Key Stage 3 · ages 11 to 14
Key Stage 3 science: what your child learns
In Years 7 to 9 science covers biology, chemistry and physics in far more depth, with experiments, equations and graphs. Pupils study cells, digestion, breathing, photosynthesis and inheritance; atoms, reactions, acids and the Periodic Table; and energy, forces, waves, electricity, magnetism and space. They also learn to plan investigations, spot sources of error and use SI units.
Guides for parents
Key Stage 3 science
Acids, alkalis and neutralisation
What KS3 pupils learn about acids, alkalis, the pH scale, indicators and neutralisation, and how acids react with metals and with alkalis.
Key Stage 3 science
Analysing and evaluating data
How KS3 pupils turn results into tables and graphs, spot patterns, write conclusions that use their prediction, and judge random and systematic error.
Key Stage 3 science
The carbon cycle, atmosphere and climate
What KS3 pupils learn about the gases in the atmosphere, the carbon cycle and how carbon dioxide from human activity affects the climate.
Key Stage 3 science
Atoms, elements and compounds
What KS3 science teaches about atoms, elements, compounds, chemical symbols and formulae, and conservation of mass, with a worked example and ideas for home.
Key Stage 3 science
Balanced forces, equilibrium and motion
How KS3 science explains balanced forces and equilibrium, why objects start, stop or change direction, and how force size and direction change motion.
Key Stage 3 science
Cells and organisation
What KS3 pupils learn about cells: parts of plant and animal cells, using a light microscope, diffusion, single-celled organisms and how cells build up into organisms.
Key Stage 3 science
Aerobic and anaerobic respiration
What KS3 science teaches about cellular respiration: aerobic and anaerobic word equations, fermentation in yeast, muscle fatigue, common mistakes and home ideas.
Key Stage 3 science
Energy in systems and conservation
How KS3 science teaches that total energy stays the same in any change, how to compare start and end states, and how forces explain the steps in between.
Key Stage 3 science
Chemical reactions and equations
How KS3 pupils learn that reactions rearrange atoms, how to write and balance equations, four types of reaction and what catalysts do.
Key Stage 3 science
Current, voltage and resistance
What KS3 pupils learn about current in amperes, series and parallel circuits, potential difference in volts and resistance in ohms, with a worked calculation.
Key Stage 3 science
Deformation, friction and Hooke’s Law
How KS3 science measures forces in newtons, tests springs with Hooke’s Law, handles friction and air and water resistance, and links work done to energy.
Key Stage 3 science
Speed and distance-time graphs
How KS3 science teaches speed = distance ÷ time, average speed, reading distance-time graphs and relative motion, with a worked cycling journey.
Key Stage 3 science
Fuel uses and energy costs at home
How KS3 science handles appliance power ratings, joules and kilowatt-hours, food labels in kJ and the cost of fuel at home, with a worked bill calculation.
Key Stage 3 science
The Earth, the rock cycle and resources
What KS3 pupils learn about the layers of the Earth, how igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks form, and why resources are limited and recycling helps.
Key Stage 3 science
Energy changes in reactions and changes of state
How KS3 pupils learn about energy changes when substances melt, boil, freeze or condense, and about exothermic and endothermic reactions.
Key Stage 3 science
Energy changes and transfers
How KS3 science explains energy transfer by conduction and radiation, thermal equilibrium, insulators and simple machines, with a worked ramp example.
Key Stage 3 science
Energy in matter
How KS3 pupils link temperature to the motion and spacing of particles, understand internal energy, and explain why temperature stays flat while ice melts or water boils.
Key Stage 3 science
Planning science investigations
How KS3 pupils plan and carry out investigations: asking questions, making predictions, choosing variables, sampling, staying safe and evaluating their method.
Key Stage 3 science
Forces, force diagrams and moments
What KS3 children learn about forces as interactions, drawing and adding force arrows, moments and non-contact forces such as gravity, magnetism and static.
Key Stage 3 science
Breathing, gas exchange and drugs
What KS3 pupils learn about the lungs: how gas exchange works, how breathing moves air, the effects of exercise, asthma and smoking, plant stomata and recreational drugs.
Key Stage 3 science
Hearing, microphones and ultrasound
How KS3 pupils explain sound as longitudinal pressure waves, how microphones, loudspeakers and the ear drum work, the range of hearing and uses of ultrasound.
