Sciences
SES4U
This course develops students’ understanding of Earth and its place in the universe. Students will investigate the properties of and forces in the universe and solar system and analyse techniques scientists use to generate knowledge about them. Students will closely examine the materials of Earth, its internal and surficial processes, and its geological history, and will learn how Earth’s systems interact and how they have changed over time. Throughout the course, students will learn how these forces, processes, and materials affect their daily lives. The course draws on biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics in its consideration of geological and astronomical processes that can be observed directly or inferred from other evidence.
Tuition
$580
One Ontario credit, enrolled online.
Prerequisite for this course: SNC2D
This course develops students’ understanding of Earth and its place in the universe. Students will investigate the properties of and forces in the universe and solar system and analyse techniques scientists use to generate knowledge about them. Students will closely examine the materials of Earth, its internal and surficial processes, and its geological history, and will learn how Earth’s systems interact and how they have changed over time. Throughout the course, students will learn how these forces, processes, and materials affect their daily lives. The course draws on biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics in its consideration of geological and astronomical processes that can be observed directly or inferred from other evidence.
Investigate the universe and solar system, and the techniques scientists use to study them.
Examine Earth's materials and the internal and surface processes that continually reshape the planet.
Read Earth's geological history in the rock record, and trace how its systems have changed over time.
Draw on biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics to explain processes you can observe or infer from evidence.
The overall expectations set by the Ontario curriculum, grouped by strand. Drawn from The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11–12: Sciences (2008).
Every Vaughan College course follows Ontario’s Growing Success policy. Assessment is continuous: teachers gather evidence of learning through observation, conversation, and student work, and give feedback that helps a student improve before the work is graded.
Evaluation — the judgement that produces a mark — measures achievement of the Ontario curriculum expectations across four categories: Knowledge and Understanding, Thinking, Communication, and Application. A student’s grade reflects how well they have met the expectations, with greatest weight given to their most consistent and most recent work.
The final percentage grade is based on two parts. Seventy percent comes from work completed throughout the course, weighted toward more recent and more consistent achievement. The remaining thirty percent comes from a final evaluation near the end of the course — an examination, performance, essay, or other culminating task suited to the subject.
Grades are reported against the provincial standard, where Level 3 (70 to 79 percent) represents the standard expected of students at that grade. A grade of 50 percent or higher earns the credit.
Achievement is reported on the Ontario Provincial Report Card, which records the percentage grade and the credit earned for each course. Grades for completed credits carry forward onto the Ontario Student Transcript, the official record used for graduation and post-secondary admission.
The report card also reports six learning skills and work habits, separately from the academic grade: responsibility, organisation, independent work, collaboration, initiative, and self-regulation. These describe how a student approaches their learning, and universities and colleges do read them.
The Ontario curriculum asks every course to account for a set of cross-curricular considerations — the ways a subject connects to students’ broader development and to the world beyond the classroom. They shape how each course is planned and taught.
Teachers plan for the full range of learners. Where a student has an Individual Education Plan, the accommodations, modifications, or alternative expectations it sets out are built into how the course is taught and assessed, so the student can demonstrate learning in the way that works for them.
Students who are still developing their English receive scaffolding — adjusted materials, extra time, and language support — while working toward the same curriculum expectations. Assessment separates what a student knows and can do from their stage of English acquisition.
Wherever the subject allows, coursework draws connections to the environment and sustainability, helping students understand how the topics they study relate to the natural world and their responsibilities within it.
Every course contributes to a school culture built on respect. Students practise the communication and collaboration skills that underpin healthy, equitable relationships with peers and teachers.
Materials and discussion reflect a range of experiences and perspectives so every student sees themselves in the work. An inclusive classroom holds high expectations for all learners and treats difference as a strength.
Where it fits the subject, students apply mathematical and analytical thinking to real financial questions — budgeting, credit, and informed decision-making — so the skills carry into life after graduation.
Reading, writing, oral communication, numeracy, and structured inquiry are developed in every subject, not only in English and mathematics. These are the cross-curricular skills that make learning in every other course possible.
Students learn to weigh evidence, question assumptions, and interpret what they read, watch, and hear — distinguishing fact from opinion and recognising point of view and bias.
Library and information resources support research and independent reading. Students learn to locate, evaluate, and use sources responsibly, building the research habits that post-secondary study assumes.
Technology is used to support learning and to build the digital skills students need, alongside an understanding of how to work online safely, responsibly, and with attention to their own well-being.
Coursework helps students connect what they are learning to their goals beyond high school, so each credit is a step in a deliberate plan rather than an isolated requirement.
Where a subject supports it, hands-on and experiential learning connect classroom study to real settings, giving students a clearer sense of how the material is used in work and in the community.
In any course involving activity, equipment, or materials, safe practice is taught and expected. Students learn the procedures that protect themselves and others.
Many subjects raise questions of right and wrong. Students learn to examine ethical issues thoughtfully, consider more than one position, and support a view with reasons — including academic honesty in their own work.
Courses are taught in small classes, which lets teachers adapt to how each student learns. A single lesson might combine direct instruction, discussion, independent practice, collaborative work, and hands-on or inquiry-based tasks, chosen to suit the material and the students in the room.
Students receive regular, specific feedback and can move at a pace that fits their goals, whether they are working ahead, recovering a credit, or balancing school with other commitments. The aim is that every student understands not just what they are learning, but why it matters and where it leads.
In-class learning, from anywhere
Some of our online courses run alongside a live class in our Vaughan classroom, and which ones changes each semester. When a course offers it, you’ll see a Live now tag on the course or a Hybrid toggle on its page. Turn it on and you can join the real in-person lesson through Google Classroom instead of a separate online-only section, with the same teacher as it happens. Add it when you enrol or anytime after; in-person students can join the same way on the days they study from home.
Related Credits
This course furthers students’ understanding of the processes that occur in biological systems. Students will study theory and conduct investigations in the areas of biodiversity; evolution; genetic processes; the structure and function of animals; and the anatomy, growth, and function of plants. The course focuses on the theoretical aspects of the topics under study, and helps students refine skills related to scientific investigation
$580
This course enables students to deepen their understanding of chemistry through the study of the properties of chemicals and chemical bonds; chemical reactions and quantitative relationships in those reactions; solutions and solubility; and atmospheric chemistry and the behaviour of gases. Students will further develop their analytical skills and investigate the qualitative and quantitative properties of matter, as well as the impact of some common chemical reactions on society and the environment
$580
This course develops students’ understanding of the basic concepts of physics. Students will explore kinematics, with an emphasis on linear motion; different kinds of forces; energy transformations; the properties of mechanical waves and sound; and electricity and magnetism. They will enhance their scientific investigation skills as they test laws of physics. In addition, they will analyse the interrelationships between physics and technology, and consider the impact of technological applications of physics on society and the environment.
$580
Next Step
Add the course to your cart for enrolment, or speak with our admissions team about pathway sequencing, prerequisites, and credit equivalency from a previous school.
