Our Planet & Us

Learning Targets

LT1 - “I can use evidence to describe the factors that affect gravity and the motion of the planets.”

NGSS Standards in this Learning Target:MS-PS2-4. Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects. Construct and present oral and written arguments supported by empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support or refute an explanation or a model for a phenomenon or a solution to a problem. (MS-PS2-4)MS-ESS1-2. Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.Develop a model to describe unobservable mechanisms. (MS-PS3-2)
Links:SlidesExploring Gravity intro pagesExploring Gravity Student Guide How does Mass affect Gravitational Pull?Further practice:"Experimental Design- What variables affect the force of gravity?"Brainpop: Gravity, Brainpop: Solar systemKhan Academy: GravityLuke Aikins articleLab: Free Fall (only available in class)

LT2 - “I can use a model to describe the scale of objects in our solar system, lunar phases, eclipses, and seasons.”

Slides

NGSS Standards in this Learning Target:MS-ESS1-3. Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system. Analyze and interpret data to determine similarities and differences in findings. (MS-ETS1-3)MS-ESS1-1. Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.Develop and use a model to describe phenomena. (MS-ESS1-1),(MS-ESS1-2)

LT3 - “I can use a model to show the relationship between the amplitude and energy in a wave, and to describe how waves travel.”

NGSS Standards in this Learning Target:MS-PS4-1.Use mathematical representations to describe a simple model for waves that includes how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave.Use mathematical representations to describe and/or support scientific conclusions and design solutions. (MS-PS4-1)LinksSlides Making Spring Waves lab , Student Page PHET: Waves on a String Brainpop: WavesKhan Academy: Intro to WavesWaves Packet (only available in class)ADI Lab 19 (only available in class)
MS-PS4-2.Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.Develop a model to describe unobservable mechanisms. (MS-PS3-2)Links:SlidesBrainpop: Refraction & DiffractionBrainpop: Electromagnetic SpectrumKhan academy laws of reflectionKhan academy refraction in waterPhet: Reflection of LightPhet Inquiry: Bending Light

LT4 - “I can use evidence from rock layers and the fossil record to explain how life on Earth has changed over time.”

NGSS Standards in this Learning Target:MS-LS4-1.Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past. Analyze displays of data to identify linear and nonlinear relationships. (MS-LS4-3)MS-ESS1-4. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth’s 4.6-billion-year-old history.Construct a scientific explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from sources (including the students’ own experiments) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future. (MS-ESS1-4)

LT5 - “I can find similarities in anatomical structures and embryological development across species to explain evolutionary relationships.”

NGSS Standards in this Learning Target:MS-LS4-2.Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships. Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for real-world phenomena, examples, or events. (MS-LS4-2)MS-LS4-3.Analyze displays of pictorial data to compare patterns of similarities in the embryological development across multiple species to identify relationships not evident in the fully formed anatomy.Analyze and interpret data to determine similarities and differences in findings. (MS-LS4-1)

LT6 - “I can use evidence to explain how genetic variation in traits and mutations can increase an organisms’ probability of surviving.”

NGSS Standards in this Learning Target:MS-LS4-4.Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.Construct an explanation that includes qualitative or quantitative relationships between variables that describe phenomena. (MS-LS4-4)MS-LS3-1.Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.MS-LS4-6.Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time. Use mathematical representations to support scientific conclusions and design solutions. (MS-LS4-6)MS-LS4-5.Gather and synthesize information about the technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.

Final - “I can use evidence a)to support how increases in human population impacts the Earth, and b)to compare digital and analog wave technology.”

NGSS Standards in this Learning Target:MS-ESS3-4.Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems. MS-PS4-3.Integrate qualitative scientific and technical information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information than analog signals.Integrate qualitative scientific and technical information in written text with that contained in media and visual displays to clarify claims and findings. (MS-PS4-3)
Links:Slides Digital Vs. Analog Signal ProjectBrainpop: Digital & Analog recordingWebsite: Tech differences-digital and analog signalWebsite: How Stuff Works-difference between analog and digital technologyAnalog vs digital comparison chart

Engineering Learning Targets:

ELT3 - "I can combine the best characteristics from several designs into a new solution"

MS-ETS1-3.Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.

ELT4 - "I can develop a model for testing"

MS-ETS1-4.Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.

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