Earth Science 8th Grade

Subject:

Time and Change

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Breakdown

Earths History

Students will be able to:

• Describe the origin and early history o the Earth.
• Describe Processes of change on the Earth’s Surface.
• infer how different sedimentary rocks form.
• Use a diagram to communicate the process of change to the Earth’s surface.

Summary of Concepts:

• Geologic changes occur on a different scale relative to that of humans.
• Geologic time for Earth is estimated at 4.6 billion years.
• The Sun, Earth and other planets formed from the coalescing of a spinning cloud of matter in space.
• It is calculated that approximately 1 billion years of cooling for the Earth to have formed oceans, continents, and an atmosphere of oxygen.
• Over the last 2 billion years weathering, erosion, deposition among other processes the patterns of the Earth’s surface have formed.
• Evidence of the development of life can be found as fossils in the rock record.

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Breakdown

Geologic Time Scale

Students will be able to:

• Explain how Scientist determine the relative age of rock layers.
• List the order of event that could lead to an unconformity.
• Describe the divisions of the Geologic Time Scale.
• Infer the relationship of the layering of rock and the geologic time scale.

Summary of Concepts:

• Sedimentary rocks form such that the oldest can normal be found below the younger layers. This helps Geologist determine relative age and events.
• Unconformities occur where sediment layers have eroded away or the sedimentary process has stopped.
• Geologic time is divided into 4 main Eras (Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic)

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Subject:

Plate Tectonics

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Breakdown

Drifting Continents

Students will be able to:

• Describe how the continental landmasses have moved over time.
• Explain the reasoning for the continental drift theory.
• Make a model of the super continent Pangea.

Summary of Concepts:

• Alfred Wegner proposed the first Scientific theory on crustal movement called Continental Drift.
• Pangea was a supercontinent composed of the current continents 250 million years ago.
• Continental Drift is supported by evidence in the rock record an surface.

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Breakdown

Theory of Plate Tectonics

Students will be able to:

• Describe the evidence and process for sea floor spreading.
• Identify the types of plate boundaries.
• Explain what happens when plates collide.
• Infer from observation of a large surface feature the type of plate boundary process.

Summary of Concepts:

• Seafloor spreading occur along the mid-ocean spreading ridges of the world oceans.
• The theory of Plate Tectonics states the entire lithosphere is made of moving plates.
• There are seven major plates an several minor plates classified as continental or oceanic.
• Convergent, Divergent, and Transform boundaries create specific landforms.

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Breakdown

physics of Plate Movement

Students will be able to:

• Describe how convection occurs in the mantle.
• Explain how convection would move a tectonic plate.
• Explain models of how plates move as a result of convection.
• Compare and contrast models of convection moving plates.

Summary of Concepts:

• Convection in the mantle and Asthenosphere cause the plates to move.
• According to models proposed by Convection, the plates are moved by or are part of the Convection cell.

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Subject:

Movement of the Crust

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Breakdown

Folding and Faulting

Students will be able to:

• Identify three types o stress that deform crustal material.
• Describe three types of folding.
• Distinguish between normal, reverse, and lateral faults.
• Make a model to demonstrate the effect of stress on different materials.

Summary of Concepts:

• Compression, tension and shear are 3 types of stress that deform the crust.
• The crust responds to stress by either folding or faulting.
• Folding can produce monoclines, synclines, or anticlines.
• Normal, Reverse, an Lateral faults occur depending on the direction of stress that fractures the rock.

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Breakdown

Mountains and Plateaus

Students will be able to:

• Identify 4 mountain building processes.
• Describe the difference and similarities of folded or fault block mountains.
• Relate mountain building to different plate boundaries.
• Classify mountains based on how and where they developed.

Summary of Concepts:

• Most if not all mountains are the result of plate movement.
• Compression tends to produce folded mountains.
• Tensional stress tends to form fault block mountains.
• Plutonic Mountains are developed from the upward movement of molten rock usually from mantle origin or compressional heating.
• Volcanic mountains are produced when molten material breaches the surface and begins cooling from flows or eruptions.
• Plateaus can be formed by mountain building processes or erosional events.

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Subject:

Earthquakes and Volcanoes

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Breakdown

Earthquakes

Students will be able to:

• Describe conditions that occur during an Earthquake.
• Explain the difference between the epicenter and focal point of an Earthquake.
• Compare each of the waves produced in an Earthquake event.
• Infer the minimum number of Seismic stations necessary to locate and Earthquake.

Summary of Concepts:

• Earthquakes occur when rocks break and release energy in the form of seismic waves.
• Focal point of an Earthquakes is the place in the crust where the rock breaks. The epicenter is the surface point about the focus.
• The strength of an Earthquake is measured by the amount of energy released calculated by the Richter Scale.

