Year 11 Integrated Science General Course 2015
Course Outline
Semester 1
UNIT 1
The World Around Us
The emphasis of Unit 1 is on biological and Earth systems, focusing on the following main topics:
Interrelationships between Earth systems
Structure and function of biological systems
Ecosystems and sustainability
Species continuity and change
Week
Science Understanding Content
1
Interrelationships between Earth
systems
2
 Interaction between the
hydrosphere, lithosphere and
atmosphere are represented by
biogeochemical cycles
 Conservation of matter occurs in
cycles in nature
3
4
 Natural resources are important in
everyday life
 Human activities and natural
processes impact on cycles in nature
Teaching Points
TERM 1
 Hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere and biosphere
 Interactions between biogeochemical systems
 Cycles in
o
o
o
Suggested Activities
 Worm farm
 Nutrients and Plant Growth
nature:
Carbon
Nitrogen
Water
 Impacts on cycles in nature
o Human: enhanced Greenhouse effect;
Eutrophication
Natural: fire
 Natural Resources
o Examples
o Renewable and non-renewable
o Importance
 An Inconvenient Truth
 We are the weather makers
 Catalyst – Earth on Fire
 Brian Cox programs
 Acid Ocean
Assessments
Science Inquiry –
Wiggly Worms
DUE – WEEK 8
(15%)
 Organisation in multi-cellular organisms
 Systems in a multi-cellular organism: how they interact
and effect the survival of the whole organism
 Cell structure and function – animal and plant
 Microscopes
 Microscope license
 Specialised organelles:
o Plasma membrane
 Osmosis and diffusion
 Isotonic, hypotonic and
hypertonic solutions
o Chloroplasts
 Photosynthesis
 Chlorophyll
 Location in leaves and stems
 Cellulose tubing (diffusion)
 Egg osmosis
 Potato diffusion
 Food colouring
 Perfume
 Celery Xylem Activity
7
 Specialised cells:
o Xylem
8
 Specialised cells:
o Stomata

 Comparing Leaf Stomata
5
Structure and function of biological
systems
 The cell is the simplest form of
organisation that can perform
activities required for life
6
 Forms of organisation of
multicellular organisms include
tissues, organs and systems
9
1
2
Test – Systems and
Cells (5%)
 Catch-up week
 Revision for test
TERM 2
 The abiotic and biotic environment
 Worm farm testing
Ecosystems and Sustainability
 Biological communities interact with
each other and their physical
environment
 Effect of physical environment on a biological
community
o Human effect: Salinity – causes and
consequences
 Salt and Plant Growth
activity
Extended Response–
Salty Sabotage
DUE WEEK 5 (15%)
 Interrelationship between systems
assist cellular activity to sustain life
3
Species continuity and change
 Reproduction and inheritance play an
important role in the continuity of
species
6
7
8
9
 Worm farm - food chains and
food webs
 Food Chains and Food Webs
DVD
 Feeding relationships in local environment
 Impacts upon food chains and food webs
o Extinction, pests, disease
4
5
 Food chains and food webs
o Producer, consumer, decomposer, carnivore,
herbivore, omnivore, predator
o Pyramid of numbers
o Pyramid of biomass
 Change in physical environment leads
to eventual change in biological
characteristics of a species
 Asexual and sexual reproduction
o Advantages and disadvantages
o Worm reproduction
 Vegetative propagation
 Sexual and Asexual
reproduction DVD
 Reproduction in plants
o Structure of the flower
o Pollination, fertilisation, germination
 Flower dissection
 Journey into Life
documentary
 The Human Body (Life
Story/An Everyday Miracle)
DVD
 Unlocking the Mystery of
Life documentary
 Reproduction in plants cont.
o Pollen dispersal
o Seed dispersal
o Structural adaptations
 Seed dispersal – Structure
and Function activity
 Reproduction in animals
o Internal and external fertilisation
o Looking closer at worm reproduction
 Adaptations to change in environment
o Structural, behavioural, physiological
 eChalk Variation Activity
 SPICE resources
 Adaptations to change in environment cont.
