ICAS Science:

Key Scientific Skills

Students are assessed across the following key scientific skills:

• Observing and measuring: identify features of living and non-living objects and phenomena; make measurements of length, volume, time, etc.
• Interpreting: understand diagrams, tables, and graphs; locate information within them
• Predicting and concluding: infer information from various types of data; make predictions
• Investigating: plan experiments; understand different types of variables and the concept of a ‘fair test’
• Reasoning and problem solving: analyse information to relate cause and effect; draw logical conclusions to solve problems

Content

The tests cover content on:

• Earth and Beyond (incorporating Earth Sciences and Astronomy)
• Energy and Change (incorporating Physics)
• Life and Living (incorporating Biology and Ecology)
• Natural and Processed Materials (incorporating Chemistry)