Science 10 (SCI401A)

Unit 1: Working Like a Scientist

The nature of science and the laboratory, data, argumentation, design, and decision-making practices used throughout Science 10: evaluating claims, working safely with data and uncertainty, arguing from evidence, designing experiments and prototypes, communicating results, and weighing the risks and benefits of science and technology.

• Evaluating whether a claim is reasonable
• Why people accept unreasonable claims

• Safe laboratory protocols
• Collecting and analysing data
• Uncertainty in measurement
• Evaluating phenomena with argumentation
• Designing an experiment and a prototype
• Communicating and collaborating

• Benefits and risks from multiple perspectives

Unit 2: Everyday Chemical Reactions

The chemistry of everyday change: distinguishing physical and chemical change, recognizing evidence of a reaction, identifying reactants and products, controlling reaction rate, and the acids, bases, and neutralization reactions found in daily life.

• Physical vs chemical change and its evidence
• Reactants, products, and reaction rate
• Acids, bases, and neutralization
• Naming ionic compounds

Unit 3: Climate Change & Energy

Human impact on climate and the energy transition: the greenhouse effect and the human activities that drive climate change, the observable impacts of a warming Earth, forms of energy, renewable versus non-renewable sources, and the sustainable energy technologies used to reduce emissions.

• Greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect
• Climate data, Indigenous knowledge, and impacts

• Forms of energy and energy sources
• Sustainable energy technologies

Unit 4: Cells and Infectious Disease

The cell as the building block of life and the biology of infectious disease: living versus non-living things, cell structures and cell theory, why viruses are non-living, and how infectious diseases are transmitted, prevented, treated, and classified as pandemics, epidemics, or endemics.

• Living things and cell structures
• Cell theory and why viruses are non-living

• Transmission, prevention, and treatment of disease
• Pandemics, epidemics, and endemics

Unit 5: Motion

Describing and measuring motion in a mechanical system: qualitative descriptions of position, speed, and acceleration; the difference between average and constant speed; simple speed calculations; and collecting motion data with a data logger.

• Describing motion and kinds of speed
• Calculating speed and collecting motion data