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Science / Year 6 / Science Understanding / Biological sciences

Curriculum content descriptions

The growth and survival of living things are affected by physical conditions of their environment (ACSSU094)

Elaborations
  • investigating how changing the physical conditions for plants impacts on their growth and survival such as salt water, use of fertilizers and soil types
  • observing the growth of fungi such as yeast and bread mould in different conditions
  • researching organisms that live in extreme environments such as Antarctica or a desert
  • considering the effects of physical conditions causing migration and hibernation
ScOT terms

Habitats,  Climate,  Health,  Growth (Animals),  Plant growth

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Zygomaturus fossil skeleton

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Tropical cyclones

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Trilobite fossil

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Thylacine pup

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Sea louse

This is a colour photograph of a sea louse ('Natatolana woodjonesi').

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Schoolboy being vaccinated against diphtheria in Brisbane, 1940

This 1940 black-and-white photograph shows a young boy, not entirely at ease, being vaccinated against diphtheria at East Brisbane State School by the City Medical Officer of Health, Dr R Weaver. A woman dressed in white stands behind the boy and steadies his outstretched left arm for the injection. Medical implements and ...

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Platypus skull

This is a colour photograph of the internal skull of a platypus ('Ornithorhynchus anatinus'). This museum specimen displays two components of the skull: the braincase with fused rostrum and the lower jaw. This image has a pale background and includes a black scale line representing 2 cm. Museum identification labels are ...

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Places we protect

This is a rich, multilayered resource about 35 protected Bush Heritage reserves throughout Australia. The resource includes a map of Australia that displays the locations of the 35 reserves. Each location is linked to important information and images including: quick facts; visiting information; the animals, plants and ...

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Phar Lap's skeleton

This is the skeleton of Phar Lap, the famous racehorse, which was born in New Zealand, raced mostly in Australia and died in unexplained circumstances in the United States in 1932.

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Phar Lap

This is a photograph showing the mounted hide of Phar Lap, a champion racehorse in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He was a large chestnut-coloured gelding who stood 17.1 hands (about 174 cm) tall.

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Paradise parrot

This is a colour photograph of a preserved paradise parrot ('Psephotus pulcherrimus'). It is a museum specimen displayed perching on a branch. The bright plumage colours for which it is well known are clearly visible.

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Orrery, c1770 - part 2

This is a mechanical model of part of the solar system, commonly known as an orrery, manufactured by English mathematician and instrument maker Benjamin Martin in about 1770. This bronze model features a cylindrical clockwork mechanism with an orb representing the Sun placed in the centre. Extending from this on an arm ...

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Ngan'gi seasons calendar

This is a seasonal calendar developed by the Ngan’gi people of the Northern Territory in collaboboration with CSIRO. The resource contains an introduction, a richly illustrated calendar and related links. The introduction includes information about the people’s wish to document traditional knowledge of their Daly River ...

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New Zealand hatchetfish

This is a colour photograph of a New Zealand hatchetfish ('Polyipnus kiwiensis') in a transparent container. The organs responsible for bioluminescence are visible against the black background. The keel-shaped abdomen of the hatchetfish can also be seen.

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Measuring photosynthesis

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Marine trophic pyramid

This image displays a type of diagram known as a trophic (or ecological) pyramid. This example depicts the organisms and the matter and energy flows in a typical marine ecosystem. The diagram shows six levels of organisms from primary producers through to the top carnivores, arranged in a pyramid. Also represented is the ...

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Male and female thylacines, 1841

This is a 36 cm x 55 cm hand-coloured lithograph of a pair of thylacines (‘Thylacinus cynocephalus’), commonly called Tasmanian tigers, against a background of small bushes and an open plain.

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Little red flying-fox skull

This is a colour photograph of the internal skull of a little red flying-fox ('Pteropus scapulatus'). This museum specimen displays two components of the skull: the braincase with fused rostrum and the lower jaw. This image has a pale background and includes a thick black scale line representing 2 cm. (Classification - ...

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Leadbeater's possum

This is a colour photograph of a preserved Leadbeater's possum ('Gymnobelideus leadbeateri'). It is a museum specimen. The long bushy tail, large eyes and ears are displayed in the image.

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Large rock lobster

This image is a colour photograph of a rock lobster found in New Zealand. It is commonly referred to as a spiny lobster or crayfish. The lobster has two small eyes, ten legs and two long antennae. Its carapace is mainly orange, with patches of dark spots on its legs. The lobster is resting on a rocky seabed, surrounded ...

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Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre

This resource is a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) web page that provides warnings to the Australian community of tsunami threats to Australia's coastline and offshore territories. These warnings are issued by the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC) operated by Geoscience Australia and the Bureau. The resource shows ...

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Harvesting New Zealand cockles

This is a colour photograph of two people collecting New Zealand cockles ('Austrovenus stutchburyi') in shallow sea water. The cockles are being dug by hand from a sand flat and placed into buckets. (Classification - Phylum: Mollusca; Class: Bivalvia; Order: Veneroida; Family Veneridae.)

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Great pampa finch

This is a colour photograph of a preserved great pampa finch ('Embernagra platensis'). The tail of this specimen is missing. Identification labels and cataloguing numbers are attached to the specimen.

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Graptolite fossils - item 5

This is a colour photograph of a graptolite fossilised in rock. This species is 'Clonograptus persistens'.

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Graptolite fossils - item 1

This is a colour photograph of graptolites fossilised in rock. These are specimens of 'Pendeograptus fruticosus'. The figures visible on the rock are cataloguing numbers.

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Gooniyandi seasons calendar

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Giant sea spider

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Gastropod fossil

This is a colour photograph of a fossil of a gastropod 'Tenagodus occlusus', showing the spiralled shell.

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Fish fossil

This is a colour photograph of an ancient fish ('Wadeichthys oxyops') fossilised in mudstone. This specimen is from the Koonwarra fossil bed in South Gippsland, Victoria. The fins, tail and body scales of the fish are clearly visible. Museum cataloguing numbers are written on the rock.

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Education - Return to 1616 Ecological Restoration Project

This is a comprehensive education package based on of the world's most exciting ecological restoration projects that is happening right now in Western Australia! It features interactive virtual tours, 3D skulls, videos, real-action inquiry projects, research projects, native animal educational card games and activities, ...

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Eastern horseshoe bat skull

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Earthquakes

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Downloading data from animal tags

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Common bottlenose dolphins, 'Tursiops truncatus'

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Blue cod, 'Parapercis colias'

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Black coral

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Bivalve mollusc

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Bilby skull

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Beautiful biomes

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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 ...

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Amphipod

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About tsunami warnings

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ACMF: Effects of selective breeding

This resource is a web page providing information about an experiment on the growth rate of different chicken breeds carried out by students at James Ruse Agricultural High School in NSW, which shows the influence of selective breeding on chicken weight. It includes a side-by-side column graph comparing the weight of egg ...