Education and Early Childhood Learning

• SCI.9.A.1

  Demonstrate an understanding of different First Nations, Métis, and Inuit ways of knowing, being, and doing by exploring Indigenous methods of observing and interpreting the world, applying scientific principles, and creating technologies within local traditional and contemporary contexts (e.g., wholistic, reciprocal, interconnected, and sustainable ways; land-based learning; outdoor learning; intersections with Western science).

• SCI.9.B.1

  Develop a sense of agency, identity, and belonging in science by

  • cultivating natural curiosity about the world
  • acquiring scientific skills and fostering scientific attitudes
  • building a personal connection to nature
  • establishing links between science concepts and personal experience
  • recognizing that everyone can contribute to science

Science, Technology, Society, and Environment (STSE) Contexts

• SCI.9.C.1

  Take class, group or personal action on a local, provincial, Canadian or global STSE (Science, technology, society and the environment) issue.

  Examples:

  • Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy production and make recommendations on its potential use in the future.
  • Research battery technologies and design a sustainable energy system using renewable energy to support your school’s or family’s electricity needs.
  • Review the environmental, economic, and social impacts of electric vehicles and develop recommendations for transportation in their community.
  • Compare electricity-generation methods using environmental, social, and economic impacts.
  • Audit the school’s electrical use and propose strategies to reduce energy waste, including comparing AC/DC devices and energy efficient technologies.
  • Research a communicable disease or public health issue and propose ways to promote prevention and healthy living.
  • Study issues such as genetic testing, selective breeding, or gene editing and evaluate associated benefits, risks, and ethical considerations.
  • Investigate how climate change is affecting local plant or animal populations and recommend actions to support species survival.
  • Assess the effects of invasive species on local ecosystems and take action to support native species.
  • Explore how development affects wildlife populations and advocate for habitat protection or restoration.

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Scientific Measurement

• SCI.9.C.2

  Measure using the appropriate techniques, tools, and units. (Bold indicates items introduced for the first time at this grade level.) Include the following:
  Tools: balance, volumetric vessels, voltmeter, ammeter (multimeter), caliper, digital scale
  Attributes: length, mass, volume, time, energy, electric potential, current (Note: low-voltage DC only), power
  Units: length (km, m, cm, mm, mm fractions), mass (kg, g), volume (L, mL), time (h, min, s), temperature (°C), speed (km/h, m/s), force (N), energy (J), density (kg/m³, g/cm³), pressure (kPa, Pa), electric potential (V), electric current (A), power (W)
  Skills and understanding of scientific measurement: measure and estimate using standard SI tools and units; select measurement tools; display quantitative data (charts, line graphs, tables, etc.); recognize the importance of standard units; convert between SI length, time, and volume units; understand the meaning of SI prefixes and their symbols (micro, milli, centi, deci, deka, hecto, kilo, mega); describe the definition and relationship between SI units m and kg (historical and modern definitions); differentiate between base SI units (m, kg, s, A) and derived units (N, C, W); understand measurement precision, accuracy, uncertainty; use unit/dimensional analysis techniques to check computation

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Action and Practice

• SCI.9.C.3

  Apply a range of scientific, technological or engineering practices (e.g., asking questions, identifying problems, observing, experimenting, measuring, classifying, collecting and analyzing data, engaging in scientific debate and argumentation, communicating results, designing and building) in a manner that demonstrates respect and ensures personal safety and the safety of others.

  Examples:

  • Participate in learning experiences that include an Indigenous community member (e.g., Elder, Knowledge Holder, Knowledge Keeper) to share knowledge, experience, or teachings related to the curriculum.
  • Make and defend a claim based on evidence that inheritable genetic variations may result from (1) new genetic combinations through meiosis, (2) viable errors occurring during replication, and/or (3) mutations caused by environmental factors.
  • Use mathematical representations to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a chemical reaction.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) standards by identifying WHMIS symbols that represent each category, examples of substances that belong within each category, and the risks and cautions associated with each category.
  • Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that an electric current can produce a magnetic field and that a changing magnetic field can produce an electric current.

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Scientific Instruments

• SCI.9.C.4

  Use various materials and scientific equipment appropriately, competently, and safely while carrying out various scientific practices.

  Examples: glassware, hot plate, chemical substances, Bunsen burner, electrostatic material, electric circuit components, magnets, fossils, craft and recycled materials, classroom materials, materials from nature, logbook, diagrams, charts, graphs, spreadsheets, safety procedures

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Careers, Hobbies, and Activities

• SCI.9.C.5

  Make connections between scientific ideas and a range of careers, hobbies and activities.

