This page will give you some information about the Science department, what we teach and why we think Science is an important subject to study.
Science Teaching Staff:
- Mrs Neilson
- Miss Buchan
- Miss Dawson
- Mrs Gallagher
- Mr Hill
- Miss Maxwell
- Ms Spittal
- Mr Wardlaw
- Mrs Wright
What will you learn about in General Science at Grangemouth High School?
Broad General Education Courses for S3 pupils:
The Course is split up into 3 Units of theory to learn, plus an Assignment (which involves a simple bit of research and an experiment).
The contents of the 3 Units are outlined below:
1- Fragile Earth
– In this Unit, the ‘key areas’ covered are from:
Energy
- Learning about different energy sources, renewable (alternative) & non-renewable energy (including Solar-power, wind-power, hydroelectric-power, wave-energy, tidal-energy, geothermal-energy).
- Advantages and disadvantages of different ways of generating ‘power’ e.g. the pollution involved, the impact it has on the environment, the cost of it.
- ‘Fossil fuels’, which are coal, crude-oil and Natural gas – and the advantages and disadvantages of those sources of energy.
- Electricity transmission, from a power-station through the cables on the pylons of the National Grid, to our houses.
- How turbines and generators work to produce electricity.
- How power-stations work and how electricity gets transmitted through the cables & pylons of the National Grid.
- Learning about the efficiency of different methods of generation and distribution of electricity.
Metals
- Learning about where metals come from and how we can extract them from other stuff in the ground. Understanding the problems and risks involved in getting metals, as well as being aware of some possible solutions.
- Re-cycling metals
- Metal catalysts and how different metals ‘react’ with different things
- Metals of the future.
- Precious metals e.g. Gold and where it can be found …in Scotland!
Water
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- Learning about different sources / supplies of water, near us and around the world.
- Reservoirs, water treatment, water pipes to houses.
- The ‘water cycle’.
- Looking at what is in water from a pond compared to drinking water from a tap, Fluoride and chlorine used in water for health reasons.
- Domestic use of water and also how it is important for farming and industry, Hydroponics (growing plants without any soil!) and irrigation.
Food
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- Learning about how food can be grown and what problems there can be with that.
- Investigating different plants to learn how they are similar or different.
- Nutrients and energy from plants.
- Farming – livestock (animals) and crops …and the problems there are for people trying to farm in different places in the world.
- Food shortages.
- Genetically modified foods
- Organic food
2- Human health
In this Unit, the ‘key areas’ covered are from:
Threats to Health
- Learning about a good, healthy lifestyle and what can help you have good health as well as some of the things that could be a threat to your health.
- Learning about your blood-pressure, heart beat, pulse, body temperature, body fat, vaccination, etc.
- Learning about your heart and your lungs.
- Understanding some of the threats to your health, including: smoking, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, diet, poor exercise, stress and mental health, sexual health, hygiene, poverty, etc.
- Health claims
- Learning how to make sense of health claims made by companies and what you see in the media.
3-Application of science
Telecommunications
- Learning about electro-magnetic waves, including radio-waves, micro-waves, infra-red (IR), visible light-waves, ultra-violet ( UV ), X-Rays, Gamma-waves (rays) …and what they can be used for.
- Learning more about sound-waves.
- Learning more about different applications of all these types of waves, including: satellite technology, fibre-optics, opto-electronics, screens, loudspeakers & ear-phones, microphones, radio, mobile phone, etc…
- Learning about the applications and telecommunications that are used in modern cars
Materials
- Learning about the sources of materials needed to make things like: plastics, fibres, alloys, cosmetics, ‘smart’ materials, re-cycled materials, biological materials, etc.
- Learning how Infra-red ( IR ) ie. heat, and Ultra-Violet ( UV ) can make some materials/things change colour (eg. mug, T-shirt, plastic toys/spoons, etc.)
- Learning about ‘smart fluids’ which are materials that appear to be a liquid but they can behave like a solid ! Learning about cosmetic ‘wonder products’ and how they may not actually be ‘real’.
- Learning about the Science of skin-care, including tattoos, acne and how it can be treated.
Risk and Safety
Identifying what things can cause a risk of harm for people, and how those risks can be reduced ( ie. minimised ) so that things can be safer …in situations including:
- Safety at home & school
- Safety at work
- Transport safety
- Electrical safety
- Chemical safety
- Safety with radiation.
Assessment
To gain an overall Award for this Course, students need to pass the Course Assessment, which includes:
- a Unit Test for each of the 3 Units – these are done in class and marked by your teacher,
- an Outcome 1 – which is a simple ‘write-up’ of an experiment you do in class
- an Assignment – this involves pupils doing a simple piece of research along with an experiment so they can write a brief Report of what was investigated and found out.
The Course Assessment is graded as either a Pass or a Fail, and that is determined by how well pupils perform in each of the different parts.
Homework
Homework is an essential part of the course for those students who want to make good progress. Homework will include questions and problems from a textbook and/or worksheets and regular revision of all the material covered in the course.
Transferable skills
There are many very useful and valuable transferable skills gained by studying N4 Science, including: researching, ICT, reporting, numeracy, literacy, graphing, investigating, practical experimental skills, analysing, presentation, evaluating… to name just a few.
Progression
The course progresses to N5 Laboratory Science in S4.
