Discover the diverse landscape of science and contemporary social and environmental issues in health-related fields with SNC4M. This online course is tailored for students, including those pursuing postsecondary programs outside the sciences, aiming to deepen their understanding. Through SNC4M, students will delve into medical technologies, pathogens, disease, nutritional science, public health issues, and biotechnology. The emphasis lies on theoretical exploration, refining students’ scientific investigation skills. Enroll in SNC4M to expand your knowledge and engage with critical topics shaping our world.
Course curriculum
Inside %course-code%: the science of human health
A senior science credit without SBI4U or SCH4U
An M-level course that Ontario universities count toward the top six, chosen by students who want a Grade 12 science for a non-science program or as a health-focused elective alongside biology.
Medicine, disease and public health
How imaging and diagnostic devices work, how pathogens spread and are controlled, and what public health systems do to prevent the next pandemic.
Nutrition and biotechnology, with the ethics
Nutrients and healthy choices, a critical look at fad diets, and the social, ethical and legal questions raised by genetic technologies.
Projects, campaigns and interviews
A health-care devices project, a public health video, a mental health and smoking campaign and an action plan, plus two interviews with your teacher covering Units 1 to 3 and 4 to 5.
SNC4M Course outline
Full unit-by-unit breakdown.
Explore the positive and negative effects of medical technologies on society, human health, the economy and the environment, and understand the science behind the technologies patients encounter in diagnosis and treatment.
Key topics
Diagnostic and imaging technologies · treatment technologies · impacts on society, economy and environment · understanding a diagnosis
Assessed by
Health care devices project · unit test
Investigate how pathogens cause and spread disease, how technologies and personal choices limit their spread, and the positive and negative effects of the methods used to control pathogens and disease.
Key topics
Bacteria, viruses and other pathogens · transmission and immunity · vaccines, antibiotics and control methods · personal behaviour and disease preventionity distributions and expected value · binomial distribution · hypergeometric distribution
Assessed by
Public health video · unit test
Examine how nutrients and other substances in food affect human health and well-being, and use that understanding to evaluate diets and make healthy lifestyle choices.
Key topics
Macronutrients and micronutrients · digestion and metabolism · nutrition and disease · evaluating fad diets
Assessed by
Units 1 to 3 interview with your teacher · fad diet article
Understand threats to public health and the practices individuals and societies adopt to protect health, and explore why a global approach to public health is needed to prevent future pandemics.
Key topics
Public health systems · mental health · smoking and addiction · pandemic preparedness · global health
Assessed by
Mental health and smoking campaign · action plan
Explore the social, ethical and legal issues and conflicting interests involved in deciding how biotechnology should be used, and how scientific knowledge informs those decisions.
Key topics
Genetic technologies · biotechnology in medicine and agriculture · ethical, legal and social issues · informed decision-making
Assessed by
Units 4 to 5 interview with your teacher · unit test


