AC9S8I04 Year 8 Science

AC9S8I04 – Year 8 Science: Processing, modelling and analysing

Strand

Science inquiry

Substrand

Processing, modelling and analysing

This Content Descriptor from Year 8 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

select and construct appropriate representations, including tables, graphs, models and mathematical relationships, to organise and process data and information

Elaborations

• using simple formulas in spreadsheets to organise and process collected data
• using visual displays of large data sets, such as maps showing the location of volcanoes and earthquakes, charts showing the structure of body systems and graphs showing variable energy production, to identify temporal and spatial relationships
• constructing graphs using correct conventions such as naming the graph and labelling the axes, using the horizontal axis for the independent variable and the vertical axis for the dependent variable
• constructing energy flow diagrams to represent energy changes in a system such as a rollercoaster or rocket launch
• constructing representations of chemical and physical changes, such as creating a visual model or symbolic representation
• collating data from a number of sources such as different groups in the class who performed the same investigation to create a summary
• examining the strengths and limitations of representations such as physical models, diagrams and virtual simulations and selecting the most appropriate representation to use

Achievement Standard This Supports

This Content Descriptor contributes to the following Achievement Standard:

Year 8 ASSCIY8

Year 8 Science Achievement Standard

By the end of Year 8 students explain the role of specialised cell structures and organelles in cellular function and analyse the relationship between structure and function at organ and body system levels. They apply an understanding of the theory of plate tectonics to explain patterns of change in the geosphere. They explain how the properties of rocks relate to their formation and influence their use. They compare different forms of energy and represent transfer and transformation of energy in simple systems. They classify and represent different types of matter and distinguish between physical and chemical change. Students analyse how different factors influence development of and lead to changes in scientific knowledge. They analyse the key considerations that inform scientific responses and how these responses impact society. They analyse the importance of science communication in shaping viewpoints, policies and regulations. Students plan and conduct safe, reproducible investigations to test relationships and explore models. They describe potential ethical issues and intercultural considerations needed for specific field locations or use of secondary data. They select and use equipment to generate and record data with precision. They select and construct appropriate representations to organise and process data and information. They analyse data and information to describe patterns, trends and relationships and identify anomalies. They identify assumptions and sources of error in methods and analyse conclusions and claims with reference to conflicting evidence and unanswered questions. They construct evidence-based arguments to support conclusions and evaluate claims. They select and use language and text features appropriately for their purpose when communicating their ideas, findings and arguments to specific audiences.