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Week 19, activity 3.6 article
Date accessed: 22/02/22.

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The author of Finding Darwin's God says he doesn't think the Church should have "an official position on science, because science is constantly changing; science is dynamic, but faith is eternal."

The Dispatch Print

Kenneth R. Miller is Professor of Biology and Royce Family Professor for Teaching Excellence at Brown University. He is the co-author (with Joseph Levine) of Biology, published by Pearson, the most widely used high school biology textbook in the United States. He has published numerous books in defense of evolution and on the relationship between evolution and religion, including Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution; Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul; and The Human Instinct: How We Evolved to Have Reason, Consciousness, and Free Will.

Dr. Miller recently responded to some questions from CWR about Finding Darwin's God, evolutionary theory and Christianity, the intelligent design movement, and the relationship between science and faith.

CWR: This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the publication of your book Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution. How has it been received by the scientific community and by religious people?

Dr. Kenneth R. Miller: I'm fairly well-known in the cell biology research community, but up until the publication of my book I hadn't come out of the closet, so to speak, as a person of faith or as a Roman Catholic. At cell biology meetings during the year after it had been published, a whole bunch of my scientific colleagues and occasionally people whom I'd never met before came up to me and said they'd read the book and wanted to let me know as scientists how much they appreciated it. For the first couple years, I didn't get a single negative comment face-to-face from other scientists. Often they would say they were Christians or persons of faith, too, and they appreciated my articulating the way in which a scientist could have religious beliefs. Just as often, my fellow scientists would say that they were atheists or agnostics, but they appreciated the way I had articulated how people who do believe ought to embrace science and thanked me.

In the religious community, the people who criticized the book were largely coming from what you might call the young earth creationist and intelligent design community. Within the larger community of believers, though, there was an overwhelmingly positive reaction, and I certainly found that within the Catholic Church.

CWR: Has there been a difference between how Catholics and Protestants, particularly Evangelicals, approach evolution?

Dr. Miller: Going back to the publication of The Origin of Species in 1859, Christians have been somewhat suspicious of evolution. It's worth pointing out, though, that the Catholic Church's official position, if there is one, is pro-evolution and has been for a really long time. The first pope to speak favorably about evolution was Pius XII, who in his 1950 encyclical Humani generis wrote that you can believe in evolution and still be a Christian.

The most profound acceptance came in a letter to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1996 from John Paul II, in which he talks about the remarkable scientific evidence for evolution coming from multiple disciplines: paleontology, genetics, morphology, molecular biology... Pope Benedict has also been explicit in saying there is no conflict between Christianity and evolution. Most recently, Pope Francis, a former scientist trained as a chemist before entering seminary, has said that God is not a magician with a magic wand and so Christians can accept evolution or the big bang theory.

It's important to point out, though, that the Church is a big tent and has no official position on science. As a scientist, I don't think it should have one, because science is constantly changing; science is dynamic, but faith is eternal. Within that big tent, there is room for people like Michael Behe, who is a very devout Catholic and I respect the sincerity of his faith. He is probably the most prominent scientist in the intelligent design movement. I've publicly debated him about ten times on this issue. I like Mike and I hope he likes me; we have a good interpersonal relationship, but boy, do we disagree on intelligent design.

CWR: Why are you an opponent of the intelligent design movement?

Dr. Miller: Intelligent design has been tested many times, and it is simply wrong. When you read the intelligent design literature, what the argument boils down to is that living things are composed of complex, multi-part systems. That's true, but that claim goes further, saying that those systems can only function when every part is assembled and interconnected; individual parts have no function on their own. Therefore, evolution, which works one step at a time, could not have produced these complex, multi-part systems. Examples that were given in 1996 in Michael Behe's book, Darwin's Black Box, include the bacterial flagella, blood clotting, and the vertebrate immune system.

The interesting thing is that none of these arguments claim to have detected design work. They simply use the claim of "irreducible complexity" to claim they couldn't have evolved. If they hadn't evolved, how could they have gotten there? Enter intelligent design. That's an argument by negative. Imagine I argued that the moon was composed of granite, but you argued it was made of green cheese. The astronauts go to the moon, bring back rocks, and it turns out they're not granite. Therefore, you are right; the moon is composed of green cheese!

The second point, which was part of my testimony in the Kitzmiller vs. Dover trial, is that, according to Behe, individual parts of, say, the bacterial flagellum all have to be assembled before it becomes useful and could be favored by natural selection. That is demonstrably wrong. About ten proteins of the bacterial flagellum don't have flagella. What are those ten parts doing? They're part of the type three-secretion system, which is perfectly functional. The ID argument is that all parts have to be assembled to function. Once someone discovers that a subset is perfectly functional, the argument is disproven.

The same goes for other systems, like the vertebrate immune system. There is plenty of evidence for the evolution of the immune system and scientific literature on the matter, which was presented to Michael Behe during the Kitzmiller trial. The same goes for the blood clotting system, one of his favorite examples. Depending on the organism, it consists of thirteen or fourteen individual protein parts. According to Dr. Behe, if you're missing any of them, blood does not clot and you will die. There's a scientist, Russell Doolittle, who has spent his entire life studying the vertebrate immune system. We do know step by step how these various parts were assembled, how they were functional before the entire system came together, and how evolution produced it.

