YEAR 11-12
VCE Environmental Science
Subject Area
Science
VCE Units
1-4
About the Course
VCE Environmental Science enables students to explore the interrelationships between Earth’s four systems. Students examine how past and current human activities affect the environment and how future challenges can be managed sustainably. In undertaking this study, students gain an understanding of the complexity of environmental decision-making, and how innovative responses to environmental challenges can reduce pressure on Earth’s natural resources and ecosystem services.
In VCE Environmental Science, students develop a range of scientific inquiry skills including practical experimentation, research and analytical skills, problem-solving skills including critical and creative thinking, and communication skills. Students pose questions, formulate hypotheses, conduct investigations, and analyse and critically interpret qualitative and quantitative data. They assess the limitations of data, evaluate methodologies and results, justify their conclusions, make recommendations and communicate their findings. Students investigate and evaluate environment-related issues, alternative proposals and responses to challenges by considering both short- and long-term consequences for the individual, the environment and society.
VCE Environmental Science provides direct pathways to a range of careers related to atmospheric sciences, ecology, environmental chemistry and geosciences. The interdisciplinary nature of the study leads to pathways including, but not limited to, architecture, environmental law, engineering, environmental consultancy, environmental advocacy, government policy development, industrial management, landscape design, regional and urban planning, and teaching and research. Environmental scientists also work in cross-disciplinary solutions-oriented areas such as coastal management, climate risk management and disaster risk management.
UNIT 1
How are Earth’s dynamic systems interconnected to support life?
Earth has been dramatically altered over the past 4.5 billion years by naturally occurring climate swings, volcanic activity, drifting continents and other transformative processes. Human activities and lifestyles have an impact on, and are impacted by, Earth’s systems both directly and indirectly, and with both immediate and far-reaching effects.
In this unit students examine the processes and interactions occurring within and between Earth’s four interrelated systems – the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. They focus on how ecosystem functioning can influence many local, regional and global environmental conditions such as plant productivity, soil fertility, water quality and air quality. Students explore how changes that have taken place throughout geological and recent history are fundamental to predicting the likely impact of future changes. They consider a variety of influencing factors in achieving a solutions-focused approach to responsible management of challenges related to natural and human-induced environmental change.
Area of Study 1: How are Earth’s systems organised and connected?
Living organisms are able to survive in ecosystems as diverse as deserts, sea beds, the tropics and Antarctica, as well as in backyard gardens and ponds. In this area of study students analyse the range of components and processes that contribute to ecosystem functioning, and examine how events occurring in one of Earth’s four interrelated systems can affect all systems to support life on Earth.
The selection of learning contexts should allow students to develop practical techniques and undertake fieldwork to monitor and/or assess ecological integrity and to examine the inputs, processes and outputs of ecosystems. Students develop their skills in the use of scientific equipment and apparatus. They simulate or model population changes such as the effects of introduced species on predator–prey relationships, and develop their skills in selecting appropriate sampling methods to determine the number and proportion of different species present, such as transects and quadrants in fieldwork.
Area of Study 2: How do Earth’s systems change over time?
Using field data and global satellite imaging, environmental scientists can estimate that more than 80 per cent of Earth’s surface has been transformed by long-extinct volcanoes. Scientists are able to monitor changes in the volume, salinity and rate of evaporation from bodies of water, and track disruptions to the hydrological and carbon cycles associated with large-scale deforestation. A comparison of the Gariwerd seasonal calendar with other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ seasonal calendars and with Western planting schedules over time illustrates different approaches to crop selection and land management in response to environmental change. In this area of study students compare Earth’s changing features, examine different ways to measure and make predictions about changes in Earth’s four systems, and explore different options for managing environmental changes and challenges.
The selection of learning contexts should allow students to develop practical techniques and undertake fieldwork to examine change or disruption to ecosystems and local landscapes over time. Students develop their skills in the use of scientific equipment and apparatus. They perform comparative tests of ecological function such as measuring the infiltration rates through rocks and soils with different permeabilities, and design practical solutions to challenges such as erosion and curbing water run-off. Students may obtain secondary data for analysis from landscape mapping tools.
