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 5
Working scientifically
In this focus area, students develop skills in observation, as well as questioning and predicting, and planning investigations. Additional Working scientifically outcomes and skills may be integrated with this content.
Loading...Explain the meaning of the law of conservation of mass
Conduct a practical investigation to demonstrate the law of conservation of mass in a chemical reaction
Investigate and explain how mass is conserved in closed systems
Use IUPAC naming conventions to construct the chemical formula for common ionic and covalent compounds
Represent chemical reactions, by predicting products and writing word and balanced chemical equations with states, as they are encountered
Model simple chemical reactions to show that atoms are rearranged and mass is conserved during a reaction
Determine the features of reactions by conducting synthesis, decomposition, displacement and neutralisation reactions
Identify pH as the measure of acidity and compare the pH of a range of common substances to the pH of pure water
Use pH indicators or meters to measure the pH change of neutralisation reactions
Investigate and explain how concentration, surface area, temperature and catalysts affect the rate of reactions
Conduct a practical investigation to test a measurable hypothesis, with a cause-and-effect relationship, that predicts changes to the rate of a chemical reaction, and graph data that communicates the investigation findings in a scientific report
Outline how the first elements were formed after the Big Bang
Describe the conditions that cause a nucleus to be unstable
Represent alpha and beta reactions as nuclear reactions
Identify that the half-life of a radioactive isotope is the time taken for half of the atoms in a sample to undergo radioactive decay
Evaluate the societal benefits and considerations of using radioisotopes in medicine, industry and environmental monitoring
Describe nuclear fission and nuclear fusion
Outline the impacts on the environment of nuclear reactions, including the raw materials used, the various stages of production and nuclear waste
Investigate a chemical or nuclear reaction used in industry to produce an important product