High School Science Alabama Standards

Cause and Effect

Natural Selection

Stability and Change

Natural Selection

Patterns

Phylogenetics

Unity and Diversity

Cause and Effect

Heredity and Meiosis

Systems and System Models

Heredity and Meiosis

Systems and System Models

Inherited Traits and Environmental Impact

Patterns

Inherited Traits and Environmental Impact

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Stability and Change

Biodiversity

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Biodiversity

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Population Dynamics

Systems and System Models

Matter and Energy Flow

Systems and System Models

Interdependent Relationships

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Energy and Matter

Photosynthesis and Respiration

Structure and Function

Cellular Homeostasis

Systems and System Models

Growth and Development

Structure and Function

DNA and Protein Synthesis

Structure and Function

Cells

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Engage in evidence-based argument to relate a cell’s function to the structure, function, and diversity of its components.

Engage in argument from evidence to support the claim that characteristics of an ecosystem contribute to its resilience and stability, including ecological succession and recovery from disturbance.

Use probability and statistical models to explain the variation of expressed traits within a population.

Use mathematics and computational thinking to predict patterns of inheritance, including dominance, recessiveness, codominance, and incomplete dominance.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how the interplay of heritable risk factors, somatic mutations, and environment influences human disease.

Develop and use an evidence-based model to illustrate the formation of reproductive cells through the process of meiosis.

Construct an explanation of how new genetic combinations and variations occur during crossover.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how errors during meiosis and environmental factors affect the expression of traits.

Analyze and interpret data to support hypotheses of common ancestry and biological evolution illustrated by cladograms and phylogenetic trees.

Evaluate evidence supporting claims that viruses should be placed in a separate category from living things.

Analyze and interpret data pertaining to adaptations resulting from natural and artificial selection to explain the evolution of populations.

Engage in argument from evidence to explain how populations respond to changes in the environment that can lead to speciation or extinction.

Obtain and evaluate information to explain the role of DNA and RNA in transcription and translation leading to protein synthesis and cellular function.

Use a model to describe the structure and sequence of DNA, including nucleotide structure, base pairing, and the structure of the helix.

Obtain and evaluate information to explore additional functions and regulatory roles of RNA, DNA, and protein, including their roles in gene expression and cellular differentiation.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information regarding how DNA and genetic technology apply to daily life.

Develop and use models to explain how events during the cell cycle lead to the formation of new cells and repair of multicellular organisms, including cell growth, DNA replication, separation of chromosomes, and separation of cell contents.

Construct an explanation of the process of DNA replication during cellular division (S-phase).

Using observations of cell growth, construct an explanation of how the cell cycle leads to differentiation in tissue development.

Engage in argument from evidence to explain the regulation of cellular processes that maintain homeostasis, including active and passive transport.

Use models to illustrate how the structural characteristics of lipids and proteins in the cell membrane regulate cellular processes.

Construct an explanation of how the unique properties of water are vital to maintaining homeostasis in organisms.

Plan and carry out investigations and utilize results to explain the role and cycling of products and reactants involved in the cellular conversion of energy.

Construct an explanation of how the structural characteristics of carbohydrates and lipids store energy.

Use models of the reactants and products of photosynthesis to illustrate the conversion of light energy into stored chemical energy within cells.

Use models of the reactants and products of cellular respiration (both aerobic and anaerobic) to illustrate how chemical energy is stored in the bonds of carbohydrates and lipids and converted to ATP and heat when the bonds are broken.

Develop and use models to illustrate interactions between ecological hierarchy levels, including biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community, population, and organism.

Develop and use models to illustrate the flow of matter and energy between abiotic and biotic factors in ecosystems, including loss of heat, 10% rule, and the conservation of matter.

Construct an evidence-based explanation of how density-dependent and density-independent factors affect population growth.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate data to explain how the biodiversity of Alabama contributes to ecosystem services in the state.

Cause and Effect

Gases

Energy

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Acids and Bases

Structure and Function

Acids and Bases

Acids and Bases

Cause and Effect

Solutions

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Solutions

Structure and Function

Solutions

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Stoichiometry

Matter and Its Interactions

Stability and Change

Chemical Reactions

Energy and Matter

Chemical Reactions

Patterns

Chemical Reactions

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Chemical Reactions

Systems and System Models

Chemical Reactions

Matter and Its Interactions: Energy

Structure and Function

Atomic and Molecular Interactions

Patterns

Atomic and Molecular Interactions

Systems and System Models

Atomic and Molecular Interactions

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Atomic and Molecular Interactions

Cause and Effect

Atomic and Molecular Interactions

Systems and System Models

Atomic and Molecular Interactions

Structure and Function

Atomic and Molecular Interactions

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Patterns

Structure and Properties

Cause and Effect

Structure and Properties

Structure and Function

Structure and Properties

Patterns

Structure and Properties

Matter and Its Interactions

Use the periodic table as a model to predict the structure and properties of atoms and elements.

Assess the merits and limitations of historic and modern atomic models pertaining to the presence, position, mass, and charge of subatomic particles.

Develop and use models of an element’s subatomic particles to compare and contrast its atoms, ions, and isotopes.

Analyze and interpret data to identify or describe an element based on its number of protons, its relative abundance of isotopes, its organization and placement of electrons, and its light emission spectrum.

Ask questions to determine the relationship between an element’s physical and chemical properties and its position on the periodic table.

Construct explanations of how periodic trends can be used to predict the properties of elements.

Construct explanations of the formation of intramolecular and intermolecular forces and their effects on atomic and molecular interactions.

Develop and use Lewis dot diagrams to model the formation of covalent and ionic bonds.

