Biology
Ages 6–8 · Grades 1–2
- Living or Not Living?Living things grow, need food and make more of their own kind.
- Living Things Through the YearIn places with cold winters, food is hard to find, so animals prepare in autumn.
- Bees and FlowersBees visit flowers to collect nectar and pollen as food.
- Your Five SensesPeople have five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.
- Who Eats What?Every animal needs food; plants make their own food using sunlight.
- Seeds Grow Into PlantsMany plants begin life as a seed.
- Animal Body PartsAnimals have body parts that help them move: fins, wings and legs.
- Where Animals LiveEvery animal lives where it can find the food, water and shelter it needs.
- Animal Babies and Their ParentsYoung animals look a lot like their parents.
- The Parts of a PlantMost plants have roots, a stem and leaves, and many have flowers.
Ages 8–11 · Grades 3–5
- Senses and the BrainReceptors in sense organs detect light, sound, touch, heat and more.
- When Environments ChangeEnvironments change, slowly or suddenly, through droughts, floods and human activity.
- Living in GroupsMany animals live in groups because groups improve their chances of survival.
- Adaptations: Suited to SurviveAn adaptation is an inherited feature that helps a living thing survive in its habitat.
- How Plants Make Their FoodPlants make sugar from water and carbon dioxide using energy from sunlight: photosynthesis.
- Food Webs and DecomposersProducers make food from sunlight; consumers get energy by eating other living things.
- Structures for SurvivalPlants have structures for support, water transport, making food, reproduction and protection.
- Fossils: Clues to Ancient LifeA fossil is the preserved remains or trace of a living thing from long ago.
- Traits: From Parents and From LifeA trait is a feature of a living thing; many traits are inherited from parents.
- Life Cycles: Butterflies and FrogsEvery living thing has a life cycle: it begins life, grows, reproduces and dies.
Ages 11–14 · Grades 6–8
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem ServicesBiodiversity is the variety of species, genes and habitats in an area.
- Evidence for EvolutionThe fossil record shows life changing over time, from simple to more complex, with transitional forms.
- Matter and Energy in EcosystemsEnergy enters as sunlight, flows one way through trophic levels, and is lost as heat.
- Reproduction and GrowthAnimal behaviours such as displays and parental care increase reproductive success.
- Ecosystem InteractionsCompetition for limited resources controls population sizes.
- Natural SelectionInherited variation, overproduction and competition lead to natural selection.
- Genes, DNA and InheritanceDNA in chromosomes carries coded instructions; a gene is a section of DNA that codes for a protein.
- Photosynthesis and RespirationPhotosynthesis uses light energy to rearrange carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen.
- Body Systems Working TogetherMany-celled organisms are organised as cells, tissues, organs, organ systems and the whole organism.
- Cells: The Building Blocks of LifeAll living things are made of cells; the cell is the basic unit of life, and new cells come from existing cells.
Ages 14–18 · Grades 9–12
- The Tree of LifeFossils, comparative anatomy, embryology and DNA independently support common ancestry.
- Group Behaviour and SurvivalGroup living can improve defence, hunting success and energy savings, but it also brings competition and disease.
- Human Impact on BiodiversityThe main human threats to biodiversity are habitat loss, invasive species, pollution, population growth and overharvesting (HIPPO), plus climate change.
- Populations and Carrying CapacityPopulations grow exponentially (J-shaped) when resources are plentiful and logistically (S-shaped) as they approach carrying capacity.
- Mechanisms of EvolutionEvolution is a change in allele frequencies; natural selection needs variation, heritability, overproduction and differential reproductive success.
- Inheritance and ProbabilityAlleles, genotype and phenotype; dominant and recessive alleles; homozygous and heterozygous individuals.
- Energy in Cells: ATP, Photosynthesis and RespirationPhotosynthesis has light-dependent reactions (water split, ATP and NADPH made) and the Calvin cycle (carbon dioxide fixed into sugar).
- Cell Division: Mitosis and MeiosisMitosis produces two genetically identical cells for growth, repair and asexual reproduction.
- Homeostasis and FeedbackHomeostasis keeps internal conditions within narrow limits so enzymes and cells can work.
- From DNA to ProteinTranscription copies a gene into messenger RNA; translation on ribosomes builds the protein it codes for.