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Breakdown

Earthquake Evidence

Students will be able to:

• Describe some features produced by an Earthquake.
• Discuss how Earthquake damaged is produced.
• Explain what might cause a Tsunami.
• Infer possible building methods that can limit Earthquake damage.

Summary of Concepts:

• Earthquakes can cause vertical or horizontal changes along the fault of the Earthquake epicenter.
• Tsunamis are the surface expression in the ocean resulting from Earthquakes either in the ocean basin or continental margin.

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Breakdown

Volcanoes

Students will be able to:

• Describe how volcanoes form.
• Explain the process or volcanic eruption. *Compare the 3 types o volcanic forms.
• Make a model of a volcano

Summary of Concepts:

• Volcanoes are the expression of molten rock releasing at the Earth’s surface and produce a specific and recognizable land form.
• The type of volcano that forms is the result of the magma type. Thick magma produces violent eruptions, Flowing lava produces shield volcanoes, extremely gaseous magma produces cinder cones.

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Subject:

Earth Chemistry

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Breakdown

Structure of Matter

Students will be able to:

• Describe the structure of an atom
• Explain the distinct properties of elements
• Compare and contrast the 3 types of chemical bonds.
• Explain a chemical formula

Summary of Concepts:

• All matter is composed of one or more elements and results in specific physical and chemical properties.
• Every atom of an element is composed of Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons.
• The number of Protons determines the element.
• Isotopes of the same element contain a different number of Neutrons.
• Atoms of different elements bond together based on Ionic, covalent, or metallic bonds
• Matter can be found as either elemental, compounds, or mixtures.

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Breakdown

Energy and changes to Matter

Students will be able to:

• Give examples of a physical change versus a chemical change.
• Explain the difference between a physical change and chemical change.
• Explain what happens to the molecules of a substance based on a chemical or physical change.

Summary of Concepts:

• Physical changes occur in matter based on its physical properties.
• A Chemical change occurs when bonds are broken and new molecules, compounds are produced resulting in a new material.
• Matter physically exists on Earth as a solid, liquid or gas at norma pressure and temperature. A change in this state o matter is based on the loss or gain of heat energy.

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Breakdown

Earths Elements

Students will be able to:

• Describe the organization of the Periodic Table.
• List the elements most common in the crust, ocean, and atmosphere.
• Deduce the reason for the organization of elements in the periodic table.
• Communicate the significance of information provided for each element in the periodic table.

Summary of Concepts:

• All elements are arranged in a systematic manner to explain their various properties, similarities and differences.
• The Earth’s crust, oceans, and atmosphere all contain certain quantities of specific elements.

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Subject:

Minerals

Breakdown

Mineral formation and structure

Students will be able to:

• Define a mineral.
• Define the chemical composition of mineral groups.
• Distinguish between minerals and non-minerals.
• Make models o mineral crystal systems.

Summary of Concepts:

• A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid with a specific chemical makeup and crystalline shape.
• Most minerals are formed when magma begins to cool and specific chemistry precipitate from the cooling magma.
• Most minerals can be classified into groups base on chemistry and crystal shape.

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Breakdown

Mineral Identification

Students will be able to:

• List the properties of minerals.
• Identify special properties of minerals.
• Communicate the differences of cleavage and fracture.
• Measure the Hardness of a mineral.

Summary of Concepts:

• Minerals ave 6 basic properties that help in their identification.
• Hardness is base on the Mohs hardness scale.
• Most rock are formed by minerals.

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Breakdown

Uses of Minerals

Students will be able to:

• Describe the special use of Ores.
• List some common use of minerals.
• Distinguish between gems of precious and semi-precious minerals.
• Infer why minerals are not usually found in their elemental state.

Summary of Concepts:

• Most metals come from Ore that contain a specific amount of metal content.
• Some minerals are used in their original form.
• Gems are cut and polished minerals based on rarity and beauty to include hardness.

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Subject:

Rock and Rock Cycle

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Breakdown

Rocks

Students will be able to:

• Identify and classify the 3 types of rock.
• Explain the role of heat in the formation of rock material.
• Describe the main characteristics of Rocks
• Make a model or diagram showing or illustrating the rock cycle.

Summary of Concepts:

• The main types of rocks are igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.
• The rock cycle is a series of processes that produce rock or recycle rock material.
• Rocks can be identified by texture and grain size.

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Breakdown

Igneous

Students will be able to:

• Name the 2 types of igneous rock based on occurrence.
• Explain how igneous rocks form.
• Classify igneous rocks based on characteristics.
• Infer the mineral makeup of igneous rocks.

Summary of Concepts:

• igneous rock forms from the cooking of magma.
• There are two types of igneous rock, Intrusive an Extrusive. The type depends on location of cooling, underground or at surface.
• The identification of igneous rock is base on texture and mineral occurrence.