Area of Study 3: How do scientific investigations develop understanding of how Earth’s systems support life?
Ecosystems are subject to change in response to biotic or abiotic disturbances, or variations in the magnitude or frequency of disturbances, which can have flow-on effects for the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. In this area of study students adapt or design and then conduct a scientific investigation into the monitoring of ecosystems or their components and/or change in ecosystems. The investigation must include the generation of primary data.
The student-adapted or student-designed scientific investigation should take an Earth systems thinking approach and should relate to knowledge and skills developed in Area of Study 1 and/or Area of Study 2.
UNIT 2
What affects Earth’s capacity to sustain life?
A sustainable food and water system with a minimal environmental footprint is necessary to secure the food and water supplies that can meet the demands of current and future populations of Earth’s species, including humans. Both natural and human activities can generate pollution that can cause adverse effects across Earth’s four interrelated systems – the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere – and consequently affect food and water security. Pollution can make air and water resources hazardous for plants and animals. It can directly harm soil microorganisms and larger soil-dwelling organisms, with consequences for soil biodiversity, as well as impacting on food security by impairing plant function and reducing food yields.
In this unit students consider pollution as well as food and water security as complex and systemic environmental challenges facing current and future generations. They examine the characteristics, impacts, assessment and management of a range of pollutants that are emitted or discharged into Earth’s air, soil, water and biological systems, and explore factors that limit and enable the sustainable supply of adequate and affordable food and water.
Area of Study 1: How can we manage pollution to sustain Earth’s systems?
Even landscapes or ecosystems that appear unspoiled can be adversely affected by pollution emitted from nearby as well as distant sources. The nesting, communication and mating behaviours of certain bird communities can change when exposed to continuous noise generated in human-populated environments. Hazardous waste spills, unsustainable farming practices, strip mining, deforestation and littering may cause soil and water contamination that can lead to poor growth and reduced crop yields, loss of wildlife habitat, water and noise pollution, soil erosion and desertification. The preservation of Earth’s life-supporting systems and the management of pollution are interrelated. In this area of study students link the characteristics of pollutants to their impacts on Earth’s four interrelated systems, and examine emerging opportunities to mitigate pollution discharge and manage the adverse effects of pollution for living and non-living things.
The selection of learning contexts should allow students to develop practical techniques and undertake fieldwork to assess and monitor air, water and soil quality. Students develop their skills in the use of scientific equipment and apparatus. They perform standard laboratory tests for pollution indicators such as dissolved oxygen and phosphate levels, and select sampling techniques that determine the number and relative abundance of introduced species, such as the use of pond nets or kick sampling. Secondary data for analysis may be used to explore environmental relationships between environmental contaminants and selected aspects of Earth’s systems.
Area of Study 2: How can we manage food and water security to sustain Earth’s systems?
The demand by Earth’s inhabitants for adequate, nutritious food and safe water stocks places increasing pressure on our natural resources. Water is critical for healthy, natural and manufactured ecosystems and determines the availability of food crops, livestock and many services that underpin human well-being. The supply of useable water is, however, influenced by both seasonal and long-term climatic variations. Drought conditions have led to changed practices such as seawater desalination, alternative dietary choices and government-imposed water restrictions. Conversely, flooding has led to adaptive responses such as the Gunditjmara Peoples’ engineering of local wetland swamps and sink-hole depressions, in order to construct eel traps for farming the eels that migrate annually through the system. In this area of study students examine various approaches for meeting the food and water security challenges facing current and future populations of humans and other species, while minimising negative environmental impacts. Students apply ecological footprint analysis to a selected context and explore options for addressing food and water challenges for a nominated region.
The selection of learning contexts should allow students to develop practical techniques and undertake fieldwork to examine the relationship between natural and human activities and the availability of food and water resources. Students develop their skills in the use of scientific equipment and apparatus. They use food and water calculators, and perform comparative analytical tests related to food and water needs, such as determining the organic matter and water contents of soil from fields with different long-term management systems. Students conduct user surveys to determine food and water usage, habits and attitudes, and design practical responses to environmental challenges such as improving water-use efficiency and managing nutrient-deficient soils.