Key Stage 3 science
DNA, genes and variation
What KS3 science teaches about heredity, chromosomes, genes and DNA, the scientists behind the DNA model, and continuous and discontinuous variation.
Key Stage 3 science
Light waves and reflection
How KS3 pupils compare light with water and sound waves, why light crosses a vacuum at about 300,000,000 m/s, and how surfaces absorb, scatter and reflect it.
Key Stage 3 science
Magnetism and electromagnets
What KS3 pupils learn about magnetic poles, plotting fields with a compass, Earth’s magnetism, electromagnets and the principles of a d.c. motor.
Key Stage 3 science
Reactivity series and materials
What KS3 pupils learn about the reactivity series, extracting metals with carbon, and the properties of ceramics, polymers and composites.
Key Stage 3 science
Units, equations and calculations
What KS3 pupils learn about SI units, chemical naming, using and rearranging simple equations such as density, and basic statistics, with a worked example and home ideas.
Key Stage 3 science
Mirrors, lenses, the eye and colour
How KS3 pupils use ray diagrams for mirrors, pinhole cameras and lenses, how the eye works, and why a prism splits white light and objects look coloured.
Key Stage 3 science
Natural selection and biodiversity
How KS3 science explains natural selection, extinction, biodiversity and gene banks, with a peppered moth worked example, common mistakes and home ideas.
Key Stage 3 science
Diet and digestion
What KS3 pupils learn about a healthy diet, energy needs, the digestive system, enzymes, gut bacteria and how plants make food by photosynthesis.
Key Stage 3 science
The particle model of matter
How KS3 pupils use the particle model to explain solids, liquids and gases, changes of state, density, why ice floats, and what atoms and molecules are.
Key Stage 3 science
States of matter and the particle model
How KS3 science uses the particle model to explain solids, liquids, gases, gas pressure and changes of state, with a worked example and ideas for home.
Key Stage 3 science
The Periodic Table
How KS3 pupils use the Periodic Table: groups and periods, metals and non-metals, Mendeleev’s ideas, predicting reactions and acidic and alkaline oxides.
Key Stage 3 science
Photosynthesis
What KS3 science teaches about photosynthesis: the word equation, why almost all life depends on it, how leaves are adapted, common mistakes and home ideas.
Key Stage 3 science
Physical changes, density and diffusion
What KS3 pupils learn about changes of state, conservation of mass, density, Brownian motion, diffusion, and how to tell physical changes from chemical ones.
Key Stage 3 science
Pressure in fluids, floating and sinking
How KS3 science teaches pressure as force ÷ area, atmospheric pressure and height, pressure in liquids and depth, and upthrust, with a worked example.
Key Stage 3 science
Pure substances, mixtures and separation
What KS3 pupils learn about pure substances, dissolving, diffusion and separating mixtures by filtration, evaporation, distillation and chromatography.
Key Stage 3 science
Food webs and ecosystems
How KS3 science teaches interdependence in ecosystems: food webs, insect pollination and food security, and how toxic materials build up, with home ideas.
Key Stage 3 science
Reproduction in humans and plants
What KS3 science teaches about human reproduction, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and flowering plants, with common mistakes and ways to support your child.
Key Stage 3 science
Scientific attitudes
What KS3 pupils learn about thinking like a scientist: objectivity, accuracy and precision, how ideas change, peer review and judging risk, with ideas for home.
Key Stage 3 science
Skeleton and muscles
What KS3 pupils learn about the human skeleton and muscles: four jobs of bones, joints, biomechanics, measuring muscle force and how antagonistic pairs move a limb.
Key Stage 3 science
Gravity, stars, galaxies and seasons
What KS3 pupils learn about gravity and weight (W = m × g), the Sun and other stars, galaxies, light years, and why the Earth’s tilt causes the seasons.
Key Stage 3 science
Static electricity and electric fields
How KS3 pupils explain static electricity as the transfer of electrons, why charged objects attract and repel, and what an electric field is, with a worked example.
Key Stage 3 science
Water waves and sound waves
What KS3 pupils learn about water waves, superposition, frequency in hertz, echoes and how fast sound travels through air, water and solids, with a worked example.
Everything in the Key Stage 3 science curriculum
The National Curriculum topics for Key Stage 3, in the order the National Curriculum lists them.