QUESTIONING by …

research questions (e.g., Observational—How does a

cricket chirp? Experimental—-Does the amount of light

affect how a cricket chirps? Research—Do all crickets

chirp? Why do crickets chirp? ).

include cause and effect relationships.

what may happen or be observed in the future.

terms of available evidence.

includes:

a. A list of materials needed that specifies quantities (e.g.,

b. A procedure that lists significant steps sequentially and

c. An appropriate format for recording data,

d. A strategy for conducting multiple trials ("Fair Test").

measuring accurately.

from multiple trials.

a. Selecting an appropriate perspective (e.g., cross section,

top view, side view) and recording precise proportions.

addition to prior examples) to represent their findings accurately.

conclusion.

interview, etc.) to strengthen an explanation.

Science Concepts:

a. All substances have a unique density that depends on

the volume (amount of space) that the substance is packed

into.

b. The relative densities of substances can be observed and

described.

Science Concept:

a. Gas is a state of matter that has mass.

state and the mass of a substance.

Science Concepts:

a. Energy is required to transform the physical state of a

substance from solid to liquid to gas, while conserving

mass. Physical changes are reversible.

that new substances are formed when a chemical reaction

has occurred (e.g., rusted nail, vinegar combined with

baking soda).

Science Concepts:

a. Simple chemical reactions will produce new substances

that might be indicated by a different state of matter, a

color change, or a temperature change of the substances.

Students demonstrate their understanding of Motion by…

a. Speed indicates the rate at which an object is traveling.

b. Speed is a relationship between the distance an object

travels and time elapsed.

Students demonstrate their understanding of Motion by…

and explaining their observation in terms of the object’s

tendency to resist a change in motion.

Science Concepts:

a. Inertia is the tendency of an object that depends on the

object’s mass. The inertia (mass) of an object resists

change in the object’s motion (Stationary objects remain

stationary; moving objects continue moving: Newton’s

First Law).

Science Concepts:

a. A force applied to a moving object will change the object’s

speed, direction or both.

b. Friction is a force that often opposes motion.

c. Gravity and magnetism are examples of long-range

forces that do not require direct contact of the interacting

objects.

of objects (i.e., earth and object’s on the surface, earth and

moon, earth and sun).

Science Concepts:

a. Gravity is the force that holds objects to the earth’s surface,

keeps planets, in orbit around the sun and governs

the rest of the motion in the solar system.

b. The force of gravity pulls toward the center of mass of

an object.

Science Concepts:

a. Heat energy only flows from high temperature to lower

temperature. in order to reach equilibrium (same temperature).

b. Heat can move from one object to another by conduction.

and equilibrium.

a. Unbalanced charges produce a potential for a flow of

electricity. (Static)

b. Unbalanced charges will move toward equilibrium because

like charges repel and opposite charges attract.

a. Magnetism is a force field that acts over a distance.

of electricity and the electric effects of moving magnets.

magnetic or electric effect it produces.

Science Concepts:

a. Moving electrical charges [electricity] produce magnetic

force [magnetism] (i.e., electromagnet, motor).

b. Moving magnets produce electricity (e.g., generator).

of light energy transfer.

Science Concepts:

a. Light travels from an energy source (such as the sun) in

straight lines.

b. When light hits an object, it is absorbed, reflected, transmitted

or some combination.

c. Objects can be seen only when light waves are emitted

from or reflected off the object and enter into the eye.

Science Concepts:

a. Sound is produced by vibrations in materials that set up

wavelike disturbances that spread away from the source.

same survival needs as the organism.

Identifying and drawing individual cells seen through a

microscope and recognizing that most cells are microscopic.

Diagramming the exchange of materials through a cell

membrane.

Science Concepts:

a. All organisms are made of one or more cells. Cells are

the basic unit of structure and function in an organism.

repair

b. All cells are enclosed in a membrane that allows materials

to pass into and out of the cell.

c. Most cells are microscopic.

system.

"specialized" cells help to support the specialized function

of tissue (e.g., muscle cells form muscle tissue, skin cells

form skin tissue, nerve cells form brain tissue).

Science Concepts:

a. In addition to basic functions, cells can carry out

"specialized" functions that support the survival of groups of

cells and the organism.

b. Groups of similar cells connect and work together to form

tissue, groups of tissue form organs, and groups of organs form

systems.

cells take in food and oxygen to produce energy and send

out waste materials.

Science Concepts:

a. In order to obtain energy for all the functions of survival,

individual cells take in food and oxygen to produce

energy and send out waste materials.

from the sun is transferred to organisms as food in order to

sustain life.

