units in each case. They may struggle to know how to go
about estimating values.
What you could do next:
• Present students with multi-column/multi-row tables such as this (e.g. food
labelling, data about countries, the properties of elements etc.). Explain
how some columns are subdivided, as in this case. Look at the units and
convert between units and milli/kilo versions of
these units.
• Set tasks to get practice at extracting data from a table e.g. What is the
value of ‘column Y’ for ‘row X’? Which row has the greatest value for a
given column? etc.
• Explain estimation as a ‘rough calculation’, or a ‘good/educated guess’.
Ask students to estimate number of pupils using a corridor in a day, beans
in a jar etc. stressing that the idea is to get near to the value, rather than
worrying about the exact answer. Move on to estimating missing data in
tables, or on graphs, where there are patterns.
14
Mark point
Mark
(a)(i)
WSC12
1
(a)(ii)
WSC12
1
(a)(iii)
BA3.10
1
(b)
WSC10
WSC12
1
Answer
Accept
Additional Guidance
fat
carbohydrate
protein
if more than one box is ticked, award
no mark
200 g 4
Any one from
• vitamins
(c)
BA3.10
(d) (i)
WSC10
1
1
a named vitamin
• water
• fibre
‘roughage’; ‘minerals’ or a
named mineral
1100
accept a number from 1000 to 1300
do not accept ‘calcium’
Any one from
• to make milk
• milk contains calcium
(d) (ii)
BA3.12
1
• breast-fed baby needs calcium for
growth or for bones or teeth
‘the baby needs calcium’
• she has to have enough calcium
for herself and the baby
‘to feed herself and the baby’
‘the baby needs 600 and she
needs 500’
‘this is recommended for mother
and baby’
‘to feed the baby’ is insufficient
TOTAL MARKS 7
15
Question 8
Changes of state – stearic acid
“Implications for teaching and learning”
Assessment of learning
What this question is intended
to assess …
Assessment for learning
What your students’ responses could be revealing about their understanding,
and what you could do next …
This KS3 question is about:
Student responses:
Working scientifically
Higher attaining students in the original Year 9 cohort who answered this question
found it relatively straightforward overall, whereas lower attaining students struggled.
Both groups found (ai) (reading the graph in terms of changes of state) and (b) (types
of thermal energy transfer) the hardest. In (aii) some were not accurate in reading the
graph and rounded the answer to 54 °C or 56 °C.
• reading graphs, and interpreting
graphical data to draw conclusions
Energetics
Energy changes and transfers
The question relies on the student’s ability to interpret a potentially unfamiliar
practical set-up, with an unfamiliar substance, and apply what they know about
melting and boiling to it. Students may struggle with large amounts of information
provided in one go, and with interpreting graphs with changes of gradient.
• energy transfers caused by
temperature differences
What you could do next:
• energy changes involved with
changes of state
Looking ahead to GCSE:
At GCSE these Working Scientifically
skills are all essential, where the
interpretation of graphs is more likely
to involve line graphs with changes of
gradient.
An understanding of energy and
changes of state is also further
developed at GCSE; as well as
temperature differences leading
to energy transfer, and the use of
insulators.
• Having taught a topic, immediately provide situations where they have to apply
knowledge in unfamiliar situations. Draw out the similarities and differences with
what they already know.
• Provide various line graphs with changing slopes, and ask students to “tell the
story of the line” as they see it (e.g. “first it goes up gradually, then it levels out,
then it goes up more steeply” etc.). Then ask them to put values on the places
where the story changes.
• Ask students to read data from a range of different graphs where the point does
falls between easily-identifiable lines. Do this in both directions i.e. from X axis to
Y axis, and vice versa.
• The processes of conduction, convection, radiation and evaporation are distinct,
but the words may be confusing. Break the words down into components; and
ask students to generate their own ways (such as rhymes, acronyms etc.) to
remember the differences.
• When teaching changes of state, do not focus on water only. Using melting and
boiling point data, ask students to tell you the state of different substances at
given temperatures.