Area of Study 3: How do scientific endeavours contribute to minimising human impacts on Earth’s systems?
Environmental scientists work towards new understanding and insights that can yield innovative solutions to everyday and complex challenges in local, national and global contexts. Making connections between the work of others and their own learning enables students to explore and to compare responses to current and future environmental problems and challenges.
In this area of study students investigate a contemporary example of how science is influenced by, and responds to, the needs and priorities of society in managing a selected pollutant of interest and/or in securing water or food. Students select and explore a recent discovery, innovation, issue, advance or case study linked to their knowledge and skills developed in Area of Study 1 and/or Area of Study 2. Stimulus material for the investigation could include announcements of recent discoveries, an expert’s published point of view, an interview with an expert, an online presentation, an article from a scientific publication, public concern about an issue, ‘green field’ research leading to new technologies, or changes in government funding for environmental science purposes such as maximum sustainable yields in fisheries or the social impacts of resource extraction.
Students apply critical and creative thinking and scientific inquiry skills to prepare a communication to: explain the relevant scientific concepts; identify the sociocultural, economic, political, legal and ethical implications of the selected endeavour for society; and critically examine how science has been used to contribute to addressing the impacts of natural and human activities.
UNIT 3
How can biodiversity and development be sustained?
In this unit students focus on environmental management through the application of sustainability principles. They explore the value of the biosphere to all living things by examining the concept of biodiversity and the ecosystem services important for human health and well-being. They analyse the processes that threaten biodiversity and evaluate biodiversity management strategies for a selected threatened endemic animal or plant species. Students use a selected environmental science case study with reference to sustainability principles and environmental management strategies to explore management from an Earth systems perspective, including impacts on the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.
Area of Study 1: Why is maintaining biodiversity worth a sustained effort?
Australia is one of seventeen countries described as being ‘mega diverse’ in terms of its terrestrial and marine life. While only accounting for 10 per cent of the global surface, this group of seventeen countries contains more than 70 per cent of the biodiversity on the planet. In this area of study students use biodiversity as a lens through which to investigate the management of a single Earth system – the biosphere. They examine the categories of biodiversity, the role of biodiversity in sustaining ecosystems, the provision of ecosystem services for human well-being and the strategies employed to counteract threats, both natural and human-induced, to maintain biodiversity in the short-, medium- and long-term.
The selection of learning contexts should allow students to develop practical techniques and undertake fieldwork and other practical activities to investigate how biodiversity is measured and monitored in the context of a selected threatened species of interest. Students generate primary data, and organise and present this data, to evaluate whether efforts to ensure the long-term survival of the selected species are justified.
Area of Study 2: When is development sustainable?
Society requires sustainable solutions for the environmental challenges it is facing today. In this area of study students explore variations in definitions of sustainability and consider how these may be interpreted and applied in addressing a selected environmental science case study.
The selection of learning contexts should allow students to study one environmental science case study in depth using Earth systems thinking. The selected case study should have an environmental management strategy, including risk assessment.
Students assess the environmental impacts and risks associated with the environmental science case study, and examine the elements of environmental management and its relationship to sustainability principles. They examine the perspectives of stakeholders involved, analyse scientific data related to the monitoring of the case study, and evaluate the effectiveness of the environmental strategy implemented by the organisation.