Science Concept:

a. Energy within an ecosystem originates from the sun.

Plants use energy from the sun, carbon dioxide, and water,

to make energy rich food and oxygen.

Plants are producers.

b. Animals eat food that plants make combined with oxygen

to produce energy, carbon dioxide, and water. .

Animals are consumers.

local terrestrial environment.

Science Concept:

a. Food webs model the interdependent relationships that

organisms engage in as they acquire their food and energy

needs. Aquatic food webs (fresh water and marine) are

supported by microscopic ocean plants. Land food webs

are supported by land plants.

a. The number of organisms an ecosystem can support

depends on the kinds of organisms present and the availability

of biotic and abiotic resources (i.e., quantity of

light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition).

an ecosystem by…

of situations.

Science Concept:

a. Decomposers, primarily bacteria and fungi, are consumers

that use waste material and dead organisms for food.

a. When the environment changes some plants and animals

with advantageous traits are able to survive; others, with

less-advantageous traits, either move to new locations or

die.

the parents.

Science Concepts:

a. Organisms can reproduce sexually when a female egg

cell is fertilized by a male sperm cell to produce an offspring

that has the traits of both parents.

the body systems (e.g., the effects of exercise on

several interdependent body systems, such as respiratory,

circulatory, digestive, nervous, skeletal systems).

Science Concepts:

a. The digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems are

connected.

- The digestive system processes the food that cells need.

The excretory system disposes of cellular waste and the

intestinal tract removes solid waste.

- The respiratory system exchanges oxygen and carbon

dioxide.

- The circulatory system moves all these substances to and

from the cells.

b. A change in one system can have an effect on other systems.

(e.g., exercise changing heart rate and breathing

rate).

their location in the circulatory system.

Science Concepts:

a. White blood cells engulf invading microbes or produce

antibodies that attack them.

in a timeline highlighting major points in the cycle (e.g.,

one cell grows into a many-celled embryo, composed of

different types of cells--grows into a fetus--baby is born—

grows into a toddler—grows into a child—grows into a

teenager—grows into an adult).

and early embryo development (e.g., sperm + egg combine

to produce a new individual).

Science Concepts:

a. Following fertilization, cell division produces a small

cluster of cells that then differentiate by appearance and

function to form the basic tissues and organs of an embryo,

which eventually grows into an adult organism.

around the sun and the moon around the earth.

Science Concepts:

a. The earth orbits the sun in a near circular path that takes

a year to complete.

b. The moon’s orbit around the earth once in about 28

days changes the portion of the moon visible to us, as a

result of the sun’s reflected light. (phases of the moon).

sun/moon showing true relative size) why the sun and

moon appear to be the same size when seen from the earth.

Science Concepts:

a. From earth the moon and the sun appear to be the same

size, because the moon is so much closer to the earth than

the sun.

b. Telescopes magnify the appearance of some very distant

objects in the sky, including the moon and the planets. The

number of stars that can be seen through telescopes is dramatically

greater than can be seen by the unaided eye.

nature of the layers.

Science Concepts:

a. Rocks come from magma or lava, as well as from sediments

that build up in layers. As all rocks from earth’s

surface weather, form sediments and become buried and

heated (through pressure or direct heat), they may crystallize

into new rock. Eventually those new rocks may be

brought to the surface by forces that drive plate motions

(The Rock Cycle).

b. The earth is layered with a rigid shell, a hot mantle and

a dense metallic core.

changed from one form to another.

rocks from their location in the strata (i.e. which fossils

within a sequence are older).

Science Concepts:

a. Some changes on the earth can be very slow, such as

weathering and mountain-building, and some can be very

fast—such as volcanoes and earthquakes.

b. Earth’s rigid shell is composed of large plates that move

at rates of centimeters a year Major geologic events, such

as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and mountain building,

result from these plate motions.

c. Thousands of layers of sedimentary rock confirm the

long history of the changing surface of the earth and the

changing life forms whose remains are found in successive

layers (land forms—coastlines, mountains, rivers, canyons,

deltas).

water cycle (e.g., evaporation, precipitation, run-off).

Science Concepts:

a. The cycling of water in and out of the atmosphere plays

an important role in determining climatic patterns. Water

evaporates from the surface of the earth, rises and cools,

and falls again to the surface as rain. The water falling on

land collects in rivers and lakes, soil and porous layers of

rock and much of it flows back into the ocean.

an environment due to increased use of resources.

Science Concepts:

soil, water, trees) is beneficial for the environment and for

human use.