Search the California Content Standards

Title: MS-PS3 Energy

Performance Expectation: Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on relative amounts of potential energy, not on calculations of potential energy. Examples of objects within systems interacting at varying distances could include: the Earth and either a roller coaster cart at varying positions on a hill or objects at varying heights on shelves, changing the direction/orientation of a magnet, and a balloon with static electrical charge being brought closer to a classmate’s hair. Examples of models could include representations, diagrams, pictures, and written descriptions of systems.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to two objects and electric, magnetic, and gravitational interactions.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS3.A: Definitions of Energy A system of objects may also contain stored (potential) energy, depending on their relative positions. PS3.C: Relationship Between Energy and Forces When two objects interact, each one exerts a force on the other that can cause energy to be transferred to or from the object.

Science & Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models Develop a model to describe unobservable mechanisms.

Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models Models can be used to represent systems and their interactions—such as inputs, processes, and outputs—and energy and matter flows within systems.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle IV The exchange of matter between natural systems and human societies affects the long-term functioning of both.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy SL.8.5: Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: N/A Articulation across grade-bands: HS.PS2.B; HS.PS3.B; HS.PS3.C

Title: MS-PS3 Energy

Performance Expectation: Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of devices could include an insulated box, a solar cooker, and a Styrofoam cup.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include calculating the total amount of thermal energy transferred.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS3.A: Definitions of Energy Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of particles of matter. The relationship between the temperature and the total energy of a system depends on the types, states, and amounts of matter present. PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer Energy is spontaneously transferred out of hotter regions or objects and into colder ones. ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems The more precisely a design task’s criteria and constraints can be defined, the more likely it is that the designed solution will be successful. Specification of constraints includes consideration of scientific principles and other relevant knowledge that is likely to limit possible solutions. (secondary to MS-PS3-3) ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions A solution needs to be tested, and then modified on the basis of the test results in order to improve it. There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet criteria and constraints of a problem. (secondary to MS-PS3-3)

Science & Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Apply scientific ideas or principles to design, construct, and test a design of an object, tool, process or system.

Crosscutting Concepts: Energy and Matter The transfer of energy can be tracked as energy flows through a designed or natural system.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle IV The exchange of matter between natural systems and human societies affects the long-term functioning of both.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RST.6-8.3: Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks. WHST.6-8.7: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.PS1.B; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.C; MS.ESS2.D Articulation across grade-bands: 4.PS3.B; HS.PS3.B

Title: MS-PS3 Energy

Performance Expectation: Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample. [Clarification Statement: Examples of experiments could include comparing final water temperatures after different masses of ice melted in the same volume of water with the same initial temperature, the temperature change of samples of different materials with the same mass as they cool or heat in the environment, or the same material with different masses when a specific amount of energy is added.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include calculating the total amount of thermal energy transferred.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS3.A: Definitions of Energy Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of particles of matter. The relationship between the temperature and the total energy of a system depends on the types, states, and amounts of matter present. PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer The amount of energy transfer needed to change the temperature of a matter sample by a given amount depends on the nature of the matter, the size of the sample, and the environment.

Science & Engineering Practices: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations Plan an investigation individually and collaboratively, and in the design: identify independent and dependent variables and controls, what tools are needed to do the gathering, how measurements will be recorded, and how many data are needed to support a claim. Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Knowledge is Based on Empirical Evidence Science knowledge is based upon logical and conceptual connections between evidence and explanations.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity Proportional relationships (e.g. speed as the ratio of distance traveled to time taken) among different types of quantities provide information about the magnitude of properties and processes.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle IV The exchange of matter between natural systems and human societies affects the long-term functioning of both.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RST.6-8.3: Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks. WHST.6-8.7: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 6.SP.5.a-d: Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.PS1.A; MS.PS2.A; MS.ESS2.C; MS.ESS2.D; MS.ESS3.D Articulation across grade-bands: 4.PS3.C; HS.PS1.B; HS.PS3.A; HS.PS3.B

Title: HS-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe

Performance Expectation: Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on Newtonian gravitational laws governing orbital motions, which apply to human-made satellites as well as planets and moons.] [Assessment Boundary: Mathematical representations for the gravitational attraction of bodies and Kepler’s Laws of orbital motions should not deal with more than two bodies, nor involve calculus.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System Kepler’s laws describe common features of the motions of orbiting objects, including their elliptical paths around the sun. Orbits may change due to the gravitational effects from, or collisions with, other objects in the solar system.

