SCIENCE DOMAIN
Kate O'Neill
Science Instructional Leader
Our Science program is designed to foster curiosity, critical thinking, and an appreciation of the wider world. Students investigate the structure and behaviour of the physical, biological, and Earth systems through observation, experimentation, and scientific inquiry. Across Years 7–10, Ochre learning materials are used to progressively develop students’ skills in observation, prediction, data analysis, problem-solving, and evidence-based reasoning, while building understanding across the disciplines of Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Earth and Space Sciences.
Students engage in hands-on investigations and explore real-world applications of science, developing the ability to communicate scientific ideas and evaluate information critically. The program encourages students to think scientifically about contemporary issues and to recognise the role of science in shaping society and the environment.
At VCE level, students may further specialise through the study of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Psychology, and Environmental Science, providing pathways into a wide range of tertiary studies and careers in science, health, engineering, technology, and environmental fields.
Biology 1-2
- Investigate how cells function as the fundamental units of life, including cellular processes, specialised structures, and the ways organisms maintain and coordinate body systems.
- Explore reproduction, inheritance, and genetics, examining how traits are passed between generations and how scientific developments influence our understanding of heredity and biotechnology.
- Examine how organisms interact with their environments through ecosystems, adaptations, and biodiversity, while developing practical scientific inquiry skills such as experimental design, data analysis, and evaluation of evidence.
Subject Code: V1SBI
Year Level: 11
Unit 1: How do organisms regulate their functions?
Students will:
- Explain and compare cellular structure and function, and analyse the cell cycle and cell growth, death and differentiation.
- Explain and compare how cells are specialised and organised in plants and animals, and analyse how specific systems in plants and animals are regulated.
- Design and then conduct a scientific investigation related to function and/or regulation of cells or systems, and draw a conclusion based on evidence from generated primary data.
Unit 2: How does inheritance impact on diversity?
Students will:
- Explain and compare chromosomes, genomes, genotypes and phenotypes, and analyse and predict patterns of inheritance.
- Analyse advantages and disadvantages of reproductive strategies, and evaluate how adaptations and interdependencies enhance survival of species within an ecosystem.
- Identify, analyse and evaluate a bioethical issue in genetics, reproductive science or adaptations beneficial for survival.
Assessment
- Coursework
- Topic tests
- Practical investigations
- Investigation of an issue
- End of semester exam
What sort of student would like Biology?
Someone who:
- Has an interest in the workings of the human body
- Is curious about how chemistry and biology combine to create the living world
- Is interested in studying health and/or medical sciences or any other aspect of the natural world.
Prerequisites
10 Biology is highly recommended.
Chemistry 1-2
- Investigate the structure and behaviour of matter, including atomic theory, bonding, and the properties of elements, compounds, and mixtures, to explain how substances interact and change.
- Explore chemical reactions and energy changes, including reaction types, stoichiometry, and the principles of sustainability in chemical processes and resource use.
- Develop practical scientific skills through experimental design, data analysis, and problem-solving, applying chemical knowledge to real-world contexts such as materials, environmental systems, and industrial processes.
Subject Code: V1SCH
Year Level: 11
Unit 1: How can the diversity of materials be explained?
Students will:
- Explain how elements form carbon compounds, metallic lattices and ionic compounds, experimentally investigate and model the properties of different materials, and use chromatography to separate the components of mixtures.
- Calculate mole quantities, use systematic nomenclature to name organic compounds, explain how polymers can be designed for a purpose, and evaluate the consequences for human health and the environment of the production of organic materials and polymers.
- Investigate and explain how chemical knowledge is used to create a more sustainable future in relation to the production or use of a selected material.
Unit 2: How do chemical reactions shape the natural world?
Students will:
- Explain the properties of water in terms of structure and bonding, and experimentally investigate and analyse applications of acid-base and redox reactions in society.
- Calculate solution concentrations and predict solubilities, use volumetric analysis and instrumental techniques to analyse for acids, bases and salts, and apply stoichiometry to calculate chemical quantities.
- Draw an evidence-based conclusion from primary data generated from a student-adapted or student-designed scientific investigation related to the production of gases, acid-base or redox reactions or the analysis of substances in water.
Assessment
- Coursework
- Topic tests
- Practical investigations
- Investigation of an issue
- End of semester exam
What sort of student would like Chemistry?
Someone who:
- Has an interest in science
- Wishes to find out more about how chemistry affects the way we live
- Wishes to develop their knowledge in how we interact with, develop and manipulate modern materials.
Prerequisites
10 Chemistry and Physics is highly recommended.
Environmental Science 1-2
- Investigate Earth as an interconnected system, including the interactions between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere, and the movement of energy and matter through natural cycles.
- Examine how human activities influence environmental systems, with a focus on biodiversity, resource use, pollution, and climate change, and evaluate strategies for sustainability and environmental management.
- Develop practical environmental science skills through fieldwork, data collection and analysis, modelling, and the interpretation of environmental evidence to support informed decision-making.
Subject Code: V1SEN
Year Level: 11
Unit 1: How are Earth’s dynamic systems interconnected to support life?
