7–10Science 7–10 Syllabus
The new Science 7–10 Syllabus (2023) is to be implemented from 2026.
2024 and 2025 – Plan and prepare to teach the new syllabus
2026 – Start teaching new syllabus
School sectors are responsible for implementing syllabuses and are best placed to provide schools with specific guidance and information on implementation given their understanding of their individual contexts.
Content
Stage 4
Working scientifically
In this focus area, students develop skills in observation, as well as planning and conducting investigations. Additional Working scientifically outcomes and skills may be integrated with this content.
Loading...Identify conduction, convection and radiation as different ways that energy can be transferred, and distinguish between these forms
Describe, using the terms ‘potential energy’ (PE) or ‘kinetic energy’ (KE), how systems can store different forms of energy, including thermal, elastic, chemical and gravitational energy
Identify examples of how energy can change from one form into another
Use practical investigations and representations to illustrate energy transformations in a system
Define open and closed systems to describe how energy is transferred into and out of systems, and how it cycles within a system
Apply the law of conservation of energy to familiar examples
Use representations to illustrate energy transformations, including how radiant energy from the Sun can be transformed into a different form of energy
Undertake experiments to identify the indicators of physical and chemical changes
Describe the initial and final changes that are observed in a chemical reaction, including writing a word equation to represent a chemical reaction
Investigate and observe energy changes in different chemical reactions
Conduct a practical investigation to model cellular processes, including respiration and photosynthesis, and document findings in a written report
Describe the processes associated with the movement of tectonic plates
Identify the evidence used to develop the theory of plate tectonics
Identify that earthquakes and volcanoes are natural phenomena that provide evidence of geological changes in the Earth’s crust and surface
Describe how Aboriginal and/or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural accounts provide evidence of earthquakes and volcanoes on‑Country or under the sea
Conduct investigations or simulations to compare the observable properties of different types of minerals and rocks
Use the rock cycle to explain the geological processes that lead to the formation and transformation of different types of rocks
Model the formation of fossils and explain how fossils show evidence that different organisms existed at different times in the past
Recognise that the law of superposition allows scientists to determine the relative age of rock strata
Describe the elemental composition of the Earth and one or more other planets
Observe or design a chain reaction machine to represent energy stores and explain the transfers in the system