Science 9

Unit 1: Biological Diversity

The variety of living things, how species survive and interact, how traits pass from parents to offspring, the role of genetic material, and the impact of human action on biodiversity.

• Variation within and among species
• Niches and symbiotic relationships

• Sexual vs. asexual reproduction
• Heritable traits and variation
• Dominant and recessive characteristics

• Chromosomes, genes and DNA
• Natural and artificial selection
• Genetic technologies and their issues

• Extinction and changing diversity
• Conservation strategies and biotechnology

Unit 2: Matter and Chemical Change

Physical and chemical properties, classifying matter, evidence and patterns of chemical reactions, the periodic table and atomic structure, and simplified chemical nomenclature.

• Physical and chemical properties
• Classifying materials

• Evidence of chemical change
• Reaction rates and energy
• Conservation of mass

• Origins of the periodic table
• Reading atomic structure from the table
• Ionic vs. molecular compounds

• Reading and naming chemical formulas
• Combining ratios and models
• Word and formula equations

Unit 3: Environmental Chemistry

The role of substances in the environment, how their quantities are measured and monitored, and the mechanisms that distribute potentially harmful substances.

• Helpful and harmful substances
• Organisms and their chemical needs

• Measuring quantities of substances
• Monitoring air and water quality

• Transport and bioaccumulation
• Factors affecting distribution

Unit 4: Electrical Principles and Technologies

Converting energy to and from electrical energy, technologies for transferring and controlling it, energy inputs/outputs and efficiency, and the societal and environmental implications of electricity use.

• Energy conversions
• Static and current electricity

• Circuits and components
• Voltage, current and resistance

• Energy inputs and outputs
• Calculating efficiency

• Generation and the environment
• Conservation and everyday choices

Unit 5: Space Exploration

How technology has shaped our understanding of Earth and space, the technologies developed for space exploration and life in space, optical/radio telescopes and probes, and the issues arising from space technology.

• Changing ideas about Earth and space
• Reference frames and celestial motion

• Challenges of space travel
• Spin-off technologies

• Optical and radio telescopes
• Space probes and remote sensing

• Opportunities and alternatives