Science T3 2020

Assalaam Alaykom, by the grace of Allah we have just concluded another beneficial term at Irfan College. I would like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday insha'Allah. In science, students have learnt a range of topics throughout the term, I would like to provide an update on each class insha'Allah:
Year 7: Students first learnt about natural habitats and the interactions that are present in nature. Students learnt an array of aspects related to this topic such as food webs and food chains, the energy flow throughout the environment and what producers, consumers and decomposers are in an ecosystem. Students were assessed on this topic. Students were asked to create their own food web poster and provide an essay on several aspects of the topic. Finally, students' posters were displayed in their classroom in order to create a sense of accomplishment and be proud of their work. In the second half of the term, students learnt about forces. This topic covers multiple areas such as contact and non-contact forces (what they are and what are the differences). Students completed experiments on this topic. One of  the completed experiments was students were asked to measure the force of friction using a spring balance.
Year 8: During the first half of the term students covered the topic "Energy". This topic teaches students what are the types of energy, what is conduction and convection, and how to be more energy efficient. Students learn what is useful energy and wasteful energy, students demonstrated their understanding by providing several examples of components useful and wasteful energy. During the second half of the term students covered the topic "Elements, compounds and Mixtures". This topic introduced students to the periodic table, and several concepts such as the differences of metals and non-metal elements, and the differences between compounds and mixtures. During this term, students were asked to conduct a Student Research Project (SRP) as their assignment. The SRP is a compulsory assignment set out by the Department of Education which has students develop their own hypothesis and students test this hypothesis. Students were able to complete this assignment successfully demonstrating they have the independence to design their own experiments.
Year 9: Students covered multiple topics this term including "Heat, Light and Sound", "Electromagnetic Radiation", and "Electrical Energy". The "Heat, Light and Sound" topic covers concepts such as conduction and convection, the electromagnetic spectrum, and reflection and refraction. Students knowledge of the topic was assessed by having students draw their own electromagnetic spectrum and write an essay covering multiple aspects of the topic. During the "Electrical Energy" topic, students learnt how to construct their own electrical circuits and demonstrated their understanding by constructed parallel and series circuits to turn on multiple light bulbs all at once and selectively turning on light bulbs one at a time.
Year 10: "DNA and Genetics", "Geological Time", and "Natural Selection" were all the topics covered this term. "DNA and Genetics" taught students what is DNA and what is it responsible for. Students also learnt how genes are inherited from parents. During the "Geological Time" and "Natural Selection" topics, students learnt what fossils are and the different types of fossils. Students also learnt how scientists used fossils to justify evolution. The students also learnt the Islamic stance on evolution and natural selection. Students were told the process in which natural selection occurs and were shown examples of natural selection from recent history such as the peppered moths. Students this term conducted the Students Research Project (SRP). As noted earlier, the SRP is a compulsory assignment set out by the Department of Education which has students develop their own hypothesis and students test this hypothesis. Students conducted very interesting experiments and were able to report their findings successfully.

I ask Allah to make next term of benefit as well. Thank you for reading.
Mr Aladdin