Construct an explanation of the change in potential energy that occurs when chemical bonds are formed.

Plan and carry out an investigation to identify specific physical and chemical properties of compounds formed from ionic, covalent, and metallic bonding.

Develop and use models based on valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR) theory to predict the shape of a molecule up to four electron domains around the central atom.

Construct an explanation of the polarity of a molecule based on electronegativity data and molecular geometry.

Analyze and interpret data from the periodic table to derive chemical formulas and names for ionic and covalent compounds.

Analyze and interpret data to compare the strengths of intermolecular forces and to explain how these forces affect physical properties.

Develop and use multiple types of models to represent chemical reactions.

Use qualitative and quantitative reasoning to describe and balance chemical equations to satisfy the law of conservation of matter.

Use qualitative and quantitative reasoning to classify chemical reactions, predict the products of single replacement and double replacement reactions, and represent chemical reactions using ionic equations.

Analyze and interpret temperature and bond energy data to classify a reaction as endothermic or exothermic.

Construct an explanation, using particle diagrams and collision theory, for how particle size, concentration, and temperature affect the rate of a chemical reaction.

Use stoichiometric ratios to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during chemical reactions.

Quantitatively apply the concepts of the mole and Avogadro’s number to conceptualize and calculate percent composition and empirical or molecular formulas of common compounds.

Use mathematical representations of the mole concept to solve reaction stoichiometry problems, involving mole-to-mole conversions, mass-to-mole conversions, and mass-to-mass conversions.

Use mathematical models to reveal the relationships among the theoretical, actual, and percent yields of chemical reactions.

Qualitatively and quantitatively determine the limiting reactant when given the masses of all reactants.

Use mathematics and computational thinking to perform gas stoichiometry calculations involving mass, volume, and number of moles at standard temperature and pressure (STP).

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information concerning factors that affect solubility and the properties of solutions.

Use mathematics and computational thinking to express the concentrations of given solutions in terms of molarity and molality.

Develop and use models to illustrate solute-solvent interactions.

Use mathematics and computational thinking to prepare solutions from both solids and concentrated solutions when given a desired molarity and volume.

Analyze and interpret data to explain the effects of temperature on the solubility of solid, liquid, and gaseous solutes in a solvent and the effects of pressure on the solubility of gaseous solutes.

Design and conduct experiments to evaluate the effect of solute concentration on the colligative properties of a solution.

Make qualitative and quantitative claims, based on ion concentration, about the acidic, basic, or neutral characteristics of a solution.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information concerning the properties of acids and bases.

Use the periodic table and computational thinking to derive chemical formulas and names of acids and bases.

Use multiple models to predict the relative properties of strong, weak, concentrated, and dilute acids and bases.

Use mathematics to calculate the pH, pOH, [OH- ], and [H3O+ ] of common solutions.

Plan and carry out a strong acid-strong base titration to determine the concentration of an unknown acidic or basic solution.

Plan and carry out investigations to determine how the atomic and molecular motion in chemical and physical processes is related to the kinetic molecular theory.

Qualitatively and quantitatively relate changes in the temperature and pressure of a gas to particle motion and number of collisions.

Express the relationship among pressure, volume, temperature, and the number of moles of a gas quantitatively, conceptually, and graphically.

Cause and Effect

Climate and Severe Weather

Stability and Change

Weather

Systems and System Models

Weather

Cause and Effect

Weather

Systems and System Models

Plate Tectonics

Stability and Change

Plate Tectonics

Patterns

Plate Tectonics

Cause and Effect

Earth’s History

Patterns

Earth’s History

Cause and Effect

Composition of the Earth

Energy and Matter

Composition of the Earth

Earth’s Systems

Cause and Effect

Historical Perspectives

Energy and Matter

Historical Perspectives

Cause and Effect

Historical Perspectives

Patterns

The Solar System and the Universe

Structure and Function

The Solar System and the Universe

Patterns

The Solar System and the Universe

Cause and Effect

The Solar System and the Universe

Energy and Matter

Stars and Star Properties

Cause and Effect

Stars and Star Properties

Systems and System Models

Stars and Star Properties

Stability and Change

Stars and Star Properties

Patterns

Stars and Star Properties

Earth’s Place in the Universe

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the connections among mass, gravity, and fusion in the life cycle of stars.

Utilize models to explain the process of stellar evolution from star birth to star death.

Interpret the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram to analyze the properties of stars, including density, magnitude, temperature, rates of fusion, and spectral class.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how nuclear fusion in stars and supernovas leads to the formation of all other elements.

Analyze and interpret data to quantify the energy produced in stars, using Einstein’s theory of general relativity by applying E=mc2 to show that the small amount of mass produced during hydrogen fusion produces a large amount of energy.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the structure and motion of components of the universe and solar system.

Use mathematics and computational thinking to predict the motion of natural and man-made objects in the solar system, using Kepler’s laws, Newton’s laws of motion, and Newton’s gravitational laws.

Use mathematics and computational thinking to explain the relationships between the properties of light and distances in the solar system and universe, including the Doppler effect, red shift, light years, and astronomical units.

Analyze spectroscopic data to determine the properties and motion of objects in space.

Investigate and communicate major properties of bodies in the solar system and the zones they inhabit.

Use mathematics to explain how solar intensity and the tilt of the Earth’s axis impact the distribution of sunlight on the Earth’s surface, including zenith angle, solar angle, and surface area.

Research, evaluate, and communicate information about how the findings of early astronomers, including Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, Brahe, Kepler, Newton, and Einstein, challenged the thinking of their time, allowed for academic advancements, and built a foundation for space exploration.

