Search the California Content Standards

Title: 3-PS2 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Performance Expectation: Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other. [Clarification Statement: Examples of an electric force could include the force on hair from an electrically charged balloon and the electrical forces between a charged rod and pieces of paper; examples of a magnetic force could include the force between two permanent magnets, the force between an electromagnet and steel paperclips, and the force exerted by one magnet versus the force exerted by two magnets. Examples of cause and effect relationships could include how the distance between objects affects strength of the force and how the orientation of magnets affects the direction of the magnetic force.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to forces produced by objects that can be manipulated by students, and electrical interactions are limited to static electricity.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS2.B: Types of Interactions Electric, and magnetic forces between a pair of objects do not require that the objects be in contact. The sizes of the forces in each situation depend on the properties of the objects and their distances apart and, for forces between two magnets, on their orientation relative to each other.

Science & Engineering Practices: Asking Questions and Defining Problems Ask questions that can be investigated based on patterns such as cause and effect relationships.

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified, tested, and used to explain change.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RI.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. RI.3.3: Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect. RI.3.8: Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence). SL.3.3: Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in third grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: MS.PS2.B

Title: 3-PS2 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Performance Expectation: Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying scientific ideas about magnets.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of problems could include constructing a latch to keep a door shut and creating a device to keep two moving objects from touching each other.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS2.B: Types of Interactions Electric, and magnetic forces between a pair of objects do not require that the objects be in contact. The sizes of the forces in each situation depend on the properties of the objects and their distances apart and, for forces between two magnets, on their orientation relative to each other.

Science & Engineering Practices: Asking Questions and Defining Problems Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

Crosscutting Concepts: Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology Scientific discoveries about the natural world can often lead to new and improved technologies, which are developed through the Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science process.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
N/A

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in third grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: K.ETS1.A; 4.ETS1.A; MS.PS2.B

Title: 4-PS3 Energy

Performance Expectation: Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the change in the energy due to the change in speed, not on the forces, as objects interact.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative measurements of energy.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS3.A: Definitions of Energy Energy can be moved from place to place by moving objects or through sound, light, or electric currents. PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer Energy is present whenever there are moving objects, sound, light, or heat. When objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another, thereby changing their motion. In such collisions, some energy is typically also transferred to the surrounding air; as a result, the air gets heated and sound is produced. PS3.C: Relationship Between Energy and Forces When objects collide, the contact forces transfer energy so as to change the objects’ motions.

Science & Engineering Practices: Asking Questions and Defining Problems Ask questions that can be investigated and predict reasonable outcomes based on patterns such as cause and effect relationships.

Crosscutting Concepts: Energy and Matter Energy can be transferred in various ways and between objects.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy W.4.7: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. W.4.8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes, paraphrase, and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fourth grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: K.PS2.B; 3.PS2.A; MS.PS2.A; MS.PS3.A; MS.PS3.B; MS.PS3.C

Title: 4-PS4 Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

Performance Expectation: Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen. [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include knowledge of specific colors reflected and seen, the cellular mechanisms of vision, or how the retina works.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation An object can be seen when light reflected from its surface enters the eyes.

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

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy SL.4.5: Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes. Mathematics MP.4: Model with mathematics. 4.G.1: Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse), and perpendicular and parallel lines. Identify these in two-dimensional figures.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fourth grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: 1.PS4.B; MS.PS4.B; MS.LS1.D

Title: 5-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Performance Expectation: Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the idea that matter that is not food (air, water, decomposed materials in soil) is changed by plants into matter that is food. Examples of systems could include organisms, ecosystems, and the Earth.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include molecular explanations.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems The food of almost any kind of animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants or plants parts and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers.” Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life. Newly introduced species can damage the balance of an ecosystem. LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems Matter cycles between the air and soil and among plants, animals, and microbes as these organisms live and die. Organisms obtain gases, and water, from the environment, and release waste matter (gas, liquid, or solid) back into the environment.

Science & Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models Develop a model to describe phenomena. Connections to Nature of Science: Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena Science explanations describe the mechanisms for natural events.

Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions.

