Year 9 - Science
Recreational drug use: depressants
Disease and drugs
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit explores the human gas exchange system, focusing on the impact of exercise, asthma, smoking, recreational drugs, and the differences between infectious and non-infectious diseases. It emphasises understanding scientific methods, evidence, risk evaluation, and peer review importance.
Lesson Summary
You can explain the effects of alcohol on the body in both the short and long term.
Key Notes
- Medicines are drugs that people take when they are ill.
- People consume other drugs for recreation, including caffeine, nicotine and alcohol.
- Recreational drugs can be classified as depressants or stimulants.
- Depressants slow down thinking and reaction times.
- Alcohol is a legal depressant, but long-term alcohol use can damage the brain and liver.
Vocabulary To Learn
- drug: A drug is a medicine or other substances that has a physiological effect when introduced into the body.
- recreation: Something that is done for fun is recreational.
- legal: If something is legal it is allowed by the law.
- illegal: If something is illegal it is not allowed by the law.
- depressant: A depressant slows down the messages sent from the brain to the nerves.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Because alcohol is legal it isn't as harmful as other drugs.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
Medicines are drugs that people take when they are ill. People consume other drugs for recreation, including caffeine, nicotine and alcohol.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'drug'
A drug is a medicine or other substances that has a physiological effect when introduced into the body. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: Because alcohol is legal it isn't as harmful as other drugs. Correction: Alcohol is related to many lifestyle diseases. The WHO estimated 5 % of all deaths are related to alcohol.
More Lessons In This Unit
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