AC9S6U01 Year 6 Science

AC9S6U01 – Year 6 Science: Biological sciences

Strand

Science understanding

Substrand

Biological sciences

This Content Descriptor from Year 6 Science provides the specific knowledge and skills students should learn. Use it to plan lessons, create learning sequences, and design assessments that align with the Australian Curriculum v9.

Content Descriptor

investigate the physical conditions of a habitat and analyse how the growth and survival of living things is affected by changing physical conditions

Elaborations

• identifying the physical conditions in an aquatic or terrestrial habitat and how they change over time
• investigating how changes to physical conditions such as salinity, soil type, sunlight or temperature affect plant growth
• examining how changes in physical conditions such as temperature, light availability and rainfall affect animals, such as corals, honey bees or flying foxes, and predict impacts of these changes
• investigating changes in physical conditions that are the result of human activity and exploring the impact of these on living things, such as the impact of urban lighting on nocturnal and migratory animals
• investigating the effect of physical conditions on the growth of bread mould colonies in sealed plastic bags
• recognising that environmental conditions can affect stages of life, such as ponds drying up, seeds requiring water to germinate, or temperatures being too hot or cold for eggs to hatch
• investigating First Nations Australians’ knowledges and understandings of the physical conditions necessary for the survival of certain plants and animals

Achievement Standard This Supports

This Content Descriptor contributes to the following Achievement Standard:

Year 6 ASSCIY6

Year 6 Science Achievement Standard

By the end of Year 6 students explain how changes in physical conditions affect living things. They model the relationship between the sun and planets of the solar system and explain how the relative positions of Earth and the sun relate to observed phenomena on Earth. They identify the role of circuit components in the transfer and transformation of electrical energy. They classify and compare reversible and irreversible changes to substances. They explain why science is often collaborative and describe different individuals’ contributions to scientific knowledge. They describe how individuals and communities use scientific knowledge. Students plan safe, repeatable investigations to identify patterns and test relationships and make reasoned predictions. They describe risks associated with investigations and key intercultural considerations when planning field work. They identify variables to be changed, measured and controlled. They use equipment to generate and record data with appropriate precision. They construct representations to organise and process data and information and describe patterns, trends and relationships. They identify possible sources of error in their own and others’ methods and findings, pose questions for further investigation and select evidence to support reasoned conclusions. They select and use language features effectively for their purpose and audience when communicating their ideas and findings.