Science
As we race towards the end of Term 3, the science team has been busy with National Science Week (15th-19th August), as well as investigations in Years 7-9 in association with their assessment. Our wonderful senior teachers have also started to draft the units of work for our senior Year 11 subjects in 2023 which are Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Psychology.
During Science Week, students created fog rings and vortexes, utilised the power of mirrors to create kaleidoscopes and observed the energy water has under pressure as water rockets took flight during lunch breaks. The week ended with the annual watermelon explosion demonstration which took 116 rubber bands to destroy the watermelon.
As we head towards the end of Term, students are finalising their assessment across various grades, which for most was based around experimenting and justifying how changing a variable improves the outcome. Year 7’s designed their own balloon-powered or mousetrap cars which were then built and tested as a prototype to see how far they could go. They were then allowed to change one part of their car, resulting in a further distance (hopefully).
Our Year 8 students also conducted multiple physics experiments, based around designing, creating and then testing Rube Goldberg machines. Through their experimentation, students described the different types of energy being used and how it was transferred or transformed from one object to another.
The Year 9 classes investigated which salt would be best to create an exothermic reaction (release of energy) and endothermic reaction (absorption of energy) which was then used to investigate the effectiveness of salts to create cold packs.
Year 10 core students completed their rates of reaction experimental investigation for the Term and have started their new unit looking at motion and calculating speed, velocity and acceleration.
Our Year 10 Science Foundation students are wrapping up their investigation into DNA and have their exam scheduled in Week 9.
Our Extension Psychology class is busy delving into how the brain works, collating results for their investigation.
Finally, our Extension Chemistry class has been balancing chemical equations and investigating reaction types, as well as acid/base reactions, which can be seen below. The class begins their investigation this week and will submit their findings and report early Term 4.
A reminder that all assessment information can be found within Daymap and it is important to remind students that all assessments should be uploaded to Daymap as well. If, for any reason, your student needs to apply for an extension, this should be done online, and more information can be found in their student diary or on the College SharePoint page.
If you ever have any questions around what is happening within your child’s Science class, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.
Tim Barclay
Acting Head of Department - Science