Grade 9 Science
11 units matched to the Nova Scotia Curriculum.
Learning focus
- Reproduction. Students examine the fundamental processes of reproduction, heredity, and the transmission of traits from one generation to the next. Implications of reproductive technologies are also explored.
- Atoms and Elements. Students use the Periodic Table to explore atoms and molecules, chemical symbols, and common elements and compounds.
- Characteristics of Electricity. Students explore electrostatics and electric circuits, power consumption, efficiency of appliances, and informed decisions about electricity and energy.
- Space Exploration. Students explain the origin, evolution, and components of the solar system and the universe, and examine what is needed to live in, develop in and explore space.
Units
Unit 1
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: Reproduction · reproduction in living things
Unit 2
Cells from Cells
How cells copy their DNA and divide by mitosis, the stages in order, why cells divide for growth and healing, and what can go wrong when cell growth isn't controlled.
Learning outcome: Reproduction · cell division and how cells make more cells
Unit 3
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: Atoms and Elements · atoms, electrons and the periodic table
Unit 4
Inside the Atom
Protons, neutrons and electrons, how Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford and Bohr's models changed with evidence, atomic and mass numbers, and drawing the electron shells of the first 20 elements.
Learning outcome: Atoms and Elements · the parts of an atom
Unit 5
The Periodic Table
Groups and periods, metals, non-metals and metalloids, alkali metals, halogens and noble gases, and how valence electrons and shells explain the patterns.
Learning outcome: Atoms and Elements · the periodic table and what it tells us
Unit 6
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: Atoms and Elements · elements and compounds
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: Characteristics of Electricity · static charges
Unit 8
Electric Current
Static electricity, current, voltage and resistance, solving V = I × R, series and parallel circuits, electrical safety, and electricity generation in BC.
Learning outcome: Characteristics of Electricity · electric current and circuits
Unit 9
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: Characteristics of Electricity · series and parallel circuits
Unit 10
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: Characteristics of Electricity · electrical energy and its use
Unit 11
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: Space Exploration · technology for exploring space
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