STANDARD 5: Science

Standard 5: Science

Mission: .Scientific literacy encompasses the understanding of key concepts and principles of science; familiarity with the natural world for both its diversity and unity; and use of scientific knowledge and scientific ways of thinking for individual and social purposes (American Association for the Advancement of Science, Science for All Americans).

Standard 5.1 Scientific Processes

All students will develop problem-solving, decision-making and inquiry skills, reflected by formulating usable questions and hypotheses, planning experiments, conducting systematic observations, interpreting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and communicating results.

Big Idea: Science is a way of thinking about and investigating the world in which we all live.
5.1 A. Habits of Mind
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- What constitutes evidence? - When do you know you have enough and the right kind of evidence? - How can this result be best justified and explained to others?	- Scientific inquiry involves asking scientifically-oriented questions, collecting evidence, forming explanations, connecting explanations to scientific knowledge and theory, and communicating and justifying explanations.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of data, claims, and arguments
2. Communicate experimental findings to others.
3. Recognize that the results of scientific investigations are seldom exactly the same and that replication is often necessary
4. Recognize that curiosity, skepticism, open-mindedness, and honesty are attributes of scientists.
5.1 B. Inquiry and Problem Solving
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- What makes a question scientific?	- Scientific inquiry involves asking scientifically-oriented questions, collecting evidence, forming explanations, connecting explanations to scientific knowledge and theory, and communicating and justifying explanations.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Identify questions and make predictions that can be addressed by conducting investigations.	Sample Test Items: 1. Explain how you can determine the volume of a solid object, such as a small rock, using only water and either a measuring cup or a graduated cylinder. Use the picture below to answer the question. 2. Predict what will most likely happen (sink or float) to the amber when it is placed in each liquid? Explain the reasons for your hypothesis. 3. A student made this hypothesis. “If most plants did not carry out photosynthesis, then many organisms would die.” Which statement best supports his hypothesis? A. The environment has a limited water supply. B. The environment has a limited mineral supply. * C. The environment has a limited oxygen supply. D. The environment has a limited carbon dioxide supply.
2. Design and conduct investigations incorporating the use of a control.
3. Collect, organize, and interpret the data that result from experiments.
5.1 C. Safety
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- What does Safety First demand of us in each setting? - What rules are general and what are situation-specific?	- Safety first!
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Know when and how to use appropriate safety equipment with all classroom materials.	Sample Test Item: Maria has one glass of pure water and one glass of salt water, which look exactly alike. Maria has decided to boil small samples of water on a hot plate to evaporate the water to identify which sample has salt dissolved in it. Identify the potential hazards of doing so and what Maria should do to keep safe.
2. Understand and practice safety procedures for conducting science investigations.
Standard 5.2 Science and Society .All students will develop an understanding of how people of various cultures have contributed to the advancement of science and technology, and how major discoveries and events have advanced science and technology.
Big Idea: Science is a way of thinking about and investigating the world in which we all live.
5.2 A. Cultural Contributions
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- What do we mean in science when we say that we stand on the shoulders of giants?	- Understanding the development of scientific ideas is essential for building scientific knowledge.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Recognize that scientific theories: · develop over time, · depend on the contributions of many people, and · reflect the social and political climate of their time.	Instructional Focus: As students study science, they should be aware of the historical context that has impacted the development of various scientific theories and that the body of scientific knowledge is constantly changing. It is not expected that students memorize the specific contributions of individual scientists, but rather they will appreciate the context of their work and how it has impacted what we know about the world in which we live. Sample Test Item: Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species is often considered to be the foundation of biology as it offers a unifying logical explanation for the diversity of life. Provide a brief explanation as to why it took Darwin 23 years to publish his work after conceiving his revolutionary ideas. Inappropriate assessment item for this CPI: Who wrote On the Origin of Species?
2. Know that scientists are men and women of many cultures who often work together to solve scientific and technological problems.
3. Describe how different people in different cultures have made and continue to make contributions to science and technology.
5.2 B. Historical Perspectives
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- How do science and technology influence each other?	- Technology evolves at an ever accelerating pace based on the needs and wants of society, and is influenced by cultural, political, and environmental values and constraints.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Describe the impact of major events and people in the history of science and technology, in conjunction with other world events.	Sample Test Items: 1. In the mid-1800s, Louis Pasteur proved the germ theory of disease. The impact of his work saved millions of human lives. Which invention made Pasteur’s work possible? A. telescope * B. microscope C. endoscope D. spectroscope 2. According to the above data table, which country is most likely to become a world leader in energy production? Explain the reasons for your choice.
2. Describe the development and exponential growth of scientific knowledge and technological innovations.
Standard 5.3 Mathematical Applications All students will integrate mathematics as a tool for problem-solving in science, and as a means of expressing and/or modeling scientific theories.
