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It has been an extremely busy module in the science department! Year 10 students have been revising and working hard for their mock assessments, while year 7, 8 and 9 have been completing section D of their MYP assessment (this means reflecting on the impact of science in practical life), and taking part in British Science Week as part of this.
Below is a more detailed summary of what each year group has been studying of late, alongside some exemplary work in students’ books!
Year 7 students have been studying chemical reactions, including the difference between physical and chemical changes.
Year 8 have been studying different separation techniques, including filtration, distillation and chromatography.
Year 9 have been studying forces and have been practising a number of equations from the topic.
Year 10 have been studying the circulatory system and energy changes in reactions. In biology students have been dissecting hearts.
The theme in Science Week this year was growth. As part of this, our year 8 students designed, built and tested a number of helicopter blueprints based on seed dispersal patterns. Year 8 students Stanley, Marco and Jared can be seen in the image to the right testing their design.
On Wednesday 16th March, Year 9 students, parents and carers attended our first ever onsite options event to learn about the routes open to them at GCSE Science. LAB have a very strong cohort of year 10 students studying Separate Science and a number were on hand to discuss the opportunities of taking this option at GCSE.
One of our best and brightest pupils, Anna M, helped out for the evening and wrote this report of events:
“At the Year 9 options evening, we spoke to many different parents and students about the advantages of Separate Science GCSE. We helped many parents understand the difference between Separate and Combined Science - taking Separate Science amounts to an extra GCSE with its own grade, but you take the same number of exams as the Combined Science pupils, just 30 minutes longer - and explained the timings, our lessons and the difficulty. We told students about the equations that are needed during the exams, how some are given and some need to be remembered.
One of the Science rooms on the third floor was set up with various experiments to demonstrate practicals and information learnt in Separate Science lessons. There was a flame test, where splints could be dipped in different chemicals, such as copper sulphate solutions or potassium chloride, and would cause the fire to change colour due to the chemical reactions taking place. Also present were microscopes with sliders set up of various cells, and a linear air track which demonstrated the effect friction can have, as well as many more practicals.
Parents and students walked about the room and looked at the stations, each with a Year 10 student able to answer questions and to explain. Often, parents would ask about the workload and the homework, inquiring about the time it took and we reassured them it challenged us the appropriate amount. It was an educating experience for both us and those thinking about a Separate Science GCSE, and we were very happy to help out.”
If you have any questions regarding opportunities in science then please speak to your science teacher.
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