Year 11 Biology

Comparison:

1.       The material for the courses is similar with the 6 topics from the existing syllabus being incorporated and rearranged into the four topics for the new syllabus.

2.       There is a much larger emphasis on Ecology in the new syllabus and in particular Australian ecology receives much more attention.

Year 12 Biology

Comparison:

1.       There is a stronger correlation between the two courses compared to the Year 11 course with each topic in the new syllabus (except for the elective) corresponding to a topic in the existing syllabus.

IMPORTANT,

1.       Though the general content for both courses covers the same topics as in the previous years the depth with which it must be covered has increased by 20 - 30% for most of the topics. Students should not consider the new course if they are not capable of handling and processing large volumes of information.                                               

2.       The new courses require the students to perform two open ended research tasks over the two years and to undertake investigations into current issues in Biology.

For this reason students must be self-motivated and be able to undertake tasks without requiring constant guidance and encouragement from the teacher.

Chemistry is based on observations and measurements of the properties and reactions of substances with each other.

Students wishing to do Chemistry should be coping with Advanced Mathematics in Year 10 and to be anticipating a Grade A in School Certificate science.

Topics studied include the structure of matter and many types of chemical reactions, in particular those used in industrial applications.  Most of the course involves the study of a diverse range of chemical reactions.  The Preliminary course consists of four modules of work that are titled, The Chemical Earth, Metals, Water, and Energy. There is a heavy emphasis on experimental techniques and the ability to observe and think about what one observes.

Chemistry is a subject that requires a strong work ethic and requires constant application.

There are four (4) periods per week in the Chemistry course and students attempting Chemistry have weekly exams and weekly practical reports to write. Students undertaking the Chemistry course sit a half-yearly written exam, an end-of-year written exam and an end-of-year practical exam. On top of these, there are 3 other assessment tasks consisting of Open-ended Research, Oral Presentations and a Chemistry Literacy skills assignment.