Obtain and evaluate scientific information that explains how the application of new knowledge and technological advances has improved human understanding of the universe.

Construct an evidence-based explanation of the connections among various cosmic phenomena, citing leading scientific theories.

Obtain and communicate information about Alabama's contributions to space exploration.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the geologic conditions and processes that form different Earth materials.

Plan and carry out investigations to explore the processes that form plutonic (intrusive) and volcanic (extrusive) igneous rocks of differing compositions and textures.

Analyze and interpret data to explain the effects of mechanical and chemical weathering and erosion on Earth’s materials by wind, water, ice, and gravity.

Construct an explanation using evidence from experiments, models, or data of the processes that create and transform igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.

Plan and conduct an investigation on water’s effect on surface and subsurface processes.

Obtain and communicate information about significant geologic characteristics in Alabama and the southeastern United States.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about major events in Earth’s history.

Analyze and interpret data to sequence events in Earth’s history, including relative and absolute dating techniques, principles of superposition and crosscutting relationships, igneous intrusions, radiometric dating, and the fossil record.

Construct an explanation based on evidence of how catastrophic and long-term events have impacted life on Earth, including mass extinctions.

Construct explanations from evidence of how the flow of energy through Earth's systems has changed over time.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about important tectonic and geologic events that have occurred in Alabama over geologic time.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the theory of plate tectonics.

Construct an evidence-based explanation of continental drift, basing conclusions on comparisons of coastlines, fossils, ages of rocks, climate, and magnetic patterns.

Construct an explanation, based on evidence, of tectonic plate movement, types of plate boundaries, and how boundary type relates to specific tectonic features, including mountain ranges, earthquakes, volcanism, volcanic islands, hotspots, mid-ocean ridges, and faults.

Develop and interpret a model of Earth’s internal structure and composition, including inner core, outer core, asthenosphere, lithosphere, mantle, and crust.

Analyze data to interpret seismic activity and assess the risk of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in Alabama and other areas in the United States.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the role of energy transfer in wind, precipitation, cloud formation, and front formation.

Obtain and communicate information to explain how water cycles through the atmosphere, including condensation, evaporation, clouds, types of precipitation, relative humidity, and dew point.

Plan and carry out an investigation to determine the differential heating of land and water and explain how these differences create changes in local and global weather.

Construct an explanation of how air masses, source regions, fronts, weather changes associated with frontal passage (including cold, warm, occluded, and stationary fronts), air pressure, air density, temperature, cloud types, and precipitation are related to each other.

Use data to construct an explanation of the role of pressure differences in the development of wind systems.

Analyze and interpret data to create a surface map, including high-pressure and low-pressure systems, isobars, wind barbs, cloud types, precipitation, and fronts.

Obtain and communicate information to explain different climate regions and their impact on patterns of severe weather.

Analyze temperature and precipitation patterns related to factors that influence climate, including proximity to water, topography, elevation, latitude, and orographic effect.

Analyze and interpret data to develop predictions about the formation of meteorological events.

Communicate scientific information to explain the personal, local, and statewide implications of severe weather events in Alabama.

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Human Population and Global Change

Cause and Effect

Human Population and Global Change

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Human Population and Global Change

Patterns

Human Population and Global Change

Cause and Effect

Human Impact

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Natural Resources

Structure and Function

Natural Resources

Cause and Effect

Natural Resources

Earth and Human Activity

Stability and Change

System Interactions

Earth’s Systems

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Biodiversity

Cause and Effect

Biodiversity

Unity and Diversity

Energy and Matter

Matter and Energy Flow

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Use mathematical representations to illustrate how the first two laws of thermodynamics demonstrate energy transfers throughout ecosystems, including food chains, food webs, and trophic levels, at various levels of biological organization.

Use mathematics and graphic models to communicate how human activity may affect genetic variation in organism populations, including threatened and endangered species.

Construct an explanation of how human populations undergo growth and decline.

Analyze and interpret data on human population trends in developing and developed countries and in the global population as a whole.

Construct explanations of the types of environmental impacts produced by human populations in each stage of the demographic transition model.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to describe the effects of human population growth on global ecosystems.

Evaluate and communicate information describing the impact of measures used to increase the food supply for the growing human population, including the use of GMOs, monocultures, integrated pest management (IPM), and precision agriculture.

Evaluate and communicate information describing the effects of urbanization on the environment.

Design and defend a sustainability plan to reduce an individual’s ecological footprint, taking into account how market forces and societal demands influence personal choices.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to model the cycling of matter through the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere, including the flow of carbon, water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.

Construct an explanation of how biotic and abiotic factors affect biodiversity and populations in ecosystems.

Support a claim that biodiversity is a natural resource which fosters ecosystem resilience, including the role of keystone, invasive, native, endemic, and indicator species.

Analyze and interpret data collected through geographic research and field investigations to describe Alabama’s biodiversity by region.

Engage in an evidence-based argument to explain how Earth’s systems affect the biosphere and the biosphere affects Earth’s systems over various amounts of time.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information regarding how short-term and long-term natural cyclic fluctuations cause ecosystem change.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to describe the use of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources.

Analyze and interpret data on the origins and availability of renewable and nonrenewable forms of energy to predict consumption trends.

Construct an argument based on data about the risks and benefits of using renewable and nonrenewable energy sources in Alabama.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to describe the development, management, and recycling of mineral resources.

Construct or revise a claim based on evidence of the effects of human activities on Earth’s systems, natural resources, and ecosystem services.

Evaluate published information from computational models which illustrate the effects of an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide on photosynthesis and the effect of ocean acidification on marine populations.

