Alignment
of Conceptual Chemistry with
Grades
Four - Nine
Grade
Four
Earth and Space Sciences
Earth Systems
.Explain that
air surrounds us, takes up space, moves around us as wind, and may be measured
using barometric pressure.
Identify how water exists in the air in
different forms (e.g., in clouds, fog, rain, snow and hail).
Investigate how
water changes from one state to another (e.g., freezing, melting, condensation
and evaporation).
Physical Sciences
Nature of Matter
Identify
characteristics of a simple physical change (e.g., heating or cooling can
change water from one state to another and the change is reversible).
Identify
characteristics of a simple chemical change. When a new material is made by
combining two or more materials, it has chemical properties that are different
from the original materials (e.g., burning paper, vinegar and baking soda).
Describe objects
by the properties of the materials from which they are made and that these
properties can be used to separate or sort a group of objects (e.g., paper,
glass, plastic and metal).
Explain that matter has different states
(e.g., solid, liquid and gas) and that each state has distinct physical
properties.
Nature of Energy
Compare ways the
temperature of an object can be changed (e.g., rubbing, heating and bending of
metal).
Science and Technology
Understanding Technology
Explain how
technology from different areas (e.g., transportation, communication,
nutrition, healthcare, agriculture, entertainment and manufacturing) has
improved human lives.
Investigate how
technology and inventions change to meet peoples' needs and wants.
Abilities to Do Technological Design
Describe, illustrate and evaluate the design process used to solve
a problem.
Doing Scientific Inquiry
Select the
appropriate tools and use relevant safety procedures to measure and record
length, weight, volume, temperature and area in metric and English units.
Analyze a series
of events and/or simple daily or seasonal cycles, describe the patterns and
infer the next likely occurrence.
Develop, design
and conduct safe, simple investigations or experiments to answer questions.
Explain the importance of keeping conditions the same in
an experiment.
Describe how
comparisons may not be fair when some conditions are not kept the same between
experiments.
Formulate
instructions and communicate data in a manner that allows others to understand
and repeat an investigation or experiment.
Scientific Ways of Knowing
Nature of Science
Differentiate fact from opinion and explain
that scientists do not rely on claims or conclusions unless they are backed by
observations that can be confirmed.
Record the
results and data from an investigation and make a reasonable explanation.
Explain
discrepancies in an investigation using evidence to support findings.
Ethical Practice
Explain why
keeping records of observations and investigations is important.
Grade
Five
Earth and Space Sciences
Earth Systems
Explain how the
supply of many non-renewable resources is limited and can be extended through
reducing, reusing and recycling but cannot be extended indefinitely.
Describe the
role of producers in the transfer of energy entering ecosystems as sunlight to
chemical energy through photosynthesis.
Life Sciences
Diversity and Interdependence of Life
Describe the
role of producers in the transfer of energy entering ecosystems as sunlight to
chemical energy through photosynthesis.
Explain how
almost all kinds of animals' food can be traced back to plants.
Trace the
organization of simple food chains and food webs (e.g., producers, herbivores,
carnivores, omnivores and decomposers).
Physical Sciences
Nature of Energy
Define temperature as the measure of thermal energy and describe
the way it is measured.
Trace how thermal energy can transfer from one object to another
by conduction.
Describe that electrical current in a circuit can produce thermal
energy, light, sound and/or magnetic forces.
Science and Technology
Understanding Technology
Investigate
positive and negative impacts of human activity and technology on the
environment.
Abilities to Do Technological Design
Revise an existing design used to solve a problem based
on peer review.
Explain how the solution to one problem may create other
problems.
Doing Scientific Inquiry
Select and
safely use the appropriate tools to collect data when conducting investigations
and communicating findings to others (e.g., thermometers, timers, balances,
spring scales, magnifiers, microscopes and other appropriate tools).
Evaluate
observations and measurements made by other people and identify reasons for any
discrepancies.
Use evidence and
observations to explain and communicate the results of investigations.
Identify one or two variables in a simple experiment.
Identify
potential hazards and/or precautions involved in an investigation.
Explain why
results of an experiment are sometimes different (e.g., because of unexpected
differences in what is being investigated, unrealized differences in the
methods used or in the circumstances in which the investigation was carried
out, and because of errors in observations).
Scientific Ways of Knowing
Nature of Science
Summarize how
conclusions and ideas change as new knowledge is gained.
Develop
descriptions, explanations and models using evidence to defend/support
findings.
Explain why an
experiment must be repeated by different people or at different times or places
and yield consistent results before the results are accepted.
Identify how
scientists use different kinds of ongoing investigations depending on the
questions they are trying to answer (e.g., observations of things or events in
nature, data collection and controlled experiments).
Ethical Practice
Keep records of
investigations and observations that are understandable weeks or months later.
Science and Society
Identify a
variety of scientific and technological work that people of all ages,
backgrounds and groups perform.
Grade
Six
Earth and Space Sciences
Earth Systems
Identify minerals by their
characteristic properties.
