Science is a systematic process used to discover how the universe works and what it is made of. Science relies on testing ideas with evidence gained from the natural and physical world. The fundamental aims of science education are expressed as a series of achievement aims, grouped by the following strands;

• The living world strand is about living things and how they interact with each other and the environment.

• The planet earth and beyond strand is about the interconnecting systems and processes of the Earth, the other parts of the solar system, and the universe beyond

• The physical world strand provides explanations for a wide range of physical phenomena, including light, sound, heat, electricity, magnetism, waves, forces, and motion, united by the concept of energy, which is transformed from one form to another without loss.

• The material world strand involves the study of matter and the changes it undergoes. In their study of chemistry, students develop understandings of the composition and properties of matter, the changes it undergoes, and the energy involved.