Science / Year 8 / Science Inquiry Skills / Questioning and predicting

Curriculum content descriptions

Identify questions and problems that can be investigated scientifically and make predictions based on scientific knowledge (ACSIS139)

Elaborations
  • considering whether investigation using available resources is possible when identifying questions or problems to investigate
  • recognising that the solution of some questions and problems requires consideration of social, cultural, economic or moral aspects rather than or as well as scientific investigation
  • using information and knowledge from their own investigations and secondary sources to predict the expected results from an investigation
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

Predictions (Science),  Research questions

Video

Experimentals: Do different things fall faster?

Want to find out what happens when you drop a watermelon and an apple from the top of a building? In this clip, Bernie Hobbs and Ruben Meerman, investigate whether the mass of an object influences how fast it falls. Bernie and Ruben ride the 'Giant Drop' at Dreamworld, drop a watermelon and apple from an eighth floor balcony, ...

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Catalyst: Do heavier things fall faster?

Will a medicine ball or a basketball hit the ground first when dropped at the same time from the same height? In this clip, Catalyst's Dr Derek Muller investigates what influences the speed at which objects fall. Derek challenges some people in a market to make a prediction and explain their thinking, before he finally ...

Video

Mirrors Simulation (sk-Intel)

Students explore the reflection of light by plane mirrors and operate a simple periscope using ray diagrams.

Video

Lens Simulation (sk- Intel)

Students learn about the application of light refraction by completing a series of tasks based on light refraction using both concave and convex lenses.

Video

Foreign Correspondent: Siberian tigers

Imagine a world where the only place Siberian tigers lived was in captivity. Watch this clip to learn more about the natural habitat of Siberian tigers and the things that threaten their survival in the wild. Chinese scientists are breeding this endangered species in captivity and zoologist, Liu Dan, explains his hope that ...

Video

All about engines

What does 'horsepower' really mean? And how do engines work? Join Luke and Abhi from MIT to find out! As Abhi explains, engines produce power by forcing a mixture of fuel and air into a tight space and then burning it. Piston engines and turbine engines do this in similar, yet different ways. After watching this video, ...

Video

Catalyst: Tsunami prevention in the Pacific

By investigating sediments and debris left by devastating tsunamis throughout history, Japanese scientists are making discoveries that change the way we understand disaster prevention in the Pacific. Watch as research teams examine rocks and mud layers; create digital simulations of past tsunamis; and investigate the seabed ...

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BTN: New Zealand's earthquakes

Damaged buildings, flooded roads, and crashed cars! No, it's not a bad dream; it's actually the aftermath of an earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2011. Find out about what causes earthquakes, the damage they cause, and why Christchurch was rocked by two quakes within six months. This clip includes footage of earthquake ...

Video

Measuring gravity

Did you know you can measure gravity? The more mass an object has, the more gravity it has, so by measuring the mass of something, you can figure out its gravity. Why do you think climate scientists may want these measurements? Watch this NASA animation to find out.

Video

Using maths to understand the universe

When completed, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project will be the largest and most capable radio telescope available to scientists. Radio telescopes like the SKA detect radio waves produced by events and objects in the furthest reaches of space, translating these waves into data and imagery that allow scientists to study ...

Video

Catalyst: What is a megafire?

Join Catalyst reporter Anja Taylor as she visits the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico and discovers the impacts of recent megafires on the landscape there. What is a megafire? And how is a megafire different from a regular wildfire? How have recent fires permanently transformed the landscapes that Anja and Professor Craig ...

Video

Gaps and opportunities for perennial crops

This is a video about the scientific breeding of perennial crops as described at a 2013 workshop, 'Perennial crops for food security', held by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). After giving the big picture regarding perennial crop research, the 16-minute video focuses on the breeding of perennial wheat and its ...

Video

Watering the largest river red gum forest

This nine minute video explores the importance of environmental flows to maintain the ecological health of the Barmah-Millewa Forest in the Murray Darling Basin. This forest is a RAMSAR site and an icon site of the Living Murray with great social, economic, cultural, environmental and spiritual significance. While the forest ...

Video

Growing carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are a very tiny but super strong material used in manufacturing to create strong, lightweight products. Besides sporting equipment, find out what other kinds of products are made using these tiny molecules. What other qualities (besides size and strength) do carbon nanotubes have that makes them even more ...

Video

Atoms Alive: Cells and energy

Cells are like chemical factories. Discover the different ways cells get energy to carry out their daily operations. Learn about the different types of metabolic processes inside cells, such as those that break down molecules to release energy and those that assemble building blocks to make more complex components.

Video

Could you make a unicorn by crossing DNA?

Good question! Find out whether this is possible by watching as biologist at MIT, Dr Sera Thornton explains. What is a genome? And why do genomes need to be decoded? If the rhino genome was successfully decoded and the part that described the rhino horn was isolated, what would the process be for creating a unicorn?

Video

Marla Spivak: Why bees are disappearing

This is a video of a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk by Professor Marla Spivak about the dramatic decline in the number of bees. The 16-minute video begins with a discussion of why humans should care about bees, including their critical importance for the world's food supply. Professor Spivak explains that ...

Video

Precision Sheep Management: video

This is a video (4:09 min) about the University of New England’s Kirby Research Station and how its work with sheep has been transformed by technology, particularly the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag. The video is presented by members of the Enhanced sheep wellbeing and productivity research program and includes ...

Video

Water reservoirs as climate change adaptation

This is a video about water availability for people living in the Peruvian Andes. It includes vision and information about water scarcity in this region and details of a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations funded project involving the creation of a sustainable water management program. The program involves ...

Video

TEDMED: What is the source of all life?

This is a video clip of a TEDMED speaker, Howard Shapiro, presenting ideas about improving the nutritional value of plants to address malnutrition and the food requirements of a growing world population. The clip emphasises that poor nutrition has negative health and developmental effects on children, particularly those ...