Organisation
Overview of senior secondary Australian Curriculum
ACARA has developed senior secondary Australian Curriculum for English, Mathematics, Science and History according to a set of design specifications. The ACARA Board approved these specifications following consultation with state and territory curriculum, assessment and certification authorities.
The senior secondary Australian Curriculum specifies content and achievement standards for each senior secondary subject. Content refers to the knowledge, understanding and skills to be taught and learned within a given subject. Achievement standards refer to descriptions of the quality of learning (the depth of understanding, extent of knowledge and sophistication of skill) expected of students who have studied the content for the subject.
The senior secondary Australian Curriculum for each subject has been organised into four units. The last two units are cognitively more challenging than the first two units. Each unit is designed to be taught in about half a 'school year' of senior secondary studies (approximately 50–60 hours duration including assessment and examinations). However, the senior secondary units have also been designed so that they may be studied singly, in pairs (that is, year-long), or as four units over two years.
State and territory curriculum, assessment and certification authorities are responsible for the structure and organisation of their senior secondary courses and will determine how they will integrate the Australian Curriculum content and achievement standards into their courses. They will continue to be responsible for implementation of the senior secondary curriculum, including assessment, certification and the attendant quality assurance mechanisms. Each of these authorities acts in accordance with its respective legislation and the policy framework of its state government and Board. They will determine the assessment and certification specifications for their local courses that integrate the Australian Curriculum content and achievement standards and any additional information, guidelines and rules to satisfy local requirements including advice on entry and exit points and credit for completed study.
The senior secondary Australian Curriculum for each subject should not, therefore, be read as a course of study. Rather, it is presented as content and achievement standards for integration into state and territory courses.
Senior secondary Science subjects
The Australian Curriculum senior secondary Science subjects build on student learning in the Foundation to Year 10 Science curriculum and include:
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Earth and Environmental Science
• Physics.
Structure of Chemistry
Units
In Chemistry, students develop their understanding of chemical systems, and how models of matter and energy transfers and transformations can be used to describe, explain and predict chemical structures, properties and reactions. There are four units:
• Unit 1: Chemical fundamentals: structure, properties and reactions
• Unit 2: Molecular interactions and reactions
• Unit 3: Equilibrium, acids and redox reactions
• Unit 4: Structure, synthesis and design.
In Unit 1, students use models of atomic structure and bonding to explain the macroscopic properties of materials and to predict the products and explain the energy changes associated with chemical reactions. In Unit 2, they continue to develop their understanding of bonding models and the relationship between structure, properties and reactions, including consideration of the factors that affect the rate of chemical reactions.
In Units 3 and 4, students further develop their knowledge of chemical processes introduced in Units 1 and 2, including considering energy transfers and transformations, calculations of chemical quantities, rates of reaction and chemical systems. In Unit 3,