Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems

  • • Science assumes the universe is a vast single system in which basic laws are consistent.

• Science Knowledge Is Based on Empirical Evidence

  • • Science includes the process of coordinating patterns of evidence with current theory.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Science Is a Way of Knowing

  • • Science distinguishes itself from other ways of knowing through use of empirical standards, logical arguments, and skeptical review.

• Scientific Investigations Use a Variety of Methods

  • • Scientific inquiry is characterized by a common set of values that include: logical thinking, precision, open-mindedness, objectivity, skepticism, replicability of results, and honest and ethical reporting of findings.

    • The discourse practices of science are organized around disciplinary domains that share exemplars for making decisions regarding the values, instruments, methods, models, and evidence to adopt and use.

• Science Knowledge Is Based on Empirical Evidence

  • • Science arguments are strengthened by multiple lines of evidence supporting a single explanation.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Scientific Investigations Use a Variety of Methods

  • • Science investigations use diverse methods and do not always use the same set of procedures to obtain data.

    • Scientific investigations use a variety of methods, tools, and techniques to revise and produce new knowledge.

• Scientific Knowledge Is Open to Revision in Light of New Evidence

  • • Scientific argumentation is a mode of logical discourse used to clarify the strength of relationships between ideas and evidence that may result in revision of an explanation.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena

  • • Models, mechanisms, and explanations collectively serve as tools in the development of a scientific theory.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Science Knowledge Is Based on Empirical Evidence

  • • Science disciplines share common rules of evidence used to evaluate explanations about natural systems.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems

  • • Science assumes the universe is a vast single system in which basic laws are consistent.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems

  • • Science assumes the universe is a vast single system in which basic laws are consistent.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena

  • • Models, mechanisms, and explanations collectively serve as tools in the development of a scientific theory.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Scientific Investigations Use a Variety of Methods

  • • Science investigations use diverse methods and do not always use the same set of procedures to obtain data.

    • Scientific investigations use a variety of methods, tools, and techniques to revise and produce new knowledge.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Science Is a Way of Knowing

  • • Science is both a body of knowledge that represents a current understanding of natural systems and the processes used to refine, elaborate, revise, and extend this knowledge.

    • Science knowledge has a history that includes the refinement of, and changes to, theories, ideas, and beliefs over time.

• Science Is a Human Endeavor

  • • Science is a result of human endeavors, imagination, and creativity.

    • Individuals and teams from many nations and cultures have contributed to science and to advances in engineering.

    • Technological advances have influenced the progress of science and science has influenced advances in technology.

• Scientific Knowledge Is Open to Revision in Light of New Evidence

  • • Scientific explanations can be probabilistic.

    • Most scientific knowledge is quite durable, but is, in principle, subject to change based on new evidence and/or reinterpretation of existing evidence.

• Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena

  • • A scientific theory is a substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment and the science community validates each theory before it is accepted. If new evidence is discovered that the theory does not accommodate, the theory is generally modified in light of this new evidence.

    • Scientists often use hypotheses to develop and test theories and explanations.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World

  • • Science and technology may raise ethical issues for which science, by itself, does not provide answers and solutions.

• Scientific Investigations Use a Variety of Methods

  • • The discourse practices of science are organized around disciplinary domains that share exemplars for making decisions regarding the values, instruments, methods, models, and evidence to adopt and use.

• Science Knowledge Is Based on Empirical Evidence

  • • Science arguments are strengthened by multiple lines of evidence supporting a single explanation.

• Each atom has a charged substructure consisting of a nucleus, which is made of protons and neutrons, surrounded by electrons. (HS-PS1-1)
• The periodic table orders elements horizontally by the number of protons in the atom’s nucleus and places those with similar chemical properties in columns. The repeating patterns of this table reflect patterns of outer electron states. (HS-PS1-1), (HS-PS1-2) (Note: This Disciplinary Core Idea is also addressed by HS-PS1-1.)
• The structure and interactions of matter at the bulk scale are determined by electrical forces within and between atoms. (HS-PS1-3)
• Stable forms of matter are those in which the electric and magnetic field energy is minimized. A stable molecule as less energy than the same set of atoms separated; one must provide at least this energy in order to take the molecule apart.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Science Is a Way of Knowing

  • • Science is both a body of knowledge that represents a current understanding of natural systems and the processes used to refine, elaborate, revise, and extend this knowledge.

• Science Is a Human Endeavor

  • • Science is a result of human endeavors, imagination, and creativity.

    • Individuals and teams from many nations and cultures have contributed to science and to advances in engineering.

• Science Knowledge Is Based on Empirical Evidence

  • • Science includes the process of coordinating patterns of evidence with current theory.

