ESSENTIAL SECONDARY SCIENCE ASSESSMENT

Survival in the desert

In arid conditions, the experts recommend that you take extra water
with you when you travel.

In emergency situations, a solar still may produce some water.

Here is a diagram of a solar still.

What you need

• Spade
ROCKS
• Cup
• Fresh leaves

CLEAR
• Clear plastic sheet
PLASTIC
SHEET
• Rocks

What to do
1. Dig a hole in the ground in a
sunny spot.
2. Place an empty cup into the middle
of the hole and then surround the
cup with fresh fleshy leaves from
nearby bushes and trees.
3. Lay a plastic sheet across the hole,
holding it in place with some
heavy rocks.
4. Place a small rock in the centre of
your plastic sheet, so that the sheet
forms a ‘v’ shape directly over
the cup.
5. Look in the cup every couple
of hours.

Since about 1960, the solar still has

been presented in many survival
guides as an effective method of
obtaining water in arid regions.
However, there is some debate about
whether a solar still is really useful.

2
 Sun, Earth and Moon
The diagram below shows the relative movements of Earth and the Moon around the Sun.
It is not drawn to scale.

3
This is a transcript of a radio talk given by Dr Norman Swan.

Head lice myth disproved

4 December 2002 with Norman Swan

One of the popular beliefs about head lice, which

are the bane of many a parent and school, is that
they can be caught from the environment, from
the floor or furnishings.

This creates anxiety among parents that major Enlarged image of a

spring cleaning might be needed, even though fully grown head louse.
they're advised not to bother. The actual size of a
head louse is 2–4 mm
A recent study from North Queensland provides
some reassurance.

Researchers examined 118 primary school

classrooms and 2000 children. 466 children
carried 14 033 head lice. Great work if you can
find it.

Anyway, while the kids were out of the class

having the zoos on their scalps removed, the
carpeted floors in their classrooms were
vacuumed and there wasn’t a single louse to be
found anywhere but on a human head.

The message is don’t bother about the house;

deal with the scalp because lice don't survive
anywhere else.

It’s not something to keep scratching your

head over.

4
 Onion

Living things are made of cells. They are the building

blocks of life. But can we see them?
A group of students used a microscope to observe a
piece of onion skin.
An image of what they observed is shown below.

C
B

5
 Electric lock
The diagram below represents a circuit for a door locking
device that was set up by several Year 8 science students.

Electromagnet is held 12 mm
above object X on the bench
Lamp

Coil

D cell

Soft iron rod

Connecting wires
X

6
 How dense are you?
Which is heavier, a kilogram of feathers or a
kilogram of gold? The answer is neither.
They both weigh the same because they
have the same mass. The mass tells us how
much matter each contains. The difference
is that one of them is denser than the other.

Measuring the volume of irregular objects

To find the density of something you
must measure its mass and volume. mL mL
50 50
Then you divide the mass by the volume.
This piece of granite has a mass of 30 g. Its 40 40

volume was measured using the equipment

30 30
shown.
20 20

10 10

granite

1 mL is the same volume as 1 cm 3

The tables show the densities of some common solid and liquid substances.
Density Density
Solid Liquid
(g/cm3) (g/cm3)
polystyrene foam 0.1
water 1.0
iron 7.8
gold 19.3 methylated spirits 0.8
nickel 8.9 petrol 0.7
lead 11.0
aluminium 2.7 mercury 13.6
cork 0.2 sea water 1.0
polythene plastic 0.9
pine wood 0.4 chloroform 1.5

7
 Sewage treatment
In today’s society, effective and safe disposal of human wastes as sewage is essential to
maintain a healthy lifestyle and good quality of life. Most people in Australia live in
cities and towns along the coastline. Because they are so close to the ocean, most
sewage in Australia is discharged into the ocean by pipes called ocean outfalls. Before
discharge from deep ocean outfalls, sewage usually goes through a process called
primary treatment to remove foreign material and some other waste products.

Steps in primary sewage treatment

1. Screening bars trap the larger solid materials such as plastic bags, paper,
condoms and tampons. The collected rubbish is called screenings.
2. Screenings are disposed of as landfill.
3. The remaining liquid is pumped through a grit chamber. Materials like grit
and sand sink to the bottom and are mechanically removed. The remaining
materials go on to sedimentation tanks.
4. In the sedimentation tanks some grease and fats rise to the surface as scum,
which is scraped off. Some solid materials fall to the bottom as sludge, which is
mechanically collected. Chemicals are often added to assist sedimentation.
5. The treated effluent is discharged from ocean outfalls into the sea, where
microorganisms complete the breakdown of waste materials.