CWR: You mentioned receiving an award named after Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics, and the big bang theory, which was first proposed by Georges Lemaître, a Catholic priest from Belgium. In previous centuries, most great scientists - Copernicus, Newton, and even Galileo, sentenced to house arrest by the Inquisition - were men of faith. However, more recent famous scientists like James Watson and Francis Crick and Stephen Hawking frequently have been atheists. The National Academy of Scientists has shown that American scientists are much less likely to believe in God than the rest of society. Why is this so?

Dr. Miller: One more recent recipient of the Gregor Mendel Medal is Brian Kobilka, who has demonstrated how G Protein Coupled Receptors work. They enable our cells to respond to hormones, stimuli, and all sorts of signals; more than half of all therapeutic drugs work through G Protein Coupled Receptors. For this work on this, Kobilka received the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology. I could mention a few recent Nobel Laureates, physicists and a few biologists, who are people of faith.

You are right about the National Academy of Scientists' survey, though; only about ten percent of its members are professed believers in God. One reason is that Western society in general has become more secular, and so scientists follow the general social trend.

Quite frankly, a second reason is that as they are trained many scientists see loud, influential portions of the religious community that are actively hostile to science. In the United States today, the main obstacle to the teaching of science in public schools comes from religiously motivated people who oppose the teaching of evolution and don't believe in climate change. Some of this unbelief is reflexive hostility.

There are also major developments in science that have made people, in their own minds, not need God. Hawking argued this in his last book co-written with another author. In it, he argued that science has proven that the theologians' trump card - where the universe has come from and why is there something rather than nothing - had been solved. Hawking was a great scientist, but he was wrong on this count; many people have pointed out that this problem has not been solved.

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This Sunday Pope Benedict XVI will canonize seven new saints, one of whom is Blessed Pedro Calungsod, a teenage catechist from the Philippines who was martyred in 17th-centry Guam. In an effort to spread the [...]

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Faith, science, and evolution: A conversation with Dr. Kenneth R. Miller

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The author of Finding Darwin's God says he doesn't think the Church should have "an official position on science, because science is constantly changing; science is dynamic, but faith is eternal." The Dispatch Print Kenneth R. Miller is Professor of Biology and Royce Family Professor for Teaching Excellence at Brown University.

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Your heart is a very strong muscle which contracts (gets smaller) and relaxes to pump blood around your body. A heart beat varies from person to person - for an average person it beats 60-100 times a minute. You feel this when you feel your

This is the journey that blood takes:

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Learn about the circulatory system with this Year 6 Bitesize Science guide.

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The circulatory system is the major transport system within the human body and consists of blood, arteries, veins, capillaries and the heart.

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The circulatory system is one of the most important systems in the body. Made up of the heart, blood and blood vessels, the circulatory system is your body's delivery system. Your heart plays and important part in being healthy. It keeps all the blood in your circulatory system flowing. Blood helps oxygen get around your body. When you exercise you can feel your pulse, it tells you how fast your heart is pumping.

The body's circulatory system is responsible for transporting materials throughout the entire body. It delivers nutrients, water, and oxygen to your billions of body cells and carries away wastes such as carbon dioxide that body cells produce. It is an amazing highway that travels through your entire body connecting all your body cells.

At the centre of this system is the heart, an amazing organ. The heart beats about 3 billion times during an average lifetime. It is a muscle about the size of the fist. The heart is located in the centre of the chest slightly to the left. I ts job is to pump blood and keep the blood moving throughout the body. The blood is pumped around a complex network of blood vessels extending to every part of the body.

Blood carries the oxygen and nutrients needed to fuel the activities of the body's tissues and organs, and it plays a vital role in removing the body's waste products. An average-sized adult carries about 5 litres (9 pints) of blood.

Top 10 facts

1. If you were to lay out all of the arteries, capillaries and veins in one adult, end-to-end, they would stretch about 60,000 miles (100,000 kilometres).

2. It takes 20 seconds for blood to circulate the entire body. Oxygenated blood leaves the aorta at about 1 mile an hour.

3. The power output of the heart ranges from 1-5 watts per minute, which is the equivalent to the usage of a 60 watt bulb. It has been said that enough energy is produced by the human body in a day to drive a truck 20 miles.

4. Red blood cells live for up to 4 months and make approximately 250,000 round trips around the body before returning to the bone marrow, where they were born, to die.

5. Between 2.5 and 3 million red blood cells (called erythrocytes) are lost and replaced every second.

6. Across the animal kingdom, heart rate is related to body size: in general, the bigger the animal, the slower its resting heart rate. An adult human has an average resting heart rate of about 75 beats per minute, the same rate as an adult sheep. But a blue whale's heart is about the size of a small car, and only beats five times per minute. A shrew, on the other hand, has a heart rate of about 1,000 beats per minute.

7. The ancient Egyptians believed the heart, rather than the brain, was the source of emotions, wisdom and memory, among other things.

