Enduring Understandings
- important ideas that
students should carry with them years beyond the instruction received this
year.
Scientific Process
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After a review of available and pertinent information, scientists formulate
a hypothesis.
A scientific investigation uses a repeatable procedure to explore one
independent variable and proper constants or controls.
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Technology in a scientific investigation allows scientists to quantify
observations for analysis.
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Scientists recognize and strive to limit sources of error or uncertainty.
Scientific explanations and concepts change over time to reflect new
evidence.
Scientific results are supported by experimental evidence and explained
using scientific concepts. Scientists share information to collaborate and
extend knowledge.
Scientists collaborate in order to identify alternative explanations and
models for the results observed in an investigation.
A scientific theory is a hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and is
generally accepted by most scientists.
Safety is a primary concern with all laboratory techniques.
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Scientists use evidence gained through scientific processes to explain the
natural world.
Physical Science
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Characteristic properties can be used to identify matter.
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Matter has characteristic properties that are related to its composition
and structure.
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Characteristic properties can be used to separate matter. Interactions
of matter depend on its characteristic properties. Elements have
characteristic properties that change in a predictable way.
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Energy appears in different forms.
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Energy is absorbed/released when a substance's temperature is
increased/decreased. Heat is a form of energy.
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Energy appears in different forms and can be transferred and transformed
through motion.
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Matter is conserved in chemical reactions as shown in a balanced
equation.
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Total quantities of energy and momentum remain unchanged in a closed
system. Forces affect motion.
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Total quantities of matter remain unchanged in a closed system.
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Conservation laws can be used to calculate the amount of matter and
energy in physical interactions.
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Classification is a tool scientists use to predict reactions.
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Physics laws can be written as math equations. Results of physical
interactions can be predicted using physics laws.
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Scientists use the particle model to explain states of matter.
Science and Technology
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The implementation of any technology and the development of any resource has
both benefits and consequences.
Technology uses scientific principles to make things and to make things
better. The two fields reinforce one another.
Science and technology enhance the work we do.
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Recognizing bias and opinion is important when processing scientific
information.
Scientists communicate about and critique each others work.
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By analyzing data, systematic patterns and trends can be discovered.
Many natural processes are cyclic.
A system is composed of discrete parts that are interrelated.
Natural cycles respond to internal and external influences.
Some quantities in nature change continuously by a constant factor and can
be described by exponential functions.
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A valid hypothesis or theory must accommodate new data or the hypothesis or
theory must be changed.
The interdependent fields of science are connected through a particular way
of knowing.
Essential Questions - most important “big picture” questions students should
be able to answer after completing learning activities.
Scientific Process
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Why do scientists generate hypotheses? What makes a science question
testable?
Why do scientists investigate one independent variable at a time? Why must a
scientific procedure be repeatable? What kind of measurements are made in a
scientific investigation? What tools can be used to make measurements?
What constitutes scientific evidence? What makes data valid and reliable?
Why is it important to continuously evaluate and revise scientific
explanations and models?
What makes a scientific conclusion valid and reliable? What is the
importance of written communication in a scientific investigation?
Why might there be alternative explanations and models? What is the
importance of identifying alternative explanations and models?
How do theories change over time? How does a scientific hypothesis drive an
investigation?
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What are safe laboratory practices?
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What constitutes scientific evidence? What makes data valid and reliable?
Scientists use models to help explain natural systems and to predict the
behavior of systems under given circumstances.
Physical Science
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How do
scientists identify an unknown matter? What gives a substance its
properties? What is the importance of separating matter?
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How and why do chemical reactions occur? Where does matter come from and
where does it go?
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Why does the periodic table have a certain shape? Why do some elements
combine and others do not?
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How can energy be measured? Where does heat come from and where does it
go? How is energy of motion transformed and transferred? Why is energy
never created nor destroyed?
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Why do scientists balance chemical equations? How do chemical changes
affect the total amount of matter in a system?
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How can the laws of conservation of energy and momentum be used to
calculate energy and motion changes in a collision?
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Why is it useful to classify reactions?
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How do scientists understand and predict the results of physical
interactions?
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How does the structure of matter relate to its observable properties?
Science and Technology
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Which drives which, science or technology?
When will we run out of our natural resources? When is technology a 'good
thing' and when is it a 'bad thing'?
How are science and technology used in the (teenage) workplace?
Processes and Connections
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What constitutes scientific evidence?
Why do scientists share their work?
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Why is it important to recognize patterns and trends in scientific data?
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How do cycles start and stop?
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How are systems kept in balance?
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Can the dynamics of natural cycles be predicted?
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How are models used to increase our understanding of the natural world?
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How are exponential functions useful in biological sciences?
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How do hypotheses and theories change over time?
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Where are the boundaries of various science disciplines? (e.g. Where does
biology end and chemistry begin? Where does chemistry/Molecular genetics end
and genetics/Mendelian begin?)
Standards
Highest
Frequency Standards
 High
Frequency Standards
 Other
Standards & E-skills
Standard 1:
Students apply the process of scientific investigation and design, conduct,
communicate about, and evaluate such investigations.
