Standard 4: Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.
The Living Environment
Key Idea 1:
Living things are both similar to and different from each other and from nonliving things.
Introduction: Living things are similar to each other yet differnt from nonlinving things. the cell is the basic unit of structure and function of living things (cell theory). For all iving things, life activites are accomplished at the cellular level. Viruses lack cellular organization.
Key Idea 2:
Organisms inherit genetic information in a variety of ways that result in continuity of structure and function between parents and offspring.
Introduction: Every organism requires a set of instructions for specifying its traits. This information is found in the genes of cells. As organisms reproduce, these instructions are passed from one generation to the next.
Key Idea 3:
Individual organisms and species change over time.
Introduction: Evolution is the changes in a species over time. Millions of diverse species are alive today. Generally, this diversity of species developed through gradual proccesses of change occuring over many generations. Species acquire many of their unique characteristics through biological adaptation, which involves the selection of natually occuring variations in populations (natural selection). Biological adaptations are differences in structures, behaviors, or physiology that enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular environment.
Key Idea 4:
The continuity of life is sustained through reproduction and development.
Introduction The survival of a species depends on the abitily of a living organism to produce offspring. Living things go through a life cycle involving both reproductive and devleopmental stages. Development follows an orderly sequence of events.
Key Idea 5:
Organisms maintain a dynamic equilibrium that sustains life.
Introduction All organisms must be able to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment. Organisms respond to internal or environment stimuli.
Key Idea 6:
Plants and animals depend on each other and their physical environment.
Introduction: An environmentally aware citizen should have an understanding of the natural world. All organisms interact with one another and are dependent upon their physical environment. Energy and matter flow from onw organism to another. Matter is recycles in ecosystems. Energy enter ecosystems as sunlight, and is eventually lost from the community to the envirnment, mostly as heat.
Key Idea 7:
Human decision and activites have had a profound impact on the physical and living environment.
Introduction The number of prganisms an ecosystem can support depends on the available resources and the physical factors: quantity of light, air, and water; range of temperature,; soil composition. To ensure the survival of life on our planet, people have a responsibilty to consider the impact of their actions on the environment.
The Physical Setting
Key Idea 1:
Earth and celestial phenomena can be described by principles or relative motion and perspective.
Introduction: The universe is comprised of a wide array of objects, few of which can be seen by the unaided eye. Others can only be observed with scientific instruments. These celestial objects, distinct from Earth, are in motion relative to Earth and each other. Measurements of these motions vary with the perspective of the observer. Cyclical changes on earth are caused by interactions among objects in the universe.
Key Idea 2:
Many of the phenomena that we observe on Earth involve interactions among components of air, water and land.
Introduction: Students should develop an understanding of Earth as a set of closely coupled systems. The concept of systems provides a framework in which students can investigate three major interacting components: lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Processes act within and among the three components on a wide range of time scales to bring about continuous change in Earth’s crust, oceans and atmosphere.
Key Idea 3:
Matter is amde up of particles whose properties determine the observable characteristics of matter and its reactivity.
Introduction: Objects in the universe are composed of matter. Matter is anything that takes up space and has mass. Matter is classified as a substance or amixture or substances. Knowledge of the structure of amtter is essential to students' understanding of the living and physical environents. Matter is composed of elements, which are made of small particles called atoms. All living and non-living material is composed of these elements or combinations of these elements.
Key Idea 4:
Energy exists in many forms, and when these forms change energy is conserved.
Introduction: An underlying principle of all energy use is the Law of Consrvsation of energy. Simply stated, energy cannot be created or destroyed. Energy can be transformed, one form to another. These transformations produce heat energy. Heat energy is a calculated value, which includes the temperature change of the material, the mass of the material, and the type of material. Temperature is a direct measurement of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a sample of material. It should be noted that temperature is not a measurement of heat.
Key Idea 5:
Energy and Matter interact through forces that result in changes in motion.
Introduction: Examples of objects in motion can be seen all around us. These motions result from an interaction of energy and matter. This interaction creates forces (pushes and pulls), that produce predictable patterns of change. Common forces would include gravity, magnetism, and electricity. Friction is a force that should always be considered in a discussion of motion.
When the forces acting on an object are unbalanced, changes in that object's motion occur. The changes could include a change in speed or a change in direction. When the forces are balanced, the motion of that object will remain unchanged. Understanding the laws that govern motion allow as to predict these changes in motion.