Physical Sciences
Nature of Matter
Explain that
equal volumes of different substances usually have different masses.
Describe that in
a chemical change new substances are formed with different properties than the
original substance (e.g., rusting, burning).
Describe that in a physical change (e.g.,
state, shape and size) the chemical properties of a substance remain unchanged.
Describe that chemical and physical changes
occur all around us (e.g., in the human body, cooking and industry).
Nature of Energy
Explain that the
energy found in nonrenewable resources such as fossil fuels (e.g., oil, coal
and natural gas) originally came from the sun and may renew slowly over
millions of years.
Explain that energy derived from renewable
resources such as wind and water is assumed to be available indefinitely.
Describe how
renewable and nonrenewable energy resources can be managed (e.g., fossil fuels,
trees and water).
Science and Technology
Understanding Technology
Explain how technology influences the quality of life.
Explain how decisions
about the use of products and systems can result in desirable or undesirable
consequences (e.g., social and environmental).
Doing Scientific Inquiry
Explain that
there are not fixed procedures for guiding scientific investigations; however,
the nature of an investigation determines the procedures needed.
Choose the
appropriate tools or instruments and use relevant safety procedures to complete
scientific investigations.
Distinguish between observation and inference.
Explain that a
single example can never prove that something is always correct, but sometimes
a single example can disprove something.
Scientific Ways of Knowing
Nature of Science
Identify that hypotheses are valuable even when they are not
supported.
Ethical Practice
Describe why it
is important to keep clear, thorough and accurate records.
Science and Society
Identify ways
scientific thinking is helpful in a variety of everyday settings.
Describe how the
pursuit of scientific knowledge is beneficial for any career and for daily
life.
Research how men
and women of all countries and cultures have contributed to the development of
science.
Grade
Seven
Earth and Space Sciences
Earth Systems
Explain that
Earth's capacity to absorb and recycle materials naturally (e.g., smoke, smog
and sewage) can change the environmental quality depending on the length of
time involved (e.g. global warming).
Life Sciences
Diversity and
Interdependence of Life
Explain how the
number of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on adequate biotic (living)
resources (e.g., plants, animals) and abiotic (non-living) resources (e.g.,
light, water and soil).
Physical Sciences
Nature of Matter
Investigate how
matter can change forms but the total amount of matter remains constant.
Nature of Energy
Describe how an
object can have potential energy due to its position or chemical composition
and can have kinetic energy due to its motion.
Identify
different forms of energy (e.g., electrical, mechanical, chemical, thermal,
nuclear, radiant and acoustic).
Explain how
energy can change forms but the total amount of energy remains constant.
Trace energy transformation in a simple closed system
(e.g., a flashlight).
Science and Technology
Understanding Technology
Explain how
needs, attitudes and values influence the direction of technological
development in various cultures.
Describe how
decisions to develop and use technologies often put environmental and economic
concerns in direct competition with each other.
Recognize that science can only answer some
questions and technology can only solve some human problems.
Doing Scientific Inquiry
Explain that
variables and controls can affect the results of an investigation and that
ideally one variable should be tested at a time; however it is not always
possible to control all variables.
Identify simple independent and dependent variables.
Formulate and
identify questions to guide scientific investigations that connect to science
concepts and can be answered through scientific investigations.
Choose the
appropriate tools and instruments and use relevant safety procedures to
complete scientific investigations.
Analyze
alternative scientific explanations and predictions and recognize that there
may be more than one good way to interpret a given set of data.
Identify faulty
reasoning and statements that go beyond the evidence or misinterpret the
evidence.
Use graphs,
tables and charts to study physical phenomena and infer mathematical
relationships between variables (e.g., speed and density).
Scientific Ways of Knowing
Ethical Practice
Show that the
reproducibility of results is essential to reduce bias in scientific
investigations.
Describe how repetition of an experiment may reduce bias.
Science and Society
Describe how the
work of science requires a variety of human abilities and qualities that are
helpful in daily life (e.g., reasoning, creativity, skepticism and openness).
Grade
Eight
Earth and Space Sciences
Earth Systems
Explain that some processes involved in the
rock cycle are directly related to thermal energy and forces in the mantle that
drive plate motions.
Science and Technology
Understanding Technology
Examine how
science and technology have advanced through the contributions of many
different people, cultures and times in history.
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).
Doing Scientific Inquiry
Choose the
appropriate tools or instruments and use relevant safety procedures to complete
scientific investigations.
Describe the
concepts of sample size and control and explain how these affect scientific
investigations.
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).
Apply
appropriate math skills to interpret quantitative data (e.g., mean, median and
mode).
Scientific Ways of Knowing
Nature of Science
Identify the
difference between description (e.g., observation and summary) and explanation
(e.g., inference, prediction, significance and importance).
Ethical Practice
Explain why it
is important to examine data objectively and not let bias affect observations.
Grade Nine
Physical Sciences
Nature of Matter
Recognize that
all atoms of the same element contain the same number of protons, and elements
with the same number of protons may or may not have the same mass. Those with
different masses (different numbers of neutrons) are called isotopes.