8
 CONDUCTORS
Lyn and Mike were investigating the movement of heat through copper, iron and glass rods.
They set up the equipment as shown in the diagram.
Using wax drops, matches were placed every 5cm along the rod.
Mike started heating the rod at the same time Lyn started a stopwatch.
As each wax drop melted, its match fell off the rod.
They recorded the time each match fell.
The experiment was repeated for each type of rod.

RESULTS
Distance from
Material
flame (cm)
Copper Iron Glass
Time for wax to melt (minutes)
5 cm 0.5 0.75 2.5
10 cm 1.0 1.25 3.75
15 cm 1.25 1.75 5.5
20 cm 1.5 2.25 Did not melt
25 cm 1.75 2.75 Did not melt
30 cm 2.0 3.25 Did not melt

9
Rachel Carson
BIOLOGIST WRITER ECOLOGIST (1907–1964)
The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us,
the less taste we shall have for destruction.
Rachel Carson © 1954

Rachel Carson was born on a farm in Springdale, Pennsylvania, earned a Masters degree in
Marine Biology at Johns Hopkins University, taught Zoology at the University of Maryland, and
eventually took a job with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Her book, Silent Spring (1962), is
considered by many to be the most influential book of the past 50 years.
Disturbed by the widespread use of synthetic chemical pesticides after World War II, Carson
wrote Silent Spring to warn the public about the long-term effects of misusing pesticides. In the
book she challenged the practices of agricultural scientists and the US government and called for
a change in the way humankind viewed the natural world.
Carson was attacked by the chemical industry and some in government as an alarmist, but
courageously spoke out in the face of widespread scepticism to remind us that we are a
vulnerable part of the natural world and subject to the same damage as the rest of the
ecosystem.Testifying before US Congress in 1963, Carson called for new policies to protect
human health and the environment.
Carson died of breast cancer in 1964. While she did not live to see the positive consequences
of her work, Silent Spring ultimately led to the banning of the widely used pesticide DDT, the
formation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to US laws like the Clean Water
and Clean Air Acts. Carson is seen today as a role model scientist and advocate for
environmental issues.

10
 The Goldilocks Theory

Mars
Venus Earth

Just as Goldilocks found the porridge that was just right, Earth seems to be just
right for living creatures.
Venus is too close to the Sun and too hot for flowing water on its surface. In fact,
it is so hot that it is like a sauna. All the water has been evaporated into its
atmosphere. Venus’ atmosphere is thick and heavy which, like a greenhouse,
further heats the planet.
Mars is too far from the Sun and too cold for flowing water on its surface. All
the water is frozen into the ground. Mars has only a thin atmosphere.
Earth seems to be the perfect distance from the Sun. The temperature of Earth
is just right for flowing water on the surface.Volcanic eruptions on Earth recycle
particles of its atmosphere that have been trapped within the crust. Moreover,
its atmosphere acts to maintain the surface temperature. These conditions are
just right for abundant life.

11
 Electric kettle
Switch

Water window level

Power plug

Heating element quickly gets hot, A thermostat then

which boils the water turns the kettle off

The electric kettle boils water by transferring heat from the coiled wire
in the bottom of the kettle to the water surrounding it. This wire is
called an electrical element and it is specially insulated so that the
water is kept away from the electricity. Inside the element, electricity
flows through another large coil of wire called a resistor, which gets
hot when the electricity passes through it.

12
Miyapunu (marine turtles) are reptiles that have lived in the oceans for
over 100 million years. Six of the world’s seven species of marine turtles
occur in Australian waters.
In northern Australia, a Yolngu elder in northeast
Arnhem Land, Djalalingpa Yunupingu, had noticed
a decline in numbers of miyapunu. He ordered the
nesting sites to be fenced off and gated.

Later, research scientist Dr Rod Kennett began

working with Djalalingpa and other Aboriginal
rangers in the area. By working together, it has
been possible to combine Aboriginal knowledge
with scientific research techniques to gain further Djawa Yunupingu and
understanding of miyapunu. Dr Rod Kennett

Together they seek to:

• improve our current poor understanding of
where miyapunu are found and what factors
affect their population numbers,
• count the number of miyapunu used to provide
food for the Aboriginal community, and
• record traditional management practices.

