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Students will design and conduct scientific investigations
- Identify questions that can be answered through scientific
investigations
- Use appropriate tools, technology, and techniques to gather,
analyze, and interpret data
- Organize and maintain a journal showing all phases of investigations
- Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models
using evidence and logic
- Use mathematics to explain, interpret, and improve investigations
and communications
- Construct logical relationships between evidence and explanations
- Identify and analyze alternative explanations, models, and
predictions
- Demonstrate understanding about scientific inquiry
- Use fair test procedures
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Students will communicate scientific procedures and
explanations
- Demonstrate effective methods to organize and display scientific
concepts
- Present investigative procedures and results to others verbally,
graphically, and in writing
- Communicate science concepts accurately and clearly, using
scientific vocabulary
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Students will explain theories concerning the origin
and evolution of the solar system
- Describe factors that have historically affected scientific
knowledge about the solar system
- Compare methods used by ancient astronomers to measure distances
and sizes of objects (examples: sun, moon, and earth)
- Explain how knowledge of celestial motions and mechanics
has evolved since ancient times
- Compare modern theories concerning the formation of the universe
- Describe human efforts to explain the solar system through
myths and superstitions
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Students will compare early measurement techniques to
modern calculations
- Identify early methods used by humans to subdivide the solar
day before the invention of mechanical time pieces
- Compare the motions of the earth, moon, sun, planets, and
stars
- Measure altitude and azimuth of observable celestial objects
- Determine how celestial motions effect the Earth (examples:
seasons, day and night)
- Examine interplanetary and interstellar distances in terms
of light years, parsecs, and astronomical units
- Compare calculations of distances and speeds using astronomical
units and conventional units
- Describe the historic evolution of how stellar distances
were measured
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Students will relate solar system motions to time
- Recognize that the motions of the sun, moon, and earth result
in our standard year, day, and hour
- Discover the relationship between the length of a day and
the season of the year
- Distinguish the difference in a solar day and a sidereal
day
- Define the concept and purpose of daylight savings time
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Students will describe physical characteristics of the
moon and quantitatively evaluate the moon's effect on the Earth
- Determine orbital and physical characteristics of the moon
(examples: mass, diameter, distance from Earth)
- Distinguish the difference between lunar and solar eclipses
- Describe physical characteristics of the moon (examples:
surface features, temperature, atmosphere)
- Quantitatively calculate a surface feature of the moon as
observed from the Earth
- Discuss possible origins of the moon
- Explain how the moon affects the Earth's tides and the impact
of these tides on the Earth's economy
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Students will compare the planets and consider the probability
of similar stellar systems in our universe
- Describe major characteristics of planets (examples: size,
temperature, distances, motions and satellites)
- Identify non-planetary solar system objects
- Compare the distances between solar objects
- Recognize observable motions and physical characteristics
of planets
- Distinguish orbital characteristics of meteors, asteroids,
and comets
- Research recent discoveries of the outer planets
- Analyze possible origins of the solar system
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Students will compare stars and contrast their evolution
- Explain the life cycles of stars
- Examine the interior structure of stars and how energy is
produced
- Classify stars according to standard criteria
- Identify early theories concerning the stars (examples: fixed
points on a crystal sphere, legends regarding the stars)
- Analyze the potential impact of fusion on society
- Develop the concept of supernova and the possible ramification
of such an event
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Students will compare the physical characteristics of
the sun to other stars
- Contrast physical characteristics of the sun with other stars
- Determine the physical differences between the sun and earth
(examples: volume, mass, temperature, and surface characteristics)
- Identify three apparent motions of the sun as observed from
earth
- Evaluate the economical harnessing of solar energy and its
significance for humans
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Students will distinguish the Milky Way from other galaxies
- Distinguish physical characteristics of the Milky Way Galaxy
- Locate the sun's position in our galaxy
- Describe the existence of other galaxies in the universe
- Investigate future possibilities of energy production through
studies of galaxies and quasars
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Students will evaluate the space program's contributions
to society
- Evaluate the significance of the US space program to information
about the solar system
- Describe the costs and complexities of sending people into
space
- Develop a historical time line of space exploration
- Determine cost-benefits of the space program
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