8. After circulating within the body for about 120 days, a red blood cell will die from aging or damage. Bone marrow constantly manufactures new red blood cells to replace those that perish.

9. The oxygen-rich blood that flows through your arteries and capillaries is bright red. After giving up its oxygen to your bodily tissues, your blood becomes dark red as it races back to your heart through your veins.

10. "Ventricle" means "little belly".

Did you know?

We see and hear about hearts everywhere. A long time ago, people even thought that their emotions came from their hearts, maybe because the heart beats faster when a person is scared or excited. Now we know that emotions come from the brain, and in this case, the brain tells the heart to speed up.

Your heart is a very strong muscle that pumps blood around your body. It is made of four chambers, two upper chambers and two lower chambers. Blood enters the upper chambers. These squeeze and push the blood into the lower chambers, which then squeeze and push the blood out of your heart.

The heart works tirelessly - more than 2.5 billion times over an average lifetime - to pump blood around the body. The heart's contractions or 'squeezes' are triggered by electrical impulses that come from a specialised area of heart tissue.

Your pulse is a measure of how fast your heart is beating. It is the number of beats your heart makes in one minute. Your heart beats faster or slower depending on what you are doing. You can feel your pulse at certain points on your body. The easiest place to feel it is in your wrist, using the first two fingers of your other hand. When you sit, the average heart beats about 80 times per minute. However, everybody is different, so your pulse could be higher or lower than this.

When you exercise, your heart beats more quickly. This is because your muscles are working harder and need more oxygen to keep going. Your lungs also work harder, making you breathe more quickly to get more oxygen. When you sleep, your muscles need less oxygen, so your heart slows down.

Circulatory system gallery:

Magnified red blood cells

A diagram of the human heart

Blood vessels in the body

A blood pressure check

Doctors use stethoscopes to listen to heart and lung sounds

A diagram of the circulatory system

Gallery

About

The circulatory system is centred on the heart, an amazing organ that constantly works to pump blood around blood vessels in every part of the body. Blood carries all the things, like oxygen, that cells need to thrive and keep us healthy.

The heart is made up of four different blood-filled areas, and each of these areas is called a chamber. There are two chambers on each side of the heart. One chamber is on the top and one chamber is on the bottom.

The two chambers on top are called the atria. (If you're talking only about one, call it an atrium.) The atria are the chambers that fill with the blood returning to the heart from the body and lungs. The heart has a left atrium and a right atrium.

The two chambers on the bottom are called the ventricles. The heart has a left ventricle and a right ventricle. Their job is to squirt out the blood to the body and lungs. Running down the middle of the heart is a thick wall of muscle called the septum. The septum's job is to separate the left side and the right side of the heart.

The atria and ventricles work as a team - the atria fill with blood, then push it into the ventricles. The ventricles then squeeze, pumping blood out of the heart. While the ventricles are squeezing, the atria refill and get ready for the next contraction.

The blood moves through many tubes called arteries and veins, which together are called blood vessels. These blood vessels are attached to the heart. The blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart are called arteries. The ones that carry blood back to the heart are called veins.

The human body needs a steady supply of blood to keep it working right. Blood delivers oxygen to all the body's cells. To stay alive, a person needs healthy, living cells. Without oxygen, these cells would die. If that oxygen-rich blood doesn't circulate as it should, a person could die.

Remember that your heart is a muscle. In order for it to be strong, you need to exercise it. How do you do it? By being active in a way that gets you slightly out of breath, like skipping, dancing, or playing tennis or football. Try to be active every day for at least 30 minutes.

Words to know for the circulatory system:

Aorta - the main artery in mammals that carries blood from the left ventricle of the heart to all the branch arteries in the body except those in the lungs.
Arteries - a blood vessel that is part of the system carrying blood under pressure from the heart to the rest of the body.
Atrium - one of the upper chambers of the heart that takes blood from the veins and pumps it into a ventricle.
Capillaries - an extremely narrow thin-walled blood vessel that connects small arteries arterioles with small veins to form a network throughout the body.
Carbon dioxide - a heavy, colourless, odourless gas.
Cells - the cell is the basic unit of life. Some organisms are made up of a single cell, like bacteria, while others are made up of trillions of cells. Human beings are made up of cells, too.
Circulatory - relating to the circulation of the blood.
Complex - made up of many interrelated parts.
Contractions - a tightening or narrowing of a muscle, organ, or other body part.
Nutrients - a substance that provides nourishment.
Organ - a complete and independent part of a plant or animal that has a specific function.
Oxygen - a colourless, odourless gas that is essential for plant and animal respiration.
Perish - to come to an end or cease to exist.
Pulse - the regular expansion and contraction of an artery, caused by the heart pumping blood through the body.
Transporting - to carry somebody or something from one place to another.
Veins - a blood vessel that carries blood to the heart.
Waste - unwanted or unusable remains, or by-products.

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Interesting information, fascinating facts, did-you-knows, images and videos about the human circulatory system, to support primary school science work.