Big Idea: Science cannot be practiced or learned without appreciation of the role of mathematics in discovering and expressing natural laws. Tables, graphs, and equations are alternative ways of representing information or relationships, each with advantages and disadvantages.
5.3 A. Numerical Operations,
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- How do we use mathematics to model objects, events and relationships in science?	- Mathematics is a tool used to model objects, events, and relationships in the natural and designed world.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Express quantities using appropriate number formats, such as: · decimals. · percents. · scientific notation.	Instructional Focus: • Beginning to explore the use of significant figures during the middle grades • Understanding the relationship between a phenomenon and the mathematical symbolic representation rather than memorizing formulas and learning algorithms for solving them • Using ratio and proportion to solve problems • Using common prefixes such as milli-, centi-, and kilo- • Converting within a measurement system (e.g., centimeter to meter) • Measuring with accuracy and precision (e.g., length, volume, mass, temperature and time) • Expressing answers to reflect the degree of precision and accuracy of their measurements • Using appropriate Standard International Units (SI) of measurement for mass (kg), length (m), and time (s) Sample Test Item: You have been walking your little brother to school every day along a busy street. The speed limit is 25 miles per hour (40 kilometers per hour). The cars and trucks appear to be going much faster than that. With only simple tools such as a stop watch, calculator and meter stick available to you, describe one way that you could effectively determine if a car is speeding.
5.3 B. Geometry and Measurement
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- How do we use mathematics to model objects, events and relationships in science?	- Mathematics is a tool used to model objects, events, and relationships in the natural and designed world.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Perform mathematical computations using labeled quantities and express answers in correctly derived units.	Instructional Focus: • Understanding the relationship between a phenomenon and the mathematical symbolic representation rather than memorizing formulas and learning algorithms for solving them • Begin to explore the use of significant figures during the middle grades Inappropriate assessment items for this CPI: 1. Convert 242.2 kg to grams. 2. Pat is 5 feet 4 inches tall. What is the equivalent in SI units?
5.3 C. Patterns and Algebra
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- How do we use mathematics to model objects, events and relationships in science?	- Mathematics is a tool used to model objects, events, and relationships in the natural and designed world.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Express physical relationships in terms of mathematical equations derived from collected data.	Instructional Focus: - Understanding the relationship between a phenomenon and the mathematical symbolic representation rather than memorizing formulas and learning algorithms for solving them
5.3 D. Data Analysis and Probability
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- How do we use mathematics to model objects, events and relationships in science?	- Mathematics is a tool used to model objects, events, and relationships in the natural and designed world.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Represent and describe mathematical relationships among variables using: · graphs. · tables.	Instructional/Assessment Strategies: • Students use graphing calculators and/or spread sheet programs to collect, manage, and report data. Sample Test Items: 1. The graph illustrates the pace that a runner has set for her warm-up routine. Which time interval shows her greatest acceleration? A. 0 to 2 minutes B. 4 to 5 minutes C. 5 to 7 minutes D. 7 to 9 minutes Use the illustration below to answer question 2 2. What is the approximate density of Liquid C? A. Less than 0.97 g/mL B. Greater than 1.23 g/mL C. Greater than 0.97 g/mL but less than 1.09 g/mL D. Greater than 1.09 g/mL but less than 1.23 g/mL 3. These graphs show the rate at which four different disease-producing bacteria grow. Which bacterium would produce disease in the shortest amount of time? * A. Bacterium 1 B. Bacterium 2 C. Bacterium 3 D. Bacterium 4 4. Sonar is a tool that uses sound waves to measure the depth of the ocean. Sonar bounces sound waves off of the sea floor. The time that it takes for the sound to return can be used to determine the depth. a. Based on the data table provided below, which of the ships has steadily been moving into shallower water? Justify your choice. b. How would a new set of data be different than the original data if it ha d been taken in August and a second set of data were taken in January (assume northern hemisphere)? Explain.
2. Analyze experimental data sets using measures of central tendency: · mean. · mode. · median
3. Construct and use a graph of experimental data to draw a line of best fit and identify a linear relationship between variables.
4. Use computer spreadsheets, graphing and database applications to assist in quantitative analysis of data.
Standard 5.4 Nature And Process Of Technology All students will understand the interrelationships between science and technology and develop a conceptual understanding of the nature and process of technology.
Big Idea: The study of science and technology is interrelated, and as such, can assist in solving problems.
5.4 A. Science and Technology
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- How do science and technology influence each other?	- The development of technology and advances in science are mutually supportive in driving innovation in both fields.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Compare and contrast science with technology, illustrating similarities and differences between these two human endeavors.
5.4 B. Nature of Technology
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- Are there ways to circumvent physical and social constraints when using technology?	- Physical constraints and social values play a role in limiting the use of technology to solve problems.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Analyze a product or system to determine the problem it was designed to solve, the design constraints, trade-offs and risks involved in using the product or system, how the product or system might fail, and how the product or system might be improved.	Assessment Strategy: • Select a technological problem and describe the criteria and constraints that are addressed in solving the problem using the design loop.
5.4 C. Technological Design
