# Science · Year 7 · optional Days 11–20

Each block takes 12 minutes after setup. These tasks extend beyond the opening invented-leaf key. Use the [inquiry sheet](print/inquiry-sheet.pdf). Only teacher-approved clean materials, stable short ramps and school lab procedures are used. No tasting, sharp tools, unknown substances or handling living organisms. A diagram/model and an observation are labelled differently; fictional food-web cards are **not local ecology data**.

### Day 11 · Pure or mixed in a model? · AC9S7U05, AC9S7U06
**Kit:** 12 identical blue paper counters and 12 red counters, sealed clear bags. 0–2: Show one-colour and two-colour sets; say counters are not particles. 2–4: Predict which bag represents a single type versus a mixture. 4–10: Arrange two models, then identify what the model omits: particle size, attraction and motion. Compare a mixed bag with a real mixture only by stated property, not by imagined microscopic sight. 10–12: Check: mixed types in this model; appearance alone cannot prove purity of a real sample. **Routes:** handle counters; tactile raised counters; dictate arrangement. **Response move:** if “same colour means pure in real life,” ask for a property test. **Home:** note a labelled ingredient list, without tasting anything.

### Day 12 · Separate a safe mixture · AC9S7U06, AC9S7I02, AC9S7I03
**Kit:** teacher-prepared clean sand-water mixture, filter paper, funnel, tray, eye protection under school rules; no tasting. 0–2: Name aim and disposal rule. 2–4: Predict what passes filter and what is retained; keep mixture amount and filter type fixed if comparing groups. 4–10: Teacher supervises pouring through filter, learners record both outputs and a visible limit (fine particles/cloudiness may remain). 10–12: Check: filtration uses particle/mesh size; it does not prove drinking safety or complete purity. **Routes:** pour with support; observe/measure; draw flow. **Response move:** if “clean water,” replace with “filtrate” and ask what remains unknown. **Home:** no home filtration experiment.

### Day 13 · Force direction changes motion · AC9S7U04, AC9S7I01
**Kit:** small toy cart, low stable ramp, soft stop block, marked 20 cm track. 0–2: Show start/stop, keep hands away from path. 2–4: Predict what a gentle push in the same versus opposite direction will do. 4–10: Teacher-approved low-speed trials; record direction and distance before stop, noting pushes cannot be perfectly equal by hand. 10–12: Check: force has direction; observed differences may include push-size error. **Routes:** release/push with support; mark distance; describe arrows. **Response move:** if “force is only speed,” point to direction arrows. **Home:** identify a safe everyday push/pull without testing it.

### Day 14 · A food web is a model of relationships · AC9S7U02, AC9S7I04
**Kit:** original fictional meadow cards: sun, plant, plant-eating insect, insect-eating bird, decomposer; no named Australian species. 0–2: State arrows show energy transfer from food to eater in this model, not a measured local web. 2–4: Predict which links may change if plants decline. 4–10: Build two linked chains, remove one plant card and trace possible effects with “may”; name abiotic factor such as rainfall as a question. 10–12: Check: a population cannot be numerically predicted from these cards. **Routes:** arrows/cards; tactile strings; oral path. **Response move:** if every link is certain, ask what evidence of diet and numbers is missing. **Home:** notice a plant/insect relationship from a safe distance, without collection.

### Day 15 · Science Check A · AC9S7U06, AC9S7U04, AC9S7I06
**Kit:** fresh mixture and cart scenarios in [ASSESSMENT](ASSESSMENT.md). 0–2: Recall model versus observation and changed variable. 2–4: Work a different tiny example of a confound. 4–10: Independent Science A. 10–12: Check: staff uses [private key](TEACHER-KEY.md) for separation, force direction and uncertainty. **Routes:** annotate; write; dictate. **Response move:** reteach the exact confusion with a new counter or arrow. **Home:** explain one limit of a classroom model.

### Day 16 · Replication and awkward results · AC9S7I04, AC9S7I05, AC9S7I06
**Kit:** fictional filtration table: group A 10, 11, 10 mL; group B 10, 3, 11 mL filtrate from 15 mL starting mixture, with one spill note. 0–2: Label data invented. 2–4: Predict which reading needs checking. 4–10: Mark the anomaly (3 mL), identify spill as possible cause, decide whether repeat is needed, and avoid deleting the result silently. 10–12: Check: a pattern claim needs method notes and multiple trials. **Routes:** number strips; plot dots; oral comparison. **Response move:** if learner averages without noticing 3, ask them to trace the recorded spill. **Home:** discuss why a surprising result deserves a question, not hiding.

### Day 17 · Particle model with movement · AC9S7U05, AC9S7I06
**Kit:** 10 paper dots and arrows, two labelled frames “warm”/“cool” with no actual temperature data. 0–2: Say dots are representations. 2–4: Predict how an increase in motion might be drawn. 4–10: Annotate dot arrangement and movement arrows for an imagined substance; identify that particle attraction and real scale are absent. 10–12: Check: model cannot measure actual temperature or prove one substance’s properties. **Routes:** move dots; draw arrows; describe with AAC. **Response move:** if dots are treated as literal particles, ask what instrument would be needed for evidence. **Home:** find an everyday model and name one omitted detail.

### Day 18 · A force test needs a fair comparison · AC9S7U04, AC9S7I02, AC9S7I06
**Kit:** two identical toy carts and removable safe paper weight, low track, stop block. 0–2: Read question: how does added mass affect motion under a comparable push? 2–4: Identify push size, surface and start point as controls; hand pushes vary. 4–10: Plan a safer repeatable release from same short ramp, one cart with added mass, and specify measured distance/time; if kit ready, run one trial but do not overclaim. 10–12: Check: plan or one noisy trial cannot establish a general law. **Routes:** plan cards; operate release; record/graph. **Response move:** if mass and ramp change together, hold ramp fixed. **Home:** no home cart experiment.

### Day 19 · Should a model guide a real decision? · AC9S7H03, AC9S7H04, AC9S7I07
**Kit:** invented school-garden proposal to remove a plant because fictional web card predicts fewer insects. 0–2: Separate model prediction from real habitat evidence. 2–4: List affected users and ethical/environmental questions. 4–10: Write conditional advice requesting a verified local species survey, permission and school/community review before action. 10–12: Check: no learner removes organisms or claims a local food web from cards. **Routes:** evidence ladder; short memo; audio response. **Response move:** if action is immediate, add the missing field evidence and authority. **Home:** ask what evidence adults gather before changing a garden.

### Day 20 · Science Check B · AC9S7U02, AC9S7U05, AC9S7I07
**Kit:** new fictional web and particle model in [ASSESSMENT](ASSESSMENT.md). 0–2: Recall arrow convention and model limit. 2–4: Revisit “possible” versus “proven.” 4–10: Independent Science B. 10–12: Check: staff keys energy-path reasoning, particle omissions and next evidence. **Routes:** cards; diagram; dictated claim. **Response move:** use a new model path to test the specific error. **Home:** tell someone a model can be useful even when incomplete.