Science / Year 4 / Science Understanding / Chemical sciences

Curriculum content descriptions

Natural and processed materials have a range of physical properties that can influence their use (ACSSU074)

Elaborations
  • describing a range of common materials, such as metals or plastics, and their uses
  • investigating a particular property across a range of materials
  • selecting materials for uses based on their properties
  • considering how the properties of materials affect the management of waste or can lead to pollution
ScOT terms

Materials,  Properties of matter

Interactive

Thermal comfort – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This thermal comfort learning resource will guide students through an extended school based investigation. Students will develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and reflect on their success and their learning.

Video

Sam the Lamb: properties of wool

This short video, narrated by ‘Sam the Lamb’ and a group of young wool enthusiasts, explores the properties of one of nature’s most versatile fibres. Viewers will discover how wool can stretch and return to its natural shape when worn; why wool is safe to wear around campfires and in the sun, and how wool can manages moisture ...

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Carbon clues

Carbon is all around us and available to us in many different forms, yet we can’t see it and often we don’t even know it’s there – using a detective story setting students sift through clues to build an understanding of carbon and the implications of its use. The unit includes PDF resources and video quiz challenges for ...

Video

Tough zirconium - but what's its secret side?

The element zirconium is often used for its tough, abrasive properties. It also has a secret side. View this clip (developed by students for the 2013 Sleek Geeks Eureka Science Schools Prize competition), which highlights the properties and uses of zirconium in a highly visual and fun way.

Interactive

experiMENTALS: Spooky slime

This resource contains a materials and instruction list and brief explanation for students about the process of making spooky slime with cornflour to produce a substance that is a little like a liquid and a little like a solid.

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Experimentals: Recycling household items

Discover why plastic is harmful to our environment and how recycling helps to reduce its impact. Listen to Jon Dee, founder of Planet Ark, discuss the problem of plastic. Watch as a bag of household items are sorted to identify what can be recycled.

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Elliot and the Surfing Scientist: Red cabbage pH experiment

It might sound 'un-sciencey', and have a bad smell, but red cabbage is actually very useful for testing the pH of liquids. Added to well-known liquids like lemonade or vinegar, red cabbage juice changes to 'pretty colours'. In this clip, Surfing Scientist Ruben Meerman explains the colour changes and how red cabbage juice ...

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Can We Help?: Artificial eyes: how are they made?

To answer the question 'Are glass eyes really made of glass?' Peter Rowsthorn visits an ocularist who makes artificial eyes. Join him as he investigates how these eyes are made. Witness the skill of an ocularist, Jenny Geelen, as she creates an artificial eye to match Pete's existing eyes.

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Science principles in traditional Aboriginal Australia

This is an illustrated article about how Aboriginal people's traditional knowledge demonstrates an understanding of physics, biology and chemistry and how Aboriginal people gather knowledge through observation, testing, trial and error, adapting and retesting. Written by Kudjala/Kalkadoon Elder from Queensland Letitia ...

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Transportation Innovation

In this activity, students participate in a design challenge to use natural materials to design and create a tool that can be used to transport an object between two places. The activity provides students with an opportunity to explore how natural materials can be changed and combined to solve problems (Year 2) and use ...

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Material Sort

In this series of activities, students examine different materials, exploring how they can be described and categorised based on their observable properties. Students observe and describe different materials, then compare, contrast and categorise materials based on their observable properties.

Downloadable

Construct a pull along toy - teacher resource kit

This activity kit is about engaging students in thinking about wheels and axles. Activities are guided by the design thinking process, and scaffolds students to explore different types of pull-along toys, various ways of constructing them from a range of household and readily-available materials and investigate how wheels ...

Downloadable

Construct a water wheel - teacher resource kit

This activity kit encourages students to design and construct a simple water wheel model that turns by the flow of water. Activities are guided by the design thinking process, and scaffolds students to research the applications of various simple machines, and the combinations of simple machines they might use to build a ...

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Construct a catapult - teacher resource kit

This activity kit challenges students to design and build catapults out of recycled and household items. Activities are guided by the design thinking process, and scaffold students to explore simple machines, tools, properties of materials and changing variables in experiments. The guide includes lesson ideas, project instructions, ...

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Algorithms: Ngarrindjeri weaving

In this lesson, students will practise breaking down a process into smaller parts or steps as an introduction to computational thinking.

Downloadable

Are we living sustainably?

This unit of eight lessons poses the question ‘Are we living sustainably?’ Students use prompts to draw on their prior knowledge to explain what they already know about sustainability. They then investigate why water is precious, explore how water is used around their school and at home. Students then research ways that ...

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Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies Years 3–4 assessment task: Living and non-living things booklet

This PDF is a booklet that accompanies the years 3-4 assessment task, Classifying living and non-living things.

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Chicken farming in the living world: Stage 2

Chickens are fascinating animals and provide students with an interesting subject matter to discuss the many aspects of our living world. This video for students explores the question 'How do we create food and fibre products from animals and plants?' and comprises a series of modules and supporting videos. Students will ...

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Elliot and the Surfing Scientist: Friction between paper experiment

Are you strong enough to pull two sheets of paper apart? What about two books with the pages intertwined? Watch this experiment performed by Ruben Meerman, the Surfing Scientist, and find out how he tests the presence of friction between pieces of paper.

Interactive

Wild ride: get a grip

Investigate the role of friction in performance of bicycle tyres. Test how the type of tread affects grip and speed. Choose tyres best suited to track and weather conditions in a time trial. Please note that the 'About Grip' button is intentionally hidden and will only appear based on the user's choices. This learning object ...