Science & Engineering Practices: Using Mathematical and Computational Thinking Use mathematical or computational representations of phenomena to describe explanations.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity Algebraic thinking is used to examine scientific data and predict the effect of a change in one variable on another (e.g., linear growth vs. exponential growth). Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology Science and engineering complement each other in the cycle known as research and development (R&D). Many R&D projects may involve scientists, engineers, and others with wide ranges of expertise.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics. N-Q.1-3: Reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems. A-SSE.1.a-b: Interpret expressions that represent a quantity in terms of its context. A-CED.2: Create equations in two or more variables to represent relationships between quantities; graph equations on coordinate axes with labels and scales. A-CED.4: Rearrange formulas to highlight a quantity of interest, using the same reasoning as in solving equations.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: HS.PS2.B Articulation across grade-bands: MS.PS2.A; MS.PS2.B; MS.ESS1.A; MS.ESS1.B

Title: HS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Use a model to describe how variations in the flow of energy into and out of Earth’s systems result in changes in climate. [Clarification Statement: Examples of the causes of climate change differ by timescale, over 1-10 years: large volcanic eruption, ocean circulation; 10-100s of years: changes in human activity, ocean circulation, solar output; 10-100s of thousands of years: changes to Earth's orbit and the orientation of its axis; and 10-100s of millions of years: long-term changes in atmospheric composition.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment of the results of changes in climate is limited to changes in surface temperatures, precipitation patterns, glacial ice volumes, sea levels, and biosphere distribution.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System Cyclical changes in the shape of Earth’s orbit around the sun, together with changes in the tilt of the planet’s axis of rotation, both occurring over hundreds of thousands of years, have altered the intensity and distribution of sunlight falling on the earth. These phenomena cause a cycle of ice ages and other gradual climate changes. (secondary to HS-ESS2-4) ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems The geological record shows that changes to global and regional climate can be caused by interactions among changes in the sun’s energy output or Earth’s orbit, tectonic events, ocean circulation, volcanic activity, glaciers, vegetation, and human activities. These changes can occur on a variety of time scales from sudden (e.g., volcanic ash clouds) to intermediate (ice ages) to very long-term tectonic cycles. ESS2.D: Weather and Climate The foundation for Earth’s global climate systems is the electromagnetic radiation from the sun, as well as its reflection, absorption, storage, and redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and land systems, and this energy’s re-radiation into space. Changes in the atmosphere due to human activity have increased carbon dioxide concentrations and thus affect climate.

Science & Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models Use a model to provide mechanistic accounts of phenomena. Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Knowledge is Based on Empirical Evidence Science arguments are strengthened by multiple lines of evidence supporting a single explanation.

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and make claims about specific causes and effects.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle III Natural systems proceed through cycles that humans depend upon, benefit from, and can alter. Principle IV The exchange of matter between natural systems and human societies affects the long-term functioning of both.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy SL.11-12.5: Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics. N-Q.1-3: Reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: HS.PS3.A; HS.PS3.B; HS.LS2.C; HS.ESS1.C; HS.ESS3.C; HS.ESS3.D Articulation across grade-bands: MS.PS3.A; MS.PS3.B; MS.PS3.D; MS.PS4.B; MS.LS1.C; MS.LS2.B; MS.LS2.C; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.B; MS.ESS2.C; MS.ESS2.D; MS.ESS3.C; MS.ESS3.D

