QCE Earth & Environmental Science lessons

Unit 1: Introduction to Earth systems Year 11

Topic 1: Earth systems and models

Open, closed and isolated systems, the four spheres of Earth, and models of Earth processes and their limitations.

Lessons that cover part of this topic:

• Earth systemThe four spheres, the links between them and feedback loops, worked through South Australia’s Coorong (SACE Stage 2).

Topic 2: Development of the geosphere

Uniformitarianism, stratigraphy and the fossil record, radioactive dating, Earth’s interior, rocks and minerals, and soil.

Lessons that cover part of this topic:

• Minerals, soil and datingMinerals, rocks, soil, relative dating, half-life and carbon-14, as a mastery-learning lesson (SACE Stage 1).
• Inside the EarthUniformitarianism, seismic waves and the shadow zones, meteorites as evidence of the core, and Earth’s layers to scale (SACE Stage 1).
• Life through deep timeFossils and trace fossils, way-up structures, index fossils and the fossil record (SACE Stage 1).
• Rock identificationAn identification key, tests you can do in class, and 18 common rocks as 3D specimens (Year 8).
• The rock cycleHow igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks form (Year 8).

Topic 3: Development of the atmosphere and hydrosphere

Water’s properties and where Earth’s water came from, and the layers, ozone layer and origin of the atmosphere.

Topic 4: Development of the biosphere

The origin and characteristics of the biosphere, and life from the past to the present.

Lessons that cover part of this topic:

• Life through deep timeMiller and Urey, the oldest evidence for life, Ediacara fossils, mass extinctions and the megafauna, as historical case studies (SACE Stage 1).

Unit 2: Earth processes Energy transfers and transformations · Year 11

Topic 1: Energy for Earth processes

Energy in Earth systems, energy and the water cycle, and energy from Earth’s core.

Lessons that cover part of this topic:

• Air and water, Reading 7Water’s high heat capacity and the energy taken up when it evaporates (Queensland version).
• Inside the EarthHeat from radioactive decay and the temperature gradient in the hot granite at Habanero (SACE Stage 1).

Topic 2: Energy for atmospheric and hydrologic processes

Solar radiation, thermal radiation and the greenhouse effect, atmospheric circulation, ocean currents, and weather and climate, including El Niño and La Niña.

Lessons that cover part of this topic:

• Air and water, Readings 3, 4, 5 and 8Ozone and albedo, the greenhouse effect, the trade winds and the subtropical ridge, the ocean conveyor, and El Niño and La Niña in Queensland (Queensland version).
• Climate driversEarth’s energy budget, greenhouse gases, the wind belts, deep currents, and El Niño and La Niña, as peer instruction (SACE Stage 2).

Topic 3: Energy for biogeochemical processes

Net primary production, ecosystem carrying capacity, and the cycling of matter, including the carbon cycle.

Lessons that cover part of this topic:

• Ecosystems and cyclesA coastal field study: photosynthesis and net primary production, carrying capacity, and the carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles (SACE Stage 1).

Unit 3: Living on Earth Extracting, using and managing Earth resources · Year 12

Topic 1: Use of non-renewable Earth resources

How mineral and energy resources form and are found, extracted and processed, and environmental monitoring and management.

Topic 2: Use of renewable Earth resources

Renewable resources, ecosystems, the availability of fresh water, and sustainable harvesting.

Lessons that cover part of this topic:

• Water and soilRenewable resources sustained or diminished: reservoirs, the Great Artesian Basin, groundwater and soil (SACE Stage 2).
• EnergyRenewable and non-renewable energy sources weighed up in a decision matrix (SACE Stage 2).

Unit 4: The changing Earth The cause and impact of Earth hazards · Year 12

Topic 1: The cause and impact of Earth hazards

Hazards at plate boundaries and how they are predicted, cyclones, floods and droughts, and how human activity changes hazards.

Lessons that cover part of this topic:

• Turbulent EarthA hazard crisis simulation through Pinatubo, Tōhoku, Christchurch and the Chelyabinsk airburst (SACE Stage 1).
• Cyclone Risk ExplorerHazard, exposure and vulnerability for five cyclones, including Alfred in south-east Queensland (senior Geography).
• Plate tectonicsThe four edges of the Australian Plate and the evidence for plate tectonics (Year 8).

Topic 2: The cause and impact of global climate change

Radiative forcing, natural and human causes of climate change, its impacts, palaeoclimates and climate models.

Lessons that cover part of this topic:

• Climate driversThe natural causes of climate change, as peer instruction (SACE Stage 2).
• Climate evidenceHow climate models are built and tested, and the evidence for past and present change (SACE Stage 2).