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Maggie Maggie Aderin-Pocock | STEM
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Mark Mark Richards | STEM
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Please be aware that resources have been published on the website in the form that they were originally supplied. This means that procedures reflect general practice and standards applicable at the time resources were produced and cannot be assumed to be acceptable today.

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Curriculum for Excellence Science Scotland

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Curriculum for Excellence Science Scotland

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Purpose of study

A high-quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world's future prosperity, and all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They should be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.

Aims

The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:

Scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding

The programmes of study describe a sequence of knowledge and concepts. While it is important that pupils make progress, it is also vitally important that they develop secure understanding of each key block of knowledge and concepts in order to progress to the next stage. Insecure, superficial understanding will not allow genuine progression: pupils may struggle at key points of transition (such as between primary and secondary school), build up serious misconceptions, and/or have significant difficulties in understanding higher-order content.

Pupils should be able to describe associated processes and key characteristics in common language, but they should also be familiar with, and use, technical terminology accurately and precisely. They should build up an extended specialist vocabulary. They should also apply their mathematical knowledge to their understanding of science, including collecting, presenting and analysing data. The social and economic implications of science are important but, generally, they are taught most appropriately within the wider school curriculum: teachers will wish to use different contexts to maximise their pupils' engagement with and motivation to study science.

The nature, processes and methods of science

'Working scientifically' specifies the understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science for each year group. It should not be taught as a separate strand. The notes and guidance give examples of how 'working scientifically' might be embedded within the content of biology, chemistry and physics, focusing on the key features of scientific enquiry, so that pupils learn to use a variety of approaches to answer relevant scientific questions. These types of scientific enquiry should include: observing over time; pattern seeking; identifying, classifying and grouping; comparative and fair testing (controlled investigations); and researching using secondary sources. Pupils should seek answers to questions through collecting, analysing and presenting data. 'Working scientifically' will be developed further at key stages 3 and 4, once pupils have built up sufficient understanding of science to engage meaningfully in more sophisticated discussion of experimental design and control.

Spoken language

The national curriculum for science reflects the importance of spoken language in pupils' development across the whole curriculum - cognitively, socially and linguistically. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are key factors in developing their scientific vocabulary and articulating scientific concepts clearly and precisely. They must be assisted in making their thinking clear, both to themselves and others, and teachers should ensure that pupils build secure foundations by using discussion to probe and remedy their misconceptions.

School curriculum

The programmes of study for science are set out year-by-year for key stages 1 and 2. Schools are, however, only required to teach the relevant programme of study by the end of the key stage. Within each key stage, schools therefore have the flexibility to introduce content earlier or later than set out in the programme of study. In addition, schools can introduce key stage content during an earlier key stage if appropriate. All schools are also required to set out their school curriculum for science on a year-by-year basis and make this information available online.

Attainment targets

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.

Schools are not required by law to teach the content indicated as being 'non-statutory'.

Key stage 1

The principal focus of science teaching in key stage 1 is to enable pupils to experience and observe phenomena, looking more closely at the natural and humanly constructed world around them. They should be encouraged to be curious and ask questions about what they notice. They should be helped to develop their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of scientific enquiry to answer their own questions, including observing changes over a period of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative tests, and finding things out using secondary sources of information. They should begin to use simple scientific language to talk about what they have found out and communicate their ideas to a range of audiences in a variety of ways. Most of the learning about science should be done through the use of first-hand practical experiences, but there should also be some use of appropriate secondary sources, such as books, photographs and videos.

'Working scientifically' is described separately in the programme of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to the teaching of substantive science content in the programme of study. Throughout the notes and guidance, examples show how scientific methods and skills might be linked to specific elements of the content.

Pupils should read and spell scientific vocabulary at a level consistent with their increasing word-reading and spelling knowledge at key stage 1.

Key stage 1 programme of study - years 1 and 2

Working scientifically

During years 1 and 2, pupils should be taught to use the following practical scientific methods, processes and skills through the teaching of the programme of study content:

Notes and guidance (non-statutory)

Pupils in years 1 and 2 should explore the world around them and raise their own questions. They should experience different types of scientific enquiries, including practical activities, and begin to recognise ways in which they might answer scientific questions.

They should use simple features to compare objects, materials and living things and, with help, decide how to sort and group them, observe changes over time, and, with guidance, they should begin to notice patterns and relationships.

They should ask people questions and use simple secondary sources to find answers.

They should use simple measurements and equipment (for example, hand lenses, egg timers) to gather data, carry out simple tests, record simple data, and talk about what they have found out and how they found it out. With help, they should record and communicate their findings in a range of ways and begin to use simple scientific language.

These opportunities for working scientifically should be provided across years 1 and 2 so that the expectations in the programme of study can be met by the end of year 2. Pupils are not expected to cover each aspect for every area of study.

