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NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS
Unifying Concepts and Processes
Systems, order, and organization
>The natural and designed world is complex; it is too large and
complicated
to investigate and comprehend all at once. Scientists and students learn
to
define small portions for the convenience of investigation. The units of
investigation can be referred to as "systems." A system is an
organized group
of related objects or components that form a whole.
Evidence, models, and explanation
>Evidence consists of observations and data on which to base
scientific
explanations. Using evidence to understand interactions allows individuals
to
predict changes in natural and designed systems.
>Models are tentative schemes or structures that correspond to real
objects,
events, or classes of events, and that have explanatory power.
>Scientific explanations incorporate existing scientific knowledge and
new
evidence from observations, experiments, or models into internally
consistent, logical statements. Different terms, such as
"hypothesis,"
"model," "law," "principle,"
"theory," and "paradigm" are used to describe
various types of scientific explanations.
Constancy, change, and measurement
>Interactions within and among systems result in change. Changes vary
in
rate, scale, and pattern, including trends and cycles.
>Scale includes understanding that different characteristics,
properties, or
relationships within a system might change as its dimensions are increased
or
decreased
Science as Inquiry
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
>Ask a question about an object.
>Plan and conduct a simple investigation.
>Use data to construct a reasonable explanation.
>Communicate investigations and explanations.
Physical Science
Sound, Light, Heat, and Magnetism
>Electricity in circuits can produce light, heat, sound, and magnetic
effects. Electrical circuits require a complete loop through which an
electrical current can pass.
Earth and Space Science
Properties of earth materials
>Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water, and the gases of the
atmosphere. The varied materials have different physical and chemical
properties, which make them useful in different ways. Earth materials
provide
many of the resources that humans use.
Science and Technology
Abilities of Technological Design
>Communicate a solution.
Understanding about Science and Technology
>People have always had problems and invented tools and techniques
(ways of
doing something) to solve problems. Trying to determine the effects of
solutions helps people avoid some new problems.
>Tools help scientists make better observations, measurements, and
equipment
for investigations. They help scientists see, measure, and do things that
they could not otherwise see, measure, and do.
National
Mathematics Standards (NCTM)
Geometry
Use visualization, spatial reasoning, and geometric modeling to solve
problems
>Identify
and build a three-dimensional object from two-dimensional
representations of that object;
Measurement
Understand measurable Attributes of objects and the units, systems, and
processes of measurement
>understand
such attributes as length, area, weight, volume, and size of
angle and select the appropriate type of unit for measuring each
attribute;
>understand
the need for measuring with standard units and become familiar
with standard units in the customary and metric systems
Probability
Understand
and apply basic concepts of probability
>predict
the probability of outcomes of simple experiments and test the
predictions
Representation
>use representations to model and interpret physical, social, and
mathematical phenomena.
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