The Yolngu rangers are tagging the turtles so that

Marine turtles usually migrate
long distances between their
feeding grounds and nesting sites.
They return to land to dig nests in
the sand and lay their eggs. They
have a large thick shell called a
carapace and four strong paddle-like
flippers. The characteristic beak-like
mouth is used to cut or crush food.
they can be tracked by satellite as they migrate
between feeding grounds and nesting sites. This
will allow Yolngu miyapunu managers to identify
other groups who share this communal resource.
One important new finding is that some of the
turtles do not travel as far from Australia to their
feeding grounds as was previously believed.
The Yolngu rangers also rescue turtles and collect
data about the large number of turtles that are
trapped by fishing nets. These nets, called ghost
nets, have been lost or discarded by commercial
fishermen.

13
Fly Bait Investigation
Two Year 8 students were conducting an investigation to find out which bait
attracted the most flies.

They constructed fly traps from old

PET drink containers to catch flies.

They tested a variety of baits.They

tape
were careful to use plastic gloves
when handling the baits and always
washed their hands when finished.

All of the traps were kept in the

same location. Each trap received the
same amount of sunlight.The traps
were checked each day for a period
of a week.
bait
Their results are summarised below.

14
Spontaneous Generation

While Year 8 students were conducting their fly bait

tape
investigation, they noticed ‘worms’ (maggots) on all the baits
except honey. Their teacher told them that the Ancient Romans
would have explained that the maggots had just grown from
the rotting baits. This process was called spontaneous generation.

The slow death of bait

spontaneous generation
From the time of the ancient Romans until the late nineteenth century, it was generally
accepted that some life forms arose spontaneously from non-living matter. Such
spontaneous generation appeared to occur primarily in decaying matter. For example, a
seventeenth century recipe for the spontaneous production of mice required placing
sweaty underwear and husks of wheat in an open-mouthed jar, then waiting for about
21 days. During this time it was alleged that the sweat from the underwear would
penetrate the husks of wheat, changing them into mice.
The first serious attack on the idea of spontaneous generation
was made in 1668 by Francesco Redi, an Italian physician and
poet. At that time, it was widely held that maggots arose
spontaneously in rotting meat. Redi believed that maggots
developed from eggs laid by flies.
Redi took three jars and put meat in each. He tightly sealed
one, left one open, and covered the top of another with gauze.
Maggots appeared on the meat in the open jar, but not in the
sealed one, and maggots also appeared on the gauze cover of the
gauze-covered jar.

15
Solving Problems
John and Patricia were given a DRY mixture of salt, sand and iron
filings by their teacher. Their task was to separate the three substances
and return them to their teacher. As part of their plan, they developed
this flow diagram to show the steps they would follow.

Step 1
Stir with a
magnet wrapped
in paper

Iron filings Step 2

Add water
to the remaining
mixture and stir

Step 3

Step 5
Step 4 Let the filtrate
Dry the residue evaporate overnight

Sand Salt

16
 Round Island
Round Island is a volcanic island in the Indian Ocean. Long ago, the island had a
hardwood forest in the centre, a fringe of palms, and other plants and animals
found nowhere else on Earth. In the 1840s, rabbits and goats were released on the
island to be a convenient supply of meat for visiting sailors. The introduced
animals did a lot of damage over the next 130 years, nibbling and browsing and
stripping bark from trees. Plants that were not eaten by rabbits or goats were
exposed to the very strong winds and the soil beneath them eroded away.

A conservation team arrived in 1976 to investigate

how to restore the island. The hardwood forest had
gone, except for one tree. There were a few scattered
palms in a landscape of eroded gullies and exposed
rock. Lizards, including three skink species and three
gecko species, fed on the dwindling supply of insects.
1979: Denuded habitat Two boa snake species preyed on the lizards.

The restoration of Round Island began. Goats and

rabbits were removed by 1986. Seeds of the
endangered plants were collected for propagation and
captive breeding programs for the boa, skink and
gecko were set up at a world zoo. In 1995, Round
Island plants were sprouting and the reptile
population was increasing. 1989: Regenerated
habitat

Today, some exotic

plants have made it onto
the island, brought
accidentally by workers.
The plants and animals
present on the island
need to be monitored
regularly.

17
Port Kembla Wave Energy Plant
The wave energy plant has been designed to use energy from waves to produce
electricity and fresh water. Once it begins full operation, the plant will supply useful
power to up to 500 homes and serve as a valuable test facility for further technology
development. The plant is expected to produce at least 500 MWh of energy each
year. 100% of the energy produced is ‘clean’ energy.

