Science / Year 9 / Science Inquiry Skills / Communicating

Curriculum content descriptions

Communicate scientific ideas and information for a particular purpose, including constructing evidence-based arguments and using appropriate scientific language, conventions and representations (ACSIS174)

Elaborations
  • presenting results and ideas using formal experimental reports, oral presentations, slide shows, poster presentations and contributing to group discussions
  • using secondary sources as well as students’ own findings to help explain a scientific concept
  • using the internet to facilitate collaboration in joint projects and discussions
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

Creating texts,  Evidence,  Data representation,  Reasoning,  Discussions (Texts)

Audio

WA students compete in US BioGENEius challenge

Yasmin Soliman and Kayla Mizzi are the two high school students who are finalists from Western Australia for the BioGENEius challenge in Atlanta Georgia. Both girls share their research and enthusiasm for science. Download the audio or view the transcript of this ABC radio interview.

Video

Water recycling

This 11 minute video segment from Catalyst provides an excellent explanation of the processes involved in recycling sewage for an urban water supply. It also provides a range of opinions and concerns in an excellent debate on the topic.

Video

Marijuana Madness

This eleven minute video segment from Catalyst provides a thorough analysis of recent research that demonstrates the relationship between marijuana and psychosis and how marijuana actually affects the brain.

Audio

Forbes Carlile talks about sports science as a career, 2008

This is an edited sound recording of the Australian sports scientist and swimming coach Forbes Carlile (1921-), speaking about sports science as a career. Carlile states that being competent at sport is useful, but not absolutely essential, for someone to be a good sports scientist. He says all scientific discoveries lend ...

Audio

Forbes Carlile discusses development of Australian sports science, 2008

This is an edited sound recording of the leading sports scientist and swimming coach Forbes Carlile speaking about his work in sports science. Carlile says that he worked under the 'father of sports science in Australia', Professor Frank Cotton. His own interest in the field was as a physiologist, measuring physical changes ...

Video

Pedigree Dogs

This 12 minute video segment from Catalyst demonstrates how scientific knowledge can improve the well-being of our domestic pets and change public opinion. This show exemplifies the benefits of the application of our understanding of genetics and evolution.

Video

Grand Daddy Fish

This six and a half minute video segment from Catalyst demonstrates how we draw inferences from observations of fossils. Fossil fish from the Devonian Period have produced some amazing discoveries. Last year a few of them were found with embryos inside and one even had a fossilised umbilical cord. This year they have found ...

Video

Sexual selection

This 5 minute video segment from Catalyst describes how Charles Darwin has revolutionised the way we understand modern biology and evolution. A scientist in Queensland put one of his theories under the microscope by testing to see if more brightly coloured male butterflies have greater success in mating. He speculates that ...

Video

Dengue Mozzie

This nine and a half minute video segment from Catalyst is an excellent example of current Australian science, the use of biological controls on a pest and modern techniques and approaches to fighting the spread of human disease.

Video

Stem Cells Repair

This 11 minute video segment from Catalyst is a case study of research in the use of stem cells. It demonstrates the structure of the knee joint and the role of bones and cartilage. Stem cells from bone marrow are collected and used in attempt to prevent the onset of arthritis. This program distinguishes embryonic from ...

Video

Dr Ove Goegh-Guldberg

This 5 minute video segment from Catalyst highlights the vulnerability of some of our ecosystems and the way abiotic factors can have a dramatic effect. It also exemplifies the difficult process of having new scientific ideas accepted.

Video

Vitamin D

This 8 minute video segment from Catalyst shows how research can also help us to optimise our health, especially into older age. It describes an example of how sometimes research gives us mixed messages. Sun exposure helps our body to produce the hormone, vitamin D but it also increases incidence of melanoma.

Video

Monkey Malaria

This 13 minute video segment from Catalyst describes recent research in Borneo investigates malaria that is common to monkeys and humans.

Video

Coal Gas

This 12 minute video segment from Catalyst outlines how for decades, scientists have worked to develop technologies that can unlock the energy from coal while reducing the risks of digging it up and burning it. Now entirely new industries are booming as they tap into coal seams either too gassy or too deep to be mined by ...

Video

Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub: Australian disasters

This is a curated collection of articles, photographs and internet links related to natural, technological and human-caused events including bushfires, cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes, shipwrecks, urban fires, chemical and industrial events in Australia. Events included have posed a serious threat to a community or property ...

Video

Argo floats

This minute video segment from Catalyst decade ago describes the Australian initiative, Argo, that has become a major international collaborative project to look at the world's oceans and help understand processes at depth - monitoring the pulse of the global heat balance and giving us vital information on the ocean's role ...

Video

Missing links

This lengthy and detailed video segment from Catalyst examines some of the key transitional fossils between species, the so called 'missing links'. Also included is an interesting story of a missing link that was discovered as a result of a hoax. This program includes extracts from Darwin's diaries in Australia.

Audio

CERN legend stuff of angels and demons

This ABC article or podcast by Dr Karl describes and outlines the role of the particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider and how it is helping to research the nature of mass. This article is dated (2008) as some significant results from the Large Hadron Collider have since been announced.

Video

Rabbit immunity

This 6 minute video segment from Catalyst covers a range of biological concepts associated with the history, impacts and methods of control of the introduced rabbit in Australia.

Interactive

Tsunami: the ultimate guide

This comprehensive web resource provides a series of six interactive slide shows (chapters) that introduce the cause and impacts of tsunami with a focus on Australia, Asia and Pacific regions. Produced by experts in the field, this information is clearly and simply described. The engaging presentation is enriched with photography, ...