Key Stage 4 Science

All pupils at KS4 study Science and there are three courses to choose from allowing pupils to study the Science course that meets their needs both academically and professionally.

GCSE Triple Award Science and GCSE Science A and Additional Science

Both these courses are modular in nature. Pupils completing the Triple Award Science will complete and be examined on all the modules listed and 3 Centre Assessed Units, one for each of the Sciences. Pupils completing the Science A and Additional Science will only complete Biology 1 and 2, Chemistry 1 and 2, and Physics 1 and 2. They will also be required to complete 2 Centre Assessed Units. What is included in each of the units is listed below:

Biology 1 [B1]

How do human bodies respond to changes inside them and to their environment?
What can we do to keep our bodies healthy?
How do we use/abuse medical and recreational drugs?
What causes infectious disease and how can our bodies defend themselves against them?
What determines where particular species live and how many of them there are?
Why are individuals of the same species different from each other?
What new methods do we have for producing plants and animals with the characteristics we prefer?

Chemistry 1 [C1]

How do rocks provide building materials?
How do rocks provide metals and how are metals used?
How do we get fuels from crude oil?
How are polymers and ethanol made from oil?
How can plant oils be used?
What are the changes in the Earth and its atmosphere?
Why have some species of plants and animals died out?
How do new species of plants and animals develop?
How do humans affect the environment?

Physics 1 [P1]

How is heat (thermal energy) transferred and what factors affect the rate at which heat is transferred?
What is meant by the efficient use of energy?
Why are electrical devices so useful?
How should we generate the electricity we need?
What are the uses and hazards of the waves that form the electromagnetic spectrum?
What are the uses and dangers of emissions from radioactive substances?
What do we know about the universe and how it continues to change?

Biology 2 [B2]

What are animals and plants built from?
How do dissolved substances get into and out of cells?
How do plants obtain the food they need to live and grow?
What happens to energy and biomass at each stage in a food chain?
What happens to the waste material produced by plants and animals?
What are enzymes and what are some of their functions?
How do our bodies keep internal conditions constant?
Which human characteristics show a simple pattern of inheritance?

Chemistry 2 [C2]

How do sub-atomic particles help us to understand the structure of substances?
How do structures influence the properties and uses of substances?
How much can we make and how much do we need to use?
How can we control the rates of chemical reactions?
Do chemical reactions always release energy?
How can we use ions in solutions?

Physics 2 [P2]

How can we describe the way things move?
How do we make things speed up or slow down?
What happens to the movement energy when things speed up or slow down?
What is momentum?
What is static electricity, how can it be used and what is the connection between static electricity and electric currents?
What does the current through an electrical circuit depend on?
What is mains electricity and how can it be used safely?
Why do we need to know the power of electrical appliances?
What happens to radioactive substances when they decay?
What are nuclear fission and nuclear fusion?

Biology 3 [B3]

How do dissolved substances get into and out of animals and plants?
How are dissolved materials transported around the body?
How does exercise affect the exchanges taking place within the body?
How do exchanges in the kidney help us to maintain the internal environment in mammals and how has biology helped us to treat kidney disease?
How are microorganisms used to make food and drink?
What other useful substances can we make using microorganisms?
How can we be sure we are using microorganisms safely?

Chemistry 3 [C3]

How was the periodic table developed and how can it help us understand the reactions of elements?
What are strong and weak acids and alkalis?
How can we find the amounts of acids and alkalis in solutions?
What is in the water we drink?
How much energy is involved in chemical reactions?
How do we identify and analyse substances?

Physics 3 [P3]

How do forces have a turning effect?
What keeps bodies moving in a circle?
What provides the centripetal force for planets and satellites?
What do mirrors and lenses do to light?
What is sound?
What is ultrasound and how can it be used?
How can electricity be used to make things move?
How do generators work?
How do transformers work?
What is the life history of stars?

Assessment

GCSE Science A has six half-size teaching units and six 30 minute objective tests (tiered), available November , March and June [B1(A & B)+C1(A & B)+P1(A & B)] and a Centre Assessed Unit.
GCSE Additional Science three 45 minute papers (tiered) containing structured questions, available January and June [B2+C2+P2] and a Centre Assessed Unit.
GCSE Biology, Chemistry and Physics each have three 45 minute papers (tiered) containing structured questions, available January and June e.g. Biology [B1+B2+B3], and a Centre Assessed Unit.

Resources

GCSE Applied Double Award Science

Applied Science is a vocational course; it is designed to encourage pupils to;

Develop their interest in, and enthusiasm for, science.
Develop a critical approach to scientific evidence and methods.
Acquire and apply skills, knowledge and understanding of how science works and its essential role in society.
Acquire scientific skills, knowledge and understanding necessary for progression to further learning.

This course is split into four units, three of which comprise of portfolio tasks. The portfolio tasks are undertaken in class and assessed by the teacher. The final unit is an examined, assessing the pupils understanding of the scientific theory covered during the course.

Unit 1 - Science in the Workplace (10 %)

This unit comprises of two portfolio tasks;

A report into Health and Safety Regulations in our School and Kimberly Clark.
A study of three companies in the local area that use Science

Unit 2 - Science for the Needs of Society (35 %)

In this unit pupils will learn about how science is used to benefit us in our everyday lives. In particular they will learn about some of the science used by people working in specific science-based occupations in order to help us maintain and improve our quality of life.

This is an examined unit. Pupils can be entered into the exam in January and June of Year 10 or year 11.

Unit 3 - Developing Scientific Skills (27½ %)

In this unit pupils will learn how different types of scientists work when carrying out practical tasks. In particular they will learn about and use the skills that microbiologists, analytical chemists and materials scientists require in the work that they undertake. Pupils need to produce a portfolio of evidence, which should contain records of three practical activities covering each of the following sections:

Investigating Living Organisms
Using Chemical Analysis Techniques
Investigating Properties of Materials.

Each activity should be set in a vocational context and include evidence that they have:

carried out risk assessments
followed standard procedures
used appropriate scientific equipment and / or materials
obtained, recorded and analysed scientific data appropriate to the task
evaluated the practical activity.

Unit 4 - Using Scientific Skills for the Benefit of Society (27½ %)

In this unit pupils will find out how science may be applied to benefit society. They will complete a range of scientific investigations to illustrate some ways that particular scientists and engineers use science for the benefit of society.

Pupils need to produce four pieces of portfolio of work which shows how they have used their scientific knowledge and skills to demonstrate how science is used for the benefit of society. The four portfolio pieces are as follows:

a report, including a plan, on your investigation into the growth and/or development and/or responses of a living organism under controlled conditions. (You must show appropriate care and consideration when investigating living organisms)
a report on the production of a chemical product
a report on making and assessing the effectiveness of one electrical or electronic device
an example of the use of a mechanical machine in the workplace and its effectiveness.

Resources

We have a variety of resources for this course. We follow the Nelson Thorne Scheme of work specifically designed for this course. Resources and textbooks that match the Scheme of work are available to all pupils on the Schools network. For the portfolio tasks pupils are issued with booklets to help them carry out the tasks, many of the resources for the portfolio tasks are available on the website, allowing pupils to complete work from home. We also use the Science ICT suite or class laptops and specialist practical equipment.

Great success has been achieved on this course in previous years. In 2007 a group of Year 10 students were able to pass this course in just over a year.

This GCSE course is complimented by the AS and A-level Applied Science course. Many of our students stay on to study this course at our Sixth Form.