Year 9 - Science
Recreational drug use: stimulants
Disease and drugs
Study Hub
Study Guides
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 will learn to explain how stimulants affect the body in both the short and long term.
Key Notes
- Stimulants make you feel more alert and can give you quicker thinking and reaction times.
- Caffeine is a legal stimulant present in some foods and drinks.
- Cocaine and ecstasy are examples of illegal stimulants used as recreational drugs.
- Substance abuse can cause physical and mental health issues.
Vocabulary To Learn
- drug: a medicine or other substance that has a physiological effect when introduced into the body
- recreational: something that is done for fun
- stimulant: speeds up the messages sent from the brain the nerves
- legal: allowed by the law
- illegal: not allowed by the law
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Legal drugs cannot lead to addiction.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
Stimulants make you feel more alert and can give you quicker thinking and reaction times. Caffeine is a legal stimulant present in some foods and drinks.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'drug'
a medicine or other substance 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: Legal drugs cannot lead to addiction. Correction: Nearly all drugs used for recreation, legal or illegal, can lead to addiction.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 9 Science guide library.