1. AF1: Thinking Scientifically
AF1 Levels 4 5 6 7 8
Thinking Scientifically
1. Use models to describe scientific ideas
2. Identify or find some scientific evidence that supports an idea or argument
3. Use some science to describe a simple process
1. Use a model to describe and explain a scientific process or problem
2. Find evidence of creative thinking by scientists working on scientific ideas
3. Recognise scientific questions that haven’t been answered yet
1. Use models to describe scientific ideas and list the strengths and weaknesses of your model
2. Describe some scientific evidence that supports or rejects an argument
3. Explain how new scientific evidence is discussed by the scientific community
1. Show the connections between models and scientific processes
2. Decide which factors are important when explaining scientific processes
3. Explain how scientific evidence is accepted or rejected by other scientists
4. Explain how different pieces of evidence support or contribute to questions that science can’t fully answer
1. Describe or explain processes using ideas and models from different areas of science
2. Evaluate the importance of different factors of scientific explanations or arguments
3. Analyse the development of scientific theories using new ideas and evidence

2. AF2: Understanding the applications of Science
AF2 Levels 4 5 6 7 8
Understanding the applications of science
1. Describe some positive and negative things about a scientific development
2. Identify science used in a particular job or role
1. Describe peoples viewpoint on a scientific development including ethical issues
2. Say how scientific developments may affect different groups of people in different ways
1. Describe how decisions in science are linked to economic, social or cultural issues
2. Describe how a scientific development has helped to create or answer other questions
3. Explain how societies are affected by a scientific idea
4. Describe how science is applied in a particular job or role
1. Suggest ways in which a scientific development has been influenced by economic, social or cultural issues including the pros and cons of each
2. Explain how creative thinking can generate ideas in science
3. Explain how scientific discoveries can change world views
1. Describe how the values of society influence the scientific developments of the time
2. Explain the unintended consequences of scientific developments
3. Evaluate the effects of scientific developments making a judgement about the economic, social or cultural consequences

3. AF3: Communicating and Collaborating in Science
AF3 Levels 4 5 6 7 8
Communicating and Collaborating in Science
1. Use some correct ways of presenting data e.g. a table
2. Use some science words and maths to explain scientific information
1. Decide which graph to use e.g. line or bar graphs
2. Use the correct science and maths to explain your ideas
3. Decide which information is opinion and which is scientific evidence and use this to support an idea or theory
4. Suggest how group work can improve experiments or investigations
1. Choose how to present your data
2. Decide which information is from primary or secondary sources and present them appropriately
3. Identify bias in information or evidence
1. Represent ideas and explanations using symbols, flow diagrams and different kinds of graphs
2. Explain how information or evidence from different sources may be biased to influence its understanding
3. Explain how scientists with different specialisms or skills have contributed to a scientific development
1. Present well structured explanations and counter-arguments in a variety of ways
2. Evaluate information and evidence from different sources, identifying and explaining any bias and misrepresentation
3. Suggest the specialisms and skills that would be needed to solve scientific problems

4. AF4: Using Investigative Approaches
AF4 Levels 4 5 6 7 8
Using Investigative Approaches
1. Select the right equipment for the job
2. Decide when you should make the experiment a fair test
3. Make some measurements or record some results
4. Describe how you can stay safe during the experiment
1. List the variables in your experiment and select one to investigate
2. Explain why you have chosen your equipment and how they are suitable for the experiment
3. Select and repeat any measurements if needed
4. Describe the safety risks and how you can stay safe during the experiment
1. Give some background science in your plan, list the variables and say which are dependent and independent
2. Justify the measurements (number of repeats) you have planned
3. Collect data using the correct range, numbers and values
4. Describe the safety risks and how you can stay safe during the experiment independently
1. Design a question or idea that you can investigate using different information
2. Identify all the variables and explain why some variables will be difficult to control
3. Explain how to deal with anomalies and make your experiment reliable
4. Describe all the safety issues and use information to help you do this
1. Justify your plan using science
2. Produce accurate and reliable data and state why your results are accurate and reliable
3. Find out all the risks involved in your practical work using other resources and asking experts

5. AF5: Working with Evidence
AF5 Levels 4 5 6 7 8
Working with Evidence
1. Suggest improvements to your plan with reasons for these improvements
2. Make a conclusion and identify a pattern in line graphs or other data
3. Identify the scientific evidence you have used in your conclusion
1. Evaluate the effectiveness of your plan and make practical suggestions for improving it
2. Explain why you have repeated parts of your experiment
3. Make a conclusion that includes more than one piece of evidence (e.g. from a line graph) including using numbers from data
1. Make a comment on the quality of the data you collected
2. Suggest reasons for any inconsistencies (anomalies) in the evidence you collected
3. Select pieces of evidence/data and use them to make a conclusion and explain your conclusion using scientific knowledge
1. Explain ways of improving your experiment to improve reliability
2. Decide whether evidence is strong enough to support your conclusions
3. Explain how data can be interpreted in different ways including how unexpected results could be significant, and use relationships between variables to make a conclusion and further prediction
1. Suggest and justify improvements to your plan using detailed science and suggest how you could take your experiment further
2. Propose a scientific explanation for unexpected results and interpret and evaluate conflicting evidence
3. Process data using multi-step calculations and identify more complex relationships between variables