Bingley Grammar School

Science

Useful Resources and Revision Support

Studying Science gives young people a better understanding of the world around them.  At Bingley we encourage our students to develop a positive and practical approach to Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

At GCSE, most of our students follow the AQA Combined Science Trilogy pathway
which is made up of all three science subjects and is worth two GCSE’s. The three
sciences equip students with many skills that will support them in their later lives. At
A’level we follow the AQA Chemistry, Physics and Biology A’level specifications and
the Edexcel Applied Science specification for our BTEC courses.
Students who perform well, display outstanding attitudes to learning and have a clear
interest in science consistently throughout year 10 will be invited to join our
challenging separate science courses.
Science is an enquiry-based subject which we embed throughout the curriculum to
enable students to develop their ideas in a supportive environment. Making clear
links between scientific subject knowledge and practical enquiry makes science a
unique and important subject to study. Our learners are inspired to achieve.

Assessment

Each topic is assessed continually during lessons by teaching staff and by students
via peer & self-assessment. We also use regular end of unit assessments. These
assessments focus upon recently covered material and ideas previously covered in
linked topics taught earlier in the course.

KS4 exam Board specification, AQA 
GCSE Combined Science Trilogy
Separate Science Courses covered at BGS
GCSE Separate Biology
GCSE Separate Chemistry
GCSE Separate Physics
KS5 Exam board Specification – AQA (A’level) and Edexcel (BTEC
Applied Science)
A level Biology 
A level Chemistry
A level Physics 
BTEC Applied Science

 

 

Enrichment

The department offers a KS3 Science club and we run themed lesson in KS3 at relevant times of the year (such as the science of fireworks in November and the science of Christmas in December). We organise a range of activities both in school as well as outside school to celebrate events such as British Science Week (www.britishscienceweek.org) and World Antibiotics Awareness week.  The department arranges school-wide competitions and takes part in local and national competitions such as the Royal Society of Chemistry's Chemistry Challenge and the Shell Energy Bright Ideas Challenge

In GCSE and A Level exam years revision sessions are offered to students to consolidate learning.

We also run various transition events inviting classes from local primary schools into our science labs allowing the children to get used to life at upper school in a fun but controlled way.

Curriculum Overview

Year 7

Year 8

  • Safety and skills

Biology

  • Organisms:

     Animal and plant cells

     Using a microscope

     Skeleton and muscles

     Healthy diet

  • Ecosystems:

    Reproduction in plants

    Food chains and webs

    Water cycle

  • Genes:

    Reproduction in humans

    DNA

  • Health and disease:

    Effects of smoking

    Legal and illegal drugs and their effects on the body

Chemistry

  • Structures Determine Properties

    Particle model and the Atom

    Introduction to bonding

    Separation techniques

  • Reactions Rearrange Matters

    Acids and neutralisation

    Gas Tests

    Law of Conservation of Mass

    Introduction to rates of reactions

  • Earth Systems Interact

    Importance of crude oil

    Organic Chemistry - Alkanes

    Ceramics and composites

    Mining

    Combustion

    Earth's Atmosphere

    Climate Change

Physics

  • Forces & Motion

    Forces Affect Motion & Fields Produce Forces

    Force types & pairs, speed, distance & time, Gravity and space

  • Energy & Matter

    Electric Circuits & Transferring Energy

    Electric circuit design, current, voltage, resistance & power.

    Changing state and particle theory, heating and cooling, energy types and changes

    Fuels and energy resources

  • Safety and skills

Biology

  • Organisms:

    Unicellular organisms

    Different types of microscopes

    Nervous system

    Breathing

    Human circulatory system

  • Ecosystems:

    Photosynthesis

    Carbon cycle

    Biomass

    Predator and prey relationships

    Human impacts on the environment

    Sampling

  • Genes:

    Variation

    Inheritance

    Natural selection

    Selective breeding

Chemistry

  • Structures Determine Properties

    Periodic table and Atomic Structure

    Chemical and physical changes

    Diffusion

    Representing chemical bonds

    Chromatography

  • Reactions Rearrange Matters

    Metal and acid reactions

    Noble Gases

    Reactivity of metals

    Thermal decomposition

    Representing reactions in equations

  • Earth Systems Interact

    Fractional Distillation

    Organic Chemistry - alkenes

    Rock Cycle

    Corrosion

    Pollutants

    Greenhouse effect

Physics

  • Energy & Matter

    Waves & Radiation Transfer Energy

    Wave behavior and types, behavior of light, Electromagnetic Spectrum, wave theory of sound

    Magnetic & Static Electric Fields

    Permanent and temporary magnetism, Earth’s magnetic field, Electromagnetism, static electricity and charges

  • Forces & Motion

    Forces & Motion Part 2

    Force pairs and resultants, speed, pressure and levers

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Biology

  • Organisms:

    Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells

    Electron microscopes and how to make a slide

    Blood and different types of circulatory systems

    Endocrine and nervous system

    Mitosis

    Enzymes

  • Ecosystems

    Photosynthesis experiments

    Limiting factors

    Structure of a plant

    Biotic and abiotic factors

    Biodiversity

    Interdependence and relationships in an ecosystem

  • Genes

    Hormones in the menstrual cycle

    Fertility

    Inheritance

    Evolution

  • Health and disease

    Micro-organisms

    Growth of bacteria

    Communicable diseases

    Defence against disease

Chemistry

  • Structures Determine Properties

    Particle model to explain changes of state and chemical changes

    Interpreting information from the periodic table

    Polymers

    Giant covalent structures

  • Reactions Rearrange Matters

    Titrations

    Group 1 metals

    Qualitative analysis 

    Reaction profile diagrams

    Rates of reactions

    Catalysts

  • Earth Systems Interact

    Cracking

    Organic Chemistry - alcohols

    Additional polymerisation

    Metal extraction - heating with carbon

    Fertilisers

    Evolution of Earth Atmosphere

Physics

  • Forces & Motion

    Forces in Action:

    Force interactions, Newton’s second law, Motion graphs and acceleration, stretching materials

  • Energy & Matter

    Energy Conservation:

    Energy types and transfers, energy calculations and power

    Electricity Transfers Energy:

    Simple circuit behavior, voltage, current & resistance

    Thermal Energy:

    Temperature, insulation, specific heat capacity, state changes and latent heat, pressure calculations, gas behavior and fluids.

    Radiation Transfers Energy:

    Density of materials, development of the modern atomic model, isotopes and basic radioactive decay processes.

Biology

  • Hormonal and Nervous Responses

    Negative feedback

    The menstrual cycle

    Fertility

    Plant hormones

    Homeostasis

    The kidney

    Reflex actions

    The eye

  • Respiration and Circulatory System

    Anaerobic and aerobic respiration

    The heart

    The blood and blood vessels

  • Ecosystems

    Cycles in nature

    Decomposition

    Food chains and food webs

    Pyramids of number and biomass

    Biomass transfer

  • DNA, classification and Evolution

    Genes and variation

    Meiosis

    Genetic crosses

    The work of Mendel

    Evolution

    Natural Selection

Chemistry

  • Chemical Reactions

    Energetics and reaction profiles

    Calculating energy changes

    Bond energies

    Redox reactions

    pH scale and neutralisation

    Reactions of acids

    Electrolysis of molten & aqueous solutions

  • Predicting & Identifying Reactions

    Group 1 alkali metals

    Group 7 The Halogens

    Transition metals

    Detecting gases

    Identifying cation & anions 

  • Monitoring & Controlling Reactions

    Choosing reaction pathways

    Percentage yield & atom economy

    Titrations & Calculation

    Concentration calculations

Physics

  • Density of materials, Gas behaviour and state changes (separate only)

    Simple machines - pressure and moment calculations (separate only)

    Electromagnetic induction and applications of the motor effect (separate only)

  • Waves

    Wave properties

    Reflection

    Refraction

    Wave speed and echos

    Electromagnetic spectrum

    Using light - lenses & colour (separate only)

  • Radioactivity

    Atomic structure & Isotopes

    Types of radioactivity

    Modelling radioactive decay and half life

    Atomic spectra and energy levels

    Using radioactivity - medical applications (separate only)

  • Energy

    Mechanical work and power

    Energy conservation Potential and kinetic energy

    Thermal energy and insulation

    Calculating efficiency

    Cost of electricity and the KiloWatt Hour

Biology

  • Global Challenges

    Ecosystems and Sampling

    Human impacts on ecosystems

    Food security

    Maintaining biodiversity

    Selective breeding

    Genetic engineering

    Health and disease

    Plant diseases

    Health and Disease

Chemistry

  • Monitoring Controlling Reactions

    Rates of reaction - impact of temperature, concentration, pressure, particle size & catalysts

    Equilbria & Reversible reactions

  • Global Challenges

    Improving processes & products

    Fertilisers

    Haber process

    Extracting metals

    Material science

    Organic chemistry - alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, carboxylic acids

    Addition & condensation polymers

    Interpreting & interacting with Earth systems

    Atmosphere formation

    Pollution & the atmosphere

    Potable water

    Climate change 

Physics

  • Global Challenges

    Speed and velocity

    Stopping distance of vehicles

    Forces and collisions

    Electricity distribution & transformers

    Domestic electricity and wiring

    The energy resource debate - renewable versus non - renewable resources

    Big bang theory and the expanding universe (separate only)

    Star physics, formation and fusion (separate only)

    Planetary orbits (separate only)

    Earths internal structure and basic seismology (separate only)

 

 

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