Year 1 programme of study

Plants

Pupils should be taught to:

identify and name a variety of common wild and garden plants, including deciduous and evergreen trees

identify and describe the basic structure of a variety of common flowering plants, including trees

Animals, including humans

Pupils should be taught to:

Everyday materials

Pupils should be taught to:

Seasonal changes

Pupils should be taught to:

observe changes across the 4 seasons

observe and describe weather associated with the seasons and how day length varies

Year 2 programme of study

Living things and their habitats

Pupils should be taught to:

Plants

Pupils should be taught to:

observe and describe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants

find out and describe how plants need water, light and a suitable temperature to grow and stay healthy

Animals, including humans

Pupils should be taught to:

Uses of everyday materials

Pupils should be taught to:

identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard for particular uses

find out how the shapes of solid objects made from some materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching

Lower key stage 2 - years 3 and 4

The principal focus of science teaching in lower key stage 2 is to enable pupils to broaden their scientific view of the world around them. They should do this through exploring, talking about, testing and developing ideas about everyday phenomena and the relationships between living things and familiar environments, and by beginning to develop their ideas about functions, relationships and interactions. They should ask their own questions about what they observe and make some decisions about which types of scientific enquiry are likely to be the best ways of answering them, including observing changes over time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative and fair tests and finding things out using secondary sources of information. They should draw simple conclusions and use some scientific language, first, to talk about and, later, to write about what they have found out.

'Working scientifically' is described separately at the beginning of the programme of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to substantive science content in the programme of study. Throughout the notes and guidance, examples show how scientific methods and skills might be linked to specific elements of the content.

Pupils should read and spell scientific vocabulary correctly and with confidence, using their growing word-reading and spelling knowledge.

Lower key stage 2 programme of study

Working scientifically

During years 3 and 4, pupils should be taught to use the following practical scientific methods, processes and skills through the teaching of the programme of study content:

asking relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiries to answer them

setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests

making systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers

gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions

recording findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables

reporting on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions

using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions

identifying differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes

using straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings.

Year 3 programme of study

Plants

Pupils should be taught to:

Animals, including humans

Pupils should be taught to:

identify that animals, including humans, need the right types and amount of nutrition, and that they cannot make their own food; they get nutrition from what they eat

identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement

Rocks

Pupils should be taught to:

Light

Pupils should be taught to:

Forces and magnets

Year 4 programme of study

Living things and their habitats

Pupils should be taught to:

Animals, including humans

Pupils should be taught to:

States of matter

Pupils should be taught to:

Sound

Pupils should be taught to:

Electricity

Pupils should be taught to:

Upper key stage 2 - years 5 and 6

The principal focus of science teaching in upper key stage 2 is to enable pupils to develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas. They should do this through exploring and talking about their ideas; asking their own questions about scientific phenomena; and analysing functions, relationships and interactions more systematically. At upper key stage 2, they should encounter more abstract ideas and begin to recognise how these ideas help them to understand and predict how the world operates. They should also begin to recognise that scientific ideas change and develop over time. They should select the most appropriate ways to answer science questions using different types of scientific enquiry, including observing changes over different periods of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out comparative and fair tests and finding things out using a wide range of secondary sources of information. Pupils should draw conclusions based on their data and observations, use evidence to justify their ideas, and use their scientific knowledge and understanding to explain their findings.

'Working and thinking scientifically' is described separately at the beginning of the programme of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to substantive science content in the programme of study. Throughout the notes and guidance, examples show how scientific methods and skills might be linked to specific elements of the content.

Pupils should read, spell and pronounce scientific vocabulary correctly.

Upper key stage 2 programme of study

Working scientifically

During years 5 and 6, pupils should be taught to use the following practical scientific methods, processes and skills through the teaching of the programme of study content:

Year 5 programme of study

Living things and their habitats

Pupils should be taught to:

describe the differences in the life cycles of a mammal, an amphibian, an insect and a bird

describe the life process of reproduction in some plants and animals

Animals, including humans

Pupils should be taught to:

describe the changes as humans develop to old age

Properties and changes of materials

Pupils should be taught to:

Earth and space

Pupils should be taught to:

Forces

Pupils should be taught to:

Year 6 programme of study

Living things and their habitats

Pupils should be taught to:

describe how living things are classified into broad groups according to common observable characteristics and based on similarities and differences, including micro-organisms, plants and animals

give reasons for classifying plants and animals based on specific characteristics

Animals including humans

Pupils should be taught to:

Evolution and inheritance

Pupils should be taught to:

Light

Pupils should be taught to:

Electricity

Pupils should be taught to:

Key stage 3

The principal focus of science teaching in key stage 3 is to develop a deeper understanding of a range of scientific ideas in the subject disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Pupils should begin to see the connections between these subject areas and become aware of some of the big ideas underpinning scientific knowledge and understanding. Examples of these big ideas are the links between structure and function in living organisms, the particulate model as the key to understanding the properties and interactions of matter in all its forms, and the resources and means of transfer of energy as key determinants of all of these interactions. They should be encouraged to relate scientific explanations to phenomena in the world around them and start to use modelling and abstract ideas to develop and evaluate explanations.

Pupils should understand that science is about working objectively, modifying explanations to take account of new evidence and ideas and subjecting results to peer review. Pupils should decide on the appropriate type of scientific enquiry to undertake to answer their own questions and develop a deeper understanding of factors to be taken into account when collecting, recording and processing data. They should evaluate their results and identify further questions arising from them.