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Breakdown

Sedimentary

Students will be able to:

• Describe the 3 types of Sedimentary rock
• Identify and describe the 3 types of Sedimentary rocks.
• Compare and contrast the characteristics of Sedimentary rocks.
• Construct a model or diagram of the sedimentary process.

Summary of Concepts:

• When sediment settles an compacts along with the cementation process, sedimentary rock form.
• Layers, ripples, cracks, fossils are all common to to sedimentary rocks.
• Sedimentary rocks can be clastic, organic, or chemical depending on the origin of the rock or sediment material.

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Breakdown

Metamorphic

Students will be able to:

• Identify common metamorphic rocks an their parent rock material.
• Describe the conditions necessary for metamorphic rock development.
• Compare and contrast the differences in the development of regional and contact metamorphism.
• Predict the formation of foliated and non-foliated metamorphic rock.

Summary of Concepts:

• Heat and Pressure can change any rock type into a metamorphic rock.
• Both contact and regional forces can produce a variety of metamorphic rocks based on parent material and the degree of temp and pressure.
• Metamorphic rocks are classified as foliated or non-foliated and can be Gneiss, Schist, Shale and Marble.

Subject:

Weathering and Soils

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Breakdown

Weathering

Students will be able to:

• Describe the process of mechanical weathering.
• Describe the process of chemical weathering.
• Compare and contrast the types of weathering.
• Predict the rate of weathering based on rock and conditions.

Summary of Concepts:

• Mechanical weathering is the break down of rock by physical process.
• There are many processes of mechanical weathering based on climate, and location.
• Chemical weathering alters the chemical composition of a rock
• The causes of chemical weathering typically involves water or solutions that react with the rock material.

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Breakdown

Soils

Students will be able to:

• List the properties of soils
• Explain the formation of new soils
• Compare the formation of soils in different areas based on rock material and weather.
• Make a model or diagram of a soil profile of a mature soil.

Summary of Concepts:

• Soil, is a mixture of parent rock, decayed plant and animal matter called humus and rock fragments.
• Soils have properties that can be measured to include particle size and shape, fertility and acid level.
• A soil profile shows the distinct layers, or horizons present. Mature soils tend to have 3 layers or horizons.
• Soils are essential or the survival of plants and other living organisms.

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Breakdown

World Soil Types

Students will be able to:

• Describe the 7 types o world soils.
• Identify soils by geographic location and climate.
• Differentiate the seven types of world soils.
• Construct a chart showing the soils by primary characteristics.

Summary of Concepts:

• Soil is classifie by mineral and humus composition and the environment where the soil was formed.
• There are 7 different primary types of soils based on geographic location and climate. Each soil type can be further classified based on the layers and materials in the layers.

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Subject:

Forces of Erosion

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Breakdown

Gravity and Erosion

Students will be able to:

• Explain the difference between erosion an deposition.
• Name the agents of erosion and the constant of gravity.
• Predict what conditions lead to the occurrence of mass movement,
• Compare the different types of Mass Movement.

Summary of Concepts:

• Weathered materials are eroded by the action of water, wind, Ice and Gravity. When the materials stop moving the are deposited.
• Gravity is a constant pull on materials and can cause loose materials to creep, slump, mudflow and landslides.

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Breakdown

Water Erosion

Students will be able to:

• Describe the formation of a river or river basin.
• Relate the stages of river basin development and erosion.
• Classify wave formation based on shoreline.
• Compare and contrast wave and stream erosion.

Summary of Concepts:

• Water is by far the most significant erosional force
• Rivers are classified based on certain criteria. Young, cutting deep, mature meandering, old with cutoff oxbow lakes.
• When the water in a river carrying a load of sediment slows down, it deposits the load. which can develop some specific surface features.
• Waves erode along the edges of the continents and create some distinct landforms or beaches.

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Breakdown

Ice Erosion

Students will be able to:

• Explain the formation of Glaciers
• Describe the process of Ice Erosion.
• Classify landforms based on either glacial erosion or glacial deposition.

Summary of Concepts:

• Glaciers form from an accumulation of massive amounts o snow both in valleys and continents.
• Ice Erosion is a mechanical process and can form a variety of landforms.
• Melting glaciers leave behind deposits that indicate the degree of advancement or valley/mountain erosion.

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Breakdown

Wind Erosion

Students will be able to:

• Describe the conditions in which you would find wind erosion
• Explain the process of sand grain movement based on wind and wind speed
• Compare and contrast the process of abrasion vs deflation.

Summary of Concepts:

• Small particles (sand, dust, etc.) can be mobilized by the wind velocity. This movement can cause deflation and abrasion depending on the wind and location and rock type
• Particle movement tends to follow a leap frog type of action. smaller particles can be elevated into the atmosphere causing dust storms.

