| (a) General requirements. Students shall be awarded
one credit for successful completion of this course. Prerequisites:
Algebra I and two credits of high school science.
(b) Introduction.
(1) Earth Systems Science. The Earth Systems Science
course is designed to build on students' prior scientific and academic
knowledge and skills to develop their understanding of Earth's systems.
These systems (the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere)
interact through time to produce the Earth's landscapes, climate,
and resources. Students explore the geologic history of individual
dynamic systems through the flow of energy and matter, their current
states, and how these systems affect and are affected by human use.
(2) Nature of science. Science, as defined by the National
Academy of Sciences, is the "use of evidence to construct testable
explanations and predictions of natural phenomena, as well as the
knowledge generated through this process." This vast body of changing
and increasing knowledge is described by physical, mathematical, and
conceptual models. Students should know that some questions are outside
the realm of science because they deal with phenomena that are not
currently scientifically testable.
(3) Scientific hypotheses and theories. Students are
expected to know that:
(A) hypotheses are tentative and testable statements
that must be capable of being supported or not supported by observational
evidence. Hypotheses of durable explanatory power that have been tested
over a wide variety of conditions are incorporated into theories;
and
(B) scientific theories are based on natural and physical
phenomena and are capable of being tested by multiple independent
researchers. Unlike hypotheses, scientific theories are well established
and highly reliable explanations, but they may be subject to change
as new areas of science and new technologies are developed.
(4) Scientific inquiry. Scientific inquiry is the planned
and deliberate investigation of the natural world using scientific
and engineering practices. Scientific methods of investigation are
descriptive, comparative, or experimental. The method chosen should
be appropriate to the question being asked. Student learning for different
types of investigations include descriptive investigations, which
involve collecting data and recording observations without making
comparisons; comparative investigations, which involve collecting
data with variables that are manipulated to compare results; and experimental
investigations, which involve processes similar to comparative investigations
but in which a control is identified.
(A) Scientific practices. Students should be able to
ask questions, plan and conduct investigations to answer questions,
and explain phenomena using appropriate tools and models.
(B) Engineering practices. Students should be able
to identify problems and design solutions using appropriate tools
and models.
(5) Science and social ethics. Scientific decision
making is a way of answering questions about the natural world involving
its own set of ethical standards about how the process of science
should be carried out. Students should be able to distinguish between
scientific decision-making methods (scientific methods) and ethical
and social decisions that involve science (the application of scientific
information).
(6) Science consists of recurring themes and making
connections between overarching concepts. Recurring themes include
systems, models, and patterns. All systems have basic properties that
can be described in space, time, energy, and matter. Change and constancy
occur in systems as patterns and can be observed, measured, and modeled.
These patterns help to make predictions that can be scientifically
tested, while models allow for boundary specification and provide
tools for understanding the ideas presented. Students should analyze
a system in terms of its components and how these components relate
to each other, to the whole, and to the external environment.
(7) Statements containing the word "including" reference
content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such
as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(c) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Scientific and engineering practices. The student,
for at least 40% of instructional time, asks questions, identifies
problems, and plans and safely conducts classroom, laboratory, and
field investigations to explain phenomena or design solutions using
appropriate tools and models. The student is expected to:
(A) ask questions and define problems based on observations
or information from text, phenomena, models, or investigations;
(B) apply scientific practices to plan and conduct
descriptive, comparative, and experimental investigations and use
engineering practices to design solutions to problems;
(C) use appropriate safety equipment and practices
during laboratory, classroom, and field investigations as outlined
in Texas Education Agency-approved safety standards;
(D) use appropriate tools such as a drawing compass,
magnetic compass, bar magnets, topographical and geological maps,
satellite imagery and other remote sensing data, Geographic Information
Systems (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS), hand lenses, and fossil
and rock sample kits;
(E) collect quantitative data using the International
System of Units (SI) and qualitative data as evidence;
(F) organize quantitative and qualitative data using
scatter plots, line graphs, bar graphs, charts, data tables, digital
tools, diagrams, scientific drawings, and student-prepared models;
(G) develop and use models to represent phenomena,
systems, processes, or solutions to engineering problems; and
(H) distinguish between scientific hypotheses, theories,
and laws.
(2) Scientific and engineering practices. The student
analyzes and interprets data to derive meaning, identify features
and patterns, and discover relationships or correlations to develop
evidence-based arguments or evaluate designs. The student is expected
to:
(A) identify advantages and limitations of models such
as their size, scale, properties, and materials;
(B) analyze data by identifying significant statistical
features, patterns, sources of error, and limitations;
(C) use mathematical calculations to assess quantitative
relationships in data; and
(D) evaluate experimental and engineering designs.
(3) Scientific and engineering practices. The student
develops evidence-based explanations and communicates findings, conclusions,
and proposed solutions. The student is expected to:
(A) develop explanations and propose solutions supported
by data and models consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and
theories;
(B) communicate explanations and solutions individually
and collaboratively in a variety of settings and formats; and
(C) engage respectfully in scientific argumentation
using applied scientific explanations and empirical evidence.