'Working scientifically' is described separately at the beginning of the programme of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to substantive science content in the programme of study. Teachers should feel free to choose examples that serve a variety of purposes, from showing how scientific ideas have developed historically to reflecting modern developments in science.

Pupils should develop their use of scientific vocabulary, including the use of scientific nomenclature and units and mathematical representations.

Working scientifically

Through the content across all three disciplines, pupils should be taught to:

Scientific attitudes

Experimental skills and investigations

Analysis and evaluation

Measurement

Subject content

Biology

Pupils should be taught about:

Structure and function of living organisms

Cells and organisation

The skeletal and muscular systems

Nutrition and digestion

Gas exchange systems

Reproduction

reproduction in humans (as an example of a mammal), including the structure and function of the male and female reproductive systems, menstrual cycle (without details of hormones), gametes, fertilisation, gestation and birth, to include the effect of maternal lifestyle on the foetus through the placenta

reproduction in plants, including flower structure, wind and insect pollination, fertilisation, seed and fruit formation and dispersal, including quantitative investigation of some dispersal mechanisms

Health

the effects of recreational drugs (including substance misuse) on behaviour, health and life processes

Material cycles and energy

Photosynthesis

Cellular respiration

Interactions and interdependencies

Relationships in an ecosystem

Genetics and evolution

Inheritance, chromosomes, DNA and genes

Chemistry

Pupils should be taught about:

The particulate nature of matter

the properties of the different states of matter (solid, liquid and gas) in terms of the particle model, including gas pressure

changes of state in terms of the particle model

Atoms, elements and compounds

Pure and impure substances

Chemical reactions

Energetics

energy changes on changes of state (qualitative)

exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions (qualitative)

The periodic table

Materials

Earth and atmosphere

Physics

Pupils should be taught about:

Energy

Calculation of fuel uses and costs in the domestic context

Energy changes and transfers

Changes in systems

Motion and forces

Describing motion

Forces

Pressure in fluids

Balanced forces

opposing forces and equilibrium: weight held by stretched spring or supported on a compressed surface

Forces and motion

forces being needed to cause objects to stop or start moving, or to change their speed or direction of motion (qualitative only)

change depending on direction of force and its size

Waves

Observed waves

waves on water as undulations which travel through water with transverse motion; these waves can be reflected, and add or cancel - superposition

Sound waves

Energy and waves

pressure waves transferring energy; use for cleaning and physiotherapy by ultrasound; waves transferring information for conversion to electrical signals by microphone

Light waves

Electricity and electromagnetism

Current electricity

Static electricity

separation of positive or negative charges when objects are rubbed together: transfer of electrons, forces between charged objects

the idea of electric field, forces acting across the space between objects not in contact

Magnetism

Matter

Physical changes

Particle model

the differences in arrangements, in motion and in closeness of particles explaining changes of state, shape and density; the anomaly of ice-water transition

atoms and molecules as particles

Energy in matter

changes with temperature in motion and spacing of particles

internal energy stored in materials

Space physics

Key stage 4

Teaching in the sciences in key stage 4 continues with the process of building upon and deepening scientific knowledge and the understanding of ideas developed in earlier key stages in the subject disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.

For some students, studying the sciences in key stage 4 provides the platform for more advanced studies, establishing the basis for a wide range of careers. For others, it will be their last formal study of subjects that provide the foundations for understanding the natural world and will enhance their lives in an increasingly technological society.

Science is changing our lives and is vital to the world's future prosperity, and all students should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. They should be helped to appreciate the achievements of science in showing how the complex and diverse phenomena of the natural world can be described in terms of a number of key ideas relating to the sciences which are inter-linked, and which are of universal application. These key ideas include:

The sciences should be taught in ways that ensure students have the knowledge to enable them to develop curiosity about the natural world, insight into working scientifically, and appreciation of the relevance of science to their everyday lives, so that students:

Curricula at key stage 4 should comprise approximately equal proportions of biology, chemistry and physics. The relevant mathematical skills required are covered in the programme of study for mathematics and should be embedded in the science context.

'Working scientifically' is described separately at the beginning of the programme of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to substantive science content in the programme of study. Teachers should feel free to choose examples that serve a variety of purposes, from showing how scientific ideas have developed historically to reflecting modern developments in science and informing students of the role of science in understanding the causes of and solutions to some of the challenges facing society.

The scope and nature of their study should be broad, coherent, practical and rigorous, so that students are inspired and challenged by the subject and its achievements.

