Topics

- SC4-14LW relates the structure and function of living things to their

classification, survival and reproduction
- SC4-15LW explains how new biological evidence changes people’s
understanding of the world
- SC4-10PW describes the action of unbalanced forces in everyday
situations
- SC4-11PW discusses how scientific understanding and technological
developments have contributed to finding solutions to problems
involving energy transfers and transformations
- SC413ES explains how advances in scientific understanding of
processes that occur within and on the Earth, influence the choices
people make about resource use and management

Skills
- SC4-4WS identifies questions and problems that can be tested or
researched and makes predictions based on scientific knowledge
- SC4-5WS collaboratively and individually produces a plan to investigate
questions and problems
- SC4-7WS processes and analyses data from a first-hand investigation
and secondary sources to identify trends, patterns and relationships,
and draw conclusions
- SC4-8WS selects and uses appropriate strategies, understanding and
skills to produce creative and plausible solutions to identified problems

Physics Unit
Key con 1
Force is a push or a pull
The object being pushed or pulled doesn't have to move for it to count as force
Two types of force:
- Contact force = force transmitted when two objects touch
- Non-contact force = force that doesn't have to touch
Types of forces:
- Frictional force - force between 2 objects in contact
- Gravitioinal force - the force between 2 objects with mass
- Tension force - the force when something is streched
- Spring force - the force in a spring
- Electrical force - force from or caused by electrical charge
 - Normal force - force of an object in response to gravity
- Magnetic force - force from or caused by a magnet
- Air ressistance force - force from the air coming into contact with a moving object

Key con 2
Forces have strength and direction
Forces can be balanced or unbalanced
Forces always come in pairs

- Example of how forces are paired

Support means objects such as the ground not caving into things such as gravity/weight
Forces are balanced when they are equal in strength but opposite in direction
- This means that the object isnt accelerating and is moving at a constant speed
- Generally this means that the object isnt moving ex weight of car on driveway and
support from driveway
- The difference between a balanced force not accelerating and not moving is
important because a person skydiving at terminal velocity counts as a balanced force
as they are no longer accelerating (their weight and the air ressistance have become
equal) however they are still moving/falling just at a constant speed
Un balanced forces are where one of the opposing forces is stronger than the other
- This causes the object to accelerate in the direction of the stronger force
Forces cause objects to slow down, speed up, or change direction
Force is measured in newtons
Heavier objects require more newtons to move

Key con 3
Friction opposes the movement of an object
Friction occurs when two objects are in contact and sliding against eachother
Object moving through air or water also experience friction
- Because they touch the water/air particles
- In these specific cases the friction can be refered to as drag or fluid friction
Friction force becomes more strong when one of the objects is rough
Friction creates heat

Key con 4
Gravity keeps us on the ground
Sir isaac newton discovered gravity
Gravity act on everything on the earth
It doesn't matter how heavy an object is it will always come down to the ground
What goes up must come down
Gravity is the cause of unsupported objects falling to the ground
Gravity causes the orbit of planets
The bigger an object is the more that object attracts things
- The earth is bigger than everything on it so thats why everything falls down
Mass is the amount of matter in an object
Weight is a force referring to the gravitational pull of an object towards the earth's centre
Inertia means that objects with mass have a tendency to resist changes in their motion
Mass is measured in kilograms
Weight is measured in kilograms
The mass of an object doesnt change, only its weight does
Weight = Mass x Gravitational Field Strength

Key con 5
Magnetism is invisible
It pulls magnetic metal objects towards it
All magnets have north poles and south poles
Opposite poles attract each other (south to north and north to south)
Poles that are the same repel each other
Not all metals are magnetic
A magnetic field is the area where a magnets magnetic force acts
You can make magnets by running electricity through a conductor
- Conductors are things such as copper or iron
- These magnets are called electromagnets
Electromagnets are only temporary
Magnets can come in many different sizes and with different strength

Key con 6
Electric currents generate electric field, a substantial electric current creates a magnetic field
More volts in the current and more turns of wire results in stronger magnets