Title: HS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Plan and conduct an investigation of the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on mechanical and chemical investigations with water and a variety of solid materials to provide the evidence for connections between the hydrologic cycle and system interactions commonly known as the rock cycle. Examples of mechanical investigations include stream transportation and deposition using a stream table, erosion using variations in soil moisture content, or frost wedging by the expansion of water as it freezes. Examples of chemical investigations include chemical weathering and recrystallization (by testing the solubility of different materials) or melt generation (by examining how water lowers the melting temperature of most solids).]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes The abundance of liquid water on Earth’s surface and its unique combination of physical and chemical properties are central to the planet’s dynamics. These properties include water’s exceptional capacity to absorb, store, and release large amounts of energy, transmit sunlight, expand upon freezing, dissolve and transport materials, and lower the viscosities and melting points of rocks.

Science & Engineering Practices: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations Plan and conduct an investigation individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, and in the design: decide on types, how much, and accuracy of data needed to produce reliable measurements and consider limitations on the precision of the data (e.g., number of trials, cost, risk, time), and refine the design accordingly.

Crosscutting Concepts: Structure and Function The functions and properties of natural and designed objects and systems can be inferred from their overall structure, the way their components are shaped and used, and the molecular substructures of its various materials.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle III Natural systems proceed through cycles that humans depend upon, benefit from, and can alter. Principle IV The exchange of matter between natural systems and human societies affects the long-term functioning of both.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy WHST.9-12.7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: HS.PS1.A; HS.PS1.B; HS.PS3.B; HS.ESS3.C Articulation across grade-bands: MS.PS1.A; MS.PS4.B; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.C; MS.ESS2.D

Title: HS-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

Performance Expectation: Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth's systems. [Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence, for both data and climate model outputs, are for climate changes (such as precipitation and temperature) and their associated impacts (such as on sea level, glacial ice volumes, or atmosphere and ocean composition).] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to one example of a climate change and its associated impacts.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS3.D: Global Climate Change Though the magnitudes of human impacts are greater than they have ever been, so too are human abilities to model, predict, and manage current and future impacts.

Science & Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data Analyze data using computational models in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims. Connections to Nature of Science: 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 Knowledge is Based on Empirical Evidence Science knowledge is based on empirical evidence. Science arguments are strengthened by multiple lines of evidence supporting a single explanation.

Crosscutting Concepts: Stability and Change Change and rates of change can be quantified and modeled over very short or very long periods of time. Some system changes are irreversible.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle I The continuation and health of individual human lives and of human communities and societies depend on the health of the natural systems that provide essential goods and ecosystem services. Principle II The long-term functioning and health of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems are influenced by their relationships with human societies. Principle III Natural systems proceed through cycles that humans depend upon, benefit from, and can alter. Principle IV The exchange of matter between natural systems and human societies affects the long-term functioning of both. Principle V Decisions affecting resources and natural systems are based on a wide range of considerations and decision-making processes.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RST.11-12.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account. RST.11-12.2: Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms. RST.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. N-Q.1-3: Reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: HS.PS3.B; HS.PS3.D; HS.LS1.C; HS.ESS2.D Articulation across grade-bands: MS.PS3.B; MS.PS3.D; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.D; MS.ESS3.B; MS.ESS3.C; MS.ESS3.D

Title: HS-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

Performance Expectation: Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity. [Clarification Statement: Examples of Earth systems to be considered are the hydrosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, and/or biosphere. An example of the far-reaching impacts from a human activity is how an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide results in an increase in photosynthetic biomass on land and an increase in ocean acidification, with resulting impacts on sea organism health and marine populations.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include running computational representations but is limited to using the published results of scientific computational models.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS2.D: Weather and Climate Current models predict that, although future regional climate changes will be complex and varied, average global temperatures will continue to rise. The outcomes predicted by global climate models strongly depend on the amounts of human-generated greenhouse gases added to the atmosphere each year and by the ways in which these gases are absorbed by the ocean and biosphere. (secondary to HS-ESS3-6) ESS3.D: Global Climate Change Through computer simulations and other studies, important discoveries are still being made about how the ocean, the atmosphere, and the biosphere interact and are modified in response to human activities.