Suitable environmental science case studies include:
geotechnical and transport engineering activities that may involve construction of roads, freeways, railways, airports, mines, shopping centres and housing developments
environmental engineering activities that may involve coastal erosion protection, mine revegetation, municipal recycling systems and freeway revegetation
water conservation and water engineering activities that may involve studies of pollution in bays and oceans, sewage treatment plants, desalination plants, river diversion tunnels and stormwater drainage systems
energy and pollution minimisation activities that may involve air quality monitoring, electrostatic precipitation in smoke stacks, waste minimisation plans, cleaner production plans, waste heat re-use in industry, and energy efficient housing and commercial buildings
soil remediation and soil erosion activities that may involve bioremediation of soils, studies of dryland salinity, and total catchment management to reduce soil erosion
broadacre, intensive or alternative agricultural practices that may involve feedlots, irrigation, organic farming and biological controls in farming
land management and development practices that may involve ecotourism, hazard reduction burns in fire-prone landscapes, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander restoration projects, plantation forestry, green roofs and infrastructure, and urban housing projects.
UNIT 4
How can climate change and the impacts of human energy use be managed?
In this unit students explore different factors that contribute to the variability of Earth’s climate and that can affect living things, human society and the environment at local, regional and global scales. Students compare sources, availability, reliability and efficiencies of renewable and non-renewable energy resources in order to evaluate the suitability and consequences of their use in terms of upholding sustainability principles. They analyse various factors that are involved in responsible environmental decision-making and consider how science can be used to inform the management of climate change and the impacts of energy production and use.
Measurement of environmental indicators often involves uncertainty. Students develop skills in data interpretation, extrapolation and interpolation and test predictions. They recognise the limitations of contradictory, provisional and incomplete data derived from observations and models. They explore relationships and patterns in data, and make judgments about accuracy and validity of evidence.
Area of Study 1: How can we respond to climate change?
Climate change is a complex challenge facing today’s society. It is a multi-dimensional and global issue, with regional impacts, including risks and opportunities. Effective adaptation and mitigation options are essential for reducing future risks and realising potential opportunities.
In this area of study students investigate natural as well as human-based factors that affect Earth’s climate. Students compare natural and enhanced greenhouse effects and their significance for sustaining ecological integrity. They explain different methods for measuring and predicting climate change, and consider the degree of certainty associated with climate projections. Students explore risks and opportunities for human societies and ecological systems associated with climate change at a selected region or location, and evaluate mitigation and adaptation strategies for managing climate change.
The selection of learning contexts should allow students to develop practical techniques and undertake fieldwork and other practical activities to model and investigate drivers of climate change. Students develop skills in the use of scientific equipment and apparatus to investigate the effects of altering different climate factors on selected environmental parameters, model different climate scenarios by accessing the internet or using simple climate models, and use practical activities, fieldwork and/or simulations to make and test predictions.
Area of Study 2: What might be a more sustainable mix of energy sources?
In this area of study students explore the concepts associated with the use of different energy sources by human societies. Students develop their understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the uses of different sources of energy and consider the local and global impacts of these uses, including possible consequences over short (seconds to years), medium (multiple years to hundreds of years) and long (thousands to millions of years) time scales. They investigate the extent, availability and consequences of selecting alternative sources of energy for meeting current and projected energy demands, while considering the environmental, sociocultural, economic and ethical challenges involved in building a sustainable energy future.
The selection of learning contexts should allow students to develop practical techniques and undertake fieldwork and other practical activities to investigate and/or to compare options for building a sustainable energy future. Students develop skills in the use of scientific equipment and apparatus, model different energy scenarios, and use simulations to make and test predictions.
Area of Study 3: How is scientific inquiry used to investigate contemporary environmental challenges?
Students undertake a student-designed scientific investigation in either Unit 3 or Unit 4, or across both Units 3 and 4. The investigation involves the generation of primary data related to biodiversity, environmental management, climate change and/or energy use, and should be inspired by a contemporary environmental science challenge or issue. The investigation draws on knowledge and related key science skills developed across Units 3 and 4, and is undertaken by students in the laboratory and/or in the field.
When undertaking the investigation students are required to apply the key science skills to develop a question, state an aim, formulate a hypothesis and plan a course of action to answer the question, while complying with safety and ethical guidelines. Students then undertake a controlled experiment, correlational study or fieldwork to generate primary quantitative data, analyse and evaluate the data, identify limitations of data and methods, link experimental results to scientific ideas, discuss implications of the results, and draw a conclusion in response to the question.