Senior 2 Science (20F)                          SCIR2F

Course Description:

The Science 20S course is designed to encourage scientific literacy. Students have an opportunity to sample these areas of science enabling them to make informed science selections at the S3 and S4 levels.  Laboratory skills and science processes are a part of the desired outcomes of this course.

The course involves group and individual work more emphasis will be placed on individual performances on tests and written assignments.

General Learning Outcomes:

Several goals promoting scientific literacy within Canada science education were developed as part of Pan-Canadian Science Framework:

Encourage students at all grades to develop a critical sense of wonder and curiosity about scientific and technological endeavors.

Enable students to use science and technology to acquire new knowledge and solve problems, so they may improve the quality of their own lives and the lives of others.

Prepare students to critically address science-related societal, economic, ethical and environmental issues.

Provide students with a proficiency in science that creates opportunities for them to pursue progressively higher levels of study, prepares them for science-related occupations, and engages them in science-related hobbies appropriate to their interests and abilities.

Develop in students of varying aptitudes and interests a knowledge of the wide variety of careers related to science, technology, and the environment.  

Topics:

Senior 2, Cluster 1: Dynamics of Ecosystems:

In this cluster, students examine the complex relationships present in ecosystems in order to further investigate issues of sustainability.  The large scale cycling of elements in biogeochemical cycles and the bioaccumulation of toxins in food chains are studied.  Population dynamics are examined in the context of the carrying capacity and limiting factors of ecosystems.  The concepts and implications of species biodiversity are explored as well.  With the knowledge they have gained, students investigate how human activities affect an ecosystem and use the decision-making model to propose a course of action to enhance its sustainability. 

Senior 2, Cluster 2:  Chemistry in Action:

This cluster provides students with the opportunity to examine the interactions among elements as they form compounds through chemical reactions.  Students become familiar with the formulas and naming of binary compounds, and investigate the Law of Conservation of Mass. The recognition that mass is conserved in chemical reactions allows students to balance equations with both words and symbols, and classify them by type.  the principles of acid-base chemistry are studied and extended to large-scale environmental interactions.  Students investigate the use of chemistry in biological, industrial, and domestic settings, recognizing that chemical use is pervasive in modern society. 

Senior 2, Cluster 3:  In Motion:

In order to develop an understanding of the physics of motion, the outcomes of this cluster are examined within the context of the automobile.  The relationships among displacement, velocity, acceleration, and time are analyzed in conceptual, numerical, graphical, and symbolic modes.  Students investigate the qualitative aspects of inertia, force, impulse and momentum as they relate to automobile safety.  the conservation of energy in car collisions and braking distance is explored.  Using the knowledge they have gained, students use the decision-making process to address an STSE issue related to safe driving conditions.

Senior 2, Cluster 4:  Weather Dynamics:

This cluster develops an understanding of the relationships that control weather and climate.  An examination of the global energy budget of the Earth through water and heat transfer provides the basis for discussion of severe weather phenomena.  Students gather and analyze meteorological data related to a severe weather event, and explore the social, economic, and environmental impact of the event. Evident that climate change occurs due to natural events and human activities is investigated and

evaluated.  Students apply their understanding of weather and climate in a discussion of the potential consequences of climate change. 

Evaluation:

Evaluation will consist of assignments, quizzes, and tests which will comprise 70% of the final grade.  The remaining 30% will take the form of a final exam.