Full pathway
KS3 Science, stage by stage
Every stage in order, from Year 8 working scientifically through biology, chemistry and physics, ending with foundations written towards the AQA GCSE specifications.
Science
Your progress
0 of 38 lessons finished · 0 of 41 objectives secure
Stages 9 to 11 are KS3 lessons written to lead into AQA Biology 8461, Chemistry 8462 and Physics 8463. They are foundations for those courses, not the GCSE courses themselves.
Stage 1
Working scientifically
Working scientifically: variables, measurement, graphs and conclusions you can defend.
- Planning a fair testSelect, plan and carry out the most appropriate types of scientific enquiry to test predictions, including identifying independent, dependent and control variablesFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Patterns, anomalies and honest conclusionsInterpret observations and data, including identifying patterns and using observations to draw conclusionsFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Measuring well: repeats, anomalies and reliabilityMake and record observations and measurements using a range of methods, and evaluate the reliability of methodsFilm4 marked checks25 min
- Turning results into tables and graphs that arguePresent observations using appropriate methods, including tables and graphs, and communicate ideas using scientific terminologyFilm4 marked checks25 min
Stage 2
Breathing and digestion
Breathing and digestion — how oxygen gets in and food is broken down small enough to use.
- Breathing, gas exchange and what damages itUnderstand the structure and functions of the gas exchange system and the effects of exercise, asthma and smokingFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Digestion, enzymes and gut bacteriaUnderstand the tissues and organs of the human digestive system, including the role of enzymes and the importance of bacteria in the gutFilm4 marked checks30 min
Stage 3
Photosynthesis and respiration
Photosynthesis and respiration, the two reactions that keep everything alive.
- Photosynthesis: making food from lightUnderstand the reactants in, and products of, photosynthesis, and a word summary for photosynthesisFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Aerobic and anaerobic respirationUnderstand aerobic and anaerobic respiration in living organisms, including the breakdown of organic molecules to enable all the other chemical processes necessary for lifeFilm4 marked checks30 min
Stage 4
Ecosystems and variation
Ecosystems, food webs and variation within and between species.
- Food webs, pollinators and interdependenceUnderstand the interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem, including food webs and insect pollinated cropsFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Variation within and between speciesUnderstand differences between species and the variation between individuals of the same speciesFilm4 marked checks30 min
Stage 5
Atoms, elements and mixtures
Atoms, elements, compounds and separating mixtures.
- Atoms, elements, compounds and formulaeUnderstand atoms, elements and compounds, and the use of chemical symbols and formulaeFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Pure substances and separating mixturesUnderstand the concept of a pure substance and how mixtures can be separated through filtration, distillation and chromatographyFilm4 marked checks30 min
Stage 6
Chemical reactions, acids and alkalis
Reactions, balanced equations, acids and neutralisation.
- Chemical reactions and balancing equationsUnderstand chemical reactions as the rearrangement of atoms, represented by word and symbol equationsFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Acids, alkalis and neutralisationUnderstand reactions of acids with alkalis to produce a salt plus water, and use the pH scale for measuring acidityFilm4 marked checks30 min
Stage 7
Energy transfers and resources
Energy stores and transfers, and where our electricity really comes from.
- Energy transfers, power ratings and fuel valuesUnderstand energy changes and transfers, including comparing power ratings and energy values of fuels and foodsFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Fuels and energy resourcesUnderstand fuels and energy resources, including renewable and non-renewable resourcesFilm4 marked checks30 min
Stage 8
Gravity and light
Mass, weight and gravity, then reflection, refraction and colour.
- Mass, weight and gravityUnderstand gravity force, weight and mass, and the relationship between them on Earth and other bodiesFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Light: reflection, refraction and colourUnderstand the transmission of light through materials, reflection, refraction and the colours of the light spectrumFilm4 marked checks30 min
Stage 9
Biology foundations for GCSE (AQA 8461)
Biology foundations written towards AQA 8461: transport, exchange and bioenergetics.
