Science News!

Science Beyond the Classroom

It has been another exciting period for Science at Scoresby Secondary College, with students taking their learning well beyond the classroom. From preparing hydrogen-powered race cars and analysing DNA, to investigating the physics of music and light, and working alongside professionals at Coca-Cola, our students are seeing how science connects with real-world challenges, careers and innovation.

Preparing for the Hydrogen Grand Prix

Our Hydrogen Grand Prix (H2GP) students are busy preparing for their upcoming race, bringing together science, engineering, teamwork and strategy.

Students have been learning how hydrogen fuel cells can be used to power vehicles while also developing their understanding of energy efficiency, vehicle design and race strategy.

Preparing for H2GP isn't simply about building the fastest car teams need to carefully manage their available hydrogen and battery power, monitor the performance of their vehicle and make smart decisions throughout the race.

The competition provides a fantastic opportunity for students to put their STEM skills into practice.

Along the way, they are developing problem-solving, communication and teamwork skills while gaining first-hand experience with technology that could play an important role in our future energy systems.

We wish our H2GP students the very best as they prepare to take their cars to the track!

VCE Biology Masterclass: The Mystery of the Missing Lemur

Our VCE Biology students have had the opportunity to become genetic detectives through the KIOSC Unit 4 Biology Masterclass: Evolution.

Students work with real field data to investigate the relationships between eight individual lemurs and answer an intriguing question: could a species believed to be extinct actually still be alive?

To investigate, students examine physical characteristics before turning to DNA evidence.

They prepare DNA samples for amplification using PCR and then use gel electrophoresis to compare the genetic material of the lemurs.

These are some of the same techniques used by scientists in genetics, conservation biology and forensic science. The activity gives students an excellent opportunity to apply the concepts they are studying in VCE Biology while experiencing what biological research can look like in the real world.

VCE Physics Masterclass: Standing Waves

VCE Physics students have also been extending their learning through the KIOSC Unit 4 Physics Masterclass on Standing Waves.

Students investigate how waves behave in different materials and explore how standing waves can form in strings, columns of air and vibrating plates.

These ideas help explain something students encounter every day: music. The vibrations of guitar strings, musical instruments and speakers all involve wave behaviour and resonance.

Students also investigate what can happen when resonance becomes too powerful. In large structures such as bridges and buildings, uncontrolled resonance can have dramatic effects, demonstrating why an understanding of waves is important not only for musicians, but also for engineers and designers.

VCE Physics Masterclass: Young on Trial

In another KIOSC Physics Masterclass, students put one of the most important experiments in the history of physics to the test.

Students begin by using ripple tanks to investigate how water waves spread through gaps, move around obstacles and interact with one another.

They then use these observations to explore the famous work of scientist Thomas Young, whose experiments provided important evidence that light behaves like a wave.

Students recreate Young's double-slit experiment, observing the distinctive interference pattern produced when light passes through two very small openings.

They then use their experimental data to calculate the wavelength of different sources of light.

Rather than simply reading about this famous experiment in a textbook, students get to reproduce it themselves, analyse the evidence and reach their own conclusions about the behaviour of light.

Year 10 Students Partner with Coca-Cola

Fourteen of our Year 10 students have begun an exciting new industry partnership with Coca-Cola, providing them with an opportunity to see how science, technology and problem-solving are used in a major manufacturing environment.

Across a three-part experience, students will participate in site visits to Coca-Cola's Moorabbin manufacturing plant, where they will work alongside industry professionals and tackle real-world challenges.

Students will have the opportunity to see how concepts from science, engineering, technology and mathematics are applied on an industrial scale, while learning more about the many different careers involved in modern manufacturing.

Most importantly, students will be challenged to think, collaborate and develop solutions to genuine problems rather than simply being shown how a workplace operates.

It is an invaluable opportunity to connect classroom learning with the world of work and to help students see where their interests in STEM might take them in the future.

Science in Action

These experiences reflect an important part of Science at Scoresby Secondary College: giving students opportunities to use science, not simply learn about it.

Whether they are racing a hydrogen-powered car, analysing DNA, investigating waves and light or solving an industry problem, students are developing the curiosity, practical skills and confidence they will need to tackle the challenges of the future.

Mr George Wardle

Science Leader

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