(4) Scientific and engineering practices. The student
knows the contributions of scientists and recognizes the importance
of scientific research and innovation on society. The student is expected
to:
(A) analyze, evaluate, and critique scientific explanations
and solutions by using empirical evidence, logical reasoning, and
experimental and observational testing, so as to encourage critical
thinking by the student;
(B) relate the impact of past and current research
on scientific thought and society, including research methodology,
cost-benefit analysis, and contributions of diverse scientists as
related to the content; and
(C) research and explore resources such as museums,
planetariums, observatories, libraries, professional organizations,
private companies, online platforms, and mentors employed in a science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field in order to
investigate STEM careers.
(5) Science concepts. The student understands the formation
of the Earth and how objects in the solar system affect Earth's systems.
The student is expected to:
(A) analyze how gravitational condensation of solar
nebular gas and dust can lead to the accretion of planetesimals and
protoplanets;
(B) identify comets, asteroids, meteoroids, and planets
in the solar system and describe how they affect the Earth and Earth's
systems; and
(C) explore the historical and current hypotheses for
the origin of the Moon, including the collision of Earth with a Mars-sized
planetesimal.
(6) Science concepts. The student knows the evidence
for the formation and composition of Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere,
biosphere, and geosphere. The student is expected to:
(A) describe how impact accretion, gravitational compression,
radioactive decay, and cooling differentiated proto-Earth into layers;
(B) evaluate the roles of volcanic outgassing and water-bearing
comets in developing Earth's atmosphere and hydrosphere;
(C) evaluate the evidence for changes to the chemical
composition of Earth's atmosphere prior to the introduction of oxygen;
(D) evaluate scientific hypotheses for the origin of
life through abiotic chemical processes; and
(E) describe how the production of oxygen by photosynthesis
affected the development of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere,
and biosphere.
(7) Science concepts. The student knows that rocks
and fossils provide evidence for geologic chronology, biological evolution,
and environmental changes. The student is expected to:
(A) describe the development of multiple radiometric
dating methods and analyze their precision, reliability, and limitations
in calculating the ages of igneous rocks from Earth, the Moon, and
meteorites;
(B) apply relative dating methods, principles of stratigraphy,
and index fossils to determine the chronological order of rock layers;
(C) construct a model of the geological time scale
using relative and absolute dating methods to represent Earth's approximate
4.6-billion-year history;
(D) explain how sedimentation, fossilization, and speciation
affect the degree of completeness of the fossil record;
(E) describe how evidence of biozones and faunal succession
in rock layers reveal information about the environment at the time
those rocks were deposited and the dynamic nature of the Earth; and
(F) analyze data from rock and fossil succession to
evaluate the evidence for and significance of mass extinctions, major
climatic changes, and tectonic events.
(8) Science concepts. The student knows how the Earth's
interior dynamics and energy flow drive geological processes on Earth's
surface. The student is expected to:
(A) evaluate heat transfer through Earth's systems
by convection and conduction and include its role in plate tectonics
and volcanism;
(B) develop a model of the physical, mechanical, and
chemical composition of Earth's layers using evidence from Earth's
magnetic field, the composition of meteorites, and seismic waves;
(C) investigate how new conceptual interpretations
of data and innovative geophysical technologies led to the current
theory of plate tectonics;
(D) describe how heat and rock composition affect density
within Earth's interior and how density influences the development
and motion of Earth's tectonic plates;
(E) explain how plate tectonics accounts for geologic
processes, including sea floor spreading and subduction, and features,
including ocean ridges, rift valleys, earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain
ranges, hot spots, and hydrothermal vents;
(F) calculate the motion history of tectonic plates
using equations relating rate, time, and distance to predict future
motions, locations, and resulting geologic features;
(G) distinguish the location, type, and relative motion
of convergent, divergent, and transform plate boundaries using evidence
from the distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes; and
(H) evaluate the role of plate tectonics with respect
to long-term global changes in Earth's subsystems such as continental
buildup, glaciation, sea level fluctuations, mass extinctions, and
climate change.
(9) Science concepts. The student knows that the lithosphere
continuously changes as a result of dynamic and complex interactions
among Earth's systems. The student is expected to:
(A) interpret Earth surface features using a variety
of methods such as satellite imagery, aerial photography, and topographic
and geologic maps using appropriate technologies;
(B) investigate and model how surface water and ground
water change the lithosphere through chemical and physical weathering
and how they serve as valuable natural resources;
(C) model the processes of mass wasting, erosion, and
deposition by water, wind, ice, glaciation, gravity, and volcanism
in constantly reshaping Earth's surface; and
(D) evaluate how weather and human activity affect
the location, quality, and supply of available freshwater resources.
(10) Science concepts. The student knows how the physical
and chemical properties of the ocean affect its structure and flow
of energy. The student is expected to:
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