Science / Year 6 / Science as a Human Endeavour / Nature and development of science

Curriculum content descriptions

Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena and reflects historical and cultural contributions (ACSHE098)

Elaborations
  • investigating how knowledge about the effects of using the Earth’s resources has changed over time
  • describing how understanding of the causes and effects of major natural events has changed as new evidence has become available
  • investigating the use of electricity, including predicting the effects of changes to electric circuits
  • considering how gathering evidence helps scientists to predict the effect of major geological or climatic events
  • investigating how people from different cultures have used sustainable sources of energy, for example water and solar power
  • exploring institutions and locations where contemporary Australian scientists conduct research on catastrophic natural events
  • learning how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, such as the medicinal and nutritional properties of Australian plants, is being used as part of the evidence base for scientific advances
  • investigating the development of earthquake measurements from the Chinese invention of the seismograph in the second century
General capabilities
  • Numeracy Numeracy
ScOT terms

Predictions (Science),  Data collection,  Explanations (Scientific inquiry)

Online

Caring for our carbon

Carbon is all around us and available to us in many different forms – as an atmospheric gas, as an energy source, and as a food source. This unit investigates the science of carbon and the issue of climate change as both a scientific concept and a political issue, and, through discussion and debate, support students' to ...

Online

Every drop counts, being water wise!

This activity aims to explore water usage and water saving ideas. Every drop counts! OUTCOMES are for children to: understand the importance of water; look at ways to help save water; and undertake a water audit.

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'Classifying the treasures', 1929-31

This is a black-and-white photograph taken by Frank Hurley of an evening scene in the wardroom of the ship 'Discovery' during the British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) to Antarctica, 1929-31. The title typed on its cardboard mount calls the picture 'Classifying the Treasures' and indicates ...

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Feather fossil

This is a colour photograph of a feather fossilised in mudstone. This specimen is from the Koonwarra fossil bed in the South Gippsland region of Victoria. This fossil shows detail of the feather structure, including the central shaft and attached barbs.

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Bilby skull

This is a colour photograph of the internal skull of a bilby ('Macrotis lagotis'). 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. (Classification - Phylum: Chordata, Class: ...

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Orrery, c1770 - part 1

This is a close-up of a mechanical model of part of the solar system, commonly known as an orrery, made by renowned London 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 is a ...

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Sea louse

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

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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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Cranbourne meteorite

This is a colour photograph of an iron meteorite called 'The Cranbourne No 2 mass'.

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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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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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Downloading data from animal tags

This is a colour photograph of a scientist in a laboratory using a laptop computer to download data from electronic animal tags. To the right of the computer is a specialised communication box into which the electronic tag is placed. The scientist in the image is Dr Miles Lamare, a marine biologist involved in sea star ...

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Gold nugget

This is a gold nugget (approximately 3.4 cm x 2.2 cm), which was probably found in about 1865 on a goldfield in Otago (in the southern South Island of New Zealand).

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Southern gastric brooding frog

This is a colour photograph of a preserved southern gastric brooding frog ('Rheobatrachus silus'). It is a museum specimen viewed from the front.

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Amphipod

This is a colour photograph of a marine amphipod ('Birubius wirakus'), showing its characteristic curved body shape and tail limbs.

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Dinosaur fossil bone

This is a colour photograph of a fossil bone set against a black background. This bone is an opalised fossil of a femur, or thigh bone, of a hypsilophodont dinosaur. The blue colouration of this opalised fossil bone is clearly visible.

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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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Trilobite fossil

This is a colour photograph of a fossil trilobite of the genus 'Kolihapeltis'.

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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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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 ...