Grade 9 Science
10 units matched to the Alberta Curriculum.
Organizing ideas
- Unit A: Biological Diversity: how living things pass on their characteristics, and how human activity affects variety among and within species
- Unit B: Matter and Chemical Change: the properties of materials, the periodic table and what happens during chemical change
- Unit C: Environmental Chemistry: how chemical substances move through the environment and affect living things
- Unit D: Electrical Principles and Technologies: how electrical energy is generated, controlled, measured and used efficiently
- Unit E: Space Exploration: how technology has changed what we know about space, and the challenges and issues of exploring it
Units
Unit 1
Biodiversity & Heredity
Why variety within and between species helps living things survive, how symbiosis works, sexual and asexual reproduction, the basics of DNA, genes and chromosomes, and how people and nature influence which traits are passed on.
Learning outcome: Unit A: Biological Diversity · species and niches, variation, how traits are passed on, and what puts diversity at risk
Unit 2
Reproduction
How organisms reproduce with one parent or two, why sexual reproduction creates variety, the parts of a flower, and the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.
Learning outcome: Unit A: Biological Diversity · sexual and asexual reproduction in plants and animals
Unit 3
Elements & Compounds
Elements, compounds and mixtures, reading chemical formulas, physical and chemical properties and changes, density, and common household chemicals, including why some should never be mixed.
Learning outcome: Unit B: Matter and Chemical Change · physical and chemical properties of materials, mixtures and compounds
Unit 4
Atoms & Electrons
Protons, neutrons and electrons, drawing electron shells for the first 20 elements, valence electrons, periodic table groups and periods, and ions and isotopes.
Learning outcome: Unit B: Matter and Chemical Change · atoms, electrons and the periodic table
Unit 5
Chemical Change
Telling a chemical change from a physical change, reading simple word and symbol equations, why mass is conserved, what speeds a reaction up, exothermic and endothermic changes, and WHMIS safety.
Learning outcome: Unit B: Matter and Chemical Change · evidence of chemical change, reactants and products, conservation of mass, reaction rates and names of simple compounds
Unit 6
Chemistry & the Environment
The pH scale, acid rain and neutralization, nutrients and fertilizer runoff, indicator species, how substances such as mercury build up in food chains, and why the amount of a substance matters for safety.
Learning outcome: Unit C: Environmental Chemistry · acids and bases, nutrients and pollutants, air and water quality, and how substances build up in living things
Unit 7
Static Electricity
Positive and negative charges and the particles behind them, charging by friction, contact and induction, conductors and insulators, and electrical safety in a thunderstorm.
Learning outcome: Unit D: Electrical Principles and Technologies · static electricity, conductors and insulators
Unit 8
Circuits & Ohm's Law
Circuit components and their jobs, current, potential difference and resistance with their symbols and SI units, calculating with V = I × R, and how current, voltage and resistance behave in series and parallel circuits.
Learning outcome: Unit D: Electrical Principles and Technologies · circuits, current, voltage, resistance and Ohm's law
Unit 9
Electrical Energy
The difference between electricity and electrical energy, energy in joules and kilowatt-hours, cost of electricity, efficiency of devices, and the benefits and challenges of sources such as hydro, wind, solar, nuclear and gas.
Learning outcome: Unit D: Electrical Principles and Technologies · generating electrical energy, power, energy use and efficiency
Unit 10
Space Exploration
How optical and radio telescopes work, how scientists measure distance and motion in space, what satellites are used for, life-support needs for space travel, Canada's part in space exploration, and the risks and issues of using space.
Learning outcome: Unit E: Space Exploration · telescopes, satellites, remote sensing and the challenges of living and working in space
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