16
Mark point
Mark
(a)(i)
WSC12
CE20
1
(a)(ii)
WSC12
1
(a)(iii)
WSC12
CE20
2
(b)
PA2.7
1
Answer
Accept
Additional Guidance
B
55
accept answers from 54 to 56
point A: solid
point D: liquid
if more than one box is ticked, award
no mark
conduction 4
Any one from
• the boiling point of water is less
than that of stearic acid
(c)
PA2.7
1
‘the water is not hot enough’
• water could not transfer
enough energy
• the maximum temperature of
water is 100°C
• it cannot get hot enough
‘stearic acid has a very high
boiling point’
TOTAL MARKS 6
17
Question 9
Housefly life cycle
“Implications for teaching and learning”
Assessment of learning
What this question is intended
to assess …
Assessment for learning
What your students’ responses could be revealing about their understanding,
and what you could do next …
This KS3 question is about:
Student responses:
Working scientifically
Higher attaining students in the original Year 9 cohort who answered this
question found it of intermediate difficulty overall.
• the way theories develop in light
of new evidence
• interpreting observations to
draw conclusions
• presenting explanations of
observations
Looking ahead to GCSE:
At GCSE these Working Scientifically
skills are all essential, where drawing
conclusions and explaining scientific
observations clearly are both needed
in situations where new information
is presented.
The question does not depend heavily on any detailed understanding of life
cycles, houseflies or meat preservation – students can work out much of it if
they can read and hold in their minds a lot the information provided, and think
of it in terms of what has been controlled.
What you could do next:
• Stress that science is not just a collection of things to know – you can treat
things scientifically in any situation, so it is always worth having a go even
if you think you don’t know all the facts.
• Use the word ‘control’ with students. When discussion any experiments
from which we have learned something – ask: what was varied here? what
was controlled here?
• Present students with situations where they have to take in more than one
piece of information at a time, so that they get practice in drawing together
evidence from more than one place (e.g. in this case, from all
three containers).
• When they are suggesting reasons for anything, encourage fuller
explanations by asking ‘… and why might that be?’ or ‘… and that is
because…why?’, or similar, so that they are as specific as they can be.
Reward these specific explanations, rather than shallow ones – in both
discussion and in writing.
18
Mark point
Mark
Answer
Accept
Additional Guidance
Award a mark for an answer that shows that maggots will only be found in meat that flies have had contact with, for example:
Any one from
• there were no maggots in container 2
(a) (i)
WSA2
WSC12
• there were no maggots in container 3
1
• there were only maggots on the meat
in container 1 or in the container that
was open
• the meat the flies could not reach had
no maggots on
‘when the meat is sealed there are
no maggots’
• there are maggots on the mesh but
not on the meat
‘there are maggots on the mesh’
is insufficient
Award a mark for an answer that shows that contact with air is not sufficient for maggots to develop, for example:
Any one from
(a) (ii)
WSA2
WSC12
1
• there were maggots in container 1 but
no maggots in container 2 or 3
• air could get into container 3
• there is air in container 2
(b)
WSC13
‘there were no maggots in
container 2 or 3
‘there would have been maggots in all
of them’
Any one from
1
• they had no food
• they starved or died
1
‘maggots could not get to the food’
‘maggots could not eat the meat’
Any two from
‘maggots could not get to the meat’
is insufficient
1
• flies or insects cannot reach the meat
(c)
WSC13
2
• too cold for bacteria or fungi to
multiply or bacteria multiply
more slowly
‘microbes grow more slowly’
do not accept ‘it kills bacteria’ or ‘stops
the growth of bacteria’
do not accept ‘it is too cold or too cool’
without qualification
• prevents meat rotting
‘keeps the meat or food fresh’ or ‘so it
does not go off’ or ‘too cold for enzymes
to work’ ‘eggs or maggots grow
more slowly’
do not accept ‘maggots are killed by
the cold’
19
TOTAL MARKS 5
Question 10
Wilting roses
“Implications for teaching and learning”
Assessment of learning
What this question is intended
to assess …
Assessment for learning
What your students’ responses could be revealing about their understanding,
and what you could do next …
This KS3 question is about:
Student responses:
Working scientifically
Higher attaining students in the original Year 9 cohort who answered this
question found it of intermediate difficulty overall. Students struggled with
even attempting to provide a dependent variable as well as the independent
one, or were not specific enough in saying what they would actually observe/
measure about the flowers. Many students noticed the prompt for the
timescales and were able to include this.
• taking an objective approach when
planning to investigate a claim
• identifying and controlling
variables for a fair test
• selecting appropriate methods
in order to carry it out
Looking ahead to GCSE:
At GCSE these Working Scientifically
skills are all essential, where students
may be asked to plan to use scientific
approaches to investigate claims.
