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This page is based on the draft Year 10 content for Science, which is currently open for feedback. Schools are not required to implement changes until the consultation process is confirmed.
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In Year 10, your teen prepares for Science in Years 11–13. They deepen their understanding of chemical reactions, energy, motion, disease, regulation of the human body and human activity impacting on ecosystems. They use scientific inquiry to analyse data, explore environmental impacts, and create scientific explanations that link ideas across different branches of science. Students apply their science knowledge to real-world challenges and use evidence to support their decisions.
They identify potential errors in their data, suggest improvements, and explain the impact of various actions. Students use advanced scientific vocabulary and conventions to communicate clearly and accurately. At this level, students are becoming confident and critical thinkers who can apply science and scientific processes to make a positive impact on the world around them.
Physical Science#
Matter#
With your teen, you could:
- look up the chemical formulas of common household items like baking soda, vinegar, or table salt, and discuss or research together what the symbols mean and how atoms bond by sharing or transferring electrons to form molecules or ionic compounds
- discuss or research together why some substances dissolve in water and others don’t, linking this to the idea of ions and molecules.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on developing an understanding of the structure of atoms and how elements can bond together to form different compounds by transferring or sharing electrons.
For example, by the end of the year, your teen may be able to:
- identify how many protons, neutrons and electrons a specific atom contains and describe how the electrons are arranged in shells that orbit the nucleus
- use the known number of protons and electrons to predict the charge on an atom or ion
- name and write the correct formula for different ionic substances by balancing the overall charge from the individual charges of the ions
- identify that protons are positively charged, neutrons are neutral, and electrons are negatively charged
- explain how the number of protons determines the element, and how the mass number reflects the total number of protons and neutrons
- identify and describe ions.
Chemical Reactions#
With your teen, you could:
- explore how some natural products like red cabbage, rhubarb, beetroot and turmeric change colour in an acid (like vinegar) or a base (like ammonia cleaner)
- make your own baking powder by mixing tartaric acid and baking soda, use it in a cake recipe, and discuss how it makes the cake rise
- investigate how long it takes to clean a rusty nail or dissolve a tooth in a cola drink
- clean silver jewellery by placing it on aluminium foil in a bowl of warm water with some dissolved salt or baking soda.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on how some types of chemical reactions follow patterns that can be used to predict the products that will form when specific substances react. Balanced chemical equations for acid-base, combustion and displacement reactions will describe these changes. Factors that affect the rate of a chemical reaction will also be explored.
For example, by the end of the year, your teen may be able to:
- write word and chemical equations to represent acid-base, combustion and displacement reactions
- recognise if a substance is acidic or basic from its pH value or colour in an indicator solution
- predict the products of a reaction between an acid and a base
- use an understanding of the different reactivities of metals to predict if iron nails should be used on a copper roof.
Matter interactions and energy#
With your teen, you could:
- look at the energy labels on foods and discuss how this energy comes from the food when your body uses it
- feel the difference in heat from an incandescent light bulb compared to an LED bulb producing the same amount of light
- compare the energy ratings on different household appliances to see which are most efficient
- look at a rainbow and notice which colours bend most in the curve
- talk with them about how sounds are different when you are swimming underwater
- place a pencil in a glass of water and look closely, you’ll notice the pencil appears bent or misaligned where it enters the water, this is caused by light bending, or refraction.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on different forms of energy and how they can be transferred and transformed, but are always conserved. These transfer and transformation processes vary in efficiency and have an important role in our world. They will examine the properties of various waves and how they can transfer energy through mechanical waves (such as ocean waves or sound) or electromagnetic waves (such as light).
For example, by the end of the year, your teen may be able to:
- use energy flow diagrams to describe energy transfers and transformations
- calculate the percentage efficiency of different appliances and energy systems
- relate the pitch and loudness of a sound to the frequency and amplitude of the wave that produces it
- recognise the different behaviour of light interacting with different surfaces, such as reflection, scattering, absorption, transmittance and refraction
- recognise that light is a wave and part of a range of waves called the electromagnetic spectrum.
Earth systems#
With your teen, you could:
- discuss different ways that your household can reduce your carbon footprint through conserving energy and reducing waste
- collect carbon dioxide gas from a vinegar and baking soda reaction in a glass jar, and compare how hot it gets to an identical jar of air after both have been in the sun for several hours
- walk through the house and outside and find examples of:
- organic carbon: fruit, wood table, bread, leaves, pets
- pure carbon: pencil lead (graphite)
- carbon compounds: fizzy drink (CO₂), limestone rock, charcoal.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on the important role that the carbon cycle plays in our environment. In particular, the impact of carbon dioxide on climate change and how human activity affects our environment.
