Science
Through the study of science, students investigate phenomena that occur over a range of scales, from the subatomic to the cosmological, from events that take place almost instantaneously to processes occurring over billions of years, from the origins of the universe to contemporary phenomena. As an important part of their science education students examine the historical and ongoing contributions of Australian scientists to international scientific research.
The study of science provides students with the opportunity to examine the impact on their lives of scientific knowledge and its application to their communities and surroundings. This study provides opportunities for students to become independent learners and promotes their development of informed attitudes towards science and the environment.
The study of science provides opportunities for students to develop the skills of working scientifically by engaging them in thinking critically and creatively in problem-solving processes. Students work individually and in teams in planning and conducting investigations. They are encouraged to critically analyse data and information, evaluate issues and problems, develop questions for inquiry and investigation, and draw evidence-based conclusions. Students are called on to apply and communicate their findings, understanding and viewpoints in a scientifically literate way when making decisions about the environment, the natural and technological world.
By engaging students in a range of learning experiences that build on prior learning and are set in meaningful and relevant contexts, they are led to a more scientific understanding of their world and the way that scientists work. It is through this inquiry and investigation that students develop a deeper appreciation of scientific endeavour, of science as an evolving body of knowledge, of the provisional nature of scientific explanations and of the complex relationship between evidence and ideas.
Senior Courses offered by Science
Biology
Biology provides students with a contemporary and coherent understanding of the concepts explaining the functioning, origins and evolution of living things.
Biology also explores the levels of organisation of life, from the molecular level through cellular to higher levels of organisational structure and function, which exhibit evolution as a common source of unity and diversity. It includes developing an understanding of the interactions within and between organisms and between organisms and their environment.
Chemistry
Chemistry provides students with a contemporary and coherent understanding of matter and its interactions. It focuses on investigating the physical and chemical properties of substances, chemical reactions and processes, and the interaction of energy and matter, and attempts to explain and predict events at the atomic and molecular level.
Physics
Physics provides students with a contemporary and coherent understanding of energy, matter, and their interrelationships. It focuses on investigating natural phenomena and then applying patterns, models (including mathematical ones), principles, theories and laws to explain the physical behaviour of the universe. It uses an understanding of simple systems (single particles and pairs of particles) to make predictions about a range of objects from sub-atomic particles to the entire universe and aims to reveal the simplicity underlying complexity.
Investigating Science
Investigating Science provides students with the opportunity to develop an understanding of the ethical, social, economic and political influences on science and scientific research in the modern world.