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Science / Year 8 / Science Inquiry Skills / Planning and conducting

Curriculum content descriptions

Measure and control variables, select equipment appropriate to the task and collect data with accuracy (ACSIS141)

Elaborations
  • using specialised equipment to increase the accuracy of measurement within an investigation
  • identifying and explaining the differences between controlled, dependent and independent variables
General capabilities
  • Numeracy Numeracy
ScOT terms

Data collection,  Instrumentation (Technology),  Independence (Experiments),  Scientific control

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Industrial design challenge – separating materials lesson

is lesson provides a great introduction to the idea of separating mixtures and enables students to consider separation as a process that operates on macroscopic levels. Students also learn about waste management and recycling processes in Australia. The lesson provides students with an opportunity to engage in hands-on ...

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Seed Germinator

This activity invites students to explore the process of seed germination and the early phases of plant development. The activity includes a list of tools and materials required, what to do and notice, an explanation for the underlying science of what students observe and suggestions for further activities.

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Work sample Year 8 Science: Bouncing ball

This work sample demonstrates evidence of student learning in relation to aspects of the achievement standards for Year 8 Science. The primary purpose for the work sample is to demonstrate the standard, so the focus is on what is evident in the sample not how it was created. The sample is an authentic representation of ...

Video

Stellar scintillation

This resource explores a concept belonging to the Meriam (Mer) people of the Torres Strait who have long understood the importance of stellar scintillation to their lives. and the ways it can prove useful in understanding our environment. This activity involves watching a video of an elder playing a Meriam star song and ...

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Output of a Solar Cell

This activity invites students to measure the efficiency of solar cells as they convert sunlight to power. The activity includes a list of tools and materials required, assembly instructions, what to do and notice, an explanation for the underlying science of what students observe and suggestions for further activities.

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Naked Egg

This activity invites students to use a giant cell (a de-shelled chicken egg) to explore the comings and goings of cellular substances. The activity includes a list of tools and materials required, what to do and notice, an explanation for the underlying science of what students observe and suggestions for further activities.

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Create dichotomous keys lesson

In this lesson students engage in a hands-on exploration of local diversity. Students research and record local wildlife, learn about biodiversity in Australia, and conduct a ‘bush blitz’. They learn how to create dichotomous keys and translate their keys into a wildlife discovery app prototype. The resource includes links ...

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Food innovation and molecular gastronomy lesson

In this lesson, students explore connections between science, design, and technologies through the lens of food innovation and food science. Students look at interesting and unusual food products, using food textures as a jumping off point to explore the relationship between chemistry and food. Students then experiment ...

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About tsunami warnings

This resource is a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) web page describing the system of warnings of tsunami threats to Australia's coastline and offshore territories. The resource explains the role of the Australian Tsunami Warning System (ATWS) project, and the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC) operated by Geoscience ...

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Fruitcake mining

This is an activity sheet providing instructions for a simulated mining experiment using pieces of fruitcake. Students use various tools to remove different fruits, each representing different minerals, from a piece of fruitcake which represents the mine site. They are then required to rehabilitate the 'mine site'. The ...

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Where do volcanoes occur?

This is an online resource about where volcanoes occur, part of a larger resource about volcanoes. It provides: important information about the occurrence of volcanoes close to the Earth's tectonic plate boundaries; a map showing the Earth's tectonic plate boundaries; and, near the bottom of the screen, a link to a map ...

Downloadable

Analysis of earthquakes using real map and data sets

This teacher guide provides information about earthquakes and online portals to download real world earthquake data, as well as two student inquiry activities. Each activity includes instructions on how to access and use the relevant portal as well as questions that prompt students to find, record, and interpret the data. ...

Downloadable

Spaghetti Quakes

This activity explains commonly used magnitude scales, provides background information on earthquake intensity and includes an extension task to map the impact of an earthquake. The worksheet activity can be adapted for student needs.

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Ibis Invasion

This ABC In Depth feature article describes research on Australian white ibis - or 'tip turkeys' as many call them. They are regarded as a nuisance in cities, especially in the spring breeding season. But scientists fear they may become extinct as more pressure is put on the wetlands that are their native and adopted environments. ...

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Treetop kangaroos

This ABC In Depth feature article includes everything you wanted or needed to know about tree kangaroos. This article describes their reproduction, classification, adaptations and issues relating to their conservation.

Downloadable

Earthquakes - Teacher Notes and Student Activities

This 85 page booklet explores earthquakes. The booklet includes the causes and types of earthquakes, how earthquakes are recorded, magnitudes of earthquakes and case studies of significant Australian earthquakes. The booklet contains a glossary, links to online resources, activity ideas and experiments for students and ...

Downloadable

Make your own microbit seismometer instructions and classroom activities

This 12 page guide explains how to set up a micro:bit as a mini seismometer that will detect shaking, and how to collect and display the data. The guide also includes classroom-ready activities on how to introduce and explore vibrations and earthquake monitoring.

Downloadable

Mapping the ocean floor

This activity builds understanding of sonar technique and applications through processing and plotting data to discover a seafloor feature and by bouncing balls on different surfaces and analysing rebound, relating this to ground hardness then extend understanding to 'backscatter' in bathymetry surveys. It is suitable for ...

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Geography: Landscapes and Landforms

Join Shona from Geoscience Australia and explore the formation of Australia's coastal, desert and mountain landforms and landscapes.

Online

Humpback whales: what the data reveals

The lesson follows an inquiry process where students use the dataset to answer relevant questions about the whale population. They consider what other data they would need in order to effectively examine the impact on humpback whales of sonar activity and noise from development.