Use engineering practices to evaluate and refine a current solution designed to protect natural resources from anthropogenic sources of atmospheric, terrestrial, or aquatic pollution.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information based on evidence to explain how key natural resources, natural hazards, and climate variability influence human activity and welfare.

Communicate scientific information about how environmental change may disproportionately impact people in certain socioeconomic groups or geographic locations.

Unity and Diversity

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Recognize organelles (e.g., mitochondria, ribosomes, chloroplasts) and their functions within plant and animal cells.

Recognize that parents and offspring in a population may have different traits.

Identify environmental conditions that impact the health of organisms.

Classify organisms into similar groups based on physical characteristics.

Identify how changes in the environment can lead to speciation or possible extinction.

Recognize the structure of DNA, which determines the characteristics of living organisms.

Use a model to illustrate how growth occurs when cells multiply.

Identify changes to cell development that may lead to changes in the organism.

Recognize feedback mechanisms (e.g., sweating and shivering) that maintain homeostasis.

Recognize the components necessary for plants to produce their own food and oxygen (e.g., water, sunlight, carbon dioxide).

Use models to recognize an organism, a population, and an ecosystem.

Identify living and nonliving components in an ecosystem.

Recognize the relationship between population size and available resources for food and shelter from a graphical representation.

Use data to identify the impacts of humans on Alabama ecosystems.

Earth’s Systems

Earth’s Place in the Universe

Recognize the life cycle of a star.

Identify the structure and motion (orbits, revolution around the sun) of the main components of our solar system.

Identify the motion of natural and human-made objects in our solar system.

Use a model of Earth and the sun to recognize Earth’s tilt on its axis and orbit around the sun causes the four seasons.

Recognize examples of Alabama’s contributions to space explorations.

Identify how weather elements affect the earth's physical characteristics (e.g., wind, snow, rain, and sleet).

Recognize that rock can change due to cooling, pressure, heating, melting, and compaction.

Recognize evidence on water’s effect on the surface of Earth.

Identify significant geologic characteristics of Alabama and the southeastern United States (e.g., caves, sinkholes, and energy resources).

Identify the layers of Earth and the characteristics of Earth’s layers.

Use a model to explain the water cycle, including evaporation, condensation, and precipitation, and how the sun provides the energy that drives the cycle.

Investigate examples of how weather can be effected by the sun.

Identify weather conditions, including temperature, wind speed, humidity, and severe weather events (e.g., tornadoes, hurricanes, floods).

Earth and Human Activity

Unity and Diversity

Recognize factors that affect natural water sources (e.g., pollution, agricultural runoffs) and ways humans can protect them (e.g., methods of water treatment and conservation).

Identify the effects of urbanization on the environment.

Recognize ecosystem changes that affect the number and types of organisms in that ecosystem (e.g., climate, pollution).

Distinguish between common renewable (e.g., solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal) and nonrenewable (fossil fuels, nuclear, natural gas) energy sources.

Identify the risks and benefits of using renewable and nonrenewable energy sources in Alabama.

Describe human activities that may affect ecosystems in positive and negative ways.

Recognize how natural resources and natural hazards influence human activity (e.g., less rainfall may cause water conservation methods, flood can result in less crops, structure changes to buildings to account for earthquakes or hurricanes).

Identify how environmental change may impact people in certain geographical locations.

Matter and Its Interactions

Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information

Energy

Predict the resulting motion of a system after applying external forces on the system, including friction (e.g., a book on a table, an object being pushed across a floor, an accelerating car).

Identify the transformation of potential energy to kinetic energy as an object moves.

Identify different types of waves and the media through which they travel (sound waves traveling through air and water, seismic waves traveling through Earth).

Identify common devices that use light or sound waves to transmit information.

Recognize how magnets and electricity are used in modern products (e.g., speakers, wireless chargers).

Using an illustration, identify the differences between a simple series circuit and a parallel circuit.

Using physical properties, differentiate between metals and nonmetals.

Recognize that temperature affects the pressure and volume of a confined gas (e.g., placing a balloon on ice, reducing tire pressure on a cold day).

Identify the properties of various types of solutions and how they are useful in real-world applications.

Identify common acids and bases (e.g., bleach, salt, lemon, soap).

Differentiate between reactants and products.

Design Thinking

Human/Computer Partnerships

Innovative Designer

Modeling and Simulation

Systems

Data

Computing Analyst

Social Interactions

Collaborative Research

Digital Tools

Creative Communication

Global Collaborator

Impact of Computing

Digital Identity

Legal and Ethical Behavior

Safety, Privacy, and Security

Citizen of a Digital Culture

Programming and Development

Algorithms

Abstraction

Computational Thinker

Decompose problems into component parts, extract key information, and develop descriptive models to understand the levels of abstractions in complex systems.

Resolve or debug errors encountered during testing using iterative design process. Examples: Test for infinite loops, check for bad input, check edge-cases.

Model and demonstrate behaviors that are safe, legal, and ethical while living, learning, and working in an interconnected digital world.

Recognize user tracking methods and hazards. Examples: Cookies, WiFi packet sniffing.

Understand how to apply techniques to mitigate effects of user tracking methods.

Understand the ramifications of end-user license agreements and terms of service associated with granting rights to personal data and media to other entities.

Explain the relationship between online privacy and personal security. Examples: Convenience and accessibility, data mining, digital marketing, online wallets, theft of personal information.

Identify physical, legal, and ethical consequences of inappropriate digital behaviors. Examples: Cyberbullying/harassment, inappropriate sexual communications.

Explain strategies to lessen the impact of negative digital behaviors and assess when to apply them.

