Wave Properties
Sound can make matter vibrate, and vibrating matter can make sound.
Electromagnetic Radiation
Objects can be seen if light is available to illuminate them or if they give off their own light.
Some materials allow light to pass through them, others allow only some light through and others block all the light and create a dark shadow on any surface beyond them, where the light cannot reach.
Mirrors can be used to redirect a light beam.
Information Technologies and Instrumentation
People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.
Structure and Function
All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water and air. Plants also have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow.
Growth and Development of Organisms
Adult plants and animals can have young. In many kinds of animals, parents and the offspring themselves engage in behaviors that help the offspring to survive.
Information Processing
Animals have body parts that capture and convey different kinds of information needed for growth and survival. Animals respond to these inputs with behaviors that help them survive. Plants also respond to some external inputs.
Inheritance of Traits
Some young animals are similar to, but not exactly, like their parents. Some young plants are also similar to, but not exactly, like their parents.
Variation of Traits
Individuals of the same kind of plant or animal are recognizable as similar but can also vary in many ways.
The Universe and its Stars
Patterns of the motion of the sun, moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, and predicted.
Earth and the Solar System
Seasonal patterns of sunrise and sunset can be observed, described, and predicted.
Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems
A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering.
Asking questions, making observations, and gathering information are helpful in thinking about problems.
Before beginning to design a solution, it is important to clearly understand the problem.
Developing Possible Solutions
Designs can be conveyed through sketches, drawings, or physical models. These representations are useful in communicating ideas for a problem’s solutions to other people.
Optimizing the Design Solution
Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs.