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EARTH SCIENCE
Course Description
Earth Science is a laboratory course emphasizing the process of scientific investigation through the study of the physical world. The course shall include a discussion of the earth, its materials, processes, history and position in space. The course will introduce the student to the quantitative nature of knowledge and the skills of scientific investigation.
Critical Components
To satisfy the state graduation requirement, an earth science course should deal significantly with:
· Science as a Way of Explaining Observed Reality
· Living Things as a Part of the Physical World
· Science as a Quantitative Language
· Science as a Part of Culture
· Earth Science as Humankind's Accumulation of Knowledge About
the Earth and the Universe Organized into the Following Themes; Organization, Interaction,
Continuity, Change, Diversity, and Limitation.
I. Science as a Way of Explaining Observed Reality
A. Goal:
Students will explain what it is to know something scientifically and be able to contrast scientific knowledge with other kinds of knowledge.
Objectives:
Students will1. Explain that scientific knowledge is based upon human interpretation of observable facts, they will identity other sources of knowledge and explain how such knowledge differs from science, e.g., faith, aesthetics, intuition, etc.
2. Explain the role of verification in science.
3. Distinguish between observation and inference.
4. Identity assumptions when given a statement or conclusion.
B. Goal:
The student will define science as a human enterprise and understand that all scientific knowledge is tentative and subject to critical review and revision.
Objectives:
Students will1. Trace the historical development of our understanding of the physical world.
2. Develop criteria to critically evaluate scientific knowledge.
3. Pose alternative interpretations of observations, physical objects, or events.
4. Pose alternative hypotheses for observations.
5. Cite examples of quantum leaps in scientific knowledge.
6. Define degrees of confidence in science.
C. Goal:
Students will demonstrate the ability to use the skills associated with scientific investigation.
Objectives:
Students will1. Make and record observations of physical objects and events.
2. Group or order physical objects according to an established scheme.
3. Make inferences based on verifiable (repeatable) data
4. Make predictions based on repeated observations.
5. Measure in metric units.
6. Report verbally and in writing observations of recorded data made in the field and in the classroom laboratory.
7. Report verbally and in writing analyses and conclusions of recorded field and laboratory data
8. Formulate questions and hypotheses verbally and in written form.
9. Cite examples of how the ability to understand the physical world is dependent on the instruments used to extend the senses.
II. Living Things as a Part of the Physical World
A. Goal:
Students will understand that the physical world includes the substance of living things.
Objectives:
Students will1. List the most important elements and compounds that make up living matter.
2. Compare and contrast the abundance of certain elements in various physical and biological systems. Trace the cycling of elements between the physical world and living things.
B. Goal:
Students will demonstrate a knowledge of the flow of energy in the universe.
Objectives:
Students will1. List the sources of energy used by living things.
2. Trace the cyclic flow of energy between the physical and living worlds.
3. Describe the limits of scientific knowledge about ultimate sources of energy, matter, and life.
III. Science as a Quantitative Language
A. Goal:
Students will understand that basic physical laws can be expressed as mathematical relationships.
Objectives:
Students will1. Be able to state physical laws as general mathematical equations.
2. Be able to use the concepts of proportionality and inverse relationships.
3. Use and make graphs that express relations between physical quantities, including nonlinear functions.
B. Goal:
The student will have a sense of the rates and scales of physical processes.
Objectives:
Students will1. Express the variability of sizes and rates by the use of scientific notation.
2. Recognize that the metric system is based on powers of ten.
3. illustrate the concepts of micro and macro scales, as applied to time, matter and energy (e.g., speed, mass, volume, distance, etc.).
IV. Science as a Part of Our Culture
A. Goal:
Students will demonstrate the knowledge that we are profoundly influenced by science as a significant part of our culture.
Objectives:
Students will1. Recognize that science has aesthetic as well as practical value.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of how scientific and technological knowledge and advancements influence economic development.
3. Understand that governmental policies affect the direction and progress of science; and that the activities of science affect governmental policies.
