Year 9 Yearly Checklist PDF

Immune system - Identify similarities and differences between bacteria, viruses and fungi - Distinguish between microbes and pathogens - compare infectious and non-infectious disease - how infectious diseases can spread from person to person - Explain what it means for a disease to be...

Immune system - Identify similarities and differences between bacteria, viruses and fungi - Distinguish between microbes and pathogens - compare infectious and non-infectious disease - how infectious diseases can spread from person to person - Explain what it means for a disease to be contagious - Describe the role of the immune system - Describe how the first line of defence prevents entry of pathogens - Classify barriers in the first line of defence as physical or chemical - Explain how the second line of defence responds to an infection - Compare the first and second lines of defence - Explain why a negative feedback loop is important for controlling a fever - Explain how the third line of defence fights pathogens - Describe what it means to be immune to a disease - Describe how vaccines help build immunity against pathogens - Evaluate claims made against vaccines - Describe how herd immunity protects vulnerable people - Analyse how herd immunity depends on vaccination rate Ecosystems - Distinguish between an ecosystem and a food web - Describe how biotic and abiotic factors interact in ecosystems - Define what an ecosystem is - Describe how biotic and abiotic factors interact in ecosystems - Explain the impact of removing a predator from a food web - Explain why competition occurs between organisms of the same species - and different species - Compare the three main types of symbiosis - Describe how producers and consumers obtain energy - Explain why energy is lost in each step of a food chain - Explain why matter is lost from a food chain - Describe how carbon cycles through ecosystems - Identify benefits of healthy ecosystems for humans - Explain how biodiversity helps to protect ecosystems - Identify different ways that humans impact ecosystems - Analyse the impact of human activities on ecosystems Sound & Light - Explain whether sound waves are transverse or longitudinal - Explain how the loudness and pitch of sounds are related to wave amplitude and frequency - Explain why sound travels at different speeds in different materials - Define the period, frequency and wavelength of a wave  - Explain the relationship between frequency, wavelength and colour - Describe how objects reflect, absorb and transmit light - Explain why objects have different colours - Describe how light interacts with bubbles - Describe how visible light is related to the electromagnetic spectrum - Compare the properties of different types of electromagnetic radiation - Compare regular and diffuse reflection - Describe the law of reflection - Distinguish between reflection and refraction - Explain why refraction occurs - Outline the main differences between concave and convex lenses - Explain the importance of microscopes and telescopes in advancing scientific knowledge Non-contact forces - Explain the factors that affect the strength of an electrostatic force - Use data to explain which arrangement of magnets makes the best accelerator - Explain how the distance between magnets changes the forces between them - Explain how the strength of the force varies around a magnet - Explain how a strong magnetic field can be produced without magnets - Explain the factors that affect the flow of current through a circuit - Explain the advantages and limitations of different circuits - Evaluate the design of an electric circuit - Explain Ohm’s law using mathematical data Atoms - Describe the arrangement of subatomic particles in an atom - Compare the subatomic particles by their mass and electrical charge - Describe how the number of protons determines an element's atomic number - Explain the relationship between protons and electrons in neutral atoms - Describe ions in terms of their protons, electrons and overall electrical charge - Describe the repulsion and attraction of charged particles - Explain how the number of neutrons affects the mass number of an atom - Describe how mass number relates to isotopes - Compare types of radiation - Explain how radioactive decay results in stable atoms Chemical reactions - Describe what a chemical reaction is - Describe chemical reactions using word and symbol equations - Explain whether a chemical equation is balanced or unbalanced - Apply rules to balance a chemical equation - Explain the observed changes in mass using the law of conservation of mass Acids & Bases - Describe the main properties of acids and bases - Describe acids and bases at the atomic level - Apply the pH scale to compare the strengths of acids and bases - Identify common liquids as either acidic, basic or neutral - Measure pH using universal indicator and a colour chart - Describe reactions of acids with bases - Describe reactions of acids with carbonates - Describe the effect of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on the pH of seawater - Explain how ocean acidification affects shell-building marine organisms