How the wave energy The wave energy plant

plant works

The system consists of a curved wall to direct wave energy into a column. The rising
and falling of the waves causes the water to move within the column creating a rush
of air. This air spins a turbine creating electricity. The system is controlled by a
computer to optimise energy conversions, automatically protect the system and its
parts from damage, and to ensure safety.

The plant will also include a small desalination unit. This unit will produce 2000 litres
of fresh drinkable water per day using nothing but water and power directly from the
ocean itself. This will be a world first, and will demonstrate what is expected to
become a very important component of the technology. Wave energy is considered
by some to have the potential to eventually supply a meaningful proportion of the
world’s fresh water.
Some facts and figures for the wave energy plant

Weight 485 tonnes

Size 36 metres long, 35 metres wide
Materials used Structural steel
Position 200 metres from Port Kembla Harbour breakwater
Noise 73 decibels
Carbon/sulphur dioxide
nil
emissions

18
SMH Tuesday 7 June 2005

The truth about seasons of

mists and mellow fruitfulness

As far as the eye can’t see… Sydney’s recent haze has been the result of a low-level
temperature inversion in which higher level warm air traps moisture and pollution below.
Photo: Nick Moir

The poet, Dorothea Mackellar, loved Australia and called it a “wide brown land”, but she was
not talking about the rust-coloured haze that smothered Sydney yesterday.
As the temperature rose to 21 degrees, four more than the average maximum for the month, an
otherwise fine day was spoilt by a spreading layer of heavy air pollution.
A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson, Tim Edwards, said the smog had been caused by a
low-level inversion. “Normally air cools about one degree for every 100 metres of altitude,” he
said. “But on still winter nights the layer of air in contact with the ground becomes colder than
the air above it.”
“The upper warm layer traps the moisture and pollution close to the ground. This happens in
the first few hundred metres above the earth,” Mr Edwards said. “It’s not uncommon in winter,
but it doesn't usually last long.”
In some parts of Sydney, visibility had briefly dropped to as low as 300 metres.
The Environmental Protection Authority said pollution particles became coated in a fine layer
of moisture, which refracted sunlight, and this made the particles seem much bigger. This in
turn exaggerated the brown haze.
But the rising sun would warm the earth, which in turn warms the lower air and causes the
water around the pollution particles to evaporate, making the haze fade.
Justin Norrie

19
Grey Nurse Shark
The Grey Nurse Shark, Carcharias taurus, became the first protected shark
in the world when the NSW Government declared it a protected species in
1984. It is believed that there could be as few as 300 remaining on the east
coast, making the Grey Nurse Shark Australia’s most endangered species.

The species has a large, rather stout body. It is bronze in colour with a pale
underside and brownish spots on its upper body and tail fin. Adult sharks
grow to a length of 3.6 metres.

The breeding of Grey Nurse Sharks is quite unusual. They give birth to live
young. Mating occurs in autumn. The young are born after a nine month
gestation period. Towards the end of the gestation period, the more fully
developed embryos eat the less developed embryos as well as the
unfertilised eggs within the female shark. As a result, only one or two pups
are produced from each litter.
Copyright acknowledgments
This material has been prepared for the Essential Secondary Science Assessment
(ESSA) 2005 Pilot test by the Educational Measurement and School Accountability
Directorate, NSW Department of Education and Training.

ESSA would like to acknowledge the following people and organisations whose material
has been used:
Page 4 www.abc.net.au/health
www.health.vic.gov.au
Page 7 P Stannard and K Williamson, ScienceWorld 8, Macmillan Education Australia.
Reproduced by permission of Macmillan Education Australia
Page 8 Beyond the bend, Sydney Water
Page 11 www.windows.ucar.edu
NASA
Page 12 Daily Telegraph © News Limited. Used with permission
Page 14 www.csiro.au
Page 13 Dhimurru, www.dhimurru.com.au
Page 15 www.accessexcellence.org
Leon Higley, University of Nebraska, Department of Entomology
Page 17 Commonwealth of Australia, Science Australia 2, Curriculum Corporation,
Australia. Copyright Commonwealth of Australia. Reproduced by permission
University of California, Berkeley
Nick Garbutt, NHPA Limited
Page 18 Energetech Australia Pty Limited. © Energetech Australia Pty Limited. Used
with permission of Energetech Australia Pty Limited
Page 19 Justin Norrie, Sydney Morning Herald
Nick Moir/Fairfaxphotos
Page 20 www.diveoz.com.au

Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders or their agents. The publisher
would be interested to hear from any copyright holders who have not already been
acknowledged.