What your child learns in Year 10 Science
New curriculum, taught from 2027
Physical science
5 areasMatter: Chemical bonding
- Compounds, molecules and chemical formulas
- Ions, ionic bonds and naming ionic compounds
- Covalent bonds and naming molecular compounds
- Word equations and balanced symbol equations, and why mass is conserved
Chemical change: Types of reaction
- Combination reactions
- Complete and incomplete combustion
- Decomposition, including heating metal carbonates
- Neutralisation: acids with bases, metal oxides, hydroxides and carbonates
- Predicting the products of a reaction
Energy: Waves
- Frequency, wavelength and amplitude
- Transverse and longitudinal waves; sound, pitch and volume
- The electromagnetic spectrum, light and colour
- Checking claims about waves, such as whether microwaves are harmful
Motion and forces: Forces and acceleration
- Acceleration, and calculating with F = ma
- Inertia and action-reaction pairs (Newton's laws)
- Pressure in liquids and gases, and hydraulics
- Buoyancy: why objects float or sink
Earth and space: The water cycle and plate tectonics
- How water cycles through the atmosphere, land, oceans and living things
- Clouds, humidity and precipitation
- Plate tectonics, from Wegener's continental drift
- Plate boundaries, earthquakes and volcanoes, including the Pacific Ring of Fire
Biological science
3 areasOrganism diversity: DNA and traits
- DNA, genes, chromosomes and proteins
- How genes and the environment together shape traits
- Variation, and continuous and discrete data
- How the structure of DNA was found: Franklin, Wilkins, Watson and Crick
Life processes: The nervous system and body temperature
- The brain, spinal cord and nerves; receptors and effectors
- Voluntary actions and reflexes, and measuring reaction times
- Thermoregulation: sweating, shivering and homeostasis
Ecosystems: Ecosystems and water
- How water and nutrients move through an ecosystem
- Decomposers and nutrient recycling
- How drought, drainage and pollution affect ecosystems
- Restoration, predator-free sanctuaries and kaitiakitanga
How is Year 10 maths going?
See the Year 10 maths guideSummarised by Vertex Academy from the New Zealand Curriculum, Science Years 0 to 10 (August 2026), Ministry of Education. Vertex Academy is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Ministry of Education.