Unit 9

MS-ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes

• Global movements of water and its changes in form are propelled by sunlight and gravity. (MS-ESS2-4)

  • Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.

• The complex patterns of the changes and the movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms, and ocean temperatures and currents, are major determinants of local weather patterns. (MS-ESS2-5)

  • Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex

• interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions.

• Variations in density due to variations in temperature and salinity drive a global pattern of interconnected ocean currents. (MS-ESS2-6)

  • Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation determine regional climates.

• Water’s movements—both on the land and underground—cause weathering and erosion, which change the land’s surface features and create underground formations. (MS-ESS2-2)

  • Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.