Working scientifically

Through the content across all three disciplines, students should be taught so that they develop understanding and first-hand experience of:

1. The development of scientific thinking

2. Experimental skills and strategies

3. Analysis and evaluation

applying the cycle of collecting, presenting and analysing data, including:

presenting observations and other data using appropriate methods

translating data from one form to another

carrying out and representing mathematical and statistical analysis

representing distributions of results and making estimations of uncertainty

interpreting observations and other data, including identifying patterns and trends, making inferences and drawing conclusions

presenting reasoned explanations, including relating data to hypotheses

being objective, evaluating data in terms of accuracy, precision, repeatability and reproducibility and identifying potential sources of random and systematic error

communicating the scientific rationale for investigations, including the methods used, the findings and reasoned conclusions, using paper-based and electronic reports and presentations

4. Vocabulary, units, symbols and nomenclature

Subject content - Biology

Biology is the science of living organisms (including animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms) and their interactions with each other and the environment. The study of biology involves collecting and interpreting information about the natural world to identify patterns and relate possible cause and effect. Biology is used to help humans improve their own lives and to understand the world around them.

Students should be helped to understand how, through the ideas of biology, the complex and diverse phenomena of the natural world can be described in terms of a number of key ideas which are of universal application, and which can be illustrated in the separate topics set out below. These ideas include:

life processes depend on molecules whose structure is related to their function

the fundamental units of living organisms are cells, which may be part of highly adapted structures including tissues, organs and organ systems, enabling life processes to be performed more effectively

living organisms may form populations of single species, communities of many species and ecosystems, interacting with each other, with the environment and with humans in many different ways

living organisms are interdependent and show adaptations to their environment

life on Earth is dependent on photosynthesis in which green plants and algae trap light from the Sun to fix carbon dioxide and combine it with hydrogen from water to make organic compounds and oxygen

organic compounds are used as fuels in cellular respiration to allow the other chemical reactions necessary for life

the chemicals in ecosystems are continually cycling through the natural world

the characteristics of a living organism are influenced by its genome and its interaction with the environment

evolution occurs by the process of natural selection and accounts both for biodiversity and how organisms are all related to varying degrees

Students should be taught about:

Cell biology

Transport systems

the need for transport systems in multicellular organisms, including plants

the relationship between the structure and functions of the human circulatory system

Health, disease and the development of medicines

Coordination and control

Photosynthesis

Ecosystems

Evolution, inheritance and variation

the genome as the entire genetic material of an organism

how the genome, and its interaction with the environment, influence the development of the phenotype of an organism

the potential impact of genomics on medicine

most phenotypic features being the result of multiple, rather than single, genes

single gene inheritance and single gene crosses with dominant and recessive phenotypes

sex determination in humans

genetic variation in populations of a species

the process of natural selection leading to evolution

the evidence for evolution

developments in biology affecting classification

the importance of selective breeding of plants and animals in agriculture

the uses of modern biotechnology including gene technology; some of the practical and ethical considerations of modern biotechnology

Subject content - Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of the composition, structure, properties and reactions of matter, understood in terms of atoms, atomic particles and the way they are arranged and link together. It is concerned with the synthesis, formulation, analysis and characteristic properties of substances and materials of all kinds.

Students should be helped to appreciate the achievements of chemistry in showing how the complex and diverse phenomena of both the natural and man-made worlds can be described in terms of a number of key ideas which are of universal application, and which can be illustrated in the separate topics set out below. These ideas include:

matter is composed of tiny particles called atoms and there are about 100 different naturally-occurring types of atoms called elements

elements show periodic relationships in their chemical and physical properties

these periodic properties can be explained in terms of the atomic structure of the elements

atoms bond either by transferring electrons from one atom to another or by sharing electrons

the shapes of molecules (groups of atoms bonded together) and the way giant structures are arranged is of great importance in terms of the way they behave

reactions can occur when molecules collide and do so at different rates due to differences in molecular collisions

chemical reactions take place in only three different ways:

proton transfer

electron transfer

electron sharing

energy is conserved in chemical reactions so can therefore be neither created nor destroyed

Students should be taught about:

Atomic structure and the Periodic Table

Structure, bonding and the properties of matter

Chemical changes

Energy changes in chemistry

Measurement of energy changes in chemical reactions (qualitative)

Bond breaking, bond making, activation energy and reaction profiles (qualitative)

Rate and extent of chemical change

factors that influence the rate of reaction: varying temperature or concentration, changing the surface area of a solid reactant or by adding a catalyst

factors affecting reversible reactions

Chemical analysis

Chemical and allied industries

Earth and atmospheric science

Subject content - Physics

Physics is the science of the fundamental concepts of field, force, radiation and particle structures, which are inter-linked to form unified models of the behaviour of the material universe. From such models, a wide range of ideas, from the broadest issue of the development of the universe over time to the numerous and detailed ways in which new technologies may be invented, have emerged. These have enriched both our basic understanding of, and our many adaptations to, our material environment.

Students should be helped to understand how, through the ideas of physics, the complex and diverse phenomena of the natural world can be described in terms of a number of key ideas which are of universal application and which can be illustrated in the separate topics set out below. These ideas include:

Students should be taught about:

Energy

Forces

Forces and motion

Wave motion

Electricity

Magnetism and electromagnetism

The structure of matter

Atomic structure

Space physics

the main features of the solar system.

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National curriculum in England: science programmes of study

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A high-quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world's future prosperity, and all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science.

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Accessed: 28/10/2021

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​​​What is science?

Science is the study of the physical world, where we establish facts by inquiry, investigation and observation. Studying science helps us understand how the world works.

