1. Choose the appropriate tools or instruments and use

relevant safety procedures to complete scientific

investigations.

2. Describe the concepts of sample size and control and

explain how these affect scientific investigations.

3. Read, construct and interpret data in various forms

produced by self and others in both written and oral form

(e.g., tables, charts, maps, graphs, diagrams and symbols).

4. Apply appropriate math skills to interpret quantitative

data (e.g., mean, median and mode).

observation and summary) and explanation (e.g.,

inference, prediction, significance and importance).

and not let bias affect observations.

predictable motions that explain such phenomena as days,

years, seasons, eclipses, tides and moon cycles.

2. Explain that gravitational force is the dominant force

determining motions in the solar system and in particular

keeps the planets in orbit around the sun.

3. Compare the orbits and composition of comets and

asteroids with that of Earth.

4. Describe the effect that asteroids or meteoroids have when

moving through space and sometimes entering planetary

atmospheres (e.g., meteor-"shooting star" and meteorite).

5. Explain that the universe consists of billions of galaxies

that are classified by shape.

6. Explain interstellar distances are measured in light years

(e.g., the nearest star beyond the sun is 4.3 light years

away).

7. Examine the life cycle of a star and predict the next likely

stage of a star.

8. Name and describe tools used to study the universe (e.g.,

telescopes, probes, satellites and spacecraft).

divided into tectonic plates riding on top of the slow

moving currents of magma in the mantle.

10. Explain that most major geological events (e.g.,

earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hot spots and mountain

building) result from plate motion.

11. Use models to analyze the size and shape of Earth, its

surface and its interior (e.g., globes, topographic maps,

satellite images).

12. Explain that some processes involved in the rock cycle are

directly related to thermal energy and forces in the mantle

that drive plate motions.

13. Describe how landforms are created through a

combination of destructive (e.g., weathering and erosion)

and constructive processes (e.g., crustal deformation,

volcanic eruptions and deposition of sediment).

14. Explain that folding, faulting and uplifting can rearrange

the rock layers so the youngest is not always found on top.

15. Illustrate how the three primary types of plate boundaries

(transform, divergent and convergent) cause different

landforms (e.g., mountains, volcanoes and ocean trenches).

object is always judged and described in comparison to a

reference point.

2. Explain that motion describes the change in the position of

an object (characterized by a speed and direction) as time

changes.

3. Explain that an unbalanced force acting on an object

changes that object's speed and/or direction.

5. Demonstrate that vibrations in materials may produce

waves that spread away from the source in all directions

(e.g., earthquake waves and sound waves).

detrimental characteristics through a species and allows

for genetic continuity.

2. Recognize that in sexual reproduction new combinations

of traits are produced which may increase or decrease an

organism's chances for survival.

3. Explain how variations in structure, behavior or

physiology allow some organisms to enhance their

reproductive success and survival in a particular

environment.

4. Explain that diversity of species is developed through

gradual processes over many generations (e.g., fossil

record).

5. Investigate how an organism adapted to a particular

environment may become extinct if the environment, as

shown by the fossil record, changes.

1. Examine how science and technology have advanced

through the contributions of many different people,

cultures and times in history.

2. Examine how choices regarding the use of technology are

influenced by constraints caused by various unavoidable

factors (e.g., geographic location, limited resources, social,

political and economic considerations).

3. Design and build a product or create a solution to a

problem given more than two constraints (e.g., limits of

cost and time for design and production, supply of

materials and environmental effects).

4. Evaluate the overall effectiveness of a product design or

solution.