Science as a Human Endeavour: Observations that change over time.

"Time changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change."
                                                                                                                            Thomas Hardy

Listening to a scientist and their fantastic discovery in Science Week, it is interesting, that in one hour, you can hear their 15 years of inquiry and observations that led to their ground breaking discovery!

Australian Curriculum: Science as a Human Endeavour: Observations that change over time/ geographically.
What do you observe at a range of scales? What more do you notice when you shift your perspective? What equipment might help to make observations? What equipment can extend your senses? What do you notice about this data/information? What secondary sources will you use to help your observations?

Foundation Earth and space sciences
Daily and seasonal changes in our environment, including the weather, affect everyday life
Observe how the weather changes over a year. What do you notice? What do you see in the sky? What do you feel? What can you hear? What can you smell? Draw the changes you see in a year. Draw yourself over a year. How has the clothes you are wearing changed? Why?

Year 1 Earth and space sciences
Observable changes occur in the sky and landscape
Observe the changes in the sky over a day. What do you notice? What do you see in the sky? What do you feel? What can you hear? What can you smell? Is there anything unusual in the sky?
Draw the changes you see in the sky over a day. How has it changed? Why?

Year 2 Physical sciences
A push or a pull affects how an object moves or changes shape
Observe how an object moves when a force is acted on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2hzipegb3c
What causes the balls to move? Which ball rolls faster? Why?

Year 3 Chemical sciences
A change of state between solid and liquid can be caused by adding or removing heat
Observe the change in state by adding heat to an object.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoyVTEHhpxw
Which material added heat to the ice to cause it to melt faster? Why? What else might you try to melt the ice faster?

Year 4 Biological sciences
Living things have life cycles
Observe this clip of a dandelion. What do you notice? How might you represent the changes in the dandelion over time. How long did the changes take? What questions do you have? How do you think this is the same as other flowers? How might it be different?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ_QqtXoyQw

Year 5 Physical sciences
Light from a source forms shadows and can be absorbed, reflected and refracted
Observe how a shadow changes over time.
Observe changes in the size and shape of shadows over a day. Predict, based on observations of the Sun’s motion in the sky, the size and direction of shadows at various times of day.

Year 6 Earth and space sciences
Sudden geological changes or extreme weather conditions can affect Earth’s surface http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/…/natural-disast…/
Choose one of the natural disasters to observe over time:
Avalanches Earthquakes Floods Hurricanes Lightning
Tornadoes Tsunamis Volcanoes Wildfires
How do these sudden geological changes or extreme weather conditions affect the Earth’s surface?

Year 7 Biological sciences
Interactions between organisms can be described in terms of food chains and food webs; human activity can affect these interactions
View this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3Mt2E1M6dU
Observe how the ants affect the gecko. How long did it take for the gecko to disappear? How might you illustrate the food chain for this example?

Year 8 Earth and space sciences
Sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks contain minerals and are formed by processes that occur within Earth over a variety of timescales
View this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ld6EQqY3w
Observe the changes in the Earth over time. How long do you think it took for these changes to occur? What might be the affect on the rock cycle be on Mt St. Helen’s?

Year 9 Earth and space sciences
The theory of plate tectonics explains global patterns of geological activity and continental movement
http://education.nationalgeographic.com.au/…/plate-tectoni…/
Can we observe the continental plates moving? How might you find evidence that they are still moving? How far do the plates move each day, month, year? Is it possible to determine how far they move?

Year 10 Chemical sciences
Different types of chemical reactions are used to produce a range of products and can occur at different rates
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qhYDuJt8fI
Observe the changes over time in this chemical reaction. How long did it take for the clock to change colour? How could you speed the clock up? What factors might you change? How might you slow the clock down?

Picture from:  http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/

Science as a Human Endeavour : Ant Diversity : Predictions and Patterns

Australian Curriculum Science: Science as a Human Endeavour: Year 4: Science involves making predictions and describing patterns and relationships.
How many different species of ants are there? How are the ants the same? How are they different? How could you group them? What patterns do you notice? Are there any exceptions? How might scientists use this interactive model (antmaps.org) on ant diversity to predict the effects when a particular species of ant is removed or dies out in an area? What animals or plants might depend on this species of ant for survival? What questions do you have? Who might be interested in or need to know about the grouping of the ants? Why? What else could you investigate?

Australian Curriculum Science: Science as a Human Endeavour: Year 7: Science and technology contribute to finding solutions to a range of contemporary issues; these solutions may impact on other areas of society and involve ethical considerations
Our understanding of large-scale biodiversity patterns in invertebrates, such as insects, are poorly documented. To address this gap in knowledge, scientists, mathematicians and technologists from the Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics (GABI) are working on a project aimed at compiling over 200 years of ant research into a single database providing distribution information for all ant species. (antmaps.org)

How do the features of ants change geographically on the map? What do you notice about this data?
What patterns do you notice? Are there any exceptions?
What do you think this pattern has happened and why?
How has technology connected with science to change the way we see the world?
How might you use the keys on this interactive model to identify the ants surveyed in your local habitat? Do all species of ant live in the same places? Where do the different species live in Australia? How does a scientist identify each different species?
Are ant’s predators or prey, or both? Explain your answer.
Explain the day in the life of an ant. What does it do all day?
What do the ants in your community need to survive? Choose one or two species of ant and identify what they need for survival.
How might the people living in your community have a positive effect on the species of ants in the environment? Do you think people living in your community have any negative effects on the species of ants in the environment?
What recommendations could be made to care for and improve the quality of the environment in your community?
What factors might you introduce to sustain this species of ant in their ecosystem?

Science as a Human Endeavour : Earthquakes : Contributions from other cultures in science

"Science is essentially a cultural activity. It generates pure knowledge about ourselves and about the universe we live in, knowledge that continually reshapes our thinking" John Sulston

Australian Curriculum Science
Science as a Human Endeavour
Year 6: Important contributions to the advancement of science have been made by people from a range of cultures.

How might scientists from around the world explore geological changes in Australia and neighbouring countries?
Which neighbouring countries of Australia have had the most earthquakes? 
How do they compare to the number of earthquakes in Australia?
How might a scientist account for the differences in earthquake activity between these countries? Which countries are conducting scientific research around the world to gather scientific information on geological events?
Which countries are conducting scientific investigations to advance global disaster alerts, and support communities to make informed decisions for their future?
How do international aid organisations communicate and help people after an earthquake?

http://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/2014/04/australia-2025-smart-science-earth-sciences/

Australia 2025: Smart Science – Earth Sciences