Illustrate
that atoms with the same number of positively charged protons and negatively
charged electrons are electrically neutral.
Describe
radioactive substances as unstable nuclei that undergo random spontaneous
nuclear decay emitting particles and/or high energy wavelike radiation.
Show that when
elements are listed in order according to the number of protons (called the
atomic number), the repeating patterns of physical and chemical properties
identify families of elements. Recognize that the periodic table was formed as
a result of the repeating pattern of electron configurations.
Describe how
ions are formed when an atom or a group of atoms acquire an unbalanced charge
by gaining or losing one or more electrons.
Explain that
the electric force between the nucleus and the electrons hold an atom together.
Relate that on a larger scale, electric forces hold solid and liquid materials
together (e.g., salt crystals and water).
Show how atoms
may be bonded together by losing, gaining or sharing electrons and that in a
chemical reaction, the number, type of atoms and total mass must be the same
before and after the reaction (e.g., writing correct chemical formulas and
writing balanced chemical equations).
Demonstrate
that the pH scale (0-14) is used to measure acidity and classify substances or
solutions as acidic, basic, or neutral.
Investigate
the properties of pure substances and mixtures (e.g., density, conductivity,
hardness, properties of alloys, superconductors and semiconductors).
Nature of Energy
Explain how
thermal energy exists in the random motion and vibrations of atoms and
molecules. Recognize that the higher the temperature, the greater the average
atomic or molecular motion, and during changes of state the temperature remains
constant.
Summarize how
nuclear reactions convert a small amount of matter into a large amount of
energy. (Fission involves the splitting of a large nucleus into smaller nuclei;
fusion is the joining of two small nuclei into a larger nucleus at extremely
high energies.)
Trace the
transformations of energy within a system (e.g., chemical to electrical to
mechanical) and recognize that energy is conserved. Show that these
transformations involve the release of some thermal energy.
Illustrate
that chemical reactions are either endothermic or exothermic (e.g., cold packs,
hot packs and the burning of fossil fuels).
Demonstrate
that thermal energy can be transferred by conduction, convection or radiation
(e.g., through materials by the collision of particles, moving air masses or
across empty space by forms of electromagnetic radiation).
Historical Perspectives and Scientific
Revolutions
Use historical
examples to explain how new ideas are limited by the context in which they are
conceived; are often initially rejected by the scientific establishment;
sometimes spring from unexpected findings; and usually grow slowly through
contributions from many different investigators (e.g., atomic theory, quantum
theory and Newtonian mechanics).
Describe
advances and issues in physical science that have important, long-lasting
effects on science and society (e.g., atomic theory, quantum theory, Newtonian
mechanics, nuclear energy, nanotechnology, plastics, ceramics and communication
technology).
Science and Technology
Understanding Technology
Describe means
of comparing the benefits with the risks of technology and how science can
inform public policy.
Abilities to do Technological Design
Identify a
problem or need, propose designs and choose among alternative solutions for the
problem.
Explain why a
design should be continually assessed and the ideas of the design should be
tested, adapted and refined.
Scientific Inquiry
Doing Scientific Inquiry
Distinguish
between observations and inferences given a scientific situation.
Research and
apply appropriate safety precautions when designing and conducting scientific
investigations (e.g., OSHA, Material Safety Data Sheets [MSDS], eyewash,
goggles and ventilation).
Construct,
interpret and apply physical and conceptual models that represent or explain
systems, objects, events or concepts.
Decide what
degree of precision based on the data is adequate and round off the results of
calculator operations to the proper number of significant figures to reasonably
reflect those of the inputs.
Develop oral
and written presentations using clear language, accurate data, appropriate
graphs, tables, maps and available technology.
Draw logical
conclusions based on scientific knowledge and evidence from investigations.
Scientific Ways of Knowing
Nature of Science
Comprehend
that many scientific investigations require the contributions of women and men
from different disciplines in and out of science. These people study different
topics, use different techniques and have different standards of evidence but
share a common purpose - to better understand a portion of our universe.
Illustrate
that the methods and procedures used to obtain evidence must be clearly
reported to enhance opportunities for further investigations.
Demonstrate that
reliable scientific evidence improves the ability of scientists to offer
accurate predictions.
Ethical Practices
Explain how
support of ethical practices in science (e.g. individual observations and
confirmations, accurate reporting, peer review and publication) are required to
reduce bias.
Scientific Theories
Justify that
scientific theories are explanations of large bodies of information and/or
observations that withstand repeated testing.
Explain that
inquiry fuels observation and experimentation that produce data that are the
foundation of scientific disciplines. Theories are explanations of these data.
Recognize that
scientific knowledge and explanations have changed over time, almost always
building on earlier knowledge.
Science and Society
Illustrate
that much can be learned about the internal workings of science and the nature
of science from the study of scientists, their daily work and their efforts to
advance scientific knowledge in their area of study.
Investigate
how the knowledge, skills and interests learned in science classes apply to the
careers students plan to pursue.