Internal Events Learning Goals

Strand 5: Processes and Interactions of the Earth's Systems (Geosphere, Atmosphere, and Hydrosphere)

2. Earth's Systems (geosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere) interact with one another as they undergo change by common processes 

Concept B: There are internal processes and sources of energy within the geosphere that cause changes in Earth‘s crustal plates

a. Identify events (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions) and the landforms created by them on the Earth's surface that occur at different plate boundaries

a. Explain convection currents are the result of uneven heating inside the mantle resulting in the melting of rock materials, convection of magma, eruption/flow of magma, and movement of crustal plates

b. Explain how rock layers are affected by the folding, breaking, and uplifting of rock layers due to plate motion

c. Describe how the movement of crustal plates can cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that can result in mountain building and trench formation

Concept D: Changes in the Earth over time can be inferred through rock and fossil evidence

a. Explain the types of fossils and the processes by which they are formed (i.e., replacement, mold and cast, preservation, trace)

b. Use fossil evidence to make inferences about changes on Earth and in its environment (i.e., superposition of rock layers, similarities between fossils in different geographical locations, fossils of seashells indicate the area was once underwater)

a. Describe the methods used to estimate geologic time and the age of the Earth (e.g., techniques used to date rocks and rock layers, presence of fossils)

b. Use rock and fossil evidence to make inferences about the age, history, and changing life forms and environment of the Earth (i.e., changes in successive layers of sedimentary rock and the fossils contained within them, similarities between fossils in different geographic locations, similarities between fossils and organisms present today, fossils of organisms indicating changes in climate, fossils of extinct organisms)

Strand 7: Scientific Inquiry

1. Science understanding is developed through the use of science process skills, scientific knowledge, scientific investigation, reasoning, and critical thinking

 Concept A: Scientific inquiry includes the ability of students to formulate a testable question and explanation, and to select appropriate investigative methods in order to obtain evidence relevant to the explanation

a. Formulate testable questions and hypotheses

b. Recognize the importance of the independent variable, dependent variables, control of constants, and multiple trials to the design of a valid experiment

c. Design and conduct a valid experiment

d. Evaluate the design of an experiment and make suggestions for reasonable improvements or extensions of an experiment

e. Recognize that different kinds of questions suggest different kinds of scientific investigations (e.g., some involve observing and describing objects organisms, or events; some involve collecting specimens; some involve experiments; some involve making observations in nature; some involve discovery of new objects and phenomena; some involve making models)

f. Acknowledge there is no fixed procedure called “the scientific method”, but some investigations involve systematic observations, carefully collected and relevant evidence, logical reasoning, and imagination in developing hypotheses and other explanations

Concept B: Scientific inquiry relies upon gathering evidence from qualitative and quantitative observations

a. Make qualitative and quantitative observations using the five senses

b. Determine the appropriate tools and techniques to collect data

c. Use a variety of tools and equipment to gather data (e.g., microscopes, thermometers, analog and digital meters, computers, spring scales,

balances, metric rulers, graduated cylinders, stopwatches)

d. Measure length to the nearest millimeter, mass to the nearest gram, volume to the nearest milliliter, force (weight) to the nearest Newton , temperature to the nearest degree Celsius, time to the nearest second

e. Compare amounts/measurements

f. Judge whether measurements and computation of quantities are reasonable

g. Calculate the range and average/mean of a set of data

Concept C: Evidence is used to formulate explanations

a. Use quantitative and qualitative data as support for reasonable explanations (conclusions)

b. Use data as support for observed patterns and relationships, and to make predictions to be tested

c. Recognize the possible effects of errors in observations, measurements, and calculations on the formulation of explanations (conclusions)

Concept D: Scientific inquiry includes evaluation of explanations (hypotheses, laws, theories) in light of scientific principles (understandings)

a. Evaluate the reasonableness of an explanation (conclusion)

b. Analyze whether evidence (data) and scientific principles support proposed explanations (hypotheses, laws, theories)

Concept E: The nature of science relies upon communication of results and justification of explanations

a. Communicate the procedures and results of investigations and explanations through:

_ oral presentations

_ drawings and maps

_ data tables (allowing for the recording and analysis of data relevant to the experiment, such as independent and dependent variables, multiple trials, beginning and ending times or temperatures, derived quantities)

_ graphs (bar, single line, pictograph)

_ equations and writings

Strand 8: Impact of Science, Technology and Human Activity

1. The nature of technology can advance, and is advanced by, science as it seeks to apply scientific knowledge in ways that meet human needs 

Concept A: Designed objects are used to do things better or more easily and to do some things that could not otherwise be done at all

a. Explain how technological improvements, such as those developed for use in space exploration, the military, or medicine, have led to the invention of new products that may improve lives here on Earth (e.g., new materials, freeze-dried foods, infrared goggles, Velcro, satellite imagery, robotics, lasers)

Concept B: Advances in technology often result in improved data collection and an increase in scientific information

a. Identify the link between technological developments and the scientific discoveries made possible through their development (e.g., Hubble telescope and stellar evolution, composition and structure of the universe; the electron microscope and cell organelles; sonar and the composition of the Earth; manned and unmanned space missions and space exploration; Doppler radar and weather conditions; MRI and CAT-scans and brain activity)

