MAKING SENSE OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD: LEVEL 7

ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES

Students can

negotiate and carry out a systematic practical investigation of their own choice into some relevant aspect of their physical world, and link their explanations with relevant physical concepts;
apply their ideas of energy to novel situations, e.g., movement of a roller coaster, rocketry, energy pollution;
investigate and deduce patterns in physical phenomena and make useful predictions ' some patterns may be expressed in symbolic and numerical terms, e.g., lifting ability of helium balloons, historical data on weather;
understand the principles involved in some technological device or new development in technology, e.g., super conductivity, remote controls, cellular phones, microwave ovens.

Students could be learning by:

preparing a project plan for a practical investigation of their own choice;
investigating how the angle of take-off affects the jumping distance of a long jumper;
dismantling and explaining the working of a motor or engine;
debating 'Solar panels are the best form of home heating';
interviewing a Māori historian to find out how observation of ocean waves was used by Māori travellers for navigation;
finding a relationship between the diameter of a capillary tube and the height a liquid rises up a tube;
gathering and analysing data from an experiment investigating the heating effect of a microwave at different power settings;
writing a letter to a friend that outlines the ways in which superconductors could revolutionise methods of transport; researching and reporting on the relative merits of different systems used in telecommunications, e.g., landline, microwave links, communication satellites;
reading resource material and reporting on the principles involved in the working of a hearing aid;
visiting a local Telecom division to find out about the uses of fibre optics in telecommunications;
designing a poster that illustrates how to make reading glasses which compensate for long-sightedness;
evaluating and reporting the evidence relating to the safety of microwave ovens.

ASSESSMENT EXAMPLES

Teachers and students could assess the students':

ability to plan and carry out an investigation, when the students carry out a systematic investigation into different fabrics to justify the most suitable fabric for use in making flameproof nightclothes;
ability to apply the principle of energy conservation, when describing the motion of a roller coaster;
ability to perform numerical calculations, when analysing data on measured intensity of illumination at different distances from a light bulb;
knowledge of energy absorption in collisions, when the students make a report on safety features in cars;
ability to reach valid conclusions, when the students analyse data for different batteries to determine which battery is best for use in a 'walkman';
use of relevant sources of information, when explaining the general operation of a cellular telephone network;
knowledge of the use of fibre optics in medicine, when the students give a class presentation.