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 RI.5.7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently. SL.5.5: Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fifth grade: 5.PS1.A; 5.ESS2.A Articulation across grade-levels: 2.PS1.A; 2.LS4.D; 4.ESS2.E; MS.LS1.C; MS.LS2.A; MS.LS2.B; MS.PS3.D

Title: 5-PS2 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Performance Expectation: Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down. [Clarification Statement: “Down” is a local description of the direction that points toward the center of the spherical Earth.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include mathematical representation of gravitational force.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS2.B: Types of Interactions The gravitational force of Earth acting on an object near Earth’s surface pulls that object toward the planet’s center.

Science & Engineering Practices: Engaging in Argument from Evidence Support an argument with evidence, data, or a model.

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RI.5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. RI.5.9: Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. W.5.1.a–d: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fifth grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: 3.PS2.A; 3.PS2.B; MS.PS2.B; MS.ESS1.B; MS.ESS2.C

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

Performance Expectation: Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on cause and effect relationships between resources and growth of individual organisms and the numbers of organisms in ecosystems during periods of abundant and scarce resources.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors. In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction. Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources.

Science & Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for phenomena.

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.

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.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. RST.6-8.7: Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.ESS3.A; MS.ESS3.C Articulation across grade-bands: 3.LS2.C; 3.LS4.D; 5.LS2.A; HS.LS2.A; HS.LS4.C; HS.LS4.D; HS.ESS3.A

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

Performance Expectation: Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on predicting consistent patterns of interactions in different ecosystems in terms of the relationships among and between organisms and abiotic components of ecosystems. Examples of types of interactions could include competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems Similarly, predatory interactions may reduce the number of organisms or eliminate whole populations of organisms. Mutually beneficial interactions, in contrast, may become so interdependent that each organism requires the other for survival. Although the species involved in these competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial interactions vary across ecosystems, the patterns of interactions of organisms with their environments, both living and nonliving, are shared.

Science & Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Construct an explanation that includes qualitative or quantitative relationships between variables that predict phenomena.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns Patterns can be used to identify cause and effect relationships.

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.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. WHST.6-8.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. WHST.6–8.2.a–f: Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes. WHST.6-8.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. SL.8.1.a–d: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. SL.8.4: Present claims and findings (e.g., argument, narrative, response to literature presentations), 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. a. Plan and present a narrative that: establishes a context and point of view, presents a logical sequence, uses narrative techniques (e.g., dialogue, pacing, description, sensory language), uses a variety of transitions, and provides a conclusion that reflects the experience. Mathematics 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.LS1.B Articulation across grade-bands: 1.LS1.B; HS.LS2.A; HS.LS2.B; HS.LS2.D

Title: MS-LS4 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

Performance Expectation: Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on using mathematical models, probability statements, and proportional reasoning to support explanations of trends in changes to populations over time.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include Hardy Weinberg calculations.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS4.C: Adaptation Adaptation by natural selection acting over generations is one important process by which species change over time in response to changes in environmental conditions. Traits that support successful survival and reproduction in the new environment become more common; those that do not become less common. Thus, the distribution of traits in a population changes.

Science & Engineering Practices: Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking Use mathematical representations to support scientific conclusions and design solutions.

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Phenomena may have more than one cause, and some cause and effect relationships in systems can only be described using probability.

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.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
Mathematics MP.4: Model with mathematics. 6.RP.1: Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. 6.SP.5.a-d: Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context. 7.RP.2.a-d: Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.LS2.A; MS.LS2.C; MS.LS3.B; MS.ESS1.C Articulation across grade-bands: 3.LS4.C; HS.LS2.A; HS.LS2.C; HS.LS3.B; HS.LS4.B; HS.LS4.C

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

Performance Expectation: Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of practical problems could include the impact of collisions between two cars, between a car and stationary objects, and between a meteor and a space vehicle.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to vertical or horizontal interactions in one dimension.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS2.A: Forces and Motion For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction (Newton’s third law).

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

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. Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and the Natural World The uses of technologies and any limitations on their use are driven by individual or societal needs, desires, and values; by the findings of scientific research; and by differences in such factors as climate, natural resources, and economic conditions.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RST.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions. 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.NS.5: Understand that positive and negative numbers are used together to describe quantities having opposite directions or values; use positive and negative numbers to represent quantities in real-world contexts, explaining the meaning of 0 in each situation. 6.EE.2.a-c: Write, read, and evaluate expressions in which letters stand for numbers. 7.EE.3-4: Solve real-life and mathematical problems using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.PS3.C Articulation across grade-bands: 3.PS2.A; HS.PS2.A