Students will:
- Describe the movement of energy and nutrients across Earth’s four interrelated systems, and analyse how dynamic interactions among biotic and abiotic components of selected local and regional ecosystems contribute to their capacity to support life and sustain ecological integrity.
- Analyse how changes occurring at various time and spatial scales influence Earth’s characteristics and interrelated systems, and assess the impact of diverse stakeholder values, knowledge and priorities in the solutions-focused management of a selected regional environmental challenge.
- Draw an evidence-based conclusion from primary data generated from a student-designed or student-adapted scientific investigation related to ecosystem components, ecosystem monitoring and/or change affecting Earth's systems.
Unit 2: What affects Earth’s capacity to sustain life?
Students will:
- Explain how the chemical and physical characteristics of pollutants impact on Earth’s four systems, and recommend and justify a range of options for managing the local and global impacts of pollution.
- Compare the advantages and limitations of different agricultural systems for achieving regional and global food security, evaluate the use of ecological footprint analysis for assessing future food and/or water security, and recommend and justify a range of options for improving food and/or water security for a nominated region.
- Investigate and explain how science can be applied to address the impacts of natural and human activities in the context of the management of a selected pollutant and/or the maintenance of food and/or water security.
Assessment
- Coursework
- Topic tests
- Practical investigations and fieldwork activities
- Investigation of an issue or case study
- End of semester exam
What sort of student would like Environmental Science?
Someone who:
- Is curious about how natural systems work and how living things interact with their environment, especially in real-world contexts such as ecosystems, weather, and climate.
- Cares about sustainability and the future of the planet, and is interested in issues such as climate change, conservation, pollution, and renewable energy.
- Enjoys hands-on, practical learning such as fieldwork, data collection, and investigating real environmental problems rather than purely theoretical study.
- May be considering future pathways in environmental science, conservation, agriculture, engineering, geography, or sustainability-related fields.
Prerequisites
10 Environmental Science is highly recommended.
Physics 1-2
- Investigate motion and forces, including kinematics and dynamics, to describe and explain how objects move under the influence of balanced and unbalanced forces.
- Explore energy and electricity, including energy transfers, transformations, circuits, and the application of physical principles to real-world systems.
- Develop practical scientific skills through experimental design, data analysis, and modelling, applying mathematical relationships to interpret and predict physical behaviour.
Subject Code: V1SPH
Year Level: 11
Unit 1: How is energy useful to society?
Students will:
- Model, investigate and evaluate the wave-like nature of light, thermal energy and the emission and absorption of light by matter.
- Explain, apply and evaluate nuclear radiation, radioactive decay and nuclear energy.
- Investigate and apply a basic DC circuit model to simple battery-operated devices and household electrical systems, apply mathematical models to analyse circuits, and describe the safe and effective use of electricity by individuals and the community.
Unit 2: How does physics help us to understand the world?
Students will:
- Investigate, analyse, mathematically model and apply force, energy and motion.
- Investigate and apply physics knowledge to develop and communicate an informed response to a contemporary societal issue or application related to a selected option.
- Draw an evidence-based conclusion from primary data generated from a student-adapted or student-designed scientific investigation related to a selected physics question.
Assessment
- Coursework
- Topic tests
- Practical investigations and assignments
- Extended practical investigation
- End of semester exam
What sort of student would like Physics?
Someone who:
- Enjoys understanding theories and applying these to different situations
- Has an interest in understanding how things work, from the creation of rainbows and how the eye works to the electricity that is provided to our homes
- Wishes to understand the very nature of all matter of the universe
- Enjoys using maths to solve real life problems.
Prerequisites
10 Chemistry and Physics is highly recommended.
Psychology 1-2
- Investigate how the human brain and nervous system enable behaviour, including perception, cognition, and responses to internal and external stimuli.
- Explore how individuals learn and develop over time, including learning processes, memory, and factors that influence behaviour and psychological functioning.
- Develop research skills through psychological investigations, including experimental design, data analysis, and evaluation of evidence to explain human behaviour.
Subject Code: V1SPS
Year Level: 11
Unit 1: How are behaviour and mental processes shaped?
Students will:
- Discuss the complexity of psychological development over the life span, and evaluate ways of understanding and representing psychological development.
- Analyse the role of the brain in mental processes and behaviour, and evaluate how brain plasticity and brain injury can change biopsychosocial functioning.
- Identify, analyse and evaluate the evidence available to answer a research question relating to contemporary psychology.
Unit 2: How do external factors influence behaviour and mental processes?
Students will:
- Analyse how social cognition influences individuals to behave in specific ways and evaluate factors that influence individual and group behaviour.
- Explain the roles of attention and perception, compare gustatory and visual perception and analyse factors that may lead to perceptual distortions.
- Adapt or design and then conduct a scientific investigation related to internal and external influences on perception and/or behaviour and draw an evidence-based conclusion from generated primary data.
Assessment
- Coursework
- Topic tests
- Student-directed research investigation
- Practical investigation
- End of semester exam
What sort of student would like Psychology?
Someone who is interested in:
- Human behaviour, the way we think, learn and relate, and how we become the ‘person’ we are
- Studying areas of health, health science, or health promotion
- Using scientific methods to establish what we know about human behaviour.
Prerequisites
10 Psychology is highly recommended.