o Examples (Australian: kangaroos, banksia
cones, bird beaks)
10
 eChalk Adaptation Activity
Test – Ecosystems
and Reproduction
(5%)
 Catch-up week
 Revision for test
11
Science Inquiry – Unit
1 Workbook (10%)
End of Semester 1
Semester 2
UNIT 2
Term 3: Kitchen Chemistry
Term 4: Rocketry
The emphasis of Unit 2 is on the chemical and physical world, focusing on the following main topics:
Atomic structure
Chemical reactions
Mixtures and solutions
Forms of energy causing change
Motion and Forces
Week
Science Understanding Content
Atomic structure
1
 Atoms consist of a nucleus of
protons and neutrons and are
surrounded by electrons
Teaching Points
Term 3
 Atomic structure – protons, neutrons and electrons
 Properties of elements, compounds and mixtures
 States of matter
Suggested Activities
 Atom cookies
 Kitchen examples of
elements, compounds and
mixtures; states of matter
Assessments
Extended response –
The Weird World of
Molecular Gastronomy
DUE – WEEK 7
(15%)
 The properties of elements,
compounds and mixtures determine
the use of substances
Chemical reactions
2
3
4
 Rearrangement of matter occurs
during chemical reactions to form
new substances
 Physical vs. chemical change
 Energy causes physical and chemical change - heat
 Evidence of chemical reactions
o Change of colour, state or temperature; gas
evolved; odour given off; precipitate formed
 Physical or Chemical? Kitchen
Lab
 Honeycomb
 Sherbet
 Chemical reactions involve energy;
different types of reactions are
used to produce a variety of
products
 Rate of reaction
o Factors that affect the rate of reaction
 Heat transfer
o Convection, conduction, radiation
 Cooking potatoes
 Cooking pasta
 Dissolving sugar
 Heat transfer in the kitchen
Energy
 Energy transformations
o Electrical, thermal, radiant, mechanical,
chemical
 Fermentation
o The role of microbes in fermentation
o Respiration
o Uses of fermentation
o Properties of acids and bases
 Energy transformations in
the kitchen
 Fermentation cont.
o Food examples of fermentation: bread,
cheese, yoghurt and beer
o Beer production
o Lactose fermentation and lactose intolerance
 Ginger ale
 Other fermented foods fact
sheet and questions
 Sour milk products fact
sheet and questions
 Mixtures
o Homogenous and heterogeneous mixtures
o Separation techniques (distillation,
chromatography, evaporation, filtration)
 Homogenous or
heterogeneous? Activity –
fruit cake, orange juice, dry
cake mix, milk, noodle soup
 Coke distillation
 Energy has different forms: kinetic,
potential and heat, which can cause
change
5
6
Mixtures and solutions
7
 Mixtures, including solutions,
contain a combination of pure
substances that can be separated
using a range of techniques
 What effects yeast growth?
 Instant cottage cheese
 Red cabbage indicator
Science Inquiry –
Coke Distillation
DUE WEEK 9 (15%)
 Mixtures cont.
 Salt water evaporation
 Food colouring
chromatography
 Putting it all together
o Synthesis of learning to analyse the
chemistry behind making pancakes and cakes
 Putting it all together
o Synthesis of learning to analyse the
chemistry behind making pancakes and cakes
 Catch-up week
 Revision for test
 Pancakes
8
9
10
 Baking cakes
Test – Chemistry (5%)
Term 4
1
2
Motion and forces
 Laws of Motion
 Motion activities
 Linear motion of an object is
unidirectional and can be determined
mathematically
 Forces in Flight – weight, lift, drag, thrust
o Forces that act on an aeroplane
o Forces that act on a rocket
 Aerofoils
 Reducing drag
 Balloon rockets
 The Laws of Motion can assist in
predicting the motion of objects
 History of Rocketry
o Major people, scientific discoveries and
events in the development of rockets
 History of Rocketry
webquest
 Teabag rockets
 Water bottle rocket launch
 Rocketry
o Rocket design
o Rocket flight
 Model rocket launch
3
4
 Forces can be exerted by one object
on another by direct contact or from
a distance
Test –Rocketry (5%)
 Catch-up week
 Revision for test
Science Inquiry – Unit
2 Workbook (10%)
5
End of Semester 2
Science Inquiry Skills Content
 Construct questions for investigation; propose hypothesis; and predict possible
outcomes
 Plan, select and use appropriate investigation methods, to collect reliable data;
assess risk and address ethical issues associated with these methods
 Conduct investigations safely, competently and methodically for the collection
of valid and reliable data
 Represent data in meaningful and useful ways; organise and analyse data to
identify trends, patterns and relationships; qualitatively describe sources of
measurement error and use evidence to make and justify conclusions
 Interpret a range of scientific and media texts, and evaluate the conclusions
by considering the quality of available evidence
 Use appropriate representations, to communicate conceptual understanding,
solve problems and make predictions
 Communicate scientific ideas and information for a particular purpose, using
appropriate scientific language, conventions and representations
Science as a Human Endeavour Content
 The use of scientific knowledge is influenced by social, economic, cultural and
ethical considerations
 The use of scientific knowledge may have beneficial and/or harmful and/or
unintended consequences
 Scientific knowledge can enable scientists to offer valid explanations and make
reliable predictions
 Scientific knowledge can be used to develop and evaluate projected economic,
social and environmental impacts, and to design action for sustainability
Embedded in Unit 1 and Unit 2 content