AC9S9U05 Year 9 Science

AC9S9U05 – Year 9 Science: Physical sciences

Strand

Science understanding

Substrand

Physical 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

apply the law of conservation of energy to analyse system efficiency in terms of energy inputs, outputs, transfers and transformations

Elaborations

• explaining that the law of conservation of energy explains that total energy is maintained in energy transfer and transformation in a system
• explaining efficiency and recognising that in energy transfer and transformation a variety of processes can occur, so that the amount of usable energy is reduced and the system is not 100% efficient
• using and critiquing representations such as Sankey diagrams to show energy inputs, changes and outputs in a system
• investigating the efficiency of ground ovens used by First Nations Australians
• comparing the efficiency of electricity generation from coal and other sources such as nuclear, hydroelectricity, gas, solar and wind
• examining the meaning of energy star ratings given to appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines and criteria used to determine these ratings
• examining how improving efficiency in energy transfer and transformations in sporting activities such as pole vaulting or archery improves athletic performance

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.