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Subject:

Fossils in the Rock

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Breakdown 

Appearance of life

Students will be able to:

• Explain how fossils provide evidence for the development of life.
• Explain Natural Selection of species an extinctions.
• Describe how organisms are classified
• Classify organisms base on the 5 kingdoms in the classification system (Taxonomic System)

Summary of Concepts:

• Fossils help scientist reconstruct the past history of the Earth.
• Fossils help determine how life has developed and changed over time.
• Taxonomy puts life forms into groups based on body details and method of nutrition.
• Organisms in each of the 5 kingdoms share characteristics that align them to each other and different from the other kingdoms.

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Breakdown

Fossil Record

Students will be able to:

• Describe the conditions necessary for an organism to be preserved and fossilized.
• Distinguish different types of fossils.
• Explain the difference in process or a mold or cast fossil.
• Infer the passage of geologic time based on fossils in the rock record.

Summary of Concepts:

• A fossil might develop if the organism is buried quickly after it dies.
• Fossils are organized into groups dependent on how they form.

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Breakdown

Interpreting Fossils

Students will be able to:

• Explain the Law of Superposition.
• Determine the relative age of specific fossils.
• Describe the process of using isotopes to determine and age or time frame. Known as radiometric dating.
• Measure the absolute age of a rock layer using the concept of half life.

Summary of Concepts:

• The Law of Superposition helps determine relative age of rocks and the fossils contained in the rock.
• The absolute age of a rock or fossil can be calculated by using Radiometric dating.
• Isotopes have a constant rate of decay.

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Breakdown

Life Through Geologic Time

Students will be able to:

• Name and describe some common organisms from each era of Geologic Time
• Explain why the PreCambrian has a poor rock record of life.
• Organize a chart the would show the major events in the history of the Earth and how that has impacted life.

Summary of Concepts:

• The PreCambrian Era saw a sudden explosion of life as evident of the high degree of diversity and complexity of fossils.
• Organisms with hard parts indicate natural selection an specialization during the Paleozoic.
• Mammal, birds, flowering plants and insects begin to appear during the Mesozoic as dinosaurs dominated.
• Dinosuars did not survive the end of the Mesozoic and mammals began to flourish in the Cenozoic.

Subject:

Fresh Water

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Breakdown

Water and It’s Properties

Students will be able to:

• Describe the amount of fresh water on the surface of the Earth.
• Relate the structure of the water molecule to the physical and chemical properties.
• Explain why living organism rely on water.
• Generalize the water cycle to the amount of heat energy present.
• Make a model or diagram that follows the journey of a water molecule through the water cycle.

Summary of Concepts:

• Only 3 percent of the water on Earth is considered fresh water.
• Water is a polar molecule, as a result it gives water some special properties.
• Water is in constant motion
• The Sun is the heat engine that drives the water cycle.
• Precipitation is the source of fresh water

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Breakdown

Students will be able to:

Surface Water

• Describe 3 ways in which fresh water can be found on the surface of the Earth
• Describe a watershed and its drainage system.
• Explain what life on the surface might be if water did not accumulate on the surface.

Summary of Concepts:

• Water on the surface is usually in constant motion in some form.
• A watershed is an area of the surface that directs water into streams and rivers.
• Glaciers move slowly downhill due to gravity.

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Breakdown

Groundwater

Students will be able to:

• Explain what causes groundwater to form and the role that a drainage system
• Describe the movements of groundwater
• Predict what could cause a change in groundwater.

Summary of Concepts:

• Any water the filters into the ground is considered ground water. Porosity an permeability are important factors
• Groundwater travels through aquifers where layers of permeable rock or sediment.
• It can return to the surface as a result geysers, springs, artesian wells, even rivers and streams.

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Subject:

Ocean Water

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Breakdown

Properties of Ocean Water

Students will be able to:

• List substances that are dissolved in ocean water.
• Explain how a thermocline develops.
• Compare properties of ocean water to that of Fresh water
• Predict the solubility of salt in water at different temperatures

Summary of Concepts:

• Ocean water contains dissolved gases, salts, and traces of different elements.
• The boundary between warm surface water and colder water below is a thermocline.
• The density of ocean water varies with temperature and salinity. Water pressure increases with depth
• Organisms extract substances, like silica, from ocean water.

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Breakdown

Ocean Currents

Students will be able to:

• Describe the major ocean current patterns in the Pacific and Atlantic.
• Identify two factors that drive ocean currents.
• Differentiate surface currents with deeper ocean currents.
• Predict the effects of the Coriolis force on the movement of ocean currents/Water

Summary of Concepts:

• The Coriolis force bends winds and cean currents.
• Wind driven surface currents form clockwise gyres in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise gyres in the Southern Hemisphere. Deep currents flow from the poles to the equator.
• The interaction between waves and the shoreline causes longshore currents, rip currents, and undertows/currents

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Breakdown

Ocean Waves

Students will be able to:

• Explain how waves form in the ocean/water
• Identify the parts of an ocean wave (Trough and Crest, wavelength and height)
• Explain how to measure wave motion.
• Define how a water particle moves as a wave passes through a specific point.

