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Science // Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Understand that Earth's crust is broken into large pieces called tectonic plates that float on hotter, softer rock beneath and move very slowly — a few…

Science // Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Know about famous eruptions and their global effects: Mount St Helens (1980), Eyjafjallajökull (2010), and how large eruptions can affect weather and climate…

Science // Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Understand that not all volcanic eruptions are the same: some flow gently (effusive) and some explode violently (explosive), depending on the properties of the…

Science // Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans, such as earthquakes, floods, or volcanic eruptions

Science // Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Understand how volcanologists monitor volcanoes by looking for warning signs — gas emissions, ground swelling, small earthquakes — and that prediction involves…

Science // Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Know that scientists measure earthquakes using seismometers, that earthquakes release energy that travels as waves through the ground, and that a magnitude…

Science // Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Understand the rock cycle: rocks slowly change from one type to another over millions of years — igneous rock weathers into sediment, sediment becomes…

Science // Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Understand that convection currents in the molten mantle drive the movement of rigid tectonic plates; distinguish between convergent (collision/subduction)…

Science // Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Distinguish between P-waves (compression, travel through solids and liquids) and S-waves (shear, cannot pass through liquids); explain why a seismic shadow zone…

Science // Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Describe calderas such as Yellowstone and Toba as supervolcanoes capable of erupting thousands of cubic kilometres of ash; explain how sulphur dioxide aerosols…

Science // Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Explain probabilistic hazard assessment using eruption recurrence intervals and fault slip rates; describe how volcano observatories monitor ground deformation…

Science // Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Explain how large igneous provinces (LIPs) — massive outpourings of lava over millions of years — caused global warming and ocean acidification that drove mass…

Science // Waves, Light & Sound

Observe that objects in darkness can be seen only when illuminated by a light source

Science // Waves, Light & Sound

Name and use vocabulary for how light and sound behave — light source, transparent, translucent, opaque, shadow, reflect, vibration, pitch, volume — and apply…

Science // Waves, Light & Sound

Design and build a device that uses light or sound to solve the problem of communicating over a distance

Science // Waves, Light & Sound

Understand that vibrating materials can make sound, and that sound can make materials vibrate

Science // Waves, Light & Sound

Investigate the effect of placing objects made of different materials in the path of a beam of light, discovering transparent, translucent, and opaque materials

Science // Waves, Light & Sound

Recognise that shadows are formed when light from a source is blocked by an opaque object, and find patterns in how shadow size changes

Science // Waves, Light & Sound

Notice that light is reflected from surfaces, and that shiny smooth surfaces reflect light best

Science // Waves, Light & Sound

Recognise that light from the sun can be dangerous and that there are ways to protect eyes

Science // Waves, Light & Sound

Recognise that vibrations from sounds travel through a medium (solid, liquid, or gas) to the ear

Science // Waves, Light & Sound

Find patterns between the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibrations that produced it

Science // Waves, Light & Sound

Recognise that sounds get fainter as the distance from the sound source increases

Science // Waves, Light & Sound

Find patterns between the pitch of a sound and features of the object that produced it