Unit 5: Stability & Change in Weather & Climate

S6E3. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to recognize the significant role of water in Earth processes.

b. Plan and carry out an investigation to illustrate the role of the sun’s energy in atmospheric conditions that lead to the cycling of water. (Clarification statement: The water cycle should include evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transpiration, infiltration, groundwater, and runoff.)

d. Analyze and interpret data to create graphic representations of the causes and effects of waves, currents, and tides in Earth’s systems.

S6E4. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how the sun, land, and water affect climate and weather.

a. Analyze and interpret data to compare and contrast the composition of Earth’s atmospheric layers (including the ozone layer) and greenhouse gases. (Clarification statement: Earth’s atmospheric layers include the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.)

b. Plan and carry out an investigation to demonstrate how energy from the sun transfers heat to air, land and water at different rates.(Clarification statement: Heat transfer should include the processes of conduction, convection, and radiation.)

c. Develop a model demonstrating the interaction between unequal heating and the rotation of the Earth that causes local and global wind systems.

d. Construct an explanation of the relationship between air pressure, weather fronts, and air masses and meteorological events such as tornados and thunderstorms.

e. Analyze and interpret weather data to explain the effects of moisture evaporating from the ocean on weather patterns and weather events such as hurricanes.

S6E5. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to show how Earth’s surface is formed.    

g. Construct an argument using maps and data collected to support a claim of how fossils show evidence of the changing surface and climate of the Earth.

S6E6. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the uses and conservation of various natural resources and how they impact the Earth.

b. Design and evaluate solutions for sustaining the quality and supply of natural resources such as water, soil, and air.

c. Construct an argument evaluating contributions to the rise in global temperatures over the past century. (Clarification statement: Tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures, and atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, should be used as sources of evidence.)