Summary of Concepts:

• Wind friction pofuces surface waves.
• Ocean waves have a crest, trough, wave hieght and wavelength.
• Earthquakes on the ocean floor or near ocean faults can produce giant waves called Tsunamis

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Breakdown

Tides

Students will be able to:

• Describe the effect of gravity on the Earth's water.
• Explain why tides change from day to day and season to season.
• Differentiate the types of daily tide patterns along with spring and neap tides.
• Predict the effects of tides on fishing or commerce such as tankers and cruise ships.

Summary of Concepts:

• The gravitational pull of the sun and moon causes tides.
• The changing positions of the Earth, sun and moon result in a monthly cycle of spring tdes and neap tides.

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Subject:

Ocean Basins

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Breakdown

Ocean Exploration

Students will be able to:

• Give examples of two oceanic research vessels.
• Describe five tools and methods used to study the ocean and the ocean floor. infer how to make a bahymetric map.

Summary of Concepts:

• Oceanic research vessels, such as HMS Challenger and Glomar Challenger made voyages to sutdy the world oceans.
• Some tools and methods of ocean research include scraping, coring, sonar, submersibles, and satellites.
• Mapmakers determned that shape of the ocean floor from depth measurements taken at different locations

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Breakdown

Ocean Floor Topography

Students will be able to:

• Describe 3 features of the continental margin.
• Identify the major features of the ocean floor.
• Define and differentiate ocean trenches and ridges.
• Predict moion along underwater plate boundaries.

Summary of Concepts:

• The continental margins extend into the ocean, It has 3 regions called the continental shelf, slope, and rise. Submarine canyons cross the continental margin.
• Some features of the ocean flor include abyssal plains, ridges, seamounts, guyots, reefs, and atolls. At subductin zones, ocean trenches and volacanos form.

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Breakdown

Life Zones of the Ocean

Students will be able to:

• Describe vertical and horisontal ocean life zones.
• Identify ocean resources.
• Speculate with evidece for the differences between various ocean life zones.
• Make a model or diagram of an ocean food web.

Summary of Concepts:

• Many environmental factors, such as sunlight, temperature, and pressure, effect ocean habitats.
  Life zones in the ocean are divided horizontally and vertically.
• An ecosystem is an area in which organisms interact with each other and with their environment.
• People depend on the ocean for such reasources as food, minerals, salt, oil, and fresh water.

Subject:

The Atmosphere

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Breakdown

The Blanket of Air

Students will be able to:

• Describe the ways that heat is transferred in air.
• Explain what happens to the sun's radiation as it passes to through the atmosphere to the surface.
• Explain how the density of air is related to air pressure at a specific elevation (s).
• Infer how changes in the nitrogen cycle and oxygen-carbon cycle would effect the composition of air

Summary of Concepts:

• The most common gases in air are nitrgen and oxygen.
• The oxygen-carbon cycle keeps carbon levels constant. Nitrogen fixation and deposition in the nitrogen cycle keep nitrogen levels constant.
• Air density is the number of molecules in a cerain volume of air. The pressure that air exerts on an area is air pressure and is based on altitude.
• Conduction and convection stransfer heat energy though air.

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Breakdown

Structure of the Atmosphere

Students will be able to:

• Name the layers of the atmosphere from the surface to the highest considered layer.
• Explain how the atmosphere effects life on the earth.
• Differentiate and explain the magnetosphere from the ionosphere.
• Predict the changes that would occur on the earth if the atmospheric layers were suddenly stripped away.

Summary of Concepts:

• The most common gases in air are nitrgen and oxygen.
• The oxygen-carbon cycle keeps carbon levels constant. Nitrogen fixation and deposition in the nitrogen cycle keep nitrogen levels constant.
• Air density is the number of molecules in a cerain volume of air.
• The pressure that air exerts on an area is air pressure and is based on altitude.
• Conduction and convection stransfer heat energy though air.

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Breakdown

The Changing Atmosphere

Students will be able to:

• Describe the early atmosphere of the earth.
• Explain how the atmosphere has changed through time.
• Distinguish our current atmosphere from that of the earth's early atmosphere.
• Predict the effects of pollution on the atmosphere.

Summary of Concepts:

• Hydrogen and helium made up the ancient atmosphere.
• Volcanic gases and oxygen released by primitive marine plants formed the early atmosphere.
• Important components of the atmosphere today are cabon dioxide, ozone, water vapor, and aerosols.
• The greenhouse effect , smog, and cerain pollutants are effecting atmospheric layers today.

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Subject:

Water in the Atmosphere

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Breakdown

Humidity

Students will be able to:

• Explain relative humidity Describe how humidity effects life.
• Explain the formation of dew and frost.
• Interpret data contained in a relative humidity table.

