Year 11

Module 1: Cells as the Basis of Life

Content

Cell Structure
Inquiry question: What distinguishes one cell from another?

Students:
● investigate different cellular structures, including but not limited to:
– examining a variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
– describe a range of technologies that are used to determine a cell’s structure and function
● investigate a variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structures, including but not limited to:
– drawing scaled diagrams of a variety of cells
– comparing and contrasting different cell organelles and arrangements
– modelling the structure and function of the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane

Cell Function
Inquiry question: How do cells coordinate activities within their internal environment and the external
environment?

Students:
● investigate the way in which materials can move into and out of cells, including but not limited to:
– conducting a practical investigation modelling diffusion and osmosis
– examining the roles of active transport, endocytosis and exocytosis
– relating the exchange of materials across membranes to the surface-area-to-volume ratio,
concentration gradients and characteristics of the materials being exchanged
● investigate cell requirements, including but not limited to:
– suitable forms of energy, including light energy and chemical energy in complex molecules
– matter, including gases, simple nutrients and ions
– removal of wastes
● investigate the biochemical processes of photosynthesis, cell respiration and the removal of
cellular products and wastes in eukaryotic cells
● investigate the effects of the environment on enzyme activity through the collection of primary or
secondary data
 Year 11

Module 2: Organisation of Living Things

Content

Organisation of Cells
Inquiry question: How are cells arranged in a multicellular organism?

Students:
● compare the differences between unicellular, colonial and multicellular organisms by:
– investigating structures at the level of the cell and organelle
– relating structure of cells and cell specialisation to function
● investigate the structure and function of tissues, organs and systems and relate those functions to
cell differentiation and specialisation
● justify the hierarchical structural organisation of organelles, cells, tissues, organs, systems and
organisms

Nutrient and Gas Requirements

Students:
● investigate the structure of autotrophs through the examination of a variety of materials, for
example:
– microscopic structures
– using a range of imaging technologies to determine plant structure
● investigate the function of structures in a plant, including but not limited to:
● tracing the development and movement of the products of photosynthesis
● investigate the gas exchange structures in animals and plants through the collection of primary
and secondary data and information, for example:
– microscopic structures: alveoli in mammals and leaf structure in plants
– macroscopic structures: respiratory systems in a range of animals
● interpret a range of secondary-sourced information to evaluate processes, claims and conclusions
that have led scientists to develop hypotheses, theories and models about the structure and
function of plants, including but not limited to:
– photosynthesis
– transpiration-cohesion-tension theory
● trace the digestion of foods in a mammalian digestive system, including:
– physical digestion
– chemical digestion
– absorption of nutrients, minerals and water
– elimination of solid waste
● compare the nutrient and gas requirements of autotrophs and heterotrophs
 Year 11
Transport
Inquiry question: How does the composition of the transport medium change as it moves around an
organism?

Students:
– investigate transport systems in animals and plants by comparing structures and components
using physical and digital models, including but not limited to:
– macroscopic structures in plants and animals
– microscopic samples of blood, the cardiovascular system and plant vascular systems
● investigate the exchange of gases between the internal and external environments of plants and
animals
● compare the structures and function of transport systems in animals and plants, including but not
limited to:
– vascular systems in plants and animals
– open and closed transport systems in animals
compare the changes in the composition of the transport medium as it moves around an organism
 Year 11

Module 3: Biological Diversity

Students:
● predict the effects of selection pressures on organisms in ecosystems, including:
– biotic factors
– abiotic factors
● investigate changes in a population of organisms due to selection pressures over time, for
example:
– cane toads in Australia
– prickly pear distribution in Australia

Adaptations
Inquiry question: How do adaptations increase the organism’s ability to survive?

Students:
● conduct practical investigations, individually or in teams, or use secondary sources to examine
the adaptations of organisms that increase their ability to survive in their environment, including:
– structural adaptations
– physiological adaptations
– behavioural adaptations
● investigate, through secondary sources, the observations and collection of data that were
obtained by Charles Darwin to support the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, for example:
– finches of the Galapagos Islands
– Australian flora and fauna

Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection

Students:
● explain biological diversity in terms of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection by examining
the changes in and diversification of life since it first appeared on the Earth (ACSBL088)
● analyse how an accumulation of microevolutionary changes can drive evolutionary changes and
speciation over time, for example:
– evolution of the horse
– evolution of the platypus
● explain, using examples, how Darwin and Wallace’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection
accounts for:
– convergent evolution
– divergent evolution
● explain how punctuated equilibrium is different from the gradual process of natural selection
 Year 11

Evolution – the Evidence

Students:
● investigate, using secondary sources, evidence in support of Darwin and Wallace’s Theory of
Evolution by Natural Selection, including but not limited to:
– biochemical evidence, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology and biogeography
– techniques used to date fossils and the evidence produced
● explain modern-day examples that demonstrate evolutionary change, for example:
– the cane toad
antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria
 Year 11

Module 4: Ecosystem Dynamics

Content

Population Dynamics
Inquiry question: What effect can one species have on the other species in a community?

Students:
● investigate and determine relationships between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem,
including:
– the impact of abiotic factors
– the impact of biotic factors, including predation, competition and symbiotic relationships
– the ecological niches occupied by species
– predicting consequences for populations in ecosystems due to predation, competition,
symbiosis and disease
– measuring populations of organisms using sampling techniques
● explain a recent extinction event

Past Ecosystems
Inquiry question: How do selection pressures within an ecosystem influence evolutionary change?

Students:
● analyse palaeontological and geological evidence that can be used to provide evidence for past
changes in ecosystems, including but not limited to:
– Aboriginal rock paintings
– rock structure and formation
– ice core drilling
● investigate and analyse past and present technologies that have been used to determine
evidence for past changes, for example:
– radiometric dating
– gas analysis
● analyse evidence that present-day organisms have evolved from organisms in the past by
examining and interpreting a range of secondary sources to evaluate processes, claims and
conclusions relating to the evolution of organisms in Australia, for example:
– small mammals
– sclerophyll plants
● investigate the reasons for changes in past ecosystems, by:
– interpreting a range of secondary sources to develop an understanding of the changes in
biotic and abiotic factors over short and long periods of time
– evaluating hypotheses that account for identified trends
 Year 11
Future Ecosystems
Inquiry question: How can human activity impact on an ecosystem?

Students:
● investigate changes in past ecosystems that may inform our approach to the management of
future ecosystems, including:
– the role of human-induced selection pressures on the extinction of species
– models that humans can use to predict future impacts on biodiversity
– the role of changing climate on ecosystems
● investigate practices used to restore damaged ecosystems, Country or Place, for example:
– mining sites
– land degradation from agricultural practice