With the announcement yesterday that €12,000,000 will be made available to schools to allow for the purchasing of equipment in the run-up to the introduction of new specifications for the leaving cert sciences, I'm sure many teachers are wondering today just how to spend that money (when it arrives)
The amount varies between €13,000 and €22,000 depending on the size of the school and a few other factors but each school will inevitably have their own specific needs - depending on how well equipped they are to start with, and how long long established they are etc.
There will also be some decision to be made about buying a few big-ticket items as opposed to many smaller - but easily lost or broken - items.
It occurred to me that an obvious starting point would be to look at the practical-work requirements for the new specifications, so I did a trawl through the three documents for all references to collecting primary data. The document is here - but its also all copied in below.
Primary Data References in SC Physics Contextual Strands
1. investigate constant and varying linear motion using primary and secondary data
2. verify the law of addition of vectors using primary and secondary data in one and two dimension
3. verify Newton’s 2nd law of motion using primary and secondary data
4. investigate the principle of conservation of momentum using primary and secondary data
5. investigate the force needed to compress or stretch an object using primary and secondary data
6. verify Hooke’s law for elastic objects using primary and secondary data
7. investigate the principle of conservation of energy using primary and secondary data
8. verify at least one model to determine 𝘨 using primary data and all four using secondary data
9. analyse the suitability of materials for use as thermometers using primary and secondary data
10. determine specific heat capacity using primary data (solid or liquid) and secondary data (solid and liquid)
11. determine the specific latent heat using primary data (vaporisation of steam or fusion of ice) and secondary data (vaporisation of steam and fusion of ice)
12. verify models for refraction using primary and secondary data
13. verify the model for a particular string using primary and secondary data
14. investigate the wave nature of light and determine its wavelength using primary and secondary data
15. model the relationship between current flowing through and the voltage across a diode in forward and reverse bias using primary and secondary data
16. verify the relationship between current flowing through and the voltage across an ohmic conductor using primary and secondary data
17. verify the relationship between current flowing through and the voltage across an ohmic conductor using primary and secondary data
18. investigate the relationship between current flowing through and the voltage across non-ohmic conductors using primary and secondary data
19. investigate the effect of varying temperature on the resistance of a conductor using primary and secondary data
20. model resistances in series and parallel in electrical circuits using primary and secondary data
Primary Data References in SC Chemistry Contextual Strands
1. verify, using primary data, the law of conservation of mass and explain through the use of models. (EI)
2. identify an element using appropriate primary or secondary data
3. investigate, using primary data, the presence of ions in salts and in solutions, and identify an anion and cation in an unknown salt (EI)
4. investigate, using primary data, how to determine ΔH for a suitable neutralisation reaction (EI)
5. investigate, using primary data, the energy change of combustion and compare experimental values to standard values, accounting for differences (EI)
6. investigate, using primary data, the factors that affect rates of a reaction and interpret rate of reaction graphs, using primary and secondary data
7. investigate, using primary and/or secondary data, how changes in temperature and concentration can affect the state of equilibrium
8. investigate displacement reactions of metals, using primary or secondary data, relating them to the electrochemical series
9. investigate pH titration curves, using primary data from acid-base reactions, justifying appropriate indicators for each titration
10. investigate, using primary data, how to find the concentration of ethanoic acid in vinegar
11. investigate, using primary data, the percentage of elemental iron in iron tablets
EI’s are Experimental Investigations can be student lead rather than teacher leadRI’s are Research Investigations
Primary Data References in SC Biology Contextual Strands
1. investigate qualitatively the presence of nutrients in a range of food samples, use primary data to support conclusions
2. Investigate quantitatively the level of reducing sugars in a range of food samples, use primary data to support conclusions
3. investigate, using primary data gathered with a light microscope and secondary data gathered from scanning electron microscope imagery, the structures and organelles of animal and plant cells and relate them to their functions
4. investigate factors affecting the rate of enzyme-catalysed reactions, use primary and secondary data to support conclusions
5. investigate factors affecting the rate of photosynthesis, use primary and secondary data to support conclusions
6. investigate the conditions necessary for fermentation, use primary and secondary data to support conclusions
7. investigate and compare the structures of insect and wind pollinated plants and relate them to their functions, use primary and secondary data to support conclusions
8. investigate factors affecting rates of osmosis across semi-permeable membranes, use primary data to support conclusions
9. investigate the structures of the heart and relate them to their functions, use primary and secondary data to support conclusions
10. investigate factors affecting the rate of transpiration in plants, use primary and secondary data to support conclusions
11. evaluate primary or secondary data relating to the effects of human activity on species diversity
12. use primary data gathered from a chosen ecosystem to:
· model a habitat in the ecosystem including its size, species, relevant biotic and abiotic factors
· investigate quantitatively the impact of variation in abiotic factors on the distribution and abundance of a species
· explain the feeding and symbiotic relationships that occur between organisms
13. investigate factors affecting the growth of microorganisms, use primary and secondary data to support conclusions
14. investigate patterns using a DNA profile, use primary or secondary data to support conclusions
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