Courses

Quebec · Secondary 4

Science and Technology, Secondary 4

  • 555-404

Quebec’s Secondary 4 science course, from The Material World to The Technological World.

Learn thisPractice exam
Units
4
Lessons
18
Skills
31
Provincial exam
50% of the final mark
Official curriculum
quebec.ca

Unit by unit

Every skill in the course, numbered by unit.

Unit 1 · 14 skills

The Material World

Concentration, electrolytes and ions

Acids, bases and the pH scale

Combustion and neutralization

Chemical bonding

Energy, its conservation and efficiency

Atomic models and the periodic table

  • Reading the periodic table

    I can read the periodic table for groups, periods, and valence electrons.

    1.10

    Learn itPractice testActivities

  • Atomic models, Lewis notation and polyatomic ions

    I can represent atoms with the Rutherford-Bohr and Lewis models and recognize common polyatomic ions.

    1.11

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Electricity and circuits

The official wording · 14 outcomes
1.1
Determines the concentration of an aqueous solution
1.2
Defines the concept of electrolyte
1.3
Describes the pH scale
1.4
Describes the perceivable manifestations of rapid combustion
1.5
Gives examples of acid-base neutralization reactions
1.6
Defines a covalent bond as a bond resulting from a sharing of electrons
1.7
Defines an ionic bond as a bond resulting from the gain or loss of electrons
1.8
Explains qualitatively the law of conservation of energy
1.9
Applies the mathematical relationship between kinetic energy
1.10
Locates the groups and periods in the periodic table
1.11
Describes the Rutherford-Bohr atomic model
1.12
Associates elementary particles with their electrical charge
1.13
Applies the mathematical relationship between voltage, resistance and current intensity in an electrical circuit
1.14
Applies the mathematical relationship between power, voltage and current intensity in an electrical circuit

Key ideas

  1. Concentration can be given in g/L, percentage, ppm, or mol/L (molar concentration = moles of solute / litres of solution).

  2. The pH scale runs from acidic (low) through neutral (7) to alkaline (high); each step is a tenfold change.

  3. Rapid combustion releases heat and light; it needs fuel, oxygen, and heat (the fire triangle).

  4. A covalent bond results from atoms sharing electrons.

  5. Energy is conserved: it is transformed, not created or destroyed.

Watch out for

  • Thinking ppm and percentage are interchangeable units.
  • Thinking a strong acid is the same as a concentrated acid.
  • Thinking combustion can occur without oxygen.

Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit

Unit 2 · 3 skills

The Living World

Populations, communities and ecosystems

Photosynthesis and respiration equations

  • Balanced equations of photosynthesis and respiration

    I can write balanced equations for photosynthesis and respiration.

    2.3

    Learn itPractice testActivities
The official wording · 3 outcomes
2.1
Describes a given population
2.2
Defines a community as a group of populations that interact
2.3
Represents the photosynthesis reaction in a balanced equation

Key ideas

  1. A population is described by density, distribution, and biological cycles.

  2. Photosynthesis: carbon dioxide + water, using light, yields glucose + oxygen.

  3. Biotic and abiotic factors and resource availability affect natality, mortality, immigration, and emigration.

  4. Respiration reverses it: glucose + oxygen yields carbon dioxide + water + energy.

  5. This also covers: describes the influence of biotic or abiotic factors on the biological cycles of a population; explains how the availability of resources affects reproduction and survival.

Watch out for

  • Thinking only predators limit a population, not climate.
  • Thinking plants only photosynthesize and never respire.
  • Thinking density equals total number.

Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit

Unit 3 · 9 skills

The Earth and Space

Mining, minerals and soil

The carbon and nitrogen cycles

Water, catchment areas and oceans

The atmosphere, weather and climate

  • The greenhouse effect and climate change

    I can explain the greenhouse effect and the consequences of intensifying it.

    3.6

    Learn itPractice testActivities

  • Air masses, clouds and atmospheric circulation

    I can explain air masses and how clouds, cyclones, and atmospheric circulation form.

    3.7

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Biomes

  • Terrestrial and marine biomes

    I can describe what determines a biome and the main terrestrial and marine types.

    3.8

    Learn itPractice testActivities

  • Energy resources and their impact

    I can describe technologies that generate electricity from Earth's resources and their impacts.

