Earth Science
Earth's Place in the Universe
Astronomy and planetary exploration reveal the solar
system's structure, scale, and change over time. As a basis for understanding
this concept:
Students know how
the differences and similarities among the sun, the terrestrial planets, and
the gas planets may have been established during the formation of the solar
system.
Students know the
evidence from Earth and moon rocks indicates that the solar system was formed
from a nebular cloud of dust and gas approximately 4.6 billion years ago.
Students know the
evidence from geological studies of Earth and other planets suggest that the
early Earth was very different from Earth today.
Students know the
evidence indicating that the planets are much closer to Earth than the stars
are.
Students know the
Sun is a typical star and is powered by nuclear reactions, primarily the fusion
of hydrogen to form helium.
Students know the
evidence for the dramatic effects that asteroid impacts have had in shaping the
surface of planets and their moons and in mass extinctions of life on Earth.
* Students know the evidence for the existence
of planets orbiting other stars.
Earth-based and space-based astronomy reveal the
structure, scale, and changes in stars, galaxies, and the universe over time.
As a basis for understanding this concept:
Students know the
solar system is located in an outer edge of the disc-shaped Milky Way galaxy,
which spans 100,000 light years.
Students know galaxies
are made of billions of stars and comprise most of the visible mass of the
universe.
Students know the
evidence indicating that all elements with an atomic number greater than that
of lithium have been formed by nuclear fusion in stars.
Students know that
stars differ in their life cycles and that visual, radio, and X-ray telescopes
may be used to collect data that reveal those differences.
* Students know accelerators boost subatomic
particles to energy levels that simulate conditions in the stars and in the
early history of the universe before stars formed.
* Students know the evidence indicating that the
color, brightness, and evolution of a star are determined by a balance between
gravitational collapse and nuclear fusion.
* Students know how the red-shift from distant
galaxies and the cosmic background radiation provide evidence for the "big
bang" model that suggests that the universe has been expanding for 10 to 20
billion years.
Dynamic Earth Processes
Plate tectonics operating over
geologic time has changed the patterns of land, sea, and mountains on
Earth's surface. As the basis for understanding this concept:
Students know features
of the ocean floor (magnetic patterns, age, and sea-floor topography) provide
evidence of plate tectonics.
Students know the
principal structures that form at the three different kinds of plate
boundaries.
Students know how
to explain the properties of rocks based on the physical and chemical
conditions in which they formed, including plate tectonic processes.
Students know why
and how earthquakes occur and the scales used to measure their intensity and
magnitude.
Students know there
are two kinds of volcanoes: one kind with violent eruptions producing steep
slopes and the other kind with voluminous lava flows producing gentle slopes.
* Students know the explanation for the location
and properties of volcanoes that are due to hot spots and the explanation for
those that are due to subduction.
Energy in the Earth System
Energy enters the Earth system primarily as solar
radiation and eventually escapes as heat. As a basis for understanding this
concept:
Students know the
relative amount of incoming solar energy compared with Earth's internal energy
and the energy used by society.
Students know the
fate of incoming solar radiation in terms of reflection, absorption, and
photosynthesis.
Students know the
different atmospheric gases that absorb the Earth's thermal radiation and the
mechanism and significance of the greenhouse effect.
* Students know the differing greenhouse
conditions on Earth, Mars, and Venus; the origins of those conditions; and the
climatic consequences of each.
Heating of Earth's surface and atmosphere by the sun
drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, producing winds and ocean
currents. As a basis for understanding this concept:
Students know how differential heating of Earth results in
circulation patterns in the atmosphere and oceans that globally distribute the
heat.
Students know the
relationship between the rotation of Earth and the circular motions of ocean
currents and air in pressure centers.
Students know the
origin and effects of temperature inversions.
Students know properties
of ocean water, such as temperature and salinity, can be used to explain the
layered structure of the oceans, the generation of horizontal and vertical
ocean currents, and the geographic distribution of marine organisms.
Students know rain
forests and deserts on Earth are distributed in bands at specific latitudes.
* Students know the interaction of wind
patterns, ocean currents, and mountain ranges results in the global pattern of
latitudinal bands of rain forests and deserts.
* Students know features of the ENSO (El Niņo
southern oscillation) cycle in terms of sea-surface and air temperature
variations across the Pacific and some climatic results of this cycle.
Climate is the long-term average of a region's weather
and depends on many factors. As a basis for understanding this concept:
Students know weather
(in the short run) and climate (in the long run) involve the transfer of energy
into and out of the atmosphere.
Students know the
effects on climate of latitude, elevation, topography, and proximity to large
bodies of water and cold or warm ocean currents.
Students know how
Earth's climate has changed over time, corresponding to changes in Earth's
geography, atmospheric composition, and other factors, such as solar radiation
and plate movement.
* Students know how computer models are used to
predict the effects of the increase in greenhouse gases on climate for the
planet as a whole and for specific regions.
Biogeochemical Cycles
Each element on Earth moves among reservoirs, which
exist in the solid earth, in oceans, in the atmosphere, and within and among
organisms as part of biogeochemical cycles. As a basis for understanding this
concept
Students know the carbon cycle of photosynthesis and
respiration and the nitrogen cycle.
Students know the global carbon cycle: the different
physical and chemical forms of carbon in the atmosphere, oceans, biomass,
fossil fuels, and the movement of carbon among these reservoirs.
Students know the movement of matter among reservoirs
is driven by Earth's internal and external sources of energy.
* Students know the relative residence times and flow
characteristics of carbon in and out of its different reservoirs.
Structure and Composition of the Atmosphere
Life has changed Earth's atmosphere, and changes in the
atmosphere affect conditions for life. As a basis for understanding this
concept:
Students know the thermal structure and chemical
composition of the atmosphere.
Students know how the composition of Earth's atmosphere
has evolved over geologic time and know the effect of outgassing,
the variations of carbon dioxide concentration, and the origin of atmospheric
oxygen.
Students know the location of the ozone layer in the
upper atmosphere, its role in absorbing ultraviolet radiation, and the way in
which this layer varies both naturally and in response to human activities.
The geology of
Students know the resources of major economic
importance in
Students know the principal natural hazards in different
Students know the importance of water to society, the
origins of
* Students know how to analyze
published geologic hazard maps of