Year 10 Science – Term 2 (WA Curriculum): Chemical Bonding, Reactions and Reaction Rates

What this unit covers

In Term 2, Year 10 Science in the WA Curriculum centres on the unit “Chemical Bonding, Reactions and Reaction Rates”.

Students explore ionic and covalent bonding, investigate acid-base reactions and their applications, and examine factors affecting reaction rates through hands-on experiments and modelling.

Lesson sequence (30 lessons)

The unit breaks down into the following lesson-by-lesson sequence — each title below is a teachable lesson, in order:

1. Investigating the Properties of Ionic and Covalent Compounds
2. Modelling Electron Transfer in Ionic Bonding
3. Exploring Electron Sharing in Covalent Bonds
4. Comparing the Structure of Ionic and Covalent Compounds
5. Learning Naming Conventions for Ionic Compounds
6. Mastering Naming Rules for Covalent Compounds
7. Writing Chemical Formulae for Ionic Compounds
8. Constructing Chemical Formulae for Covalent Compounds
9. Building Molecular Models of Simple Compounds
10. Creating Lewis Dot Diagrams for Bonding
11. Identifying Acids and Bases Using Indicators
12. Investigating Acid Reactions with Metals
13. Observing Acid Reactions with Carbonates
14. Exploring Neutralisation Reactions Between Acids and Bases
15. Writing Word Equations for Acid-Metal Reactions
16. Constructing Word Equations for Acid-Carbonate Reactions
17. Balancing Chemical Equations Using Molecular Models
18. Practising Chemical Equation Balancing with Simulations
19. Investigating Everyday Applications of Acid-Base Chemistry
20. Exploring Antacids and Their Chemical Reactions
21. Measuring the Effect of Temperature on Reaction Rate
22. Investigating How Concentration Affects Reaction Speed
23. Examining Surface Area Effects on Chemical Reactions
24. Comparing Reaction Rates Under Different Conditions
25. Designing Experiments to Test Reaction Rate Factors
26. Analysing Data from Reaction Rate Investigations
27. Applying Collision Theory to Explain Reaction Rates
28. Investigating Catalysts and Their Effect on Reactions
29. Connecting Reaction Rates to Industrial Processes
30. Evaluating Methods for Controlling Chemical Reaction Rates

Curriculum codes in this unit

Content codes:

Reading the codes: WA codes (the ones starting with WA) pack the year level, learning area, strand and content number into one string, while the national Australian Curriculum v9 uses a different anatomy that starts with AC9 — same content family, different labels. Our complete WA Curriculum guide decodes both, character by character.

Planning notes for Term 2

WA terms run roughly 9–11 weeks, and in 2026 Term 2 runs from Monday 20 April to Friday 3 July — 11 weeks for WA public schools. With 30 lessons in this unit, that leaves breathing room for assessment, moderation and the weeks that disappear to carnivals, camps and public holidays — plan the assessable work to land two to three weeks before the end of term rather than in the final week.