4. Realize that the rapid accumulation of scientific and technical knowledge can create serious problems when society accepts new developments without taking time to anticipate the consequences.
5. Have an awareness of the effect of science on art and literature.
6. Be able to discuss how progress in science and technology can influence the social and ethical aspects of human culture.
V. Earth Science as Humankind's Accumulation of Knowledge About the Earth and the Universe Organized into the Following Themes: Organization, Interaction, Continuity, Change, Diversity, and Limitation
A. Goal:
Students will demonstrate a knowledge of conservation of matter and energy and that the physical world appears organized at all levels.
Objectives:
Students will demonstrate a knowledge that1. Matter exists as units which may be classified into hierarchies of organizational levels from atoms to galaxies.
2. Most observable substances exist as aggregates of different forms and kinds of matter.
3. The earth's surface is made up of the atmosphere, the seas and the solid land. The atmosphere has no definite outer boundary.
4. The properties of a material depend on the properties and organization of the constituent parts of the material.
5. The earth's crust is composed of a few basic materials organized in many ways.
6. Many forms of solid matter have a crystalline structure. The shape of a crystal is characteristic of the matter of which it is composed.
7. The earth is differentiated into zones of distinct chemical composition and physical properties (e.g., core, matter, crust, hydrosphere, atmosphere).
8. Matter may be described in terms of particles and energy.
9. The earth and other planets move in the same direction around the sun in roughly the same plane with periodic motion in a balanced system.
10. Energy and matter tend to be concentrated in the same spaces in the universe.
11. The organization of the particles within atoms, molecules and crystals determines the special properties of matter.
12. The mechanics of the solar system may be explained in terms of mathematical quantities.
13. The Milky Way galaxy is a complex of interrelated star systems in varying stages of stellar evolution.
14. The earth's crust is organized into several lithospheric plates that are moving in relation to each other.
B. Goal:
Students will demonstrate a knowledge that there is an interaction between matter, energy, and time.
Objectives:
Students will demonstrate a knowledge that1. Without energy from the sun, the earth would become a cold, dark, lifeless body.
2. Observation of apparent relative motions of other bodies may be used to interpret the motions of the earth.
3. The topography of the earth's crust is the result of the interaction of the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the lithosphere.
4. The atmosphere is always moving. Movement of the atmosphere is caused by gains and losses of heat and the rotation of the earth.
5. Climate is the interaction of numerous factors including, among others, latitude, altitude, land and ocean masses, atmospheric conditions, solar radiation, and continental positioning.
6. The solar system is characterized by systematic and interrelated motions. Any interruption of these systems would be followed by readjustment to bring about a new balance.
7. The observation that all galaxies are moving away from the Milky Way at velocities proportional to their distances from it indicates that all galaxies in the universe may be interrelated.
8. The interaction between plates of the earth's crust causes mountain building, volcanism and earthquakes.
9. The interaction of geologic processes with weathering and other surfaceal processes produces many metallic ore deposits.
C. Goal:
Students will demonstrate a knowledge that there is a constancy of physical processes through time.
Objectives:
Students will demonstrate a knowledge that1. The constancy of physical processes allows us to attempt to interpret the past and predict the future.
2. Motions of the planetary Systems are predictable. The relative positions of the earth, moon and sun may be determined for any future time.
3. Geologic processes occur at varying rates, from extremely slow (cm or mm per year) to catastrophic events.
4. The fossil record provides clues to the sequence of events in the geologic history of the earth. Radiometric and other dating techniques give us indication of absolute age.
5. Composition, structure, orientation, and relationships between strata of rocks can be used to interpret the earth's history.
6. The development of land plants in the Devonian changed weathering rates even though the fundamental processes remained the same.
7. Evidence indicates that although the earth's magnetic and gravitational fields have fluctuated, they have always been present.
8. Although the exact nature of the universe cannot be determined, present evidence indicates the universe is systematic.