Science is an important part of our heritage - so many Scottish scientists have shaped the modern world as we know it and we use these applications every day in our lives, at work, leisure and home.​

In a modern and ambitious world like ours, science and its application are central to our economic future, our health and wellbeing as individuals and as a society.​

What skills will my child develop?

Learning in the sciences will enable your child to:

develop curiosity and understanding of the environment and their place in the living, material and physical world

demonstrate a secure knowledge and understanding of the big ideas and concepts of the sciences

develop skills for learning, life and work

develop the skills of scientific inquiry and investigation using practical techniques

develop skills in the accurate use of scientific language, formulae and equations

apply safety measures and take necessary actions to control risk and hazards

recognise the impact science makes on their life, the lives of others, on the environment and in society

recognise the role of creativity and inventiveness in the development of science

develop an understanding of the Earth's resources and the need for responsible use of them

express opinions and make decisions on social, moral, ethical, economic and environmental issues, based upon sound understanding

develop as a scientifically-literate citizen with a lifelong interest in science

establish the foundation for more advanced learning and future careers in science and technology​.

What will my child learn?

Each area of the curriculum is broken down into experiences and outcomes. These are clear and concise statements about children's learning and progression from pre-school to S3.

In the sciences, the headings used to group the experiences and outcomes are:

Planet Earth: exploring the diversity of living things, developing their understanding of how organisms are interrelated, exploring types, sources and uses of energy, exploring the changing states of matter and the physical and chemical processes upon earth and developing understanding of the earth's position within the universe.

Forces: developing an understanding of how forces can change the shape or motion of an object and the forces acting on it and developing an understanding of the concept of buoyancy, force and density.

Electricity and waves: knowing how to use electricity safely, understanding of electricity as a means of transferring energy by investigating circuits and building chemical cells, exploring the nature of sound, light and radiations in the electromagnetic spectrum and understanding of the properties of light and other forms of electromagnetic radiations.

Biological systems: developing knowledge and understanding of the structure and function of organs of the body, through observation, research and practical investigation learners explore the risk and impact of microorganisms in relation to health, and then in industrial processes, experience the use of technology in monitoring health and improving the quality of life and developing knowledge of genetics and of the role of DNA.

Materials: exploring the properties of different substances and how they can be changed to develop their understanding of the connection between structure and properties, exploring the development of new substances which have useful properties and beginning to use symbols and chemical formulae as a way of communicating information about elements and compounds, developing knowledge and understanding of substances that make up the Earth's surface.

Topical science: ​By considering current issues of science, learners increasingly develop their understanding of scientific concepts and their capacity to form informed social, moral and ethical views. They reflect upon and critically evaluate media portrayal of scientific findings.

In addition, there are key skills embedded within the curriculum and developed progressively from Early Level to Fourth Level under the headings:

Inquiry and investigative skills

Scientific analytical thinking skills

Skills and attributes of scientifically literate citizens​

How can I support my child's learning?

Parentzone's Supporting science at home section has simple ideas to support your child in learning about the sciences through everyday activities.

How are children and young people learning in Scotland?

Science learning can be experienced in a huge variety of exciting and inspiring ways. Children might be:

​outside making a bug hotel using different materials

investigating light and shadow

playing a ball game to investigate forces

exploring their local area to find out what wildlife lives there or about the different kinds of rock that make up the earth's crust.

Learning in science often links to Learning for Sustaina​bility and the Sustainable Development Goals. This helps learners to understand how the sciences play a vital role in finding solutions to real world issues or challenges such as protecting biodiversity, reducing marine plastic pollution and tackling climate change.

Curriculum for Excellence has enabled teachers to use different approaches to learning, to inspire a life-long passion for science in children by connecting their learning to the real world.

By linking with local industries,​ schools can show science and STEM in action.

Project-based learning approaches combine the individual disciplines within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). This can create exciting learning experiences for young people where they can work in teams to solve problems or tackle challenges.

The sciences are one of eight curriculum areas within Curriculum for Excellence. Therefore, learning about the sciences from Early Level to Third Level is an entitlement for all learners. Learning in the sciences should be delivered through an appropriate blend of well-planned discrete and interdisciplinary learning.

In some Primary schools, time may be specifically allocated to sciences. While in other schools, science may be embedded within the curriculum so you might be learning about the Titanic and finding out about forces or learning about World Wars or finding out about trench diseases.​

Careers in the sciences​

Scotland offers many exciting and rewarding careers in the sciences and engineering, as do other countries around the world. The sciences are vital for key economic sectors in Scotland, such as energy, the creative industries (including digital), food and drink and life sciences.

It is often thought that these careers are only available to those who have a university degree in a science or engineering related subject, but many opportunities also exist for modern apprentices and for technician-level roles too.

The skills gained through the sciences can also open doors to careers in many other sectors. For instance, transferable skills such as the ability to solve problems, make accurate predictions and draw valid conclusions are useful in many different careers outwith science. As a result, science skills are much valued by employers.

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Science is the study of the physical world, where we establish facts by inquiry, investigation and observation. Studying science helps us understand how the world works.