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Practical work to deliver ‘How Science Works’
Why are we here?
• There are many positive changes to the new KS4 curriculum
Changes to KS4
There is an emphasis on scientific literacyPupils should get better at distinguishing between
opinion based on scientific evidence and opinion based on non scientific ideas – they should be increasingly able to question the reports they see in the media..
They should learn about the applications of scientific knowledge and how these have changed over time and they should develop a greater understanding of the social, economic and ethical implications of certain decisions
Slight worry..
Many of the texts and resource materials being published for the new specifications do not emphasise practical work
Lots of good activities and exercises but many rely only on secondary data or analysing articles from the media
And yet if we look at the statements in the ‘how science works’ section……
Data, evidence, theories & explanations
1a. How scientific data can be collected and analysed.
1b. How interpretation of data, using creative thought, provides evidence to test ideas and develop theories.
1c. How explanations of many phenomena can be developed using scientific theories, models and ideas.
1d. That there are some questions that science cannot currently answer, and some that science cannot address.
Practical and enquiry skills
2a. Plan to test a scientific idea, answer a scientific question or solve a scientific problem.
2b. Collect data from primary or secondary sources, including using ICT sources and tools.
2c. Work accurately and safely, individually and with others, when collecting first hand data.
2d. Evaluate methods of collection of data and consider their validity and reliability as evidence.
Communication skills
3a. Recall, analyse, interpret, apply and question scientific information or ideas.
3b. Use both qualitative and quantitative approaches
3c. Present information, develop and argument and draw a conclusion, using scientific, technical and mathematical language, conventions and symbols and ICT tools.
Applications and implications of science
4a. About the use of contemporary scientific and technological developments and their benefits, drawbacks and risks.
4b. To consider how and why decisions about science and technology are made, including those that raise ethical issues, and about the social, economic and environmental effects of such decisions.
4c. How uncertainties in scientific knowledge and scientific ideas change over time and about the role of the scientific community in validating these changes.
Our view is ..
• The best way to encourage this is to do real investigative science
• To help students to become genuinely curious by…
setting investigatory work in a context and
providing stimulus material to get them to generate their own questions
Hydroponics3abc 4a
Tissue culture 4a
Natural selection 1c 3abc
Growth1ab 2bcd
Photosynthesis1b 4c
Productivity1b 2bcd 3abc
Inter/intra specific competition3abc
VariationPods/seeds 2bcd
Crop variation – length, girth, mass (1a 2bcd) and flavour (3b)
Evolution(wild types) 1c
Supermarket selection 4bc
Crops e.g. carrots, sugar cane, rice, wheat, beans, rcbr, lettuce, tomatoes 2a
Genetics 1c
Ethics 3c
G.M crops1cd, 3c 4abc
Species hybridisation
Selective breeding3abc
Commercial varieties 1d
Farming3ac
Customer choice 4bc
Nutrients 3bc 4b
organic
insecticides
intensive
Fertilisers 1ab 2bcd
Food miles4b
Efficiency and waste3abc 4 Protein, carbohydrates
carotene
TLC
Graph work 1b,2bcd
Effect of human activityon the environment
Hydroponics4a
Germination of plants1a 1b 1c 1d2a,2b,2c,2d
3a,3b,3c
Selective breeding
Contemporary scienceGenetic modification Ethical issues
4a
Variation and naturalSelection
5b
Effects of humanactivity on the environment
8a
Seed viability
Copper pollution from
medieval mine - potential health threat…
Slag heap from copper mine. Storm – washed onto land – reduction in yield – some plants dying. Scientists say "The drainage waters are more acidic than vinegar, with pH values around 2, and carry large loads of metals, including copper, zinc, and iron.”.
Questions generated by pupils
• Does copper affect germination?
• Does copper affect growth?
• Are some plants more tolerant of copper than others?
• What minerals do plants need to be healthy?
• Do plants grow better with more minerals?
• How do some plants grow in poor soils?
Generating primary data
• Set up your own dish with white mustard seeds.
Generating primary data
• Collect the ‘ones we did earlier’ What observations/measurements could you make?
Collecting primary data
10
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
25
0
mean10987654321%Nos(ppm)
Shoot/root length (mm)Germination Cu
707200
707175
10010150
10010125
909100
90975
80850
90925
1001010
9090
%NosCu (ppm)
Germination
Comparison of seed germination rates
9223Coriander
8822Linseed
9423.5Fenugreek
10025Wheat
8822White Mustard
%Numbers germinated /25
Seed
Using secondary data
62506456556570655550781001010
2.0 2222222707200
9.1 612101010412707175
3.86422162222210010150
10.31017131116411145210010125
12.2 61027161762620909100
11.6 2049141415155890975
16.1 129198224371880850
21.9 214281944164230290925
60.3 7588148494526622489090
mean10987654321%Nos
Cu (ppm)
Root length (mm)Germination
Effect of Cu upon root length of white mustard
60.3 62.0
21.916.1
11.6 12.2 10.33.8
9.12.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
0 10 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200
Cu (ppm)
Me
an
len
gth
(m
m)
Effect of Cu on mean shoot length
15.4 15.811.8 13.3 11.4 9.3 9.5
6.2 5.72.9
0.05.0
10.015.020.025.030.035.040.0
0 10 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200
Cu (ppm)
Me
an
len
gth
(m
m)
Effect of Cu upon growth of white mustard
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
0 10 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200
Cu (ppm)
Me
an
len
gth
(m
m)
root
shoot
OLD SCIENTIST Volume 1, Issue 1
4th December 2006
Copper not so harmful
A leading UK Plant Scientist says
“plants need minute quantities of copper because some oxidase type of enzymes require copper to function, and because copper is involved in electron transfer during photosynthesis. However, amounts in excess of 30 parts per million are usually toxic. Root growth is impaired as the copper binds to cell membranes, damaging them”
Full article available to read