Science

Around the School in Science

In Year 7 Science, students are currently learning how to conduct a controlled experiment and are completing an assessment of their knowledge of science safety and equipment.

In Year 8 Science, students are learning about how light refracts when it passes through concave and convex lenses.

In Year 9 Science, students are learning about the anatomy of the eye and are completing eye dissections in class.

In Year 9 Environmental Science, students have been learning about the conservation of biodiversity, and recently visited Yarran Dheran Nature Reserve on an excursion.

In Year 9 Forensic Science, students are learning how to analyse scientific evidence, such as hair and clothing fibres, ink chromatography and fingerprints, to solve a hypothetical Mullauna College murder mystery.

In Year 10 Disease and Immunology, students are learning about lines of defence in the human immune system. They have been creating a flip book identifying different types of leukocytes (white blood cells).

In Year 10 Biology, students have been learning about cell structure and function, creating models of eukaryotic cells and their organelles.

Year 10 Psychology students have been learning about performance psychology, including the impact of arousal on performance and the detrimental effects of distraction.

In Year 11 Chemistry, students are learning about metallic bonding and exploring precipitation reactions.

In Year 11 Biology, students have been learning about the movement of substances through the cell’s plasma membrane. They recently completed a starch and iodine diffusion experiment, modelling the movement of substances through a semi-permeable membrane.

In Year 11 Physics, students have been learning about the properties of light, waves and heat, including investigating the differences in the specific heat capacity of oil and water.

Year 11 Psychology students have been learning about the stages of human development, the concept of nature vs nurture on human development, and the contribution of different psychologists to the field of developmental psychology.

Year 12 Chemistry students are currently undertaking an investigation of fuels, including the role of biofuels as alternatives to fossil fuels. In the lab, they have created biodiesel and are comparing the properties of this emerging fuel source with those of petro-diesel and ethanol.

Year 12 Physics students have been learning about momentum, energy transformations and collisions. They are looking forward to experiencing the forces of physic during their excursion to Lunar Park next week!

In Year 12 Biology, students have been learning about manipulating DNA and technology used by scientists for gene editing.

In Year 12 Psychology, students started the year refreshing their memories of the nervous system and how different systems influence our conscious and unconscious responses to stimuli. Quite appropriately, students are currently investigating stress and how we respond to stress, including conducting fieldwork to gather and analyse data on coping flexibility among VCE students. It turns out our VCE students are quite good at recognising when their coping strategies aren’t working to relieve stress levels!

The Science Teaching Team