Science in Action 7 Year End Review | Print |

Unit 1 - Interactions and Ecosystems

1.0 Relationships in an Ecosystem

  • Ecosystems are where biotic and abiotic factors interact
  • Symbiotic relationships include: Commensalism (One benefit - other no effect), Mutualism (Both benefit), Parasitism (One benefits - one harmed)
  • Basic Needs include: Water, Energy, Food, Exchange of gases, Space (Habitat), Waste disposal
  • Responsible Environmental Decision-making is made with scientific information and considers the impact such decisions have on the environment

 2.0 Energy Flow

  • Food Webs allow energy (supplied by the Sun) to flow
  • Matter continuously moves from non-living to living and back to non-living in two cycles: Water cycle and Carbon Cycle
  • Changes in a food web affect all living things in that ecosystem

3.0 Environmental Monitoring

  • Ecosystems provide all needs for living things
  • Ecosystems change because of: Human activity, Bio-Invasion, Resource competition, Predation, Weather

4.0 Sustainability in an Ecosystem

  • Pesticides can be deadly, as they enter and move through an ecosystem
  • Human actions can impact the local and global communities
  • Scientific information can help in decision-making, but cannot explain everything
  • Local environmental problems require input from many sources before a final informed decision can be made

Unit 2 - Plants For Food And Fibre

1.0 Structures and Life Processes

  • Seed plants have roots, stems, leaves and either flowers or cones
  • Each structure performs a specific function
  • Life processes in plants include: Photosynthesis, Transpiration, Gas exchange (cellular respiration)
  • Seed plant life cycle includes three stages: Seed stage, Seedling stage, and Adult stage
  • Pollination is the joining of pollen and ovary
  • Seed plants can also reproduce in ways not involving seeds: Runners, rhizomes, suckers, cuttings and grafting
  • Adaptations help plants get what they need from the environment
  • Growing conditions varies between and among plants, and can be modified using technology

 2.0 Role of Plants to Meet Human Needs

  • Plants supply oxygen and food
  • Plants are used for food, fibre (to make things), medicine, and other products
  • Natural resources vs Managed resources

3.0 Soil

  • Minerals and organic matter in different amounts make clay, sandy soil or loam
  • Growing and harvesting methods can improve or degrade soil

4.0 Growing and Using Plants - Sustainability

  • Selective breeding provides specific desirable traits
  • New varieties may lead to environmental problems
  • Resistance, loss of species or pollution can occur with long term use of herbicides and pesticides
  • Sustainability - balancing out needs with the needs of the environment and the consequences (social and economic)

Unit 3 - Heat and Temperature

1.0 Technologies for Obtaining and Controlling Heat

  • Heat technologies have evolved over time
  • Culture and technology are linked
  • Evolution has integrated heat-related materials and technologies
  • Choices about the environment involves individuals and society

 2.0 Heat Affects Matter

  • Transferring heat to and from matter can cause a change in state
  • The Particle Model of Matter explains changes in state and volume
  • Conduction (in contact), Convection (circular motion) and Radiation (waves)
  • Thermal energy is the total kinetic energy of the particles in a substance
  • Heat is transferred from an area of high kinetic energy to an area of low kinetic energy
  • Temperature is the measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a substance

3.0 Natural Phenomena and Technology Devices

  • Thermal energy is produced by the Sun, decay, fire and geothermal
  • Passive and Active solar heating systems use the sun's energy and are environmentally friendly
  • Thermostats control temperature in heating systems
  • Insulation helps block unwanted heat transfer (heat loss)

4.0 Benefits and Costs of Heat Technologies

  • Non-renewable resources have a limited supply
  • Fossil fuels are the major sources of heating, but degrade the environment
  • Costs of using natural resources: economic, environmental and societal
  • Energy Alternatives: solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear and hydro-electric (gravitational)

Unit 4 - Structures and Forces

1.0 Natural and man-made (Manufactured)

  • Structural forms can be shells, frames or solids
  • Each structure performs a specific function and can vary in its design
  • Climate, culture, tradition, technology and economics influence the design of a structure

 2.0 External and Internal Forces act on structures

  • Effect of a force on a structure depends on magnitude, direction and location of the force
  • External force is applied on the outside of a structure
  • Stability is affected by the changes in the mass distribution and the design of its foundation
  • A structure's ability to withstand a load depends on its overall strength and stability
  • Performance standards are included in the overall structural design
  • Internal forces include compression, tension and shear.
  • Material shape and properties determine resistance to internal forces acting on them
  • Structures undergo structural stress, fatigue and failure

3.0 Strength and Stability

  • Natural and synthetic materials are classified by a range of properties
  • Strength and flexibility of materials can be tested - deformation
  • Joints - fixed or movable - friction, bonding or flexibility
  • Stability, strength and function rely on the proper use of materials

4.0 Designing, Evaluating and Improving to Meet Human Needs

  • Environmental factors can affect the stability and safety of a structure
  • Corrugation and Lamination can strengthen materials
  • Structural evaluation criteria: costs, benefits, safety and potential environmental impact

Unit 5 - Planet Earth

1.0 Changes on the Earth's Surface

  • Layers: Crust, Mantle, Core (Inner and Outer)
  • Earthquakes and Volcanoes can suddenly change the Earth's surface
  • Scientist's use a variety of tools and technologies to investigate the Earth's forces
  • Wind, water and ice change the Earth's surface slowly

 2.0 Rock Cycle

  • Rocks are composed of minerals and have distinctive characteristics
  • Three classes include: igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary
  • Breaking down and transforming rock is explained in the rock cycle
  • Sedimentary rocks are the most common found in Alberta

3.0 Landforms change

  • The Theory of Plate Tectonics describes the huge chunks of rock called plates that move on the Earth's surface
  • Continents and Ocean floors are carried on the plates which are moving on the partly melted mantle
  • The collisions and rubbing together of these plates forms the mountains

4.0 Fossils - Evidence of Earth's Changes over Time

  • Fossils are living or non-living things preserved in stone
  • Fossil evidence is interpreted and conclusions are based mostly on inferences because the fossil remains are incomplete
  • Geological Time divides the history of the Earth into four periods, called Eras.
  • Determining what animals and plants looked like from fossil records is often based on inferences