Describe how sensitive data can be affected by malware and other attacks.

Compare various security measures of a computer system. Examples: Usability, security, portability, and scalability.

Compare ways to protect devices, software, and data.

Explain the necessity for the school’s Acceptable Use Policy.

Identify laws regarding the use of technology and their consequences and implications. Examples: Unmanned vehicles, net neutrality/common carriers, hacking, intellectual property, piracy, plagiarism.

Discuss the ethical ramifications of malicious hacking and its impact on society. Examples: Dissemination of privileged information, ransomware.

Explain the beneficial and harmful effects that intellectual property laws can have on innovation.

Prove that digital identity is a reflection of persistent, publicly available artifacts.

Explain how computing systems are often integrated with other systems and embedded in ways that may not be apparent to the user. Examples: Millions of lines of code control the subsystems within an automobile (e.g., antilock braking systems, lane detection, and self-parking).

Evaluate strategies to manage digital identity and reputation with awareness of the permanent impact of actions in a digital world.

Explain how technology facilitates the disruption of traditional institutions and services. Examples: Digital currencies, ridesharing, autonomous vehicles, retail, Internet of Things.

Research the impact of computing technology on possible career pathways. Examples: Government, business, medicine, entertainment, education, transportation.

Debate the positive and negative effects of computing innovations in personal, ethical, social, economic, and cultural spheres. Examples: Artificial Intelligence/machine learning, mobile applications, automation of traditional occupational skills.

Compare and contrast Internet publishing platforms, including suitability for media types, target audience, and feedback mechanism.

Apply version control capabilities within a digital tool to understand the importance of managing historical changes across suggestions made by a collaborative team.

Utilize a variety of digital tools to create digital artifacts across content areas.

Use collaborative technologies to work with others including peers, experts, or community members to examine local, national, and global issues and problems from multiple viewpoints.

Apply tools and methods for collaboration on a project to increase connectivity among people in different cultures and career fields. Examples: Collaborative documents, webinars, teleconferencing, and virtual fieldtrips

Develop a model that reflects the methods, procedures and concepts used by computing devices in translating digital bits as real-world phenomena, such as print characters, sound, images, and video.

Summarize the role of compression and encryption in modifying the structure of digital artifacts and the varieties of information carried in the metadata of these artifacts.

Differentiate between a generalized expression of an algorithm in pseudocode and its concrete implementation in a programming language.

Explain that some algorithms do not lead to exact solutions in a reasonable amount of time and thus approximations are acceptable.

Compare and contrast the difference between specific control structures such as sequential statements, conditional, iteration, and explain the benefits and drawbacks of choices made. Examples: Tradeoffs involving implementation, readability, and program performance.

Distinguish when a problem solution requires decisions to be made among alternatives, such as selection constructs, or when a solution needs to be iteratively processed to arrive at a result, such as iterative “loop” constructs or recursion.

Evaluate and select algorithms based on performance, reusability, and ease of implementation.

Explain how more than one algorithm may solve the same problem and yet be characterized with different priorities. Examples: All self-driving cars have a common goal of taking a passenger to a designation but may have different priorities such as safety, speed, or conservation; web search engines have their own algorithms for search with their own priorities.

Evaluate the tradeoffs involved in choosing methods for the organization of data elements and the location of data storage, including the advantages and disadvantages of networked computing. Examples: Client server, peer-to-peer, cloud computing.

Create interactive data visualizations using software tools to help others understand real-world phenomena.

Use data analysis tools and techniques to identify patterns in data representing complex systems.

Evaluate the scalability and reliability of networks by describing the relationship between routers, switches, servers, topology, packets, or addressing, as well as the issues that impact network functionality. Examples: Bandwidth, load, delay.

Explain the purpose of Internet Protocol addresses and how domain names are resolved to IP addresses through a Domain Name System server.

Understand the need for networking protocols and examples of common protocols. Examples: HTTP, SMTP, and FTP

Categorize the roles of operating system software.

Appraise the role of artificial intelligence in guiding software and physical systems. Examples: predictive modeling, self-driving cars.

Explain the tradeoffs when selecting and implementing cybersecurity recommendations. Examples: Two-factor authentication, password requirements, geolocation requirements.

Evaluate the ability of models and simulations to test and support the refinement of hypotheses.

Create and utilize models and simulations to help formulate, test, and refine a hypothesis.

Form a model of a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis by the collection and analysis of data generated by simulations. Examples: Science lab, robotics lab, manufacturing, space exploration.

Explore situations where a flawed model provided an incorrect answer.

Systematically design and develop programs for broad audiences by incorporating feedback from users. Examples: Games, utilities, mobile applications.

Identify a problem that cannot be solved by either humans or machines alone and discuss a solution for it by decomposing the task into sub-problems suited for a human or machine to accomplish. Examples: Forecasting weather, piloting airplanes.

Use and adapt classic algorithms to solve computational problems. Examples: Sorting, searching, shortest path, and data compression.

Use an iterative design process, including learning from mistakes, to gain a better understanding of a problem domain.

Design and iteratively develop computational artifacts for practical intent, personal expression, or to address a societal issue by using current events.

Decompose problems into smaller components through systematic analysis, using constructs such as procedures, modules, and/or objects, with parameters, and which return a result.

Compare and contrast fundamental data structures and their uses. Examples: Strings, lists, arrays, stacks, queues.

Demonstrate code reuse by creating programming solutions using libraries and Application Programming Interfaces.

Demonstrate the ability to verify the correctness of a program.

Develop and use a series of test cases to verify that a program performs according to its design specifications

Collaborate in a code review process to identify correctness, efficiency, scalability and readability of program code.

Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs)

Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs)

Patterns: Different patterns may be observed at each of the scales at which a system is studied and can provide evidence for causality in explanations of phenomena. Classifications or explanations used at one scale may fail or need revision when information from smaller or larger scales is introduced, thus requiring improved investigations and experiments. Patterns of performance of designed systems can be analyzed and interpreted to reengineer and improve the system. Mathematical representations are needed to identify some patterns. Empirical evidence is needed to identify patterns.

Cause and Effect: Mechanism and Prediction: Empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and to make claims about specific causes and effects. Cause and effect relationships can be suggested and predicted for complex natural and human-designed systems by examining what is known about smaller-scale mechanisms within the system. Systems can be designed to cause a desired effect. Changes in systems may have various causes that may not have equal effects.

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity: The significance of a phenomenon is dependent on the scale, proportion, and quantity at which it occurs. Some systems can be studied only indirectly as they are too small, too large, too fast, or too slow for direct observation. Patterns observable at one scale may not be observable or exist at other scales. Using the concept of orders of magnitude allows one to understand how a model at one scale relates to a model at another scale. Algebraic thinking is used to examine scientific data and predict the effect of a change in one variable on another (e.g., linear growth vs. exponential growth).

Systems and System Models: Systems can be designed to do specific tasks. When investigating or describing a system, the boundaries and initial conditions of the system need to be defined and their inputs and outputs analyzed and described using models. Models (e.g., physical, mathematical, computer models) can be used to simulate systems and interactions (including energy, matter, and information flows) within and between systems at different scales. Models can be used to predict the behavior of a system, but these predictions have limited precision and reliability due to the assumptions and approximations inherent in models.

Energy and Matter: Flows, Cycles, and Conservation: The total amount of energy and matter in closed systems is conserved. Changes of energy and matter in a system can be described in terms of the flow of energy and matter into, out of, and within that system. Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it only moves between one place and another place, between objects and/or fields, or between systems. Energy drives the cycling of matter within and between systems. In nuclear processes, atoms are not conserved, but the total number of protons plus neutrons is conserved.

Structure and Function: Investigating or designing new systems or structures requires a detailed examination of the properties of different materials, the structures of different components, and connections of components to reveal the structure’s function and/or solve a problem. The functions and properties of natural and designed objects and systems can be inferred from their overall structure, the way their components are shaped and used, and the molecular substructures of their various materials.

Stability and Change: Much of science deals with constructing explanations of how things change and how they remain stable. Change and rates of change can be quantified and modeled over very short or very long periods of time. Some system changes are irreversible. Feedback (negative or positive) can stabilize or destabilize a system. Systems can be designed for greater or lesser stability.

Asking Questions and Defining Problems: Formulating, refining, and evaluating empirically testable questions and design problems using models and simulations.

Developing and Using Models: Using, synthesizing, and developing models to predict and show relationships among variables between systems and their components in the natural and designed world(s).

Planning and Carrying Out Investigations: Designing and conducting investigations that test and provide evidence for conceptual, mathematical, physical, and empirical models.

Analyzing and Interpreting Data: Introducing more detailed statistical analysis, the comparison of data sets for consistency, and the use of graphs and models to generate and analyze data.

Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking: Using algebraic thinking and analysis, a range of linear and nonlinear functions (including trigonometric functions, exponentials and logarithms), and computational tools for statistical analysis to analyze, represent, and model data. Simple computational simulations are created and used based on mathematical models of basic assumptions.

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions: Constructing explanations and designs that are supported by multiple, independent, student-generated sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories.

Engaging in Argument from Evidence: Using appropriate, sufficient evidence and scientific reasoning to defend and critique claims and explanations about the natural and designed world(s). Arguments may also come from current or historical episodes in science.

Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information: Evaluating the validity and reliability of claims, methods, and designs.

Cause and Effect

Reproductive System

Systems and System Models

Reproductive System

Stability and Change

Excretory System

Systems and System Models

Excretory System

Stability and Change

Digestive System

Structure and Function

Digestive System

Stability and Change

Respiratory System

Systems and System Models

Respiratory System

Structure and Function

Respiratory System

Stability and Change

Cardiovascular System

Cause and Effect

Cardiovascular System

Systems and System Models

Cardiovascular System

Structure and Function

Cardiovascular System

Systems and System Models

Immune System

Cause and Effect

Immune System

Structure and Function

Immune System

Stability and Change

Endocrine System

Structure and Function

Nervous System

Stability and Change

Nervous System

Systems and System Models

Nervous System

Structure and Function

Muscular System

Systems and System Models

Muscular System

Structure and Function

Skeletal System

Stability and Change

Skeletal System

Structure and Function

Skeletal System

Stability and Change

Integumentary System

Structure and Function

Tissues

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain how differences in cellular structure (mitochondria, cytoskeletal structure, endoplasmic reticulum, cell membrane) lead to differences in the function and organization of the four tissue types (epithelial, connective, muscular, and nervous).

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information explaining the relationship between the structures and functions of the digestive system, including absorption and chemical and mechanical digestion.

Construct an explanation of the roles of accessory organs (salivary glands, pancreas, and liver) in digestion.

Construct an explanation of the relationships between the digestive system and other organ systems, including the body’s mechanisms for maintaining homeostasis.

Use a model to illustrate the microanatomy of excretory structures and describe their functions.

Construct an explanation of how the excretory system maintains homeostasis, including blood pressure and pH.

Use models to compare and contrast the internal and external structures of the female and male reproductive systems and their production of gametes.