Summary of Concepts:

• The amount of water vapor in air determines the humidity. The percentage of water vapor in the air is called the relative humidity.
• Plants and animals have adapted differently to living in areas wth low or high humidity.
• Humidity can be measured by using a sling psychrometer to determine relative humidity from a standardized table

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Breakdown

Clouds

Students will be able to:

• Explain the two ways that clouds can form.
• Describe the 3 basic cloud types.
• Predict the type of fog that forms in differnet conditions. Classify clouds by altitude.

Summary of Concepts:

• At the correct temperature and altitude, water vapor condenses to form clouds.
• Water vapor must collect on condensation nuclei for cloud droplets to form.
• Clouds classified by their appearance are Stratus, Cumulus, or Nimbus.
• Clouds are classified according to their height in the atmosphere by the prefixes Cirro for high, Alto for middle, and Strato for low.
• Fog is a cloud near the ground. The different types of fog are radiation fog, advection fog, and steam fog.

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Breakdown

Precipitation

Students will be able to:

• Explain how raindrops and snowflakes form.
• Describe how hail increases in size.
• Classify instruments used for measuring precipitation.
• Compare and Contrast sleet and freezing rain.

Summary of Concepts:

• Any form of moisture that falls from a cloud to the ground is precipitation.
• The forms of precipitation are rain, snow, freezing rain, sleet, and hail.
• Precipitation instruments include the rain gauge, the tipping-bucket rain gauge, and radar devices.
• People used to settle mostly in areas with abundant rainfall. But water is now transported to arid regions, making them habitable

Subject:

Weather

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Breakdown

Air in Motion

Students will be able to:

• Identify the 6 types of air masses.
• Explain how winds occur.
• Compare and Contrast the 4kinds of fronts that occur when air masses meet.
• Infer differences in baometric pressure.

Summary of Concepts:

• Air masses differ in their origin and temperature.
• Air masses interact at fronts. There are 4 kinds of fronts: Cold, warm, stationary, and occluded .
• Differences in air pressure at the earth's surface produce winds. Winds move from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure.

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Breakdown

Storms

Students will be able to:

• Identify the 3 major types of storms, Descrbe the air movements that prduce thunderstorms.
• Compare and Contrast hurricanes and tornadoes.
• Classify storms that occur in your area or region.

Summary of Concepts:

• Storms involve high winds and rising moist air, which cause precipitation.
• A thunderstorm forms when masses of warm, moist air move rapidly upward.
• A huge, towering cumulonimbus cloud produces heavy rain and lightning.
• A hurricane is a tropical storm with sustained winds of at least 120 km/h.
• A tornado is a whirling, funnel shaped windstorm formed from the turbulence of a thunder storm.

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Breakdown

Weather Forecasting

Students will be able to:

• Describe how different weather conditions can be sown on a weather map.
• Discuss how meteorologists forecast the weather.
• Compare and Contrast sources of data about weather conditions.
• Collect data by observing weather conditions.

Summary of Concepts:

• Weather forecasters rely on weather data from a wide area.
• Weather data are collected from weather stations, weather balloons, weather satellites, and weather radar.
• Weather maps have symbols, numbers, and lines sowing weather data at different locations.

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Subject:

Climate

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Breakdown

Causes of Climate

Students will be able to:

• Distinguish between weather and climate. Describe two ways that the ocean effects climate.
• Compare the temperatures of two different regions in the United States.
• Infer about the factors that influence local climate.

Summary of Concepts:

• Climate is the weather of a region over a long period of time. It is determined mainly by temperature and precipitation.
• Generally temperature decreases as altitude increases. Altitude is distance above sea level.
• Oceans have a moderating effect on temperatures of nearby landmasses.
• The amount of precipitation a place receives depends on prevailing winds and topography.
• A rain shadow is caused when moist air deposits precipitation on a montain ranges windward side leaving the leeward side arid, the air mass have lost it precipatory water vapor.

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Breakdown

Climate Classification

Students will be able to:

• Name and describe the 3 main climate zones.
• Compare climate types in the United States to other parts of the world.
• Compare and Contrast some plants and animals that live in various types of climates.
• Classify climates based on climate data

Summary of Concepts:

• The 3 main climate zones are the tropical, temperate, and polar zones.
• Within the climate zones are different climate types, which are classfied by the amount of precipitation.
• The plants and animals in each climate zone are adapted to te conditions in that zone.
• A microclimate is the particular climate of a small area

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Breakdown

Climate Change

Students will be able to:

• Explain the effect of El Nino on climates.
• Describe the possible effects of major climate changes.
• Name 3 possible cause of climae change. Predict how a future ice age could affect an area.

