Science

Our aim in the Science department is to inspire our students to want to find out more about the Science behind how our world works. Through inspirational teaching we aim to help students fulfil their potential and achieve success with us at The Roundhill Academy.

The Science department consists of 7 Science teachers from a range of Scientific backgrounds in Chemistry, Biology and Physics.

Topics covered in Science are detailed below

Year 7

Topic 1 Scientific Skills	This topic introduces students to scientific investigation and safety. Students develop scientific skills around safety and risk assessment; planning, method writing and variables; collecting and recording data, and concluding and evaluating. They experience a range of experiments and being to familiarise themselves with scientific equipment, including the Bunsen burner!
Topic 2 Energy	Students develop their understanding of energy as a transferrable store required for events to happen. This is a fundamental concept underpinning the Physics element of their curriculum. They will study energy stores, applicable to real life events as a principal of Physics. Students will gain confidence in working with larger numbers including the Si units kJ and kW. Using these to compare the energy provided in food, fuel stores and domestic fuel bills. Students will study simple machines in a practical context. The concept of heat energy and how this energy can be transferred by conduction, convection and radiation will be studied. Further developing students ideas of how particles can, and cannot, transfer energy. The scientific skills, risk assessment and planning are further developed and consolidated.
Topic 3 Forces	Forces play a role in one of the mechanisms by which energy is transferred, so a range of different forces and their actions are studied in this next topic. Students develop an understanding of how the action of contact and non-contact forces can impact on an objects shape and motion. The many practical opportunities in this topic allow students to consolidate their ideas and further improve their planning and risk assessment skills.
Topic 4 Particles	Students begin to study one of the most fundamental concepts in Chemistry: the particle. They use the particle model to build an understanding of the three states of matter, solid, liquid and gas, properties of these states of matter and how changes occur from one state to another. They look at what happens at the particle level during physical changes including changes of state, dissolving, density and diffusion. Students become more confident at identifying variables and use a range of methods to present data.
Topic 5 Atoms and Elements	Students will explore the different types of substances known as atoms, elements, compounds and mixtures, how these substances can be represented with symbols and formulae and how substances within a mixture can separated. They will be introduced to the Periodic table and the principles underpinning its formation. They will investigate the physical and chemical properties of elements and groups of elements found in the periodic table, including metals and non-metals and learn how to use the periodic table to make predictions about other elements. Identifying variables and presenting data in different formats continue to be a focus in this topic.
Topic 6 Circuits	In this topic, students learn about the difference between voltage and current. They then apply this to different types of circuits including series and parallel. Students will be exposed to and use equipment such as resistors, ammeters and voltmeters. Students will apply their mathematical skills to calculate resistance using voltage and current of circuits. They will also learn the international symbols for circuit components such as a fuse, cell and a battery.
Topic 7 Cells and Systems	In this topic students learn about the building blocks of life, the cell. They study the structure of animal and plant cells and develop an understanding of the role each structure within the cell, plays in the overall functioning of the cell. This leads on to explore the role and adaptions of specialised cells, building up to human organ systems; the circulatory and skeletal muscular systems are introduced. Microscopy offers students practical opportunities to understand the scale of size relating to cells. Students begin to develop the scientific skill of analysing data for its precision and repeatability.

Year 8

Topic 1 Chemical Reactions	Students are introduced to the Law of Conservation of Mass and chemical reactions, including how to construct word and chemical equations. A range of different chemical reactions are studied; combustion including respiration, thermal decomposition, oxidation and displacement reactions, that build upon their previous knowledge of the periodic table. The pH scale for measuring acidity and alkalinity is introduced along with reactions of acids with metals and neutralization reactions. Reactions involving energy changes like endothermic reactions including photosynthesis are also studied.
Topic 2 Plants	This topic focuses on the importance of plants as organisms and their role in supporting all other life on Earth. Students will study how plants are adapted to absorb sunlight for photosynthesis in order to build organic molecules that are an essential energy store and maintain levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. They will explore the role and adaptations of the leaf for gas exchange and the roots for the uptake of mineral ions and water. Students consider the importance of pollinators in plant reproduction and human life. From here, Feeding relationships considers the interdependence of organisms within an ecosystem and how organisms affect and are affected by their environment. Students are introduced to anaerobic respiration and the role of decomposers in the food chain and the cycling of nutrients. Practical opportunities enable students to study the biodiversity of plants within the school grounds, present their views and consider errors and anomalies within data collected.
Topic 3 Vital Processes	Vital process begins by looking at the biological importance of the chemical reaction, respiration and leads on to study the organ systems supporting this vital process. The structure of the respiratory system is studied in detail, looking at its adaptations for efficient gas exchange, to include features of the alveoli and the breathing mechanism. The impacts of smoking, exercise and asthma on the respiratory system are explored. The role the digestive system plays in obtaining the raw materials for respiration, cell functioning and health is considered next. Healthy diets, the impact of an imbalanced diet, the process of digestion, including the role of enzymes, and the adaptations of the digestive system are all studied in detail. Investigations into enzyme function give students opportunities to master their processing and analysis of data.
Topic 4 Earth & Space	In this topic, students will study on 2 different elements of our world – the structure of the Earth and the structure of our galaxy. The topic starts off with students investigating the differences between types of rock such as sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. This is then applied to the rock cycle and how each rock is changed into another. The second half of the topic focuses on the structure of the Solar system, the order of the planets, how seasons and days are formed and the impact of gravity on our planet and Solar system.
Topic 5 Waves	Waves introduces the ideas of how light and sound waves are fundamentally different to each other. The main bulk of the topic then looks at the behaviour of light, reflection, refraction and diffraction. This is then applied to the eye and students have the opportunity to dissect an eye to see how the lens works with light. The topic ends on how white light is split and how we see the spectrum of colours in white light.
Topic 6 Inheritance & Variation	This topic links into the previous topic of cells. We focus on the structure of DNA and the students are introduced to stereotypes in science. We look at the remarkable contributions of Rosalind Franklin and due to her sex, was treated differently to her male counterparts in the field of genetics. Students then extract DNA from fruit and link their findings to the structure of DNA from previous lessons. The second half of the topic then gives the students the opportunity to look at natural selection, adaptations and selective breeding and how genetics can be manipulated for our own gain.
Topic 7 Reproduction	Reproduction introduces students to human reproduction, including the structure and function of the male and female reproductive systems, the menstrual cycle, fertilisation, gestation and the effect of maternal lifestyle on foetal development. The use of secondary data provides opportunities to process and analyse data.