Standard 1 Benchmarks: Grades 9-12
1.
ask questions and state hypotheses using prior scientific knowledge to help
design and guide development and implementation of a scientific
investigation
2. select and use appropriate technologies to gather, process, and analyze
data and to report information related to an investigation
3. identify major sources of error or uncertainty within an investigation
(for example: particular measuring devices and experimental procedures)
4. recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models
5. construct and revise scientific explanations and models, using evidence,
logic, and experiments that include identifying and controlling variables
6. communicate and evaluate scientific thinking that leads to particular
conclusions
Standard 2:
Physical Science: Student know and understand common properties, forms, and changes
in matter and energy. (Focus: Physics and Chemistry)
Standard 2 Benchmarks: Grades 9-12
1. elements can be organized by their physical and chemical properties
(Periodic Table)
2. the spatial configuration of atoms and the structure of the atoms in a
molecule determine the chemical properties of the substance
3. there are observable and measurable physical and chemical properties that
allow one to compare, contrast, and separate substances (for example: pH,
melting point, conductivity, magnetic attraction)
4. word and chemical equations are used to relate observed changes in matter
to its composition and structure (for example: conservation of matter)
5. quantitative relationships involved with thermal energy can be
identified, measured, calculated and involving mass, specific heat, and
change in temperature of matter )
6. energy can be transferred through a variety of mechanisms and in any
change some energy is lost as heat (for example: conduction, convection,
radiation, motion, electricity, chemical bonding changes)
7. light and sound waves have distinct properties; frequency, wavelengths
and amplitude
8. quantities that demonstrate conservation of mass and conservation of
energy in physical interactions can be measured and calculated
9. Newton’s Three Laws of Motion explain the relationship between the forces
acting on an object, the object’s mass, and changes in its motion
Standard 4: Earth and Space Science: Students know and understand the
processes and interactions of Earth’s systems and the structure and dynamics
of Earth and other objects in space. (Focus: Geology, Meteorology,
Astronomy, Oceanography)
Standard 4 Benchmarks: Grades 9-12
1. the Earth’s interior has a composition and structure
2. the theory of plate tectonics helps to explain relationships among
earthquakes, volcanoes, mid-ocean ridges, and deep-sea trenches
3. the feasibility of predicting and controlling natural events can be
evaluated (for example: earthquakes, floods, landslides)
4. there are costs, benefits, and consequences of natural resource
exploration, development, and consumption ( for example: geosphere,
biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and greenhouse gas
5. there are consequences for the use of renewable and nonrenewable
resources
6. evidence is used (for example: fossils, rock layers, ice cores,
radiometric dating) to investigate how Earth has changed or remained
constant over short and long periods of time (for example: Mount St.
Helen’s' eruption, Pangaea, and geologic time)
7. the atmosphere has a current structure and composition and has evolved
over geologic time (for example: effects of volcanic activity and the change
of life forms)
8. energy transferred within the atmosphere influences weather (for example:
the role of conduction, radiation, convection, and heat of condensation in
clouds, precipitation, winds, storms)
9. weather is caused by differential heating, the spin of the Earth and
changes in humidity (air pressure, wind patterns, coriolis effect)
10. there are interrelationships between the circulation of oceans and
weather and climate
11. there are factors that may influence weather patterns and climate and
their effects within ecosystems (for example: elevation, proximity to
oceans, prevailing winds, fossil fuel burning, volcanic eruptions)
12. water and other Earth systems interact (for example: the biosphere,
lithosphere, and atmosphere )
13. continental water resources are replenished and purified through the
hydrologic cycle
14. gravity governs the motions observed in the solar system and beyond
15. there is electromagnetic radiation produced by the Sun and other stars
(for example: X- ray, ultraviolet, visible light, infrared, radio)
16. stars differ from each other in mass, color, temperature and age
17. the scales of size and separation of components of the solar system are
complex
Standard 5: Students understand that the nature of science involves a
particular way of building knowledge and making meaning of the natural
world.
Standard 5 Benchmarks: Grades 9-12
1. print and visual media can be evaluated for scientific evidence, bias, or
opinion
2. the scientific way of knowing uses a critique and consensus process (for
example: peer review, openness to criticism, logical arguments, skepticism)
3. graphs, equations or other models are used to analyze systems involving
change and constancy (for example: comparing the geologic time scale to
shorter time frame, exponential growth, a mathematical expression for gas
behavior; constructing a closed ecosystem such as an aquarium)
4. there are cause-effect relationships within systems (for example: the
effect of temperature on gas volume, effect of carbon dioxide level on the
greenhouse effect, effects of changing nutrients at the base of a food
pyramid)
5. scientific knowledge changes and accumulates over time; usually the
changes that take place are small modifications of prior knowledge but major
shifts in the scientific view of how the world works do occur
6. interrelationships among science, technology and human activity lead to
further discoveries that impact the world in positive and negative ways
7. there is a difference between a scientific theory and a scientific
hypothesis |