Summary of Concepts:

• Global climate changes can have far reaching and dramatic effects.
• Ice ages are periods of worldwide climate change. Periods when the ice sheets retreated are called interglacials.
• El Nino is a change in the normal ocean currents off the coast of South America.
• Past climate changes may have been caused by continental drift, changes in the tilt of the earth's axis, and changes in the radiation given off by the sun.
• Human activity causes change in micro-climates and may produce worldwide climate changes.

Subject:

Mineral and Energy Resources

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Breakdown

Mineral Resources

Students will be able to:

• Distinguish between renwable and nonrenewable resources.
• Describe the problems associated with mining and processing ores.
• Compare and Contrast different views on reclamation.
• Make a table showing informatin about 3 types of mining.

Summary of Concepts:

• Nonrenewable resources can't be replaced as hey are used. Renewable resources can be replaced as they are used.
• Minerals are commonly found in deposits called ores. An ore is a mineral rich rock deposit that can be removed from the earth for a profit.
• Ores near the earth's surface are surface mined or open pit mined. Ores deep within the earth are mined underground.
• Retruning a mined site to its former condiion is called reclamation.

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Breakdown

Fossil Fuel Resources

Students will be able to:

• Name the 4 stages of coal formation.
• Describe how petroleum and natural gas form.
• Identify the uses of fossil fuels and some problems associated with burning fossil fuels.
• Make a graph showing numerical data about energy sources.

Summary of Concepts:

• Nonrenewable resources can't be replaced as hey are used. Renewable resources can be replaced as they are used.
• Minerals are commonly found in deposits called ores. An ore is a mineral rich rock deposit that can be removed from the earth for a profit.
• Ores near the earth's surface are surface mined or open pit mined. Ores deep within the earth are mined underground.
• Retruning a mined site to its former condiion is called reclamation.

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Breakdown

Alternative Energy Resources

Students will be able to:

• List reasons for the increased demand for energy.
• Identify alternative ways of generating energy.
• Compare and Contrast direct and indirect solar power.
• Predict which factors determine the possibility of using alternative ways of generating energy.

Summary of Concepts:

• Fossil fuels are being used up. Alternative ways of generating enrgy are being developed.
• Most alternative energy comes from renewable resources, such as wind water and the sun.

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Subject:

Humans and The Environment

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Breakdown

Human Ecology

Students will be able to:

• Explain technology and give severl examples.
• Describe the ways people in different societies live.
• Find causes for the rapid increase in the human population.
• Make a table that compares the differences in the 3 types of societies.

Summary of Concepts:

• The culture of a society determines how its people interact with the environment. Cultures vary in their technology.
• The oldest way of living on the earth is practiced by people in hunting and gathering societies.
• Agricultural societies may form permanent settlements. They may grow large enough to support cities.
• Industrial societies have spread across the world. The amount of natural resources used per person is highest in industrial societies.
• The human population of the earth has increased greatly in the last 200 years and continues to increase.

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Breakdown

Human Impact

Students will be able to:

• Explain how humans interfere with natural earth cycles.
• Explain the importance of biodiversity.
• Find causes for species extinction.
• Observe the impact of humans on the environment in your community.

Summary of Concepts:

• Human use of natural resources modifies and destroys natural habitats, and changes natural cycles and ecosystems.
• The destruction of natural habitats, pollution, and the changing of ecosystems all reduce biodiversity.
• Pollution of the environment endangers human health.

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Breakdown

Environmental Solutions

Students will be able to:

• Describe ways that humans are reducing their impact on the environment.
• Explain what is meant by conservation, preservation, and restoration.
• Predict what will happen to the biosphere during the next 20, 50, 100 years.
• Communication steps that you can take to help protect the environment.

Summary of Concepts:

• People are taking steps to protect the biosphere by making more informed decisions about land use, conserving and preserving natural resources, restoring habitats, controlling pollution, and limiting resource use.
• People can help the environment by reducing, reusing, and recycling.

Subject:

Earth and Moon

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Breakdown

Earth in Space

Students will be able to:

• Describe the rotation and revolution of planet Earth.
• Explain how time is measured on Earth.
• Explain how the tilt of Earth on its axis effects life on the planet.
• Make a model of Earth in its orbit around the Sun.

Summary of Concepts:

• Earth completes one rotation on its axis every 24 hours.
• E arth completes one revolution of its orbit of the Sun in one solar year. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons.
• Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field which helps protect it from some of the energy of the sun.
• The number of hours of daylight is determined by the solstice and the equinox.
• Earth is divided into time zones that begin at the prime meridian, each time zone is roughly 15 degrees longitude.

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Breakdown

Earth’s Moon

Students will be able to:

• Identify 4 features of the moon's surface.
• List some major events in the exploration of the moon.
• Explain how the motion of the moon affects the view of the moon from Earth.
• Infer which theory about the fromation of the moon is the most logical.

