How Finland Teaches Chemistry and Physics
Finnish primary pupils learn science as one combined subject before chemistry and physics split out as their own subjects in lower secondary school. Both stages lean heavily on hands-on, inquiry-based investigation.
- In grades 1 to 6, Finnish primary schools teach science through a single integrated subject, ymparistooppi (environmental studies), combining biology, geography, physics, chemistry and health education.
- The physics strand within ymparistooppi focuses on observing natural phenomena and structures, and explaining them through pupils' own simple investigations.
- The chemistry strand within ymparistooppi focuses on observing everyday materials and describing their properties, structure and changes.
- Physics and chemistry become separate subjects at grade 7, the start of lower secondary school (yläkoulu), alongside biology, geography and health education, which also become distinct subjects at that point.
Grades 1 to 6: one integrated science subject
Younger Finnish pupils do not study physics or chemistry by name. Instead, all of science sits inside ymparistooppi (environmental studies), which fuses biology, geography, physics, chemistry and health education under a shared, sustainability-minded lens. The physics side of this focuses on observing natural phenomena and structures and explaining them through pupils' own simple investigations, while the chemistry side focuses on observing everyday materials and describing how their properties and structure change.
Grade 7: the split into separate subjects
At the start of lower secondary school, grade 7, physics and chemistry become their own subjects for the first time, alongside biology, geography, health education and home economics, which also start as distinct subjects at this stage. From here, physics instruction focuses on strengthening pupils' skills in gathering evidence experimentally and using correct concepts, quantities and units to describe physical and technological phenomena. Chemistry instruction connects material science to technology, sustainability and human wellbeing, building toward environmental responsibility.
An inquiry-based approach at every stage
Across both the primary and lower secondary years, Finnish science teaching is explicitly inquiry-based rather than lecture-led. Pupils are expected to plan and carry out their own investigations, testing which variables affect a given phenomenon, so lab-based, small-group experimentation is central from the earliest grades, not something introduced only once physics and chemistry become separate subjects. This fits the same hands-on approach used in how Finland teaches maths in primary, where understanding is built through doing rather than memorising.
Frequently asked questions
At what grade do Finnish students start separate physics and chemistry classes?
Grade 7, the first year of lower secondary school (yläkoulu). Before that, physics and chemistry are taught together with biology, geography and health education as one subject, ymparistooppi.
How is science taught differently in Finnish primary school?
Younger pupils study an integrated subject, ymparistooppi, that combines biology, geography, physics, chemistry and health education, with an emphasis on hands-on observation rather than separate, formal subjects.
Is Finnish science teaching mostly lectures or hands-on experiments?
Hands-on. Pupils are expected to plan and run their own investigations from an early age, both in primary school and after physics and chemistry become separate subjects in lower secondary.
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