  Examples: chemist, laboratory technician, medical professional, physiotherapist, truck driver, mechanic, farmer, electrician, hydro worker, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) technician, teacher, geneticist, paleontologist, museum curator, electronics, coding, DJing, model building, crafting, nature walks, art, photography, swimming, hockey, soccer, football, traditional practices of hunting, trapping, fishing, and picking

Purpose: Science is about finding the cause or causes of phenomena in the natural world.

• SCI.9.D.1

  Demonstrate the understanding that empirical data must be systematically collected, and conclusions reviewed, to detect potential errors and minimize bias.

  Include the following: peer review, types of bias.

• SCI.9.D.2

  Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of scientific predictions, and how they are tested.

  Include the following: hypothesis, experiment, variables.

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Method: Scientific explanations, theories, and models are those that best fit the evidence available at a particular time.

• SCI.9.D.3

  Demonstrate the understanding that models are metaphorical representations of phenomena used to aid understanding or better explain what is happening.

  Examples: physical model, mathematical model, simulation

• SCI.9.D.4

  Demonstrate the understanding that scientific models may be well established (e.g., Solar System model) while others are more tentative (e.g., black hole model).

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Application: The knowledge produced by science is used in engineering and technologies to create products and processes.

• SCI.9.D.5

  Demonstrate the understanding that many factors play a role in finding optimal solutions to problems.

  Examples: available materials, effects on humans and other animals, environmental effects, costs

• SCI.9.D.6

  Demonstrate the understanding that seeking solutions to problems often involves employing a variety of strategies before an actual solution is determined.

  Examples: drawings, models, mathematical modelling, computer simulations

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Implication: Applications of science often have ethical, environmental, social, economic, and political implications.

• SCI.9.D.7

  Demonstrate the understanding that technologies designed to improve life can have predictable as well as unforeseen consequences.

  Examples: medicines (improved health, antibiotic resistance); agricultural technologies (food security, biodiversity loss); manufacturing technologies (affordable goods, pollution); groundwater extraction technologies (water access and reuse, contamination, and aquifer depletion); transportation technologies (mobility, greenhouse gas emissions); plastics and synthetic materials (convenience, pollution); digital communication (connectivity, misinformation and e-waste); renewable energy technologies (clean energy, land-use and wildlife impacts)

• SCI.9.D.8

  Demonstrate an understanding that as new information emerges about a technology’s impacts, individuals, communities or societies must evaluate whether technologies should continue to be used, modified, redesigned or replaced.

  Examples: environmental impacts of energy technologies; effects of agricultural and land-use technologies on biodiversity; influences of digital communication technologies on social well-being; and effects of waste management technologies on water quality and ecosystem health; environmental impacts of mineral extraction

These outcomes are organized according to the big ideas of science. They are not grouped to form prescriptive clusters or units. Teachers are encouraged to regroup, reorganize and reorder the learning outcomes in this strand according to themes or units that meet the needs of their classes and their teaching.

Outcomes relating to the big ideas of matter: All matter in the universe is made of very small particles.

• SCI.9.E.1

  Demonstrate an understanding of pure substances versus mixtures.

• SCI.9.E.2

  Demonstrate an understanding of the difference between a chemical change and a physical change.

• SCI.9.E.3

  Demonstrate an understanding of the law of conservation of mass and how it contributes to a scientific understanding of the nature of matter.

  Include the following: contribution to the development of atomic theory, understanding chemical reactions.

• SCI.9.E.4

  Demonstrate the understanding that all matter is made up of tiny structures called atoms of which there are at least 118 different kinds.

  Include the following: atom, element, compound.

• SCI.9.E.5

  Demonstrate an understanding of the internal structure of atoms.

  Include the following: nucleus, electron shell, electrons, protons, neutrons, isotopes, element symbol, atomic number, atomic mass, Bohr Model.

• SCI.9.E.6

  Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of static electricity.

  Include the following: attraction, repulsion, negative and positive charge, electricity models of static electricity.

• SCI.9.E.7

  Demonstrate an understanding of the method of arrangement, and the significance of position of elements on the periodic table.

  Include the following: atomic number, valence electrons, periodicity, reactivity, metal, non-metal, metalloid, staircase, element family, alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, noble gas, halogen.

