|
Titel
1
|
General Science
Study plan, fall 2025 – General Science
GENERAL SCIENCE:
Academic goals:
Students must be able to demonstrate knowledge of theory and methodology in biology, physics and chemistry, including:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the sciences’ identity and methods
- Carry out observations and simple experiments in the laboratory, taking general
laboratory safety into account
- Analyze figures and data and relate them to the relevant explanatory models
- Interpret data
- Assess specific examples of the application of knowledge in biology, physics and chemistry
- Express themselves both orally and in writing about relationships involving relevant
technical and scientific concepts in biology, physics and chemistry
Work methods:
Class work, PowerPoint-presentations, portfolio/journaling in OneNote, Excel, group work, work sheets, note talking, mind maps, dialogue
Through work in the individual sciences biology, physics and chemistry, the student learn general scientific concepts that are used across the different sciences.
The students should be able to use the terms: independent variable, dependent variable and controlled variables, variable control/fair test, significant figures, trials/repetitions, good lab practice, precision, accuracy, qualitative, quantitative, formula, SI-Units, mathematical model, best-fit line, standard curve, correlation, causation
The student should be able to describe different steps in the scientific method: Problem/question, research, hypothesis, experiment, collect and analyse data, conclusion, communicate result.
BIOLOGY:
Introduction to biology – cell biology, enzymes, respiration, photosynthesis, taxonomy, kingdoms, ecosystems, food chains and food webs
Core theory:
- General structure and function of eukaryotic cells: Plant cells and animal cells, structure and function of enzymes, organelles, structure and function of tissues in organisms, here; plants.
Curriculum:
Bradfield and Potter: Edexcel International GCSE Biology Student Book. 2017. Pg: 2-8, 12-14, 16-18, 19-20, 25-30, 135, 138-141, 142-143, 152-155, 158-162, 174-178,187-189, 190 – 191, 192-199
Experimental work/lab work:
- Experiment with baker’s yeast: An experiment to illustrate enzyme activity under different circumstances like different amounts of substrate and enzyme, and different pH-levels and different temperatures
- Introduction to the microscope: Observations of plant cells and animal cells
- Measuring different physiological characteristics on humans, to check for correlations and possible causation
- Photosynthesis and light intensity in Elodea canadense – only for P2 (covered theoretically in P1)
- Structure and function of leaves and flowers – only for P1 (covered theoretically in P2)
The biology part of General Science Foundations Course covers:
Introduction to the five kingdoms of biology: Animals, plants, fungi, protoctist and bacteria (prokaryotes). The students should be able to name these 5 kingdoms and the characteristics of each, and in that way determine which kingdom different organisms belong to.
General structure and function of cells, especially plant-, animal-, fungi and bacterial cells, and differences and likenesses between them. The students should be able to use the biological terms:
Cell wall, cell membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, flagella, vacuole.
Cell processes: Respiration, including anaerobic respiration, and active and passive transport (including osmosis). The students should know the formulas for aerobic and anaerobic respiration (also called fermentation). They should know the point of these processes (to deliver energy for cell metabolism), the results of the processes and the balanced chemical formulas for them. They should know in what cells and where in the cells these processes take place: Respiration in the mitochondria of all cells (except prokaryotes) and photosynthesis in the chloroplasts of plant cells. The students should know what will impact the rate of photosynthesis (limiting factors such as sunlight, water, and CO2)
Enzymes: The students should know what enzymes are made of, what they do, and their basis for functioning. The students should be able to use the words enzyme, catalyst, active site, substrate, product, optimum temperature, and optimum pH. The students should be able to conduct a simple experiment in the lab (experiment with baker’s yeast) and interpret the resulting data (report, handed in as group work).
Finishing up the course we’ll look at plants as organisms, the functions of the plants’ different structures root, stem, leaf and flower, and food chains, food webs, ecological pyramids and ecosystems. The students should be able to name structures and their function in plants’ roots, stems and leaves. They should be able to distinguish between food chains and food webs, and construct pyramids of numbers and pyramids of biomass based on food chains in ecosystems.
Students will be introduced to different levels of biology, from atom to ecosystems. They should know that a structure always has corresponding function and be able to match structure to function. The students learn to take notes using the Cornell Notetaking Method and to organize knowledge in mind maps, to get an overview of organ systems, corresponding organs, and functions in the body.
Throughout the course, there will be an emphasis on biology being a subject of observations of living organisms, and how to make these observations. The students learn simple techniques in the lab and how to determine whether and experiment is qualitative or/and quantitative, they learn the importance of being able to replicate an experiment, do variable control, and why that is important. At the same time the students learn that nature does not come in boxes – rather we apply boxes to nature in an attempt to organize and structure knowledge.
GENERAL SCIENCE - CHEMISTRY
Curriculum:
Basic Chemistry, chapter 1
Generel Science – Chemistry (file on Lectio and OneNote)
Content:
The course covers basic concepts in chemistry such as the structure of atoms (Bohr's atomic model), the periodic table and electron systems, writing and balancing equations for reactions. The course also covers an introduction to ions and ionic compounds.
The student should be able to deduce information about an atom from its position in the periodic table, so that the atom's structure and ion charge can be predicted.
The student should be able to write formulas for ionic compounds consisting of monoatomic ions and polyatomic ions. In addition, the student should be able to determine whether an ionic compound is slightly or strongly soluble and to read a solubility diagram. In the exercise “Solubility diagram for potassium nitrate”, the student should gain experience of the temperature dependence of solubility and construct a solubility diagram.
The student should be able to explain what a precipitation reaction is and should be able to write and balance equations for precipitation reactions. In the experiment “Titration of Seawater” a precipitation titration is used to determine the salt content of seawater. This is done with the knowledge of precipitation reactions and the use of a standard curve,
Experiments: (the reports/journals should be in your portfolio on OneNote):
1) Dissolving a solute
2)Titration of seawater
For each experiment the student should be able to describe different steps in the scientific method: Problem/question, research, hypothesis, experiment, collect and analyse data, conclusion, communicate result while using general scientific concepts.
In chemistry the emphasis has been on the following general scientific concepts:
Iindependent variable, dependent variable and controlled variables, variable control/fair test, trials/repetitions, good lab practice, precision, accuracy, qualitative, quantitative, best-fit line, standard curve.
PHYSICS:
Introduction to density
Core theory physics:
- Density, applications and measurements
Curriculum:
Notes on Density (PDF)
Experimental work/lab work:
- Alcohol percentage of vodka
- Lighter gas
The physics part of General Science Foundations Course covers:
Introduction to density. units of density and calculations.
The student should know the formula for density and be able to isolate the mass and the volume in the formular.
The student should know the different units of mass, volume and density and be able to convert from one unit to the other.
The student should be able to explain different ways of determining volume, depending on the state and shape of the substance, and access which method is precise.
Applications of density: Determining what a material is made of, if an object will float on water, the thickness of aluminium foil, the alcohol percentage of vodka, the type of gas in a lighter.
The student should be able to conduct these simple experiments in the lab and interpret the resulting data. The student should be able to explain the method of determining density, both by calculation and using a mass vs. volume graph.
Throughout the course, there will be an emphasis on physics being a subject where calculations and experiments are essential. The students learn to write up calculations using formula, units and significant figures. They learn simple techniques in the lab, maintaining variable control, and how to determine whether and experiment is precise and/or accurate. They learn how to use mathematical (linear) models when interpreting data.
|