Summary of Concepts:

• The moon is Earth's natural satellite. >Features on the surface of the moon include maria, craters, and highlands.
• The moon completes one revolution of the Earth in 27.3 days
• There are may theories about the origin of the moon.
• Apollo 11 mission was the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon.

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Breakdown

Earth Moon System

Students will be able to:

• Relate the phases of the moon to its revolution.
• Describe a waxing moon and a waning moon.
• Predict how the distance of the moon effects tides.
• Compare and contrast a lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse.

Summary of Concepts:

• Sunlight reflects off the surface of the moon, creating the luna phases.
• The phases of the moon include the new moon, full moon, quarter moon, and crescent moon.
• B odies in space cast shadows.
• When one planet passes in between the sun and another body, and eclipse occurs.

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Subject:

The Solar System

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Breakdown

The Sun

Students will be able to:

• Explain how energy is produced in the Sun
• Describe the 3 layers of the sun's atmosphere.
• Explain how sunspots, prominences, and solar flares are related.
• Make a model of the Sun's interior.

Summary of Concepts:

• Nuclear fusion in the sun releases enormous amounts of energy as Hydrogen is fused to form Helium.
• The sun is made of many layers including a core, radiation zone, and a convection zone.
• The sun's atmosphere consists of 3 layers: the photosphere, chromosphere, and the corona.
• Sunspots, Prominences, and solar flares occur in the sun's outer layers.
• The sun is the single most prominent source of energy for nearly all living things on Earth.

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Breakdown

Planets in Our system

Students will be able to:

• Describe the Theory of the formation of the solar system.
• Explain how the planets move around the Sun.
• Compare and Contrast the inner planets from the ourter planets.
• Explain why Pluto is no longer considered a planet.
• Hypothesize which of the planets, besides Earth, could possibly have living things.

Summary of Concepts:

• The solar system formed from a swirling cloud of gas and dust.
• The four inner planets are rocky planets with metal cores.
• Except for Pluto, the five outer planets are large balls of gas with solid liquid cores and many moons.
• The planets revolve around the sun in slghtly elliptical orbits, the result of a balance between inertia and gravity.

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Breakdown

Vagrant Members of our System

Students will be able to:

• Locate, on a model or diagram of the planets, the asteroid belt.
• Compare meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites.
• Describe the orbits of the comets.
• Predict how a comet will change over time as it transits the solar system.

Summary of Concepts:

• Asteroids are bodies of rock and metal too small and irregular in shape to be considered as planets, that orbit the sun.
• Meteoroids are chunks of rock or metal smaller than asteroids. They become meteors if they enter Earth's atmosphere, and meteorites if they reach the Earth's surface.
• Comets are icy objects with very extreme elliptical orbits that periodically travel close to the sun.

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Subject:

Stars and Galaxies

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Breakdown
Studying the Stars

Students will be able to:

• Describe the electromagnetic spectrum.
• Explain how reflecting and refracting telescopes work.
• Compare and contrast optical telescopes to spectroscopes.
• Infer the relationship between the frequency of electromagnetic waves and their wavelength.

Summary of Concepts:

• Stars produce many different types of electromagnetic wave energy, including visible light, radiowaves, and x-rays.
• Optical telescopes use visible light to form images of distant objects.
• Spectroscopes reveal a star's composition by analyzing the makeup of its visible light.
• Radio telescopes detect the radio waves from distant objects.

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Breakdown

Star Characteristics

Students will be able to:

• Relate the temperature of a Star to its color.
• Explain how measurements of parallax are used to measure a star's distance from Earth.
• Contrast absolute magnitude and apparent magnitude.
• Interpret data from the H-R diagram.

Summary of Concepts:

• The color of a star is related to its temperature.
• By measuring a stars apparent change of position, or parallax, its distance from Earth can be calculated.
• A star's absolute magnitude and distance from Earth determine its apparent magnitude.
• Stars are classified into 4 groups depending on their location on the H-R diagram

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Breakdown

Life Cycle of Stars

Students will be able to:

• Explain ow stars come into being.
• Describe the stages of a star's life cycle.
• C ontrast the different wyas in which high mass and low mass stars end their life cycles.
• Predict what will happen for the rest of the sun's life cycle.

Summary of Concepts:

• Stars come into being in nebulae.
• A low mass star goes through the stages of main sequence star, red giant, white dwarf, and black dwarf.
• A high mass star goes through the stages of main sequence star, super giant, supernova, and neutron star or black hole.

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Breakdown

Galaxies and Star Groups

Students will be able to:

• Describe 4 tyes of galaxies.
• Explain what a constellatin is and how it differs froma galaxy or star cluster.
• Explain how scientists know the universe is expanding.
• Predict how the constellations will look in the distant future.

Summary of Concepts:

• Galaxies are classified into four types based on shape.
• Within galaxies, stars form star clusters and exist as binary stars.
• To an observer on Earth, stars form patterns called constellations.