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Outcomes relating to the the big ideas of energy: The total amount of energy in the universe is always the same but can be transferred from one energy store to another during an event.

• SCI.9.E.8

  Demonstrate an understanding of the many uses of alternating and direct current electricity in modern society.

  Examples: in the home, in transportation, in manufacturing, in technology.

• SCI.9.E.9

  Demonstrate an understanding of the law of conservation of energy and its implications.

  Include the following: potential energy, energy sources, energy uses, efficiency.

• SCI.9.E.10

  Demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles of current electricity.

  Include the following: polarity, cells, energy, current, voltage, resistance, simple circuits, series circuits, and parallel circuits.

• SCI.9.E.11

  Demonstrate the understanding that there is a relationship between electrons and magnetic fields.

  Include the following: electrical generator, permanent magnet, electromagnet, electromagnetism.

• SCI.9.E.12

  Demonstrate an understanding of various methods of electricity generation (e.g., hydro, fossil fuels, nuclear, solar, wind) and their pros and cons.

  Include the following: sustainability, feasibility, economics.

• SCI.9.E.13

  Demonstrate an understanding of the basic process of the generation and transportation of hydroelectricity in Manitoba.

  Include the following: potential energy of water, turbine, powerlines, household, appliances.

• SCI.9.E.14

  Demonstrate an understanding of safety precautions associated with electricity.

  Examples: household electricity, power lines, transformer pad mount (green boxes), overhead transformers and transformer stations (substations)

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Outcomes relating to the big ideas of genetics: Genetic information is passed down from one generation of organisms to another.

• SCI.9.E.15

  Demonstrate an understanding of the role of asexual reproduction in various organisms.

  Examples: fission, budding, sporulation, vegetative propagation, regeneration

• SCI.9.E.16

  Demonstrate an understanding of the mechanism of sexual reproduction in plants and animals (including humans).

  Include the following: gamete, sperm, egg, meiosis, zygote, mitosis, stem cell, differentiation.

• SCI.9.E.17

  Demonstrate an understanding of the structure, function, and hormonal regulation (e.g., testosterone, estrogen) of the human reproductive system.

• SCI.9.E.18

  Demonstrate an understanding of the role of sexual reproduction in generating variety in the traits of individuals.

  Include the following: chromosome, dominant and recessive genes, diploid, haploid, recombination.

• SCI.9.E.19

  Demonstrate an understanding of naturally occurring and induced genetic mutations.

  Include the following: somatic cell mutation, cancer, germ cell mutation, inheritance.

• SCI.9.E.20

  Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between variations, selective pressures, and adaptation.

  Examples: natural selection, sexual selection, artificial selection, migration

• SCI.9.E.21

  Demonstrate an understanding of the structure, function, and location of genetic material.

  Include the following: nucleus, mitosis, human genome, DNA, genes, chromosomes, haploid, diploid, genotype, phenotype, trait.

• SCI.9.E.22

  Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of adaptation in infectious diseases, and related public health measures.

  Include the following: preventative medicine, mutation, strain, antibiotics, vaccines, antibiotic resistance, waning effectiveness, waning immunity.

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Outcomes relating to the big ideas of evolution: The diversity of organisms, living and extinct, is the result of evolution.

• SCI.9.E.23

  Demonstrate an understanding of the timeline of evolution of life on Earth.

  Include the following: first appearance of life at least 3.5 billion years ago, single-celled organisms, multicellular organisms, large animals, plants, fungi.

• SCI.9.E.24

  Demonstrate an understanding of the methods and evidence used by scientists to estimate when, and what type(s) of organisms first appeared on Earth.

  Examples: fossil record, geochemical evidence, molecular biological evidence

• SCI.9.E.25

  Demonstrate an understanding of the role of natural and sexual selection in the evolution of life on Earth.

  Include the following: competition, resources, selective pressure, advantageous traits, variation, inheritance, adaptation.

• SCI.9.E.26

  Demonstrate the understanding that adaptations accumulating over time can lead to the formation of new species.

  Include the following: common ancestor, natural selection, mutation, sexual selection.

• SCI.9.E.27

  Demonstrate an understanding of the similarities and differences between natural and artificial selection.

  Include the following: selective breeding, domestication, agriculture.

• SCI.9.E.28

  Demonstrate the understanding that environmental changes cause changes in the selective pressures acting on populations.

  Include the following: adaption, population growth, extinction, climate change.