Science 10

Science 10 is all about giving students a broad foundation in science. The skills they learn in this course will give them an understanding and appreciation of how science is done and how it impacts our world. Science 10 is divided into four big ideas; energy change during chemical reactions, DNA as the basis for the diversity of living things, the law of conservation of energy and its applications in our lives, and that the formation and evolution of the universe can be explained by the Big Bang theory.

In chemistry, different types of chemical reactions are examined and described in terms of word and symbol equations. Lessons will regularly be brought out of the classroom to explore how reactions affect us and our environment. Radioactivity of various kinds is explored.

Problems associated with radioactivity are discussed and linked to such things as the development of atomic power and nuclear weapons alongside the fight against cancer, to name a few.

The biology portion of Science 10 examines DNA, how it functions and how it is passed down from generation to generation in all living things as the carrier of heritable traits. Students will learn the theoretical framework of genetics and then work to apply it to themselves and the environment around them, including how it relates to natural selection as a mechanism for evolution.

Energy is a major topic in physics. In Science 10, students learn how to quantify different forms of energy and explore how those energy types are transformed from one form to another, especially the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy, and vice versa, in systems in motion.

The questions asked in astronomy are some of the grandest in scale in all of science. Students will learn how modern astronomical observations are made and learn how the timeless practice of looking at the stars has differed through time and across societies.

The goal for Science 10 is to prepare students to make informed decisions about their place in the world. Regardless of whether students pursue science at the senior or post-secondary levels, this course fosters the foundational scientific literacy critical to being a well-informed, thoughtful citizen in our modern, global society.