Science & Engineering Practices: Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking Use a computational representation of phenomena or design solutions to describe and/or support claims and/or explanations.

Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models When investigating or describing a system, the boundaries and initial conditions of the system need to be defined and their inputs and outputs analyzed and described using models.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle I The continuation and health of individual human lives and of human communities and societies depend on the health of the natural systems that provide essential goods and ecosystem services. Principle II The long-term functioning and health of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems are influenced by their relationships with human societies. Principle III Natural systems proceed through cycles that humans depend upon, benefit from, and can alter. Principle IV The exchange of matter between natural systems and human societies affects the long-term functioning of both. Principle V Decisions affecting resources and natural systems are based on a wide range of considerations and decision-making processes.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics. N-Q.1-3: Reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: HS.LS2.B; HS.LS2.C; HS.LS4.D; HS.ESS2.A Articulation across grade-bands: MS.LS2.C; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.C; MS.ESS3.C; MS.ESS3.D

Title: HS-PS2 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Performance Expectation: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that an electric current can produce a magnetic field and that a changing magnetic field can produce an electric current. [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to designing and conducting investigations with provided materials and tools.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS2.B: Types of Interactions Forces at a distance are explained by fields (gravitational, electric, and magnetic) permeating space that can transfer energy through space. Magnets or electric currents cause magnetic fields; electric charges or changing magnetic fields cause electric fields. PS3.A: Definitions of Energy “Electrical energy” may mean energy stored in a battery or energy transmitted by electric currents. (secondary to HS-PS2-5)

Science & Engineering Practices: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations Plan and conduct an investigation individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, and in the design: decide on types, how much, and accuracy of data needed to produce reliable measurements and consider limitations on the precision of the data (e.g., number of trials, cost, risk, time), and refine the design accordingly.

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and make claims about specific causes and effects.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy WHST.9-12.7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. WHST.11-12.8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation. WHST.9-12.9: Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Mathematics N-Q.1-3: Reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: HS.PS3.A; HS.PS4.B; HS.ESS2.A; HS.ESS3.A Articulation across grade-bands: MS.PS2.B; MS.ESS1.B

Title: HS-PS3 Energy

Performance Expectation: Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on explaining the meaning of mathematical expressions used in the model.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to basic algebraic expressions or computations; to systems of two or three components; and to thermal energy, kinetic energy, and/or the energies in gravitational, magnetic, or electric fields.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS3.A: Definitions of Energy Energy is a quantitative property of a system that depends on the motion and interactions of matter and radiation within that system. That there is a single quantity called energy is due to the fact that a system’s total energy is conserved, even as, within the system, energy is continually transferred from one object to another and between its various possible forms. PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer Conservation of energy means that the total change of energy in any system is always equal to the total energy transferred into or out of the system. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transported from one place to another and transferred between systems. Mathematical expressions, which quantify how the stored energy in a system depends on its configuration (e.g. relative positions of charged particles, compression of a spring) and how kinetic energy depends on mass and speed, allow the concept of conservation of energy to be used to predict and describe system behavior. The availability of energy limits what can occur in any system.

Science & Engineering Practices: Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking Create a computational model or simulation of a phenomenon, designed device, process, or system.

Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models Models can be used to predict the behavior of a system, but these predictions have limited precision and reliability due to the assumptions and approximations inherent in models. Connections to Nature of Science: 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.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy SL.11-12.5: Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics. N-Q.1-3: Reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: HS.PS1.B; HS.LS2.B; HS.ESS1.A; HS.ESS2.A Articulation across grade-bands: MS.PS3.A; MS.PS3.B; MS.ESS2.A