Mr. Ghist's Science Page 

Platte Canyon High School
Bailey, Colorado

Science Standards

SCIENCE STANDARDS
4

BENCHMARKS: 

4.1  Students know and understand the composition of Earth, its history, and the natural processes that shape it.

• describing the composition and structure of Earth's interior

• using the theory of plate tectonics to explain the relationships among earthquakes, volcanoes, mid-ocean ridges, and deep-sea trenches

• using evidence (for example, fossils, rock layers, ice cores, radiometric dating) to investigate how Earth has changed over long periods of time

• evaluating the feasibility of predicting and controlling natural events (for example, earthquakes, floods, landslides)

• analyzing the costs, benefits, and consequences of natural resource exploration, development, and consumption

4.2  Students know and understand the general characteristics of the atmosphere and fundamental processes of weather.

• analyzing the structure and evolution of the atmosphere and its significance for life on Earth

• explaining and analyzing general weather patterns by collecting, plotting, and interpreting data

• describing how energy transfer within the atmosphere influences weather (for example, the role of conduction, radiation, convection, and heat of condensation in clouds, precipitation, winds, storms)

• investigating and explaining the occurrence and effects of storms on human populations and the environment

• describing and explaining factors that may influence weather and climate (for example, proximity to oceans, prevailing winds, fossil fuel burning, volcanic eruptions)

4.3  Students know major sources of water, its uses, importance, and cyclic patterns of movement through the environment

• identifying and explaining factors that influence the quality of water needed to sustain life

• identifying and analyzing the costs, benefits, and consequences of using water resources

• explaining interactions between water and other Earth systems (for example, the biosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere)

• explaining the interrelationship between the circulation of oceans and weather and climate

4.4  Students know the structure of the solar system, composition and interactions of objects in the universe, and how space is explored.

• explaining the causes of and modeling the varied lengths of day, seasons, and phases of the Moon

• describing the effect of gravitation on the motions observed in the solar system and beyond

• describing electromagnetic radiation produced by the Sun and other stars (for example, x-ray, ultraviolet, visible light, infrared, radio)

• comparing the Sun with other stars( for example, size, color, temperature)

• identifying and describing the everyday impact of recent space technology (for example, more sophisticated computers, remote sensing, medical imaging)

Guiding questions:

· What is the physical earth made of and how do we describe them?

· What processes and interactions change the earth over time?

· Where is water found on the earth, what are it’s characteristics, and how does it move?

· What causes different kinds of weather and the seasons and how does it change overtime?

· What is the earth’s place in the solar system, galaxy, and universe?

Expectations:

describe the composition and structure of the Earth's interior

use the theory of plate tectonics to explain the relationships among earthquakes, volcanoes, mid ocean ridges, and deep sea trenches

use evidence to investigate how the Earth has changed or remained constant over short and long periods of time

evaluate the feasibility of predicting and controlling natural events

analyze the costs, benefits, and consequences of natural resource exploration, development and consumption

know that energy enters the Earth system primarily as solar radiation and eventually escapes as heat

know that climate (in the long run) and weather (in the short run) involve the transfer of energy in and out of the atmosphere

investigate factors that influence water quality

explain the water cycle in terms of how water circulates through the biosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere

analyze the structure and evolution of the atmosphere and its significance to life

describe the structure of-the solar system and forces within as well as beyond the system (e.g. gravity and centrifugal force)

describe electromagnetic radiation produced by the sun and other stars

know that stars differ in their life cycles, and visual, radio, and x-ray telescopes collect data that reveal these differences