Search the California Content Standards

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

Performance Expectation: Communicate scientific ideas about the way stars, over their life cycle, produce elements. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the way nucleosynthesis, and therefore the different elements created, varies as a function of the mass of a star and the stage of its lifetime.] [Assessment Boundary: Details of the many different nucleosynthesis pathways for stars of differing masses are not assessed.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.A: The Universe and its Stars The study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used to identify compositional elements of stars, their movements, and their distances from Earth. Other than the hydrogen and helium formed at the time of the Big Bang, nuclear fusion within stars produces all atomic nuclei lighter than and including iron, and the process releases electromagnetic energy. Heavier elements are produced when certain massive stars achieve a supernova stage and explode.

Science & Engineering Practices: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information Communicate scientific ideas (e.g., about phenomena and/or the process of development and the design and performance of a proposed process or system) in multiple formats (including orally, graphically, textually, and mathematically).

Crosscutting Concepts: Energy and Matter In nuclear processes, atoms are not conserved, but the total number of protons plus neutrons is conserved.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy WHST.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes. WHST.11-12.2: Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes. SL.11-12.4: Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

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

Title: HS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Performance Expectation: Evaluate evidence for the role of group behavior on individual and species’ chances to survive and reproduce. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on: (1) distinguishing between group and individual behavior, (2) identifying evidence supporting the outcomes of group behavior, and (3) developing logical and reasonable arguments based on evidence. Examples of group behaviors could include flocking, schooling, herding, and cooperative behaviors such as hunting, migrating, and swarming.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS2.D: Social Interactions and Group Behavior Group behavior has evolved because membership can increase the chances of survival for individuals and their genetic relatives.

Science & Engineering Practices: Engaging in Argument from Evidence Evaluate the evidence behind currently accepted explanations to determine the merits of arguments. Connections to Nature of Science: 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.

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 II The long-term functioning and health of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems are influenced by their relationships with human societies. 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.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.11-12.7: 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. RST.9-10.8: Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claim or a recommendation for solving a scientific or technical problem. RST.11-12.8.a–e: Evaluate the hypotheses, data, analysis, and conclusions in a science or technical text, verifying the data when possible and corroborating or challenging conclusions with other sources of information.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: N/A Articulation across grade-bands: MS.LS1.B

Title: HS-PS4 Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

Performance Expectation: Communicate technical information about how some technological devices use the principles of wave behavior and wave interactions with matter to transmit and capture information and energy.* [Clarification Statement: Examples could include solar cells capturing light and converting it to electricity; medical imaging; and communications technology.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessments are limited to qualitative information. Assessments do not include band theory.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes Solar cells are human-made devices that likewise capture the sun’s energy and produce electrical energy. (secondary to HS-PS4-5) PS4.A: Wave Properties Information can be digitized (e.g., a picture stored as the values of an array of pixels); in this form, it can be stored reliably in computer memory and sent over long distances as a series of wave pulses. PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation Photoelectric materials emit electrons when they absorb light of a high-enough frequency. PS4.C: Information Technologies and Instrumentation Multiple technologies based on the understanding of waves and their interactions with matter are part of everyday experiences in the modern world (e.g., medical imaging, communications, scanners) and in scientific research. They are essential tools for producing, transmitting, and capturing signals and for storing and interpreting the information contained in them.

Science & Engineering Practices: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information Communicate technical information or ideas (e.g., about phenomena and/or the process of development and the design and performance of a proposed process or system) in multiple formats (including orally, graphically, textually, and mathematically).

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Systems can be designed to cause a desired effect. 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). Influence of Engineering, Technology, and Science on Society and the Natural World Modern civilization depends on major technological systems.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy WHST.9-10.2.a-f: Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes. WHST.11-12.2.a-e: Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.

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