- Diffusion, osmosis and why surfaces are foldedUnderstand diffusion in terms of the particle model, and the concepts of solutions, solvents, solutes and solubilityFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Photosynthesis and respiration as an energy pairUnderstand the reactants in, and products of, photosynthesis, and a word summary for photosynthesisFilm4 marked checks30 min
Stage 10
Chemistry foundations for GCSE (AQA 8462)
Chemistry foundations written towards AQA 8462: formulae, equations and reactivity.
- Atoms, elements, compounds and formulaeUnderstand atoms, elements and compounds, and the use of chemical symbols and formulaeFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Balancing equations and the reactivity seriesUnderstand chemical reactions as the rearrangement of atoms, represented by word and symbol equationsFilm4 marked checks30 min
Stage 11
Physics foundations for GCSE (AQA 8463)
Physics foundations written towards AQA 8463: energy stores, forces and motion graphs.
- Energy stores, transfers and efficiencyUnderstand energy as a quantity that can be quantified and calculated, and the total energy has the same value before and after a changeFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Forces, resultants and motion graphsUnderstand forces as pushes or pulls arising from the interaction between two objects, and balanced and unbalanced forcesFilm4 marked checks30 min
Stage 12
Year 9 Science: inheritance, energetics, climate, magnetism and space
Year 9: inheritance, energetics, climate, magnetism and space.
- Heredity: passing information onUnderstand heredity as the process by which genetic information is transmitted from one generation to the nextFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Exothermic, endothermic and the reactivity seriesUnderstand exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions and the reactivity series of metalsFilm4 marked checks30 min
- The carbon cycle and climate changeUnderstand the carbon cycle and the production of carbon dioxide by human activity and the impact on climateFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Magnetic fields and electromagnetsUnderstand magnetic fields, including Earth's magnetism, compasses and the magnetic effect of a currentFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Seasons, day length and distances in spaceUnderstand the seasons and the Earth's tilt, day length at different times of year, and the light year as a unit of astronomical distanceFilm4 marked checks30 min
Stage 13
Plants: the quiet engines
Nature, plants and wildlife: how a leaf eats sunlight, water's climb up a tree, and the pollination deal.
- How a leaf eats sunlightUnderstand the reactants in, and products of, photosynthesis, and a word summary for photosynthesisFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Water's climb: roots, xylem and stomataUnderstand the role of leaf stomata in gas exchange in plants and the dependence of almost all life on Earth on the ability of photosynthetic organisms to use sunlightFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Flowers, bees and the pollination dealUnderstand the interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem, including food webs and insect pollinated cropsFilm4 marked checks30 min
Stage 14
Wildlife watching like a scientist
Wildlife watching like a scientist: tracks and signs, woodland food webs, and the night shift of owls, bats and moths.
- Reading the wild: tracks, signs and fieldcraftUnderstand differences between species and the variation between individuals of the same speciesFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Food webs in a British woodlandUnderstand the interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem, including food webs and insect pollinated cropsFilm4 marked checks35 min
- Night shift: owls, bats and mothsUnderstand differences between species and the variation between individuals of the same speciesFilm4 marked checks30 min
Stage 15
Habitats under pressure
Habitats under pressure: what happens when habitats change, poisons up the food chain, and conservation that works.
- When habitats changeUnderstand how organisms affect, and are affected by, their environment, including the accumulation of toxic materialsFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Poisons up the food chainUnderstand how organisms affect, and are affected by, their environment, including the accumulation of toxic materialsFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Back from the brink: conservation that worksUnderstand changes in the environment that may leave individuals within a species, and some entire species, less well adapted to compete successfully and reproduce, which in turn may lead to extinctionFilm4 marked checks35 min
Where this leads
Into GCSE science
Every lesson above reports into the same 41-objective science grid. When you are ready, the GCSE specification pages carry the exam-style practice papers.