Natural Science subject curriculum (NAT1-03)

Competence aims after Vg1 – programmes for general studies

The budding researcher

The aims of the training are to enable the apprentice to

• plan and carry out different types of investigations by identifying variables, gathering and processing data and writing a report that includes discussions about estimating uncertainties of measurements and assess possible sources of errors
• distinguish between results and assertions and discuss the quality of methods and presentation of own data and the data of others and how such data is interpreted
• discuss and elaborate on authentic problems related to natural science based on practical investigations or systematised information from different sources
• use simple computer simulations or animations to illustrate and explain natural science phenomena and test hypotheses

Sustainable development

The aims of the training are to enable the apprentice to

• provide an account of the concept of sustainable development
• investigate and describe succession processes within an ecosystem
• elaborate on factors that influence the size of a population
• map out one’s own choices as a consumer and provide logical and ethical arguments for these choices that can contribute to sustainable consumer patterns
• investigate a global conflict of interest related to an environmental question and discuss and elaborate on the quality of arguments and conclusions in a forum for debate

Nutrition and health

The aims of the training are to enable the apprentice to

• describe the most important energy-yielding nutrients and their chemical characteristics and give reasons for why they are important for the body
• give examples of vitamins, minerals and trace elements that the body needs and how one can make certain one has a varied diet
• carry out simple chemical detection of nutrients in food and give an account of one's observations
• explain the main characteristics of digestion, transport and transformation of the most important energy-yielding nutrients in the body
• elaborate on some main components in cosmetic products and make such a product with its own content declaration
• discuss and elaborate on issues in connection with dieting, eating disorders, training and how lifestyle diseases affect one’s health

Radiation and radioactivity

The aims of the training are to enable the apprentice to

• explain how the northern lights arise, and give examples of how Norway has been and is an important country for research in this field
• explain the importance of the ozone layer with respect to solar irradiation of the earth
• explain the greenhouse effect and elaborate on and analyse how human activity is altering the energy balance of the atmosphere
• elaborate on some possible consequences of the increased greenhouse effect, including Arctic areas and lowlands, and discuss and elaborate on the measures being initiated to reduce the increase in the greenhouse effect
• carry out experiments with radioactivity, half-life and background radiation, explain these phenomena and do simple calculations
• describe characteristics of different types of ionising radiation and give examples of how these are used for technical and medical applications
• explain how electromagnetic radiation from space may be interpreted and provide information about outer space

Energy for the future

The aims of the training are to enable the apprentice to

• carry out experiments with solar cells, solar collectors and heat pumps, explain the main features of how these work and make simple calculations about their degrees of efficiency
• explain what redox reactions are, carry out experiments with combustion, galvanic elements and electrolysis and elaborate on the results
• describe the principles and areas of use of some common batteries and fuel cells
• elaborate on different uses of biomass as an energy source
• give an account of the difference between energy sources and energy-bearers and a typical energy-bearer for the future

Biotechnology

The aims of the training are to enable the apprentice to

• explain genetic coding and the main characteristics of protein synthesis and provide examples of the interconnectedness between heritage and the environment
• explain the concepts of cross-breeding and gene modification and give examples of how biotechnology is used to modify the characteristics of plants and animals
• provide an overview of different medical applications of biotechnology and discuss the opportunities and challenges of such use
• compare arguments on the use of biotechnology and discuss and elaborate on different academic and ethical problems related to these