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Year 9 · Science · Science understanding

AC9S9U03

represent the carbon cycle and examine how key processes including combustion, photosynthesis and respiration rely on interactions between Earth’s spheres (the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere)

The content description above is Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA)’s own wording, reproduced unmodified from the Australian Curriculum v9.0, read in August 2026, and licensed CC BY 4.0.

© Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2010 to present, unless otherwise indicated. This material was downloaded from the Australian Curriculum website and was not modified. ACARA does not endorse this product and is not affiliated with it.

Taught alongside it

The rest of Science understanding in Year 9.

AC9S9U01

compare the role of body systems in regulating and coordinating the body’s response to a stimulus, and describe the operation of a negative feedback mechanism

AC9S9U02

describe the form and function of reproductive cells and organs in animals and plants, and analyse how the processes of sexual and asexual reproduction enable survival of the species

AC9S9U04

use wave and particle models to describe energy transfer through different mediums and examine the usefulness of each model for explaining phenomena

AC9S9U05

apply the law of conservation of energy to analyse system efficiency in terms of energy inputs, outputs, transfers and transformations

AC9S9U06

explain how the model of the atom changed following the discovery of electrons, protons and neutrons and describe how natural radioactive decay results in stable atoms

AC9S9U07

model the rearrangement of atoms in chemical reactions using a range of representations, including word and simple balanced chemical equations, and use these to demonstrate the law of conservation of mass

The same idea, year by year

Where AC9S9U03 comes from and where it goes, for a student working below or above Year 9.

  1. Year 8AC9S8U01recognise cells as the basic units of living things, compare plant and animal cells, and describe the functions of specialised cell structures and organelles
  2. Year 8AC9S8U02analyse the relationship between structure and function of cells, tissues and organs in a plant and an animal organ system and explain how these systems enable survival of the individual
  3. Year 8AC9S8U03investigate tectonic activity including the formation of geological features at divergent, convergent and transform plate boundaries and describe the scientific evidence for the theory of plate tectonics
  4. Year 8AC9S8U04describe the key processes of the rock cycle, including the timescales over which they occur, and examine how the properties of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks reflect their formation and influence their use
  5. Year 8AC9S8U05classify different types of energy as kinetic or potential and investigate energy transfer and transformations in simple systems
  6. Year 8AC9S8U06classify matter as elements, compounds or mixtures and compare different representations of these, including 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional models, symbols for elements and formulas for molecules and compounds
  7. Year 8AC9S8U07compare physical and chemical changes and identify indicators of energy change in chemical reactions
  8. Year 10AC9S10U01explain the role of meiosis and mitosis and the function of chromosomes, DNA and genes in heredity and predict patterns of Mendelian inheritance
  9. Year 10AC9S10U02use the theory of evolution by natural selection to explain past and present diversity and analyse the scientific evidence supporting the theory
  10. Year 10AC9S10U03describe how the big bang theory models the origin and evolution of the universe and analyse the supporting evidence for the theory
  11. Year 10AC9S10U04use models of energy flow between the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere to explain patterns of global climate change
  12. Year 10AC9S10U05investigate Newton’s laws of motion and quantitatively analyse the relationship between force, mass and acceleration of objects
  13. Year 10AC9S10U06explain how the structure and properties of atoms relate to the organisation of the elements in the periodic table
  14. Year 10AC9S10U07identify patterns in synthesis, decomposition and displacement reactions and investigate the factors that affect reaction rates

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