• UNIT 3 – LOCAL ECOSYSTEM STUDIES
  • UNIT 4 – COSMETICS / VEHICLES AND DRIVERS

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Week / Central Ideas / Content / Text and Problem Sets / Assessment
UNIT 3 – LOCAL ECOSYSTEMS STUDIES
1 February
(1.1) /
  • Characteristics of different ecosystems found in a local community
  • Features of natural, urban, agricultural, aquacultural, freshwater and marine ecosystems
/
  • differences in geographical and physical conditions result in a wide variety of ecosystems
/ Education Perfect: Local Ecosystems Week 1
5 February
(1.2) /
  • Abiotic factors of a local ecosystem
  • Impacts of temperature, pH, salinity, light, water and atmospheric gases on the survival of organisms living in that ecosystem
/
  • abiotic factors, including temperature, pH, salinity, light, water and atmospheric gases, impact on the survival of organisms within the environment
/ Education Perfect: Local Ecosystems Week 1 / Task 1: Science inquiry (practical and investigation) – Measuring and comparing the abiotic factors of two aquatic ecosystems [10%]
12February
(1.3) /
  • Abiotic factors and their interaction with biotic factors
  • The sun as the original source of energy for ecosystems
  • Transfer of energy through food webs
/
  • there is interaction between organisms, biological communities and the abiotic environment in which they live
  • the biotic components of an ecosystem transfer and transform energy, originating primarily from the sun, into biomass
/ Education Perfect: Local Ecosystems Week 2
19 February
(1.4) /
  • Role of producers, consumers and decomposers in ecosystems
  • Transfer of energy through ecosystems
  • Food chains and food webs
/
  • producers, consumers and decomposers have a role in the transfer of energy in an ecosystem
  • food chains and food webs show the feeding relationships between organisms within a community
/ Education Perfect: Local Ecosystems Week 3 / Task 2: Science inquiry (investigation) – Monitoring a local ecosystem [10%]
26 February
(1.5) /
  • Pyramids of numbers and biomass
  • Trophic levels and diminishing energy transfer
/
  • the amount of energy transferred between trophic levels in food chains and food webs diminishes as the trophic level increases
/ Education Perfect: Local Ecosystems Week 4
5 March
(1.6) /
  • Competition, predation, symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism and parasitism
/
  • modes of interactions between species in ecosystems include competition, predation and symbiosis (mutualism, commensalism and parasitism)
/ Education Perfect: Local Ecosystems Week 5 & 6
12 March
(1.7) /
  • Population density
  • Factors affecting population density
  • Factors affecting community structure and composition
/
  • species interactions affect population densities and are important in determining community structure and composition
/ Education Perfect: Local Ecosystems Week 7 / Task 3: Test – Earth systems/cycles in nature and structure and function of biological systems [3%]
19 March
(1.8) /
  • Biogeochemical cycles as a natural circulation of essential elements
  • The flow of elements from the abiotic to the biotic components of the biosphere and back again
  • Examples of gaseous and sedimentary biogeochemical cycles, including carbon, nitrogen, water and phosphorus
/
  • biotic components interact with abiotic components to facilitate biogeochemical cycling
  • scientific knowledge can enable scientists to offer valid explanations and make reliable predictions
/ Education Perfect: Local Ecosystems Week 8
26 March
(1.9) /
  • Carrying capacity of an ecological population
  • Factors affecting carrying capacity
/
  • changes to abiotic and biotic factors, including climatic events, impact on the carrying capacity of ecosystems
  • scientific knowledge can be used to develop and evaluate projected economic, social and environmental impacts, and to design action for sustainability
/ Education Perfect: Local Ecosystems Week 9 / Task 4: Extended response (research and validation) – Climatic events impacting on the carrying capacity of a population [10%]
2 April
(1.10) / YEAR 12 RETREAT
9 April
(1.11) /
  • Comparison of biodiversity between endemic and urban ecosystems
  • Comparison of biodiversity between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
/
  • biodiversity includes the diversity of genetics, species and ecosystems; biodiversity changes naturally over time, and varies due to differences in location
/ Education Perfect: Local Ecosystems Week 10
30April
(2.1) /
  • Urban sprawl and the effects on ecosystems and biodiversity
  • Extinction of flora and fauna in built-up areas
  • Human impact in ecosystems and the effect on biodiversity
/
  • human interference is threatening biodiversity through deterioration of ecosystems and diminishing habitat areas
  • 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
/ Education Perfect: Local Ecosystems Week 2.1
7 May
(2.2) /
  • Natural selection, including: variation, changes in the environment, selection pressures, survival and change in characteristics
  • Behavioural, functional and structural adaptations of endemic flora and fauna
/
  • changes in ecosystems affect the survival of organisms within the ecosystem; individual variation assists survival, which over time results in changes in characteristics of the species
/ Education Perfect: Local Ecosystems Week 2.2
14 May
(2.3) /
  • Behavioural, functional and structural adaptations of invasive species (case study: cane toad)
/
  • variation in the form of suitable characteristics assists survival of individuals
  • environmental changes may lead to selection of advantageous biological characteristics within a species
/ Education Perfect: Local Ecosystems Week 2.3 / Task 5: Externally set task [15%]
21 May
(2.4) / Task 6: Test – Ecosystems, sustainability and species continuity and change [4%]
UNIT 4 – COSMETICS / VEHICLES AND DRIVERS
28May
(2.5) /
  • Chemical change
  • Physical change
/
  • rearrangement of reactant components occurs during chemical reactions to form new substances
/ Task 7: Extended Response (Research and Validation) – Materials used in the manufacture of cosmetics [10%]
4 June
(2.6) / YR11-12 EXAMINATIONS
11 June
(2.7)
18 June
(2.8) /
  • Extended Response Continued

25 June
(2.9) /
  • Types of chemical reactions
/
  • chemical reactions, including combustion and reactions of acids, involve taking in or giving out energy; different types of reactions are used to produce a variety of products

16 July
(3.1 & 3.2) /
  • Mixtures, emulsions, emulsifiers
  • Separation techniques
/
  • mixtures, including solutions, contain a combination of pure substances that can be separated using a range of techniques
/ Task 8: Science Inquiry (Practical) – Chemical Reactions [10%]
30 July
(3.3) /
  • Distance, displacement
  • Speed, Velocity, Acceleration
  • Vectors and Scalars
/
  • motion of an object is directional and is a vector quantity that can be determined mathematically
/ Task 9: Test – Chemical Reactions, Mixtures and Solutions [4%]
6 August
(3.4) /
  • Inertia
  • Momentum
  • Force and Acceleration
/
  • the Laws of Motion can assist in predicting the motion of objects

13 August
(3.5 & 3.6) /
  • Primary and Secondary safety features in a vehicle
  • Resultant force
  • Braking Force
/
  • multiple forces can act on objects by direct contact, or from a distance, when the object is in motion
/ Task 10: Science Inquiry (Investigation) – Factors affecting the severity of collision [10%]
27 August
(3.7) /
  • Energy transformation
  • Efficiency
/
  • kinetic, potential and heat energy can cause change within systems that can be measured
/ Task 11: Extended Response (Research & Validation) – Energy Changes in Vehicles [10%]
3 September
(3.8) /
  • Energy degradation
/
  • energy in any system remains constant; it cannot be created or destroyed, just transformed

10 September
(3.9) / Task 12 : Test – Motion, Forces and Energy [4%]
17 September
(3.10) / RESERVE

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