This requires an extended answer that includes the prompts in the question,
and does not depend at all on any detailed understanding of flowers or
genetic modification. Students need to be able to identify variables and plan
what to measure.
What you could do next:
• Clarify the meaning of the terms ‘independent’ and ‘dependent’ with
reference to variables. Use the words ‘factor’ and ‘variable’ - both are
required at KS3 and GCSE.
• Ask students to identify, and put into words to explain, why some methods
involve a fair test and others do not. Do not allow pupils to loosely refer to
‘fair testing’, without also explaining what it means in that specific situation
i.e. what is being varied, what is being controlled and what is being
measured.
• Provide students with opportunities to plan extended answers from scratch
in cases where a fair test is required. Start with providing the prompts “I
can change…”, “I can measure…”, “I can control…”, with each prompt
leading to its own sentence or paragraph. Most importantly, move on and
make “change-measure-control” a mantra for fair testing situations so they
don’t need the prompt.
20
Mark point
Mark
WSA01 | WSB6 | WSB7
1
1
2
1
Answer
Accept
Additional Guidance
Markers should read through the whole answer before marking this question
modified and unmodified plants
‘type of plant’
the number of days or weeks or
months the flowers stayed fresh
‘how long they stayed fresh’
‘(flowers from) different plants’
is insufficient
Any one from
• modified and unmodified plants
should be the same variety
3
1
• conditions under which flowers
are kept should be the same
‘amount of sunlight should be
the same’
‘amount of water should be the same’
‘nutrients added should be the same’
• modified and unmodified plants
should be the same starting age
4
1
A suitable time span (which will allow
comparison) for example ‘until they
have all wilted’ or ‘until all ordinary
plants have wilted’
award a mark for answers of 2 weeks
or more
TOTAL MARKS 4
21
Question 11
Solar panels
“Implications for teaching and learning”
Assessment of learning
What this question is intended
to assess …
Assessment for learning
What your students’ responses could be revealing about their understanding,
and what you could do next …
This KS3 question is about:
Student responses:
Working scientifically
Higher attaining students in the original Year 9 cohort who answered this
question found it relatively straightforward overall, except for (bi) which
awards two marks – some students did not consider the change in start/end
of day as well as lower energy output overall.
• using line graphs and interpreting
data presented in them, in order to
draw conclusions
• working out what to calculate, and
then carrying out calculations
Energy
• comparing amounts of energy
Space physics
• day lengths at different times
of year
Looking ahead to GCSE:
At GCSE these Working Scientifically
skills are all essential - where the
interpretation of graphs is more likely
to involve line graphs with changes of
gradient; and where calculations from
data provided are more common.
An understanding of quantifying
energy transferred (and power) is
also further developed at GCSE;
although understanding differences
in day length with the seasons is not
required in all GCSE specifications.
This question requires students to apply previous knowledge to sketch graph
shapes, and calculate answers from data in the question.
What you could do next:
• Provide various line graphs with changing slopes, and ask students to “tell
the story of the line” as they see it (e.g. “first it goes up, reaches a peak,
then it goes down” etc.). Then ask them to put values on the places where
the story changes.
• Before carrying out investigations or formally plotting graphs, encourage
the use of sketch graphs to predict or show the general behaviour of
one factor (Y axis) as another is varied (X axis). Ask questions about
steepness, changes in slope, what might happens at the extremes,
whether it can go through the origin or crosses axes elsewhere. At this
stage, ask them to draw as only rough sketches, so they think about
trends not details.
• Ask students to read data from a range of different graphs where the point
does falls between easily-identifiable lines. Do this in both directions i.e.
from X axis to Y axis, and vice versa.
22
Mark point
Mark
Answer
Accept
Additional Guidance
Any one from
(a)(i)
WSC12
PA1.3
1
(a)(ii)
WSC10
WSC12
1
(b)(i) 1
PF.61
1
(b)(i) 2
PF.61
(b)(ii)
WSC10
WSD17
• the Earth rotates
‘the Sun appears to move across the
sky’; ‘the Sun is in a different position
at different times of day’
• the amount of sunlight varies
‘different cloud cover’
• the angle of the Sun varies
‘in the middle of the day the energy
received is greatest’
6.0
any number from 5.8 to 6.2
do not accept ‘in the middle of the
day the Sun is hottest or brightest’
a graph starting after 6 am and
ending before 6 pm
a line below the existing line and flat
1
1
or reaching a maximum between 12
noon and 1 pm
15
180
12
TOTAL MARKS 5
23
Question 12
Heart disease
“Implications for teaching and learning”
Assessment of learning
What this question is intended to assess …
Assessment for learning
What your students’ responses could be revealing about
their understanding, and what you could do next …
This KS3 question is about:
Student responses:
Working scientifically
Higher attaining students in the original Year 9
cohort who answered this question found it relatively
straightforward overall, although some students struggled
more with interpreting the claims in parts (b) and (c).