Construct an explanation of how the endocrine system influences the growth, development, and functions of the reproductive systems in males and females, including the mechanisms of hormonal birth control.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to describe how the structures of the integumentary system and its accessory organs contribute to its function.

Construct an explanation of the relationships between the integumentary system and other organ systems, including the body’s mechanisms for maintaining homeostasis.

Develop and use a model to illustrate how the structures of the skeletal system contribute to its function.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information describing the growth and development of the skeletal system.

Construct an explanation of the relationships between the skeletal system and other organ systems, including the body’s mechanisms for maintaining homeostasis.

Develop and build a three-dimensional model to illustrate the structures of the muscular system, including muscle locations, origins, and insertions, and explain their roles in movement and support.

Model the cellular physiology of skeletal muscle, including how the cell functions in muscle contraction and relaxation.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain muscle fatigue and tone in terms of muscle cell physiology.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information explaining the relationship between the structures and functions of the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.

Systems and System Models

Construct an explanation of the role of reflex arcs, the central nervous system, and special senses in the response to stimuli to maintain homeostasis and guide behavior.

Construct an explanation of the role of neurotransmitters in the functions and behavior of the nervous system.

Obtain, evaluate, and summarize scientific findings regarding the biological origin of emotions and memories in distinct regions of the brain.

Construct an explanation of how the interdependence of the nervous and endocrine systems maintains homeostasis.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information explaining how hormones secreted by endocrine glands help the body maintain homeostasis through negative and positive feedback loops

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information describing the role of endocrine axes involving the thyroid and gonads in controlling growth, development, metabolism, and reproduction.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information describing the structure of lymph nodes and primary cells of the immune system (neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, macrophages, eosinophils, and basophils) and explaining their role in inflammation and the body’s defense.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information explaining how vaccines work to stimulate immunity in the human body.

Construct an explanation of how the lymphatic system interacts with the immune and circulatory systems.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information explaining how the structures of the cardiovascular system are related to its functions.

Create a model to show how a pressure gradient moves blood through the circulatory system.

Carry out an investigation exploring the link between blood pressure and heart rate and include the role of baroreceptors and chemoreceptors in the explanation of results.

Construct an explanation of the cardiovascular system’s relationships with other organ systems, including the body’s mechanisms for maintaining homeostasis.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain the relationship between the structures and functions of the respiratory system.

Construct an explanation of how the circulatory system works with respiration to transport respiratory gases.

Use a model to illustrate how pressure gradients move air into and out of the lungs.

Construct an explanation of the respiratory system’s relationships with other organ systems, including the body’s mechanisms for maintaining homeostasis.

Cause and Effect

Solutions

Energy and Matter

Solutions

Cause and Effect

Solutions

Energy and Matter

Solutions

Energy and Matter

Matter

Patterns

Matter

Cause and Effect

Matter

Systems and System Models

Structure, Properties, and Nuclear Processes

Energy and Matter

Structure, Properties, and Nuclear Processes

Cause and Effect

Structure, Properties, and Nuclear Processes

Structure and Function

Structure, Properties, and Nuclear Processes

Patterns

Structure, Properties, and Nuclear Processes

Stability and Change

Structure, Properties, and Nuclear Processes

Matter and Its Interactions

Energy and Matter

Electricity and Magnetism

Cause and Effect

Electricity and Magnetism

Systems and System Models

Electricity and Magnetism

Cause and Effect

Electricity and Magnetism

Systems and System Models

Electricity and Magnetism

Energy and Matter

Electricity and Magnetism

Systems and System Models

Properties of Waves

Cause and Effect

Properties of Waves

Energy and Matter

Properties of Waves

Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

Cause and Effect

Energy

Energy and Matter

Energy

Systems and System Models

Energy

Energy

Evaluate sources of information concerning the law of conservation of energy to illustrate energy transformations in practical applications and natural systems.

Plan and carry out investigations to explore how mechanical energy is transformed within a system, including kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, elastic potential energy, and work.

Collect, analyze, and use data to explain how thermal energy is transferred by conduction, convection, and radiation.

Construct explanations to justify the selection of materials for specific applications based on the materials’ specific heat values.

Investigate collisions and other real-world situations to evaluate the effects of impulse on changes in momentum.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to compare and contrast the properties of mechanical and electromagnetic waves as they relate to real-world applications.

Analyze and interpret data to identify and describe the relationships among wavelength, frequency, amplitude, and energy in waves.

Develop models to illustrate reflection, refraction, interference, and diffraction.

Analyze the ways in which different media and their characteristics affect the speed of sound and light waves.

Use models to illustrate the Doppler effect and explain the changes in sound perception associated with it.

Obtain and communicate information from published materials to explain how transmitting and receiving devices use the principles of wave behavior and wave interactions to transmit and capture information and energy.

Construct an explanation of the ways in which modern science uses both magnetic and electric concepts to create usable products.

Construct an argument using evidence to support the claim that field forces exist between objects and act on the objects even when the objects are not in contact.

Plan and carry out investigations to identify the factors that affect the strength of the electric and magnetic forces between objects.

Use mathematics and computational thinking to represent and determine the quantitative relationships between voltage, current, and resistance in series and parallel circuits in terms of Ohm’s law.

Develop and use models to determine the relationships among voltage, current, and resistance at specific loads in series and parallel circuits.

Plan and carry out investigations to determine the relationships between magnetism and electrical charge in common devices.

Analyze and interpret data concerning the advantages and disadvantages of the energy sources used to produce electricity.

Evaluate the effects of using ions or isotopes of elements as a solution to a complex real-world problem, including cost, safety, trade-offs, and environmental impacts.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information from the periodic table concerning the structure of an atom and the arrangement of the atom’s protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Predict the properties of an element based on the element’s number of protons and valence electrons.

