Science

How does one cell become a person, or a maple tree? In this unit you will measure cells under the microscope and follow the cell cycle stage by stage, identify the phases of mitosis in onion root tips and whitefish embryos, and see what happens when division runs out of control in cancer. You will learn how stem cells and plant meristems divide and specialize, and how specialized cells build the four animal tissues and the plant tissues. You will study the digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems in depth, see how all the body's systems interact to keep you alive, and explore the tissues and organs of plants, from root hairs to the thylakoids of chloroplasts. Along the way you will dissect (for real or virtually), compare hearts across animals, assess medical imaging technologies, debate the ethics of stem cells, cloning and organ transplants, evaluate public health strategies such as vaccines and cancer screening, and research a disease of the tissues, organs or systems. The scientific investigation and research skills of Strand A, and careers in biology and medicine, are taught throughout.

This unit covers SNC2D Strand B (B1 to B3) of the Ontario Grade 10 Academic Science curriculum (2008), and builds on Grade 8 Cells and Grade 9 Sustainable Ecosystems. It prepares you for Grade 11 Biology.

What happens when substances change into new ones, and how can we describe it exactly? In this unit you will learn the language of chemistry: naming compounds and writing their formulas, including compounds of multivalent metals, polyatomic ions and acids. You will look for the evidence of chemical change, write word equations and balanced chemical equations, build molecular models, and test the law of conservation of mass yourself.

Then you will sort reactions into patterns (synthesis, decomposition, single displacement, double displacement and combustion) and use the activity series and a solubility guide to predict products. You will explain acids and bases with ions, classify substances with the pH scale and indicators, and investigate neutralization. Finally, you will analyse real safety and environmental issues (corroding bridges, cyanide in gold mining, pool chemicals) and see how chemistry helps solve environmental challenges such as acid rain and algae in the Great Lakes, along with the careers and Canadian scientists involved.

Strand A skills (planning and conducting safe investigations, recording and analysing data, judging sources, and exploring careers) are woven through the lessons, and every lesson includes a hands-on activity you can do safely at home with a grown-up. This unit builds on the Grade 9 chemistry unit (atoms, ions and binary compounds) and leads to Grade 11 Chemistry (SCH3U).

In this unit you go far beyond the greenhouse-effect basics from Grade 9. You will learn how Earth's climate system (the Sun, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, land and living things) moves energy around the planet by radiation, conduction and convection, global winds, ocean currents and water changing state, and use this to classify your own local climate. You will explain the natural greenhouse effect with physics, design a model of it, trace the sources and sinks of greenhouse gases, compare natural and human factors that change climate, and read past climates in ice cores, tree rings and lake sediments. You will test a hypothesis with real data, separate ozone depletion, smog and the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, and measure change with indicators such as sea ice, sea level and the carbon budget. Finally you will analyse effects of climate change around the world, evaluate perspectives and bias in the media, and assess initiatives from households to the Paris Agreement, using Canada's situation as of 2026.

Investigations use safe household materials; heat sources, hot water and glass always need a grown-up. These ideas lead into Grade 11 and 12 physics (energy and heat), chemistry (gases and reactions), Earth and space science, and environmental science courses.

How do mirrors, lenses and even raindrops bend and bounce light to form images? In this unit you will learn what light is, where it sits on the electromagnetic spectrum, and how it is produced, from incandescent bulbs and LEDs to fireflies and glow sticks. Using the ray model, you will discover the laws of reflection, predict the images formed by plane, concave and convex mirrors with careful ray diagrams, and calculate them with the mirror and magnification equations.

Next you will investigate refraction: the index of refraction, Snell's law, partial reflection and total internal reflection, and use them to explain apparent depth, mirages, shimmering and rainbows. You will draw ray diagrams for converging lenses, predict and test images with the thin lens equation, and finish by explaining how the human eye, eyeglasses, contact lenses, laser surgery, cameras, telescopes, binoculars, microscopes, retroreflectors and solar ovens work, and by assessing their impact on society and the environment, along with the careers and Canadian scientists involved.

Strand A skills (planning investigations, recording and analysing data, judging sources and exploring careers) are woven through the lessons, and every lesson includes a hands-on activity you can do at home. Safety first: never look at the Sun directly or through any lens, binoculars or telescope; never point a laser at anyone's eyes; take care with mirror and glass edges; and keep lenses out of direct sunlight, where they can start fires. This unit builds on Grade 4 (light and sound) and the Grade 9 introduction to the electromagnetic spectrum, and leads to Grade 11 and 12 Physics (SPH3U and SPH4U).