AC9S9U03 Year 9 Science

AC9S9U03 – Year 9 Science: Earth and space sciences

Strand

Science understanding

Substrand

Earth and space sciences

This Content Descriptor from Year 9 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

represent the carbon cycle and examine how key processes including combustion, photosynthesis and respiration rely on interactions between Earth’s spheres (the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere)

Elaborations

• identifying Earth as a system, describing Earth’s spheres and discussing examples of interactions between different spheres
• examining the carbon cycle using diagrams, animations or simulations and explaining the role of photosynthesis and respiration in that cycle
• identifying the impact of combustion reactions as a result of human activity on the carbon cycle
• investigating the greenhouse effect and relating it to the role carbon dioxide plays in maintaining temperatures that support life on Earth
• conducting a field investigation to evaluate carbon sequestration in an ecosystem, such as measuring tree biomass, deadwood, leaf litter and soil depth, and using formulas to calculate approximate carbon storage
• investigating how First Nations Australians use fire-mediated chemical reactions to facilitate energy and nutrient transfer through the practice of firestick farming
• investigating how First Nations Australians are reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions through the reinstatement of traditional fire management regimes

Show 2 more elaborations

• identifying how carbon dioxide is captured and stored naturally or through the use of technologies
• calculating an individual’s carbon footprint, examining the impact of human activities and suggesting strategies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions

Achievement Standard This Supports

This Content Descriptor contributes to the following Achievement Standard:

Year 9 ASSCIY9

Year 9 Science Achievement Standard

By the end of Year 9 students explain how body systems provide a coordinated response to stimuli. They describe how the processes of sexual and asexual reproduction enable survival of the species. They explain how interactions within and between Earth’s spheres affect the carbon cycle. They analyse energy conservation in simple systems and apply wave and particle models to describe energy transfer. They explain observable chemical processes in terms of changes in atomic structure, atomic rearrangement and mass. Students explain the role of publication and peer review in the development of scientific knowledge and explain the relationship between science, technologies and engineering. They analyse the different ways in which science and society are interconnected. Students plan and conduct safe, reproducible investigations to test or identify relationships and models. They describe how they have addressed any ethical and intercultural considerations when generating or using primary and secondary data. They select and use equipment to generate and record replicable data with precision. They select and construct appropriate representations to organise, process and summarise data and information. They analyse and connect data and information to identify and explain patterns, trends, relationships and anomalies. They analyse the impact of assumptions and sources of error in methods and evaluate the validity of conclusions and claims. They construct logical arguments based on evidence to support conclusions and evaluate claims. They select and use content, language and text features effectively to achieve their purpose when communicating their ideas, findings and arguments to specific audiences.