Year 9 Science · Unit 1 · Lesson 1

What Is Disease?

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Learning Goals

Warm Up

Because… chain

Fill in the missing effects. Each cause leads to the next step in how disease type affects the public health response.

A patient is diagnosed with influenza, caused by a virus (a pathogen)
→
Influenza is an infectious disease that spreads through the air and by contact
→
The patient is advised to isolate at home and avoid contact with vulnerable people
→
The same patient also has type 2 diabetes, caused by lifestyle and genetic factors, not a pathogen
→

Key difference:

Your Turn

Real-world context

In Australia, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and chronic respiratory conditions, account for approximately 74% of all deaths. Meanwhile, infectious diseases such as influenza, COVID-19, and tuberculosis continue to affect hundreds of thousands of Australians each year. Public health bodies must allocate funding to address both types of disease, but the strategies for each are completely different.

(a) A student claims: "Because non-infectious diseases cause more deaths, they are more serious than infectious diseases." Evaluate this claim. Use evidence from the lesson to support your response.

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(b) Cardiovascular disease and malaria require completely different public health responses. Using your knowledge of disease types, explain why.

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Show What You Know

1. Explain why knowing whether a disease is infectious or non-infectious is essential for choosing how to prevent and treat it. Use at least two specific examples.

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2. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that affects the lungs, causing mucus build-up and recurrent infections. A classmate says, "I heard someone with cystic fibrosis, I might catch it." Using what you know about disease types and causes, explain why this concern is incorrect.

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Wrap Up

In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?

HSCScience · Year 9 Science · Unit 1 · Lesson 1 · Apply Worksheet