Grade 9 Science
14 units matched to the Prince Edward Island Curriculum.
Learning focus
- Biodiversity & Sustainability of Ecosystems.
- Patterns in Atoms, Elements, and Compounds.
- Understanding Electricity.
Units
Unit 1
Ecosystems in Balance
How the biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere interact, food webs and the 10% energy rule, the carbon, nitrogen, water and phosphorus cycles, succession and biodiversity, how people change ecosystems, and farming practices that protect soil and water.
Curriculum outcome: Biodiversity & Sustainability of Ecosystems · the spheres of Earth, food webs, energy and matter cycles in ecosystems
Unit 2
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.
Curriculum outcome: Biodiversity & Sustainability of Ecosystems · variety within and between species, symbiosis, reproduction and DNA basics
Unit 3
Sustainable Ecosystems
Practises how human activity affects biodiversity and ecosystems, and issues such as climate change, over-population and clean energy that call for good scientific decisions.
Curriculum outcome: Biodiversity & Sustainability of Ecosystems; GCO 1 · sustainability of ecosystems, climate change, clean energy and population pressures
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.
Curriculum outcome: Patterns in Atoms, Elements, and Compounds · particles in the atom and how models of the atom changed with evidence
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.
Curriculum outcome: Patterns in Atoms, Elements, and Compounds · groups, periods and patterns in the periodic table
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.
Curriculum outcome: Patterns in Atoms, Elements, and Compounds · elements, compounds, formulas, and physical and chemical changes
Unit 7
Electrons & Compounds
How valence electrons decide whether atoms gain, lose or share electrons, ionic and covalent compounds, and reading simple chemical formulas.
Curriculum outcome: Patterns in Atoms, Elements, and Compounds · how valence electrons make ionic and covalent compounds
Unit 8
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.
Curriculum outcome: Patterns in Atoms, Elements, and Compounds · chemical changes, word equations and conservation of mass
Unit 9
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.
Curriculum outcome: Understanding Electricity · charges, conductors, insulators and charging objects
Unit 10
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.
Curriculum outcome: Understanding Electricity · circuit parts, current, voltage, resistance and Ohm's law
Unit 11
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.
Curriculum outcome: Understanding Electricity · electrical power, energy cost, efficiency and sources
Unit 12
How Science Works
Practises how scientists test predictions: hypotheses, variables, fair tests, bias, peer review, and how models and theories change with evidence.
Curriculum outcome: GCO 1; GCO 2 · hypotheses, variables, bias, peer review and models
Unit 13
Science & Society
Practises weighing the costs and benefits of technologies, spotting unforeseen consequences, taking action on science issues, and linking science to careers and hobbies.
Curriculum outcome: GCO 1 · weighing the costs and benefits of technologies and taking action on science issues
Unit 14
Science or Not Science?
Practises telling science from pseudoscience and judging what good science looks like, using evidence, testable ideas and fair tests.
Curriculum outcome: GCO 1; GCO 2 · telling science from pseudoscience and judging good scientific evidence
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