Analyze and interpret data to predict properties of ionic and covalent compounds.

Use mathematics and computational thinking to determine the charge of an ion and the mass number of an isotope based on the number of subatomic particles.

Analyze and interpret data to explain how radioactive decay changes a radioactive isotope over time and explain how the age of an object can be estimated by the ratio of radioactive isotopes contained within the object’s atoms.

Use mathematics and computational thinking to identify types of radioactive decay based on balanced chemical equations, penetrating power, identity of emitted particles, and charge.

Use models to explain how nuclear fission and fusion reactions can be used as energy sources.

Generate and defend a data-based claim regarding the use of radioactive materials as an energy source.

Analyze and interpret data to justify the selection of a specific material for a practical application, considering a range of constraints.

Carry out investigations and use results to compare and contrast the physical and chemical properties of matter.

Analyze and interpret data to predict changes in the phase of a material based on changes in particle motion, temperature, pressure, or thermal energy.

Use mathematical and computational thinking to determine the quantitative relationships among temperature, pressure, and volume of confined gases.

Utilize multiple types of models to support and verify the claim that matter is conserved during a simple chemical reaction.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain how the properties of various types of solutions make them useful in real-world applications.

Plan and carry out investigations to determine how various factors, including temperature, surface area, and stirring, affect the rate at which a solute dissolves in a solvent.

Develop and use particle diagrams to illustrate diluted and concentrated solutions and describe how adjusting amounts of solute and solvent impacts the concentration of a solution.

Analyze and interpret data from experiments to determine whether solutions are acidic, basic, or neutral to predict properties of the solutions.

Plan and carry out investigations concerning neutralization reactions and describe the properties of the reactants and products.

Energy and Matter

Waves

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Waves

Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Electricity

Systems and System Models

Electricity

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Electricity

Systems and System Models

Electricity

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Electricity

Energy

Systems and System Models

Circular Motion

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Circular Motion

Systems and System Models

Circular Motion

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Fluids

Systems and System Models

Fluids

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Fluids

Cause and Effect

Fluids

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Cause and Effect

Conservation

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Conservation

Energy and Matter

Conservation

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Conservation

Energy and Matter

Conservation

Energy

Cause and Effect

Dynamics

Systems and System Models

Dynamics

Cause and Effect

Dynamics

Patterns

Kinematics

Cause and Effect

Kinematics

Patterns

Kinematics

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Kinematics

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate ideas about kinematics, including scalar quantities (distance and speed) and vector quantities (position, displacement, velocity, and acceleration).

Analyze data to create and interpret graphs of position, velocity, and acceleration versus time for one-dimensional motion.

Analyze free fall motion using one-dimensional kinematics to determine the acceleration due to gravity (g).

Analyze and interpret data to explain changes in the vector quantities of position, velocity, and acceleration in two-dimensional projectile motion, including projectiles launched horizontally and at an angle.

Use mathematics and computational thinking to solve problems, using kinematics equations in both one- and two-dimensional motion.

Construct explanations of dynamics from evidence, using Newton’s laws of motion.

Evaluate the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on an object’s motion.

Use mathematical, graphical, and narrative methods to explain the relationships among net force, mass, and acceleration of a single object.

Create free and fixed body diagrams to model all the forces acting on a single object.

Create an explanation of the nature of forces and the interactions among them, including tension, friction, gravitation, and normal forces, using free-body diagrams.

Analyze data to identify the pair of equal and opposite forces between two interacting bodies and relate their magnitudes and directions using Newton’s third law.

Design and carry out experiments to verify that energy and momentum are conserved in closed systems.

Use mathematical and computational thinking to explain the relationships among work, power, and time.

Create mathematical and graphical representations to depict the transformation of energy from one form to another, including kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, elastic potential energy, and work due to friction.

Use models to illustrate the relationship between the work performed on an object and the object’s total mechanical energy.

Qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the relationship among the force acting on an object, the time of interaction, and the change in linear momentum (impulse) of the object.

Obtain, evaluate, and interpret data related to collisions (both elastic and inelastic) and their effects on both linear momentum and energy conservation.

Use mathematics and computational thinking to analyze the effects of pressure changes and buoyant forces in fluid systems.

Plan and carry out experiments to determine the density of objects.

Use and solve algebraic formulas to determine the relationships between pressure, force, area, and density.

Design solutions to determine the magnitude and direction of the buoyant force acting on an object and the effects of the buoyant forces on the object's motion.

Use the buoyant force acting on an object and free body diagrams to determine the acceleration of submerged objects.

Develop and use models to analyze the circular motion of objects.

Use mathematics and free-body diagrams to relate the tangential velocity, the radius of orbit, the centripetal acceleration, and force to each other for an object moving in a circle.

Develop and use a model to describe the mathematical relationship between mass, distance, and force as expressed by Newton’s law of universal gravitation.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information concerning static and current electricity.

Develop and use a model to describe the mathematical relationship among charge, distance, and force as expressed by Coulomb’s law.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information regarding the relationship among voltage, current, and power for direct current circuits.

Create models of series, parallel, and mixed direct current circuits.

Use mathematics and computational thinking to determine the voltage, current, and resistance for an entire circuit and at each resistor or load.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information regarding the propagation, properties, and applications of waves.

Use mathematics and computational thinking to describe the relationships among the velocity, frequency, and wavelength of a propagating wave.

Use results of investigations to explain the production and characteristics of sound waves including interferences, the Doppler effect, and standing waves.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain the properties and behavior of electromagnetic waves.