2017 School Magazine

YEAR 12 SCIENCE 21

There were many enjoyable aspects over the year in Science 21. Each term, we explored the practical and theoretical components of various scientific concepts. The Term I unit focused on Nutrition, which consisted of an Extended Experimental Investigation on an individually chosen topic based on the chemistry of foods. Term II was about Forensic Science and consisted of many practical exercises related to various forensic techniques. We all loved this topic because it required us to find the killer of a murder mystery scenario! The Term III unit was about the topic of the physics of rollercoasters and the physiology of fear associated with them. In Term IV, the Science 21 cohort sought to establish a place to live on a different planet. Overall, the Science 21 subject has been a very interesting subject and we would recommend this subject to any junior students who are deciding on their final senior subjects. ALICE POOLE (12H) AND KENNEDI CLAYTON (12M)

YEAR 11 BIOLOGY

YEAR 12 BIOLOGY

Biology has had a strong focus on genetics this year. In Term I, we studied the fundamental structures that store our genetic information and how this genetic information is passed through generations We also learned to predict the offspring of parents with known traits. In Term II, our focus shifted to genetic diseases caused by mutations in our genes, including the causes and possible treatments of such disease. Our Term III study used our knowledge of genetics from Semester 1 to understand the mechanisms of both existing and developing genetic technologies, and forced us to consider both the positive and negative impacts of such technologies on our society. In Term IV, we investigated how gene frequencies change over time — the basic mechanism for evolution.

Biology is a really interesting subject. Senior Biology has allowed us to gain a deeper insight into the studies of life. A particularly exciting event was our field trip in Term II. On our first field trip we went to North Stradbroke Island and studied some fascinating aspects of ecosystems. On our second field trip to Mooloolaba we gained first-hand knowledge of marine organisms that increased our understanding of what we had studied in class. Learning about the human body, environmental impacts and physiology are only some of the engaging topics that we have loved this year. HELENA GANDHI (11O) AND CLARE GORDON (11E)

Biology this year was really interesting because what we learned is relevant to our futures. An understanding of genetics is not only crucial to determining how to prevent, treat and cure diseases, but also to the wide field of biotechnology, which significantly impacts on numerous global industries. As we learnt more about the incredible potential of these technologies, we are also forced to confront their associated difficulties. It may be that these are the difficulties our generation will have to combat in the

not-so-distant future. EESHA BAJRA (12R)

BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2017 | CURRICULUM | 073