    • Science arguments are strengthened by multiple lines of evidence supporting a single explanation.

• Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena

  • • A scientific theory is a substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment and the science community validates each theory before it is accepted. If new evidence is discovered that the theory does not accommodate, the theory is generally modified in light of this new evidence.

    • Models, mechanisms, and explanations collectively serve as tools in the development of a scientific theory.

• Chemical processes, their rates, and whether or not energy is stored or released can be understood in terms of the collisions of molecules and the rearrangements of atoms into new molecules, with consequent changes in the sum of all bond energies in the set of molecules that are matched by changes in kinetic energy. (HS-PS1-4), (HS-PS1-5)
• In many situations, a dynamic and condition-dependent balance between a reaction and the reverse reaction determines the numbers of all types of molecules present. (HS-PS1-6)
• The fact that atoms are conserved, together with knowledge of the chemical properties of the elements involved, can be used to describe and predict chemical reactions. (HS-PS1-2), (HS-PS1-7)

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Science Is a Way of Knowing

  • • Science is both a body of knowledge that represents a current understanding of natural systems and the processes used to refine, elaborate, revise, and extend this knowledge.

    • Science distinguishes itself from other ways of knowing through use of empirical standards, logical arguments, and skeptical review.

• Scientific Investigations Use a Variety of Methods

  • • Scientific investigations use a variety of methods, tools, and techniques to revise and produce new knowledge.

• Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena

  • • Scientists often use hypotheses to develop and test theories and explanations.

• Nuclear processes, including fusion, fission, and radioactive decays of unstable nuclei, involve release or absorption of energy. The total number of neutrons plus protons does not change in any nuclear process. (HS-PS1-8)
• Spontaneous radioactive decays follow a characteristic exponential decay law. Nuclear lifetimes allow radiometric dating to be used to determine the ages of rocks and other materials.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems

  • • Scientific knowledge is based on the assumption that natural laws operate today as they did in the past and they will continue to do so in the future.

• Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World

  • • Not all questions can be answered by science.

    • Science and technology may raise ethical issues for which science, by itself, does not provide answers and solutions.

    • Science knowledge indicates what can happen in natural systems—not what should happen. The latter involves ethics, values, and human decisions about the use of knowledge.

    • Many decisions are not made using science alone, but rely on social and cultural contexts to resolve issues.

• Scientific Investigations Use a Variety of Methods

  • • Science investigations use diverse methods and do not always use the same set of procedures to obtain data.

    • New technologies advance scientific knowledge.

    • Scientific investigations use a variety of methods, tools, and techniques to revise and produce new knowledge.

• Although energy cannot be destroyed, it can be converted to less useful forms—for example, to thermal energy in the surrounding environment.
• Solar cells are human-made devices that likewise capture the sun’s energy and produce electrical energy.
• The main way that solar energy is captured and stored on Earth is through the complex chemical process known as photosynthesis.
• Nuclear Fusion processes in the center of the sun release the energy that ultimately reaches Earth as radiation.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems

  • • Science assumes the universe is a vast single system in which basic laws are consistent.

• Science Is a Human Endeavor

  • • Technological advances have influenced the progress of science and science has influenced advances in technology.

    • Science and engineering are influenced by society and society is influenced by science and engineering.

• Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World

  • • Science and technology may raise ethical issues for which science, by itself, does not provide answers and solutions.

    • Many decisions are not made using science alone, but rely on social and cultural contexts to resolve issues.

• Electromagnetic radiation (e.g., radio, microwaves, light) can be modeled as a wave of changing electric and magnetic fields or as particles called photons. The wave model is useful for explaining many features of electromagnetic radiation, and the particle model explains other features.
• When light or longer wavelength electromagnetic radiation is absorbed in matter, it is generally converted into thermal energy (heat). Shorter wavelength electromagnetic radiation (ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays) can ionize atoms and cause damage to living cells.
• Photoelectric materials emit electrons when they absorb light of a high-enough frequency.
• Atoms of each element emit and absorb characteristic frequencies of light. These characteristics allow identification of the presence of an element, even in microscopic quantities.

Related Nature of Science Standards:

• Science Is a Way of Knowing

  • • Science is both a body of knowledge that represents a current understanding of natural systems and the processes used to refine, elaborate, revise, and extend this knowledge.

    • Science knowledge has a history that includes the refinement of, and changes to, theories, ideas, and beliefs over time.

• Science Knowledge Is Based on Empirical Evidence

  • • Science includes the process of coordinating patterns of evidence with current theory.

    • Science arguments are strengthened by multiple lines of evidence supporting a single explanation.

• Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena

  • • Models, mechanisms, and explanations collectively serve as tools in the development of a scientific theory.