For example, by the end of the year, your teen may be able to:
- describe the different forms of carbon that exist in our environment
- examine data sets as a class on atmospheric CO₂ levels over time, and discuss trends and causes
- investigate real-world examples of human activities that increase carbon dioxide, such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes
- evaluate different strategies for reducing human carbon output, like renewable energy, reforestation, and energy-efficient technologies
- complete a research task or project explaining a specific part of the carbon cycle or a human influence on it.
Earth and Space#
With your teen, you could:
- explore the relative sizes of objects within the known universe by using the scroll bar at the bottom of the online Scale of the Universe interactive
- debate what issues humans might face when undertaking long-distance space travel, either within or outside our solar system
- place a ball on the ground to represent the Sun, and walk the distance to each planet using the scale:
- Mercury: 6 steps
- Venus: 11 steps
- Earth: 15 steps
- Mars: 23 steps
- Jupiter: 78 steps
- Saturn: 143 steps
- Uranus: 287 steps
- Neptune: 450 steps.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on the origin and size of the observable universe. This will include a comparison of the relative sizes and distances between different objects such as planets, stars and galaxies.
For example, by the end of the year, your teen may be able to:
- develop a timeline showing the important cosmic events that have occurred in the 14 billion years since the origin of our universe
- make a scale model that represents the relative sizes of the different objects in our solar system
- recognise the enormous distances between celestial objects and the problems associated with travelling between them
- explain that gravity is the force that governs the motion and interactions of all matter in the universe, from planets and moons to galaxies
- describe how the speed of light limits how far we can see into space and understand that a light year is the distance light travels in 1 year.
Biological Science#
Organism diversity#
With your teen, you could:
- talk about how keeping the home, clothes, and themselves clean decreases the number of disease-causing microorganisms present in their environment
- explore how microorganisms grow and reproduce by lightly moistening three bread slices, touching 1 with clean hands, 1 with unwashed hands, and rubbing 1 on a phone screen, before sealing them in Ziploc bags, leaving them in a warm place and observing mould growth over a few days
- check the pollen count and air quality monitors on local weather websites and talk about allergies and pollution-related diseases.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on helping your child understand the difference between types of diseases, what causes them and where they originate. They will explore the way the immune system of a mammal works.
For example, by the end of the year, your teen may be able to:
- describe the difference between beneficial and harmful microorganisms
- describe the difference between viruses, bacteria, and fungi
- explain the difference between infectious and non-infectious diseases
- draw a diagram to show how the different parts of non-specific and specific immunity work together
- describe how vaccines reduce disease severity and spread by stimulating an immune response, for example, mild symptoms after a measles vaccine compared to hospitalisation
- use graphs, tables and maps to explain how different strategies reduce the spread of infectious diseases.
Body systems#
With your teen, you could:
- keep a food diary for a few days and work out your daily average sugar intake from sugars and carbohydrates
- talk about how animals sense changes in the environment around them, like temperature, smell, touch, sight, hearing, and taste as a way to stay safe, for example, when a dog pricks up its ears, or a woodlouse (slater) moves away from direct light
- discuss why your body sweats more on a hot day or during exercise compared to when you are resting.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on how the body responds to changes to stay in balance by using nerve and hormonal responses, such as sweating, shivering, or feeling light-headed when hungry. This includes the principles of homeostasis, the role of the endocrine system in regulating internal conditions like blood glucose, and how the nervous system detects and responds to stimuli.
For example, by the end of the year, your teen may be able to:
- draw diagrams to demonstrate the stimulus-response pathway
- draw diagrams to show how blood glucose stays in balance
- draw diagrams to show how our body temperature stays in balance
- describe how the endocrine system helps us maintain a stable internal environment in the body
- identify key parts of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and neurons, and explain how they work together to detect and respond to changes.
Ecosystems#
With your teen, you could:
- take part in a volunteer ecosystem or waterway regeneration group
- plant a tree in your garden that will encourage native birds
- undertake a bird survey in your garden
- do a home energy audit to understand how your family could reduce its carbon footprint.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on developing your child’s understanding of how human activity affects ecosystems and large-scale Earth systems. This includes how water resources are used and managed (in urban, farm, and industrial settings), as well as the use and management of fossil fuels and land resources (such as native forests versus plantation forests).
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- use data, such as graphs and maps, to explain how human activity affects species diversity and stability within ecosystems
- use data to compare natural ecosystem change with ecosystem change caused by humans
- explain how climate change and ocean acidification are linked and influence each other
- show others how individual and community actions can minimise the impact of climate change and ecosystem loss, for example, through habitat restoration and reduction of non-renewable resource use.