• taking an objective approach when considering a
claim, and evaluating the reliability of data
• interpreting observations to draw conclusions
• presenting reasoned explanations of ideas
Looking ahead to GCSE:
At GCSE these Working Scientifically skills are all
essential, where students may be asked to interpret and
evaluate scientific claims, and consider the implications
of the claim in the real world.
24
This question requires students to question whether data
might be representative of a population, use the idea of
reliability, and give full explanations.
What you could do next:
• Clarify the meaning of the term ‘reliable’ with reference
to data; and ‘evidence’ and ‘justify’ with reference to
scientific claims.
• Present students with newspaper or other reports of
studies that use sampling, and ask whether or not
there is enough information presented to know if the
sample is representative of the population.
• When they are suggesting reasons for anything,
encourage fuller explanations by asking ‘… and why
might that be?’ or ‘… and that is because…why?’,
or similar, so that they are as specific as they can
be. Reward these specific explanations, rather than
shallow ones – in both discussion and in writing.
Mark point
(a)
WSC12
WSC14
(b)
WSA01
WSC13
WSC14
Mark
Answer
Accept
they have only investigated
British women
‘it is only one country’; ‘diet
differences elsewhere’ ‘stress may
be different elsewhere’; ‘different
lifestyles elsewhere’
1
Additional Guidance
‘they have only investigated women
in the 60 to 79 age group’
they used a large sample
‘they used 4286 women’
1
Any one from
(c)1
WSC12
WSC13
1
• no - data refers only to
older women
• no - if you include all women the
rate could be up or down
Any one from
(c)2
WSC12
WSC13
(c)3
WSC12
WSC13
1
1
• no - no evidence of the impact of
treatment
‘no mention of treatment’
• no - previous research could have
underestimated the proportion
‘it does not tell you’
• yes - data suggests only 1 in 5
showed signs of heart disease so
4 out of 5 are unlikely to suffer
‘data shows 1 in 5 had signs of
heart disease’
TOTAL MARKS 5
25
Mark point lookup table
Code
WSA
Description
Scientific attitudes
WSA1
pay attention to objectivity and concern for accuracy, precision, repeatability
and reproducibility
WSA2
understand that scientific methods and theories develop as earlier explanations are
modified to take account of new evidence and ideas, together with the importance of
publishing results and peer review
WSA3
evaluate risks
WSB
Experimental skills and investigations
WSB4
ask questions and develop a line of enquiry based on observations of the real world,
alongside prior knowledge and experience
WSB5
make predictions using scientific knowledge and understanding
WSB6
select, plan and carry out the most appropriate types of scientific enquiries to test
predictions, including identifying independent, dependent and control variables,
where appropriate
WSB7
use appropriate techniques, apparatus, and materials during fieldwork and laboratory
work, paying attention to health and safety
WSB8
make and record observations and measurements using a range of methods for
different investigations; and evaluate the reliability of methods and suggest
possible improvements
WSB9
apply sampling techniques
WSC
Analysis and evaluation
WSC10
apply mathematical concepts and calculate results
WSC11
present observations and data using appropriate methods, including tables
and graphs
WSC12
interpret observations and data, including identifying patterns and using observations,
measurements and data to draw conclusions
WSC13
present reasoned explanations, including explaining data in relation to predictions
and hypotheses
WSC14
evaluate data, showing awareness of potential sources of random and
systematic error
WSC15
identify further questions arising from their results
WSD
Measurement
WSD16
understand and use SI units and IUPAC (International Union of Pure and
Applied Chemistry) chemical nomenclature
WSD17
use and derive simple equations and carry out appropriate calculations
WSD18
undertake basic data analysis including simple statistical techniques
GCSE
Assessment Objectives
AO1
Knowledge with understanding
AO2
Application, analysis, evaluation and problem solving
AO3
Experimental skills and methods amenable to indirect assessment
26
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