    3.9

    Learn itPractice testActivities
The official wording · 9 outcomes
3.1
Distinguishes between minerals and ore
3.2
Describes the structure of a soil
3.3
Describes transformations related to the circulation of carbon
3.4
Defines a catchment area as a territory surrounding a waterway
3.5
Defines salinity as a measure of the quantity of salt in a solution
3.6
Describes the greenhouse effect
3.7
Describes the properties of an air mass
3.8
Describes the geographical and climatic factors that affect the distribution of biomes
3.9
Describes technologies used to produce electricity using the energy resources in the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere

Key ideas

  1. Ore is rock rich enough in a mineral to be worth extracting; a mineral is the pure substance itself.

  2. The carbon cycle moves carbon through photosynthesis, decomposition, dissolution, and fossil-fuel combustion.

  3. A catchment area is the land that drains into a waterway.

  4. The greenhouse effect traps outgoing heat, keeping Earth warm enough for life.

  5. Latitude, humidity, temperature, and salinity determine where biomes occur.

Watch out for

  • Thinking any rock containing a metal is ore.
  • Thinking carbon is created or destroyed rather than cycled.
  • Thinking a catchment area is only the river itself.

Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit

Unit 4 · 5 skills

The Technological World

Link characteristics and design choices

  • Link characteristics and assembly choices

    I can describe link characteristics and justify design choices for links and assembly.

    4.1

    Learn itPractice testActivities

Designing motion systems

Electrical power supply and control

  • Power supply and conduction

    I can describe how a technical object is powered and how it conducts electricity.

    4.3

    Learn itPractice testActivities

  • Control, protection and energy transformation

    I can describe control, protection, and energy transformations in an electrical object.

    4.4

    Learn itPractice testActivities

Materials selection and protection

  • Material selection and protection

    I can justify a material choice by its properties and describe how to protect it from degradation.

    4.5

    Learn itPractice testActivities
The official wording · 5 outcomes
4.1
Describes the characteristics of the links in a technical object
4.2
Explains the choice of a motion transmission system in a technical object
4.3
Defines power supply as the ability to generate electrical current
4.4
Describes the role of a protective device in a circuit
4.5
Explains the choice of a material based on its properties

Key ideas

  1. Links can be direct or indirect, rigid or flexible, removable or permanent, partial or complete.

  2. A motion transmission system is chosen for its speed, torque, and reliability (a gear assembly to avoid slipping).

  3. Power supply is the ability to generate current (battery, solar cell, alternator, thermocouple, piezoelectric).

  4. Objects face constraints (tension, compression, torsion, deflection, shearing); a material is chosen so its properties resist them.

  5. Good design chooses characteristics to fit the object's function and justifies the assembly solution.

Watch out for

  • Thinking a permanent link is always better than a removable one.
  • Thinking any motion system works equally well for any object.
  • Thinking all metals conduct equally regardless of dimensions.

Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit

The exam

The mark you need

Your class mark counts for 50% of the final mark, the exam for 50%. Quebec may moderate your class mark before it’s blended.

You need

65% on the exam

With 75% in class, your final mark lands between 37.5% (0 on the exam) and 87.5% (100% on it).

Which course?

Quebec has 4 science courses for Secondary 4. Here they are side by side.

What a university, college or program asks for is theirs to say: check its admission page, and your school’s course guide.

The official curriculum

This page follows Quebec’s own curriculum for Science and Technology, Secondary 4.

Progression des apprentissages au secondaire - Science and Technologyquebec.ca · Read August 7, 2026

Study it in MapleMind

MapleMind teaches Science and Technology, Secondary 4 one skill at a time. Each skill gets a short lesson, practice as you go and a check worth up to three stars. It remembers where you stopped.

Mathematics, Secondary 3 in the MapleMind app on a tablet: its units, Unit 1 open, and the skills done so far with their starsMathematics, Secondary 3 in the MapleMind app on a phone: its units, Unit 1 open, and the skills done so far with their stars
Pictured: Mathematics, Secondary 3, another Quebec course, partway through Unit 1.

Practise it

Course Companion

Your year in one workbook

A fun way to keep Science and Technology, Secondary 4 organized, get to know your child better and see early when they need a hand. Fill it in on a screen, or print it.

Pages
32
Fillable fields
1,444
Price
$4.99
See the Course Companion

Questions about Science and Technology, Secondary 4

What is Science and Technology, Secondary 4?

Quebec’s Secondary 4 science course: 4 units and 31 skills, from The Material World to The Technological World.

What units are in Science and Technology, Secondary 4?

1. The Material World, 2. The Living World, 3. The Earth and Space and 4. The Technological World.

Is there a provincial exam for Science and Technology, Secondary 4?

Yes. The Science and Technology, Secondary IV, theory component counts for 50% of the final mark. Next sitting: January 20, 2027.

What comes after Science and Technology, Secondary 4?

Chemistry, Secondary 5 and Physics, Secondary 5.

Can MapleMind help with Science and Technology, Secondary 4?

Yes. MapleMind teaches every skill of Science and Technology, Secondary 4, step by step, with practice and checks, and its tutor answers questions about any of them. It’s free with daily limits, on iPhone, Android and the web.

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After this course

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