9. The plate tectonic processes probably operated in the Precambrian but at faster rates.
D. Goal:
Students will develop a knowledge that the earth, planets, stars, and other bodies of the universe change continuously within themselves and their relationship with other bodies and that the rates and balances of physical processes have changed through time.
Objectives:
Students will demonstrate a knowledge that1. Major changes in the earth's crust usually occur over long periods of time, but occasional violent changes occur in short time intervals.
2. The short term cyclic changes (weather, day and night, seasons) on the earth are primarily due to changes in the relative positions of the earth, moon and sun.
3. Gravity, energy from the sun and energy from the interior of the earth are primary factors causing the earth's surface to change.
4. Many earth changes are repeated periodically in cycles. Other changes occur without regularity and are often irreversible.
5. The sun is constancy undergoing changes which affect the earth and other planets. Some of these changes are periodic.
6. The distribution of matter and energy on earth as well as in the entire universe is constantly changing.
7. The energy emitted by the sun, as well as by other stars, is a product of nuclear changes which are taking place.
8. Stars and galaxies evolve through a series of stages which are irreversible.
9. The fossil record illustrates that life on earth has changed through time.
10. The configuration of the plates has changed and this has produced mountain belts.
11. Sea level is the balance between water stored in glaciers and in the ocean. It has changed throughout geological time.
12. Volcanoes and earthquakes produce changes in the appearance of the earth's surface, but these changes are continually modified by erosion.
E. Goal:
Students will develop a knowledge that there is a diversity of forms of matter and energy that exist in the physical world.
Objectives:
Students will demonstrate a knowledge that1. There is variety in the natural materials of the earth. There are identifiable similarities and differences in these materials due to variation in chemical composition and available energy.
2. There is a diversity in climates and topographical features.
3. Form and composition are indications of the environment in which minerals were formed. Under different conditions the same elements may form different minerals.
4. Many of the naturally occurring chemical elements are found in varying proportions throughout the universe.
5. All stars have some common features, but differ in mass, volume, luminosity, stability, and other features.
6. The galaxies of the universe exhibit a variety of forms, compositions and organizations.
7. The diversity exhibited by living things today and in the fossil records is partially controlled by the movement of continents through time.
8. Basalt, andesite, and rhyolite volcanoes behave differently because the lava has different chemical composition and physical properties.
10. Although seawater has a relatively uniform composition worldwide, this changes through time and in local areas as affected by topography, circulation and climate.
F. Goal:
Students will develop a knowledge that natural phenomena are limited by the fundamental nature of matter and energy and that there is an overall tendency toward random distribution of energy and a corresponding tendency towards equilibrium in an environment.
Objectives:
Students will demonstrate a knowledge that1. The properties of earth materials are determined by the nature of the materials and the conditions under which the materials are formed.
2. The size and shape of landforms is controlled by interaction between forces of uplift and erosion.
3. The period of revolution of the planets is limited directly by their distance from the sun.
4. The earth receives energy from space at nearly the same rate that it loses energy to space.
5. The limitations on the interactions of matter and energy which apply on earth also are assumed to apply throughout the universe.
6. All bodies in the universe react to gravitational attraction. The nature of gravitational fields determines paths of objects moving within them.
7. The luminosity and color of a star are dependent upon its temperature.
8. Observations of the universe are limited by the distances separating stars and galaxies and by the maximum relativistic velocity.
9. Ground water is limited and man's use must not exceed recharge for long time periods.
10. Modern technology is directly dependent upon limited earth resources. Use of earth resources affects quality of life (e.g., logging, mining, air and water pollution).
11. The choice of building sites must consider the geological setting. Some places are inherently unstable.
12. The ability of science to observe the natural world is limited by the tools used. Much of what we assume we know is gained via indirect methods.
13. Man's use of the physical world, especially agriculture, is limited by climate and soil type.
14. Natural systems have a limited capacity to respond to changes like increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, some forms of pollution, soil depletion, etc.
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