Science / Year 6 / Science understanding / Biological sciences

Curriculum content descriptions

investigate the physical conditions of a habitat and analyse how the growth and survival of living things is affected by changing physical conditions (AC9S6U01)

Elaborations
  • identifying the physical conditions in an aquatic or terrestrial habitat and how they change over time
  • investigating how changes to physical conditions such as salinity, soil type, sunlight or temperature affect plant growth
  • examining how changes in physical conditions such as temperature, light availability and rainfall affect animals, such as corals, honey bees or flying foxes, and predict impacts of these changes
  • investigating changes in physical conditions that are the result of human activity and exploring the impact of these on living things, such as the impact of urban lighting on nocturnal and migratory animals
  • investigating the effect of physical conditions on the growth of bread mould colonies in sealed plastic bags
  • recognising that environmental conditions can affect stages of life, such as ponds drying up, seeds requiring water to germinate, or temperatures being too hot or cold for eggs to hatch
  • investigating First Nations Australians’ knowledges and understandings of the physical conditions necessary for the survival of certain plants and animals
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and Creative Thinking
Cross-curriculum priorities
ScOT terms

Habitats,  Ecosystems,  Data analysis,  Growth (Animals),  Plant growth

Interactive

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Interactive

Old Bernie's Pond

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The farming environment

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From the paddock to the plate

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Australian Good Meat: Supplementary Materials

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Enhancing Student Resilience through Creating Butterfly Gardens

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The Geometry and Algebra of Honeycomb - Calculate

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For the birds | Questacon

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Caring for country

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Beautiful biomes

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Acidic oceans | Questacon

In this activity, students test the effect of an acid on eggshells and consider how this relates to the shells of marine animals and ocean acidification. The activity includes a list of what is required, suggestions of what to do and notice, questions to ask, an explanation for the underlying science of what students observe ...

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Yeast bubbles | Questacon

In this activity, students grow yeast in different physical conditions to explore how physical environments can effect the growth and survival of living organisms. The activity includes a list of what is required, suggestions of what to do and notice, questions to ask, an explanation for the underlying science of what students ...

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Adaptive Speciation of Honeybees - Calculate

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Video

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Gardening Australia: Growing vegetables and natives

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Catalyst: Living in space

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The Merri Creek Project

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Growing an organic edible garden

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Sustainable forests, 'lockups' and happy bees

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Catalyst: Coorong salinity

Imagine the mighty Murray River as it flows through South Australia and reaches the sea. Explore the consequences of drought and human activity while listening to Graham Phillips describe the effects of the Coorong's increasing salinity and the the associated threat to Adelaide's supply of fresh water.