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- How is the overarching concept of systems related to design and technology?	- Thinking systematically means looking for the relationships between parts.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Recognize how feedback loops are used to control systems.	Assessment Strategies: • Engineer a technological system including: input, process, output and feedback. • Evaluate an existing designed solution with a faulty feedback loop in the control system, and determine how to repair it.
Standard 5.5 Characteristics of Life All students will gain an understanding of the structure, characteristics, and basic needs of organisms and will investigate the diversity of life.
Big Idea: The natural world is defined by organisms and life processes which conform to principles regarding conservation and transformation of matter and energy. Knowledge about life processes can be applied to improving human health and well being.
5.5 A. Matter, Energy, and Organization in Living Systems
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- How is matter transformed, and energy transferred/transformed in living systems?	- All organisms transfer matter and convert energy from one form to another. - Both matter and energy are necessary to build and maintain structures within the organism.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Explain how the products respiration and photosynthesis are recycled.	Instructional/Assessment Strategies: • Creating models that illustrate the codependent nature of respiration and photosynthesis • Depicting and describing the cyclic flow of materials and energy that occurs through the processes of photosynthesis and respiration • Comparing the processes of photosynthesis and respiration in terms of reactants, products and energy transfer • Presenting evidence to support that photosynthesis and respiration are opposite reactions necessary to sustain life Sample Test Items: 1. In a futuristic space station, the 20 human inhabitants are sustained by a large and diverse population of plants. A plant parasite is accidentally introduced and wipes out the plants. As the life support system engineer you need to: • Identify and explain the immediate problems could arise from this loss. • Outline and justify a solution to solve the problem. 2. Jill assembles a closed terrarium that contains moist soil, rocks, green plants, and two grasshoppers. After observing the terrarium for two months, she draws the following conclusion: The terrarium doesn’t have enough consumers. What supporting data may have led Jill to this conclusion? 3. Select an organism from the sample food web (below). Predict what would happen to the food web at the end of 6 months, then 2 years if that organism was eliminated. Justify your prediction.
2. Recognize that complex multicellular organisms, including humans, are composed of and defined by interactions of the following: · cells · tissues · organs · systems	Instructional Focus: • Relating the structure of cells, tissues, organs and systems to their functions in supporting life. Instructional/Assessment Strategies: • Explaining how structure improves functional efficiency • Explaining the relationship between complex organisms and their functional complexity Inappropriate assessment items for this CPI: 1. Sid is observing an unknown cell under a microscope. The presence of which structure would help him to determine if the cell was from a plant or from an animal? A. nucleus *B. cell wall C. ribosomes D. cell membrane 2. Which of the following shows a DNA molecule? These are inappropriate assessment items for this CPI because they are assessing learning targeted for instruction by the end of grade 4.
5.5 B. Diversity and Biological Evolution
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- How are organisms of the same kind different from each other? - How does this help them reproduce and survive?	- Organisms are grouped in taxonomy based upon similarity.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Compare and contrast kinds of organisms using their internal and external characteristics.	Instructional/Assessment Strategies: • Classifying organisms based on internal and external characteristics into currently recognized kingdoms and justify their placement • Given an assemblage of organisms that share a common group, identifying the traits that have been used to place them in this group • Explaining how an increased number of similarities among organisms relate to their shared taxonomic grouping • Explaining why there are more organisms grouped together at the top of the hierarchy than at the bottom • Explaining how genetic similarity parallels structural similarity, and therefore taxonomic placement Sample Test Item: Use the illustrations above to answer the following question. You are the curator of a new exhibit at the New Jersey Museum of Science. You have determined that each of the specimens shown above belong to the same group in a scientific classification system. Give three convincing arguments to support the idea that these organisms are closely related and should therefore be displayed together. Be sure to include structures and physical characteristics of the organisms in your arguments.
2. Discuss how changing environmental conditions can result in evolution or extinction of a species.	Instructional Focus: • Organisms that inherit characteristics advantageous for survival in their physical environment reproduce and increase the proportion of individuals with similar traits in the species. Instructional/Assessment Strategies: • Relating traits of successful organisms in various environmental conditions • Showing evidence that traits are passed from parent to offspring • Explaining how heredity is the mechanism by which organisms evolve or become extinct
3. Recognize that individual organisms with certain traits are more likely to survive and have offspring.	Instructional/Assessment Strategies: • Explaining the concept of natural selection. Sample Test Item: A female bullfrog lays thousands of eggs. Most of the eggs hatch into tadpoles. The tadpoles compete for limited resources within their own ecosystem. A few of these tadpoles become adult bullfrogs. What characteristics might contribute to a tadpole’s survival?
5.5 C. Reproduction and Heredity
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- How does the understanding of manipulation of genetics, reproduction, development and evolution affect the quality of human life?	- The structural and functional characteristics of an organism determine their continued survival over time under changing environmental conditions.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
By the end of Grade 8:
1. Describe how the sorting and recombining of genetic material results in the potential for variation among offspring of humans and other species	Instructional/Assessment Strategies: • Distinguishing between the variation of traits of organisms formed through asexual and sexual reproduction • Describing how variation results when two individual parent cells combine to form a zygo