Year 9

Topic 1 Feeding Relationships	This topic focuses on ecology. We study this at the start of the academic year as the weather allows us to carry out our own field work using quadrats and line transects. We then construct pyramids of number and biomass and link these to food chains and food webs. The second half of the topic links to farming. We study the main differences between organic and intensive farming and apply our knowledge to an EPQ project where students aregiven a question to research about farming and are taught the skills to present these ideas to the class. These skills are then transferable to GCSE.
Topic 2 Energy	Students will develop a deeper understanding of energy, in that an energy store of some kind is necessary for events to happen. This is a fundamental concept underpinning the Physics element of their curriculum. The will add further complexity from the ideas about energy stores taught in year 7 to include the idea of energy pathways utilising principal of conservation of energy in closed systems. They will identify the physical processes and mechanisms that cause changes of energy in systems. Students will also compare power ratings of appliances, and develop further understanding about the meaning of power related to energy changes. They will use mathematical techniques to compare energy transfers, including further developing their skills in unit identification and conversions. Students will study energy sources and develop their ability to justify choices for fuel and energy resources by evaluating evidence. Identify and explain energy stores and transfers and apply calculations to these build upon year 7 by covering method s of energy transfer in systems.
Topic 3 Health Data	This human biology topic is rooted in looking at the circulatory system, mainly on the structure of the heart and blood vessels. Students then analyse data about heart disease and look at the causes such as obesity, exercise and smoking. At this point, students have the opportunity to dissect hearts to apply their knowledge to real examples. Different types of cancer is then studied and the impact of lifestyle choices on the NHS and society as a whole. This topic allows students to analyse data and present it in a variety of different graphical formats.
Topic 4 Periodic table	Students continue to develop the idea that all matter is made up of atoms, and that materials made from a single chemical substance or mixture of substances give the material distinctive properties. This includes further development of ideas about the atomic model and the differences between atoms, elements and compounds. Evaluating evidence presented by scientists during the development of ideas about the atom is covered as part of this. Study of chemical symbols and formulae for elements and compounds along with mathematic application for the conservation of mass in chemical reactions is covered. Pure and impure substances and the simple techniques for separating mixtures in a practical context are developed. The periodic table is further explored as a tool for deciphering and predicting the varying physical and chemical properties of different elements. With the chemical symbols contained within it used for representing reactions of greater complexity.
Topic 5 Circuits	Students develop the big idea of electrical charge and its role in helping us to develop technology and its role in electrical devices. They study static electricity and electric fields and their link to electrical current in circuits. The basics of circuits are revisited, further developing ideas about potential difference and resistance in circuits based upon different components. The national grid as a tool to transfer electrical energy and it’s link to potential difference and current in our homes is covered. Elements of working scientifically are revisited in this unit, based upon feedback from student’s summative assessments.
Topic 6 Magnets	Students further develop the idea that electricity and magnetism and help us to develop technology that improves lives. They study the history of electromagnetism in the context of Micheal Faraday and his experiments including the threshold knowledge required to understand this – from magnetic poles to magnetic field lines. Students will study the Earths own magnetism and the relevance to navigation. The links between electromagnetism and motors is also covered in this unit, linking with ideas from the forces unit. Elements of working scientifically are revisited in this unit, based upon feedback from student’s summative assessments.