Science 

Science Report

Year 7 students have been making great progress over their first month at school and most now have their Bunsen burner licenses and had a great time making clouds while learning about the three primary states of matter. 

In Year 9 students have been learning about ecosystems, food chains and webs as well as the carbon cycle and photosynthesis. They completed a fantastic experiment where part of a leaf was shaded from the sun by wrapping it in a strip of metal foil. The leaves were then tested for the production of starch using an iodine indicator, which turns the leaf dark when starch is present.

Leaf totally exposed to the sun.  The entire leaf is dark indicating that all of the leaf is producing starch through photosynthesis

Leaf with a strip covered with metal foil.  The light strip indicates that no starch is present in that part of the leaf.

Our VCE students are also making great progress in Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Psychology. Physics students have been learning about fields and the motion of satellites, electric motors and particle accelerators. Psychology students have been learning about the structure of the nervous system and the function of the different parts of the brain and the role of neurons in transmitting information. Students are now approaching (or maybe even finishing) their first School Assessed Coursework (SAC) tasks for this year. It has been a busy start, but it has been great to get all of our senior students get back to their extensive experimental programs.

Senior Biology

The Senior Biology students have started the year by practising their lab skills by extracting DNA from a strawberry! In class, we have recently been studying the structure and function of DNA and what better way to study the blueprints of life than to actually SEE it! 

Students crushed up a strawberry and then mixed it with a buffer solution of shampoo, salt and ethanol. Then, in a matter of seconds, students saw the DNA magically rise to the top of the test-tube! (Note: no magic was actually performed, this was true science at work)! 

This is an experiment that can easily be done at home with other fruit such as a banana and kiwi fruit. If you are interested in trying this yourself you can visit the following website: https://chembam.com/home-learning/dna-extraction-from-fruit/

Ms Emma Rooke

Biology Teacher

Y12 Tutorials

On Thursday the Year 12 students had one of what I’m sure to be the first of many extracurricular classes. These lessons have been put in place in order to provide the cohort with the opportunity to achieve success. The first session was led by Mr Healy who had donated his time to ensure that we were being put in an advantageous position making certain that every one of his students was given the opportunity to succeed. Held in the Study Hub we were put in an environment outside the classroom that is excellent for both being taught and teaching. Being both enjoyable and informative these sessions would be something that every student attending Scoresby Secondary College should look forward to when provided with the opportunity to attend.

Sam Dhillon 

Year 12 College Captain

Mr John Healy

Science Coordinator