What is the NGSS & 3 Dimensional Science Learning and Why is it Important?

Science Practices  -  Disciplinary Core Ideas  -  Crosscutting Concepts

Investigation 15 Oxidation-Reducation Reactions

HS-PS1-2: Simple Chemical Reactions

Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties.

Clarification Statement: Examples of chemical reactions could include the reaction of sodium and chlorine, of carbon and oxygen, or of carbon and hydrogen.

Boundary Statement: Assessment is limited to chemical reactions involving main group elements and combustion reactions.

HS-PS1-7: Conservation of Atoms in Chemical Reactions

Use mathematical representations to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a chemical reaction. (Energy and Matter)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on using mathematical ideas to communicate the proportional relationships between masses of atoms in the reactants and the products, and the translation of these relationships to the macroscopic scale using the mole as the conversion from the atomic to the macroscopic scale. Emphasis is on assessing students’ use of mathematical thinking and not on memorization and rote application of problem-solving techniques

Boundary Statement: Assessment does not include complex chemical reactions.

HS-PS3-3: Energy Conversion Device Design

Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy. (Energy and Matter)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on both qualitative and quantitative evaluations of devices. Examples of devices could include Rube Goldberg devices, wind turbines, solar cells, solar ovens, and generators. Examples of constraints could include use of renewable energy forms and efficiency.

Boundary Statement: Assessment for quantitative evaluations is limited to total output for a given input. Assessment is limited to devices constructed with materials provided to students.

Investigation 16 Organic Chemistry

HS-PS1-4: Total Bond Energy Change in Chemical Reactions 

Develop a model to illustrate that the release or absorption of energy from a chemical reaction system depends upon the changes in total bond energy. (Energy and Matter)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the idea that a chemical reaction is a system that affects the energy change. Examples of models could include molecular-level drawings and diagrams of reactions, graphs showing the relative energies of reactants and products, and representations showing energy is conserved.

Boundary Statement: Assessment does not include calculating the total bond energy changes during a chemical reaction from the bond energies of reactants and products.

HS-PS2-6: Molecular-Level Structure of Designed Materials 

Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of designed materials. (Structure and Function)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the attractive and repulsive forces that determine the functioning of the material. Examples could include why electrically conductive materials are often made of metal, flexible but durable materials are made up of long chained molecules, and pharmaceuticals are designed to interact with specific receptors.

Boundary Statement: Assessment is limited to provided molecular structures of specific designed materials.

HS-LS1-6: Formation of Carbon-Based Molecules

Construct and revise an explanation based on evidence for how carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen from sugar molecules may combine with other elements to form amino acids and/or other large carbon-based molecules. (Energy and Matter)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on using evidence from models and simulations to support explanations.

Boundary Statement: Assessment does not include the details of the specific chemical reactions or identification of macromolecules.

HS-LS1-7: Cellular Respiration and Energy Transfer

Use a model to illustrate that cellular respiration is a chemical process whereby the bonds of food molecules and oxygen molecules are broken and the bonds in new compounds are formed resulting in a net transfer of energy. (Energy and Matter)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the conceptual understanding of the inputs and outputs of the process of cellular respiration

Boundary Statement: Assessment should not include identification of the steps or specific processes involved in cellular respiration.

Investigation 17 Nuclear Processes

HS-PS1-1: Valence Electrons and Properties of Elements

Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms.

Clarification Statement: Examples of properties that could be predicted from patterns could include reactivity of metals, types of bonds formed, numbers of bonds formed, and reactions with oxygen.

Boundary Statement: Assessment is limited to main group elements. Assessment does not include quantitative understanding of ionization energy beyond relative trends.

HS-PS1-8: Fission, Fusion, and Radioactive Decay 

Develop models to illustrate the changes in the composition of the nucleus of the atom and the energy released during the processes of fission, fusion, and radioactive decay. (Energy and Matter)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on simple qualitative models, such as pictures or diagrams, and on the scale of energy released in nuclear processes relative to other kinds of transformations.

Boundary Statement: Assessment does not include quantitative calculation of energy released. Assessment is limited to alpha, beta, and gamma radioactive decays.

HS-ESS1-1: Nuclear Fusion and the Sun's Energy

Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy in the form of radiation. (Scale, Proportion, and Quantity)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the energy transfer mechanisms that allow energy from nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to reach Earth. Examples of evidence for the model include observations of the masses and lifetimes of other stars, as well as the ways that the sun’s radiation varies due to sudden solar flares (“space weather”), the 11-year sunspot cycle, and non-cyclic variations over centuries.

Boundary Statement: Assessment does not include details of the atomic and sub-atomic processes involved with the sun’s nuclear fusion.

HS-ESS1-2: The Big Bang Theory

Construct an explanation of the big bang theory based on astronomical evidence of light spectra, motion of distant galaxies, and composition of matter in the universe. (Energy and Matter)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the astronomical evidence of the red shift of light from galaxies as an indication that the universe is currently expanding, the cosmic microwave background as the remnant radiation from the Big Bang, and the observed composition of ordinary matter of the universe, primarily found in stars and interstellar gases (from the spectra of electromagnetic radiation from stars), which matches that predicted by the Big Bang theory (3/4 hydrogen and 1/4 helium).

Boundary Statement: none

HS-PS1-3: Electrical Forces and Bulk Scale Structure 

Plan and conduct an investigation to gather evidence to compare the structure of substances at the bulk scale to infer the strength of electrical forces between particles. (Patterns)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on understanding the strengths of forces between particles, not on naming specific intermolecular forces (such as dipole-dipole). Examples of particles could include ions, atoms, molecules, and networked materials (such as graphite). Examples of bulk properties of substances could include the melting point and boiling point, vapor pressure, and surface tension.

Boundary Statement: Assessment does not include Raoult’s law calculations of vapor pressure.

Investigation 18 Green Chemistry

HS-PS1-6: Increased Products Design Solution

Refine the design of a chemical system by specifying a change in conditions that would produce increased amounts of products at equilibrium. (Stability and Change)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the application of Le Chatlier’s Principle and on refining designs of chemical reaction systems, including descriptions of the connection between changes made at the macroscopic level and what happens at the molecular level. Examples of designs could include different ways to increase product formation including adding reactants or removing products.

Boundary Statement: Assessment is limited to specifying the change in only one variable at a time. Assessment does not include calculating equilibrium constants and concentrations.

HS-ESS3-3: Biodiversity, Natural Resources, and Human Sustainability

Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity. (Stability and Change)

Clarification Statement: Examples of factors that affect the management of natural resources include costs of resource extraction and waste management, per-capita consumption, and the development of new technologies. Examples of factors that affect human sustainability include agricultural efficiency, levels of conservation, and urban planning.

Boundary Statement: Assessment for computational simulations is limited to using provided multi-parameter programs or constructing simplified spreadsheet calculations.

HS-ESS3-4: Reducing Human Impact Design Solutions

Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems. (Stability and Change)

Clarification Statement: Examples of data on the impacts of human activities could include the quantities and types of pollutants released, changes to biomass and species diversity, or areal changes in land surface use (such as for urban development, agriculture and livestock, or surface mining). Examples for limiting future impacts could range from local efforts (such as reducing, reusing, and recycling resources) to large-scale geoengineering design solutions (such as altering global temperatures by making large changes to the atmosphere or ocean).

Boundary Statement: none