Key con 7
The more fast an object moves through the air the more air resistance there is
(most of the points from this key con was already stated in earlier ones and it was just kinda
short anyway)

Key con 8
Charges are positive and negative, they are opposites
Each atom has a nucleus
Electrons go around the nucleus
The nucleus has 2 types of particles inside it; protons and neutrons
Electrons have a negative charge

Protons have positive charges

- To remember, P in proton is for Positive
Neutrons have neutral charges
- To remember, N in neuton is for Neutral
A single proton and electron cancel each other out and make a
neutral charge
There are an equal number of electrons and protons in most
atoms
- Therefore most atoms are neutral
When there isnt an equal number of electrons and protons in an
atom it is said to be charged in favour of whichever one is more
present
 - Ex. more protrons = positively charged
- Ex. more electrons = negatively charged
Objects with like charges repel each other (just like magnets)
And objects with opposing charges attract each other (just like magnets)
Objects become charged when protrons or electrons are either gained or lost
- However it is much more common for this to happen with electrons because they are
on the outside of the nucleus
When a object is charged in this way it is called an electrostatic charge
- This is because unless the object is a conductor like copper the charge will be static
and not moving
- When a conductive metal gets charged the charge moves through the object which
makes a current ( the charge refers to the electrons jumping from atom to atom )
Electrostatic charges are caused by friction with another object or by contact with an object
that is already charged
Charges caused by friction occur when rubbing 2 neutral materials against eachother
- Ex. plastic ruler on wool. Electrons from surface of
the wool go to the ruler. This makes the ruler
negatively charged (it now has more electrons than
protrons) and the wool positively charged (it now has
less electrons and more protrons)
Charges involving charged objects occur because the
moving electrons on the surface of the charged object
transfer to the surface of the other object thereby also
making it charged.

Key con 9
Potential energy is stored energy
Kinetic energy is moving energy
There is gravitational potential energy
- Energy from object raised above the ground
There is elastic potential energy
- Energy from stretched things like springs and electic
bands
There is chemical potential energy
- Energy stored in chemicals that release when the
chemicals react with stuff
There is electrical potential energy
 - Just normal electricity that has to potential to power myke’s toaster
There is nuclear potential energy
- Energy stored inside the nucleus of atoms
-
Energy can’t be made
Energy can’t be destroyed
Energy is the ability to do work
Energy can be passed between objects and environments
- When talking about this in the exam se the word transferred instead of passed on
- Ex hugging a hot water bottle transfers the heat from the bottle to your body, the
energy gets transferred
Energy can also be converted into other forms of energy
- Ex. electricity powering a lightbulb turns into light energy as the bulb light up
Examples of things energy can turn into are:
- Heat
- Sound
- Light
- Kinetic energy
All types of energy can turn into a different type of energy
- Chemical energy can turn into electric then kinetic energy
Not all of the energy that things like electricity turn into is useful though, some of it turns into
waste products that arent needed for a machines purpose
- Ex. lightbulb also getting hot and producing heat when its purpose is to make light

Key con 10
A circuit is an electric current that loops around and goes back to the start.
A simple circuit can consist of a battery, light bulb and 2 wires.
The circuit must be continuous
Electric currents are the overall movements of the current.
Electricity os the flow of electrons, because electrons jump from atom to atom
Materials that allow electrons to flow easily are called conductors
Materials that dont allow electrons to flow easily are called insulators
Ressistors are materials with properties inbetween insulators and conductors
Voltage is the force or pressure of electricity
Watts is the term used for work performed by electricity
A series circuit that isnt closed wont power anything
As long as there is a possible loop the the electrons can take a parallel circuit can still
continue to function
The more things (ex bulbs) a circuit has to power the less powerful the work performed by
the appliances will be
- Adding 3 bulbs onto a circuit will make the bulbs dimmer than if there was just one
Series circuits only go in a circle

Parallel circuits look like the number 8 on a digital alarm

Plants Unit
Key con 1

Biology Unit
Key con 1