Concept C: Technological solutions to problems often have drawbacks as well as benefits

a. Describe how technological solutions to problems (e.g., storm water runoff, fiber optics, windmills, efficient car design, electronic trains without conductors, sonar, robotics, Hubble telescope) can have both benefits and drawbacks (e.g., design constraints, unintended consequences, risks) (Assess Locally)

2. Historical and cultural perspectives of scientific explanations help to improve understanding of the nature of science and how science knowledge and technology evolve over time

Concept A: People of different gender and ethnicity have contributed to scientific discoveries and the invention of technological innovations

a. Describe how the contributions of scientists and inventors, representing different cultures, races, and gender, have contributed to science, technology and human activity (e.g., George Washington Carver, Thomas Edison, Thomas Jefferson, Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, Galileo, Albert Einstein, Mae Jemison, Edwin Hubble, Charles Darwin, Jonas Salk, Louis Pasteur, Jane Goodall, Tom Akers, John Wesley Powell, Rachel Carson) (Assess Locally)

Concept B: Scientific theories are developed based on the body of knowledge that exists at any particular time and must be rigorously questioned and tested for validity

a. Recognize the difficulty science innovators experience as they attempt to break through accepted ideas (hypotheses, laws, theories) of their time to reach conclusions

that may lead to changes in those ideas and serve to advance scientific understanding (e.g., Darwin , Copernicus, Newton )

b. Recognize explanations have changed over time as a result of new evidence

3. Science and technology affect, and are affected by, society

Concept B: Social, political, economic, ethical and environmental factors strongly influence, and are influenced by, the direction of progress of science and technology

a. Describe ways in which science and society influence one another (e.g., scientific knowledge and the procedures used by scientists influence the way many individuals in society think about themselves, others, and the environment; societal challenges often inspire questions for scientific research; social priorities often influence research priorities through the availability of funding for research)

b. Identify and evaluate the physical, social, economic, and/or environmental problems that may be overcome using science and technology (e.g., the need for alternative fuels, human travel in space, AIDS)

What understandings are desired?

What knowledge, skills, vocabulary will students acquire as a result of this unit?

Which geologic events occur at each type of plate boundary?

Convergent w/o subduction = Mountain Building , Convergent w/ subduction = Volcanoes, Transform Boundary = Earthquakes, Divergent = Seafloor Spreading

What type of landform is created at each type of plate boundary?

Convergent w/o subduction = Mountains, Convergent w/ subduction = Volcanoes/Trenches, Transform Boundary = Surface Fault, Divergent = Rift Valley/Mid-Ocean Ridge

What drives crustal plate movement?

Convection Currents

Describe the convection currents inside the mantle.

Magma is heated closer to the core, less dense material rises to the surface. Drags lithosphere along, then cools and sinks as it becomes more dense.

What causes the uneven heating inside the mantle?

Uneven heating within the Earth causes the layers deepest to be hottest, while the outer layers are coolest.

How are rock layers affected by plate motion?

Folding, breaking, and uplifting of rock layers.

Describe the types of fossils.

Replacement (Petrified Remains, Molds/Casts), Preservation (Carbon Films, Original Remains), Trace Fossils, Index Fossils.

Explain the processes by which the various types of fossils are formed.

Petrified = Minerals replace original materials as they decompose, Molds = Organism decomposes within sediment leaving its shape behind as a hole, Casts = Sediment fills in the mold to make a rock copy of the shape, Carbon Films = Layers of sediment crush the fluids out of the dead organism leaving a thin layer of carbon behind, Original Remains = The original material within an organism is preserved (in amber/ice/peat/tar), Trace = Evidence of organism without the body (footprints, feces, etc.), Index Fossils are any of the above that can be used to indicate a when the organism existed.

What can fossils tell us about changes in Earth's history?

Sudden changes in type of organisms tell about catastrophes, climate, and tectonic activity/plate movement.

What can a fossil tell us about the organism and its environment?

Adaptations & structure tell us what the habitat was like (lived in ocean, forest, etc.).

Explain how superposition gives clues of a fossil's age.

Top layers are youngest, bottom are oldest.

Describe the methods used to estimate geologic time and the age of the Earth.

Superposition, index fossils, radioactive breakdown (half life).

Explain why there are similarities between fossils and organisms present today.

Modern organisms adapted from common ancestors or from the organisms preserved as fossils.

Skills

Measure volume using displacement methods, Massing objects to the nearest gram, Measuring temperature,

Utilize a graphic organizer, Compare and contrast concepts, Data collection

Data analysis and drawing conclusions, Make observations and inferences, Utilize and implement technology,

Organize data in meaningful ways, Communicate results, Define the problem,

Determine cause and effect, Construct graphs, Interpret graphs

Vocabulary

Superposition, Seafloor Spreading, Subduction, Plate Boundary, Pangaea, Crustal Plate, Plate Tectonics, Continental Drift, Convection Current, Mantle, Lithosphere, Asthenosphere

Fault, Earthquake, Volcano, Convergent Boundary, Divergent Boundary, Geosphere, Magma, Mid-Ocean Ridge, Rift Valley, Geologic Time, Fossil, Absolute Dating, Relative Dating

Half Life, Index Fossil, Original Remains, Petrified Remains, Molds/Casts, Replacement, Preservation, Trace Fossil, Sedimentary Rock, Uniformitarianism, Extinct