Page 176 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Science, 2008 (revised)

Grade 11, Workplace Preparation
e1. assess the environmental impact of the harvesting and/or extraction of resources, including ways of reducing this impact, and analyse threats to the sustainability of natural resources;
e2. investigate methods scientists use to classify and monitor natural resources, and conduct investigations using those methods;
e3. demonstrate an understanding of the sustainable use of resources and its relationship to the biodiversity and sustainability of ecosystems.
E1. Relating Science to Technology, Society, and the Environment
E2. Developing Skills of Investigation and Communication
e. nAturAl reSource Science And mAnAgement
OVERALL EXPECTATIONS
By the end of this course, students will:
THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | science
SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
By the end of this course, students will:
e1.1 assess the environmental impact of industrial practices related to the extracting or harvesting of natural resources, and describe ways in which that impact can be monitored and minimized [AI, C]
Sample issue: As a result of overfishing, several marine species are endangered. Bottom-trawling drag nets drown sea life, including mammals and turtles, who become entangled in them, and destroy seafloor habitat. In an effort to allow endangered species to recover, governments monitor populations, sometimes limiting catches or declaring moratoriums, and some countries have banned bottom trawling.
Sample questions: What impact can mine tailings have on local water? What practices can be used to reduce this impact? What impact does clear- cutting have on local ecosystems? What impact does large-scale deforestation have on the environment? What harvesting practices can the forestry industry use to minimize the effects of clear-cutting and deforestation?
e1.2 analyse, on the basis of research, the impact that an environmental contaminant, parasite, or bacteria has on the sustainability of a natural resource in Canada (e.g., the effects of PCBs on Arctic sea mammals, of sea lice on farmed and wild salmon, of E. coli on water resources)
[IP, PR, AI, C]
Sample issue: As a result of warmer winters and a policy of fire suppression, the mountain pine beetle has decimated coniferous forests in British Columbia, killing millions of lodgepole pines, the most widely harvested tree in the province. There are fears that the beetle will expand into Alberta and could eventually harm pine forests across the country.
Sample questions: How have mercury levels in fish affected the local fishing industry in Northern Ontario? How has mange affected the fox population and people who depend on trap- ping? What impact has increased bacteria levels in inland waterways had on duck populations?
By
the end of this course, students will:
e2.1 useappropriateterminologyrelatedtonatural resources and resource management, including, but not limited to: population, bioamplification, sampling size, sustainability, ore, mineral, tailings, and succession [C]
e2.2 identify and classify a variety of natural resources found in Canada, using appropriate classification systems (e.g., dichotomous keys, botanical keys, tree identification guides, wild- life guides, mineral tests) [PR, AI]
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