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).
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Standard 5.7 Physics All students will gain an understanding of natural laws as they apply to motion, forces, and energy transformations.
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Big Idea: The flow of energy drives processes of change in all biological, chemical, physical and geological systems. The conservation of energy is a law that can be used to analyze and build understandings of diverse physical and biological systems. |
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5.7 A. Motion and Forces |
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Essential Questions |
Enduring Understandings |
| - How would the universe be different if one or more of the laws of motion were suspended? | -The same basic rules govern the motion of all bodies, from planets and stars to birds and billiard balls. |
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Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators |
Comments and Examples |
| By the end of Grade 8: | |
| 1. Use quantitative data to show that when more than one force acts on an object at the same time, the forces can reinforce or cancel each other producing a net (unbalanced) force that will change speed and/or direction of the object. |
Instructional/Assessment Strategies: • Using levers, pulleys, and laboratory masses to generate and measure an unbalanced force • Using additional masses to balance and measure that force |
| 2. Recognize that every object exerts a gravitational force on every other object, and that the force depends on how much mass the objects have and how far apart they are. |
Sample Test Items: 1. What, if any, impact would there be on tides if the Moon’s orbit was 700,000 km in diameter rather than 384,400 km? Explain. 2. Using a stick, Joshua is trying to hit a ball into a hole 100 meters away. Which set of conditions will increase Joshua’s chance of getting the ball into the hole? A. having a ball with a large mass and a stick with a large mass B. having a ball with a small mass and a stick with a small mass * C. having a ball with a small mass and using a large force on the stick D. having a ball with a large mass and using a small force on the stick 3. After more than 30 years, the
spacecraft Pioneer 10 continues to travel through space, beyond the
solar system. Which statement explains why this spacecraft continues
to move? |
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5.7 B. Energy Transformations |
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Essential Questions |
Enduring Understandings |
| - How do we know that things have energy? |
- Energy takes many forms. - These forms can be grouped into types of energy that are associated with the motion of mass (kinetic energy), and types of energy associated with the position of mass and with energy fields (potential energy). |
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Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators |
Comments and Examples |
| By the end of Grade 8: | |
| 1. Identify that the sun is a major source of the Earth's energy and that solar energy includes visible, infrared and, ultraviolet radiation. |
Instructional/Assessment Strategies: • At 8:32 am, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted. The column of steam and ash reached about 80,000 feet in less than 15 minutes, spread across US in 3 days, and circled Earth in 15 days. In all, approximately 1.4 billion cubic yards of ash were released into the atmosphere. What was the likely impact of this event on the weather in New Jersey? Explain. |
| 2. Describe the nature of various forms of energy, including heat, light, sound, chemical, mechanical, and electrical and trace energy transformations from one form to another. |
Sample Test Items: 1. Electrical energy is used to power an incandescent lamp. How does the amount of electrical energy used compare to amount of light energy produced? The amount of electrical energy used is: * A. more than the amount of light energy produced B. less than the amount of light energy produced C. the same as the amount of light energy produced
2. As a river flows past a turbine in a
hydroelectric plant, the kinetic energy of the river changes to: |
| 3. Describe how heat can be conducted through materials or transferred across space by radiation and know that if the material is a fluid, convection currents may aid the transfer of heat. |
Instructional/Assessment Strategies: • Conducting an energy audit of the classroom and identifying the causes for deficiencies with assistance from the local utility company • Recommending cost effective solutions to reduce the amount of energy needed to maintain a constant temperature in your classroom based on the audit findings • Evaluating and selecting the most efficient commercially available heating system for a specific geographic area and justifying the selection |
| 4. Show that light is reflected, refracted, or absorbed when it interacts with matter and that colors may appear as a result of this interaction. |
Sample Test Item: You have decided to participate in a wilderness survival course in the Pine Barrens. One of the skills that you are developing is spear fishing. Your instructor has placed practice targets 2 meters away from you in one meter of clear calm water. The target’s actual size is 0.5 m across. Using the concept of refraction, explain why it may be difficult to hit the underwater practice target from the shore. |
Link to Standard 5.7 Grade 5-6
Link to Standard 5.7 Grade High School
