Course: Physical Science

exploring the properties of waves, and situations where energy is transferred in the form of waves, such as sound and light
Education Level: 9
Subject: science

investigating the transfer of heat in terms of convection, conduction and radiation, and identifying situations in which each occurs
Education Level: 9
Subject: science

investigating factors that affect the transfer of energy through an electric circuit
Education Level: 9
Subject: science

discussing the wave and particle models and how they are useful for understanding aspects of phenomena
Education Level: 9
Subject: science

understanding the processes underlying convection and conduction in terms of the particle model
Education Level: 9
Subject: science

exploring how and why the movement of energy varies according to the medium through which it is transferred
Education Level: 9
Subject: science

recognising that the Law of Conservation of Energy explains that total energy is maintained in energy transfer and transformation
Education Level: 10
Subject: science

recognising that in energy transfer and transformation, a variety of processes can occur, so that the usable energy is reduced and the system is not 100% efficient
Education Level: 10
Subject: science

using models to describe how energy is transferred and transformed within systems
Education Level: 10
Subject: science

comparing energy changes in interactions such as car crashes, pendulums, lifting and dropping
Education Level: 10
Subject: science

gathering data to analyse everyday motions produced by forces, such as measurements of distance and time, speed, force, mass and acceleration
Education Level: 10
Subject: science

recognising that a stationary object, or a moving object with constant motion, has balanced forces acting on it
Education Level: 10
Subject: science

using Newton's Second Law to predict how a force affects the movement of an object
Education Level: 10
Subject: science

recognising and applying Newton's Third Law to describe the effect of interactions between two objects
Education Level: 10
Subject: science

investigating the historical development of models of the structure of the atom
Education Level: 9
Subject: science

investigating how the theory of plate tectonics developed, based on evidence from sea-floor spreading and occurrence of earthquakes and volcanic activity
Education Level: 9
Subject: science

investigating the work of scientists such as Ernest Rutherford, Pierre Curie and Marie Curie on radioactivity and subatomic particles
Education Level: 9
Subject: science

considering how common properties of electromagnetic radiation relate to its uses, such as radar, medicine, mobile phone communications and microwave cooking
Education Level: 9
Subject: science

investigating the development of the periodic table and how this was dependent on experimental evidence at the time
Education Level: 10
Subject: science

investigating how technologies using electromagnetic radiation are used in medicine, such as in the detection and treatment of cancer
Education Level: 9
Subject: science

considering how communication methods are influenced by new mobile technologies that rely on electromagnetic radiation
Education Level: 9
Subject: science

Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun's core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Construct an explanation of the Big Bang theory based on astronomical evidence of light spectra, motion of distant galaxies, and composition of matter in the universe.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Communicate scientific ideas about the way stars, over their life cycle, produce elements.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Evaluate evidence of the past and current movements of continental and oceanic crust and the theory of plate tectonics to explain the ages of crustal rocks.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Apply scientific reasoning and evidence from ancient Earth materials, meteorites, and other planetary surfaces to construct an account of Earth's formation and early history.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Develop a model to illustrate how Earth's internal and surface processes operate at different spatial and temporal scales to form continental and ocean-floor features.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth's surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Develop a model based on evidence of Earth's interior to describe the cycling of matter by thermal convection.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Use a model to describe how variations in the flow of energy into and out of Earth systems result in changes in climate.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Plan and conduct an investigation of the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Develop a quantitative model to describe the cycling of carbon among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Construct an argument based on evidence about the simultaneous coevolution of Earth systems and life on Earth.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Plan and conduct an investigation to gather evidence to compare the structure of substances at the bulk scale to infer the strength of electrical forces between particles.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Develop a model to illustrate that the release or absorption of energy from a chemical reaction system depends upon the changes in total bond energy.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Apply scientific principles and evidence to provide an explanation about the effects of changing the temperature or concentration of the reacting particles on the rate at which a reaction occurs.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Refine the design of a chemical system by specifying a change in conditions that would produce increased amounts of products at equilibrium.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Analyze data to support the claim that Newton's second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Use mathematical representations to support the claim that the total momentum of a system of objects is conserved when there is no net force on the system.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Apply scientific and engineering ideas to design, evaluate, and refine a device that minimizes the force on a macroscopic object during a collision.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Use mathematical representations of Newton's Law of Gravitation and Coulomb's Law to describe and predict the gravitational and electrostatic forces between objects.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that an electric current can produce a magnetic field and that a changing magnetic field can produce an electric current.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of designed materials.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as either motions of particles or energy stored in fields.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that the transfer of thermal energy when two components of different temperature are combined within a closed system results in a more uniform energy distribution among the components in the system (second law of thermodynamics).
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Develop and use a model of two objects interacting through electric or magnetic fields to illustrate the forces between objects and the changes in energy of the objects due to the interaction.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Use mathematical representations to support a claim regarding relationships among the frequency, wavelength, and speed of waves traveling in various media.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Evaluate questions about the advantages of using a digital transmission and storage of information.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning behind the idea that electromagnetic radiation can be described either by a wave model or a particle model, and that for some situations one model is more useful than the other.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Evaluate the validity and reliability of claims in published materials of the effects that different frequencies of electromagnetic radiation have when absorbed by matter.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Communicate technical information about how some technological devices use the principles of wave behavior and wave interactions with matter to transmit and capture information and energy.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Use units as a way to understand problems and to guide the solution of multi-step problems; choose and interpret units consistently in formulas; choose and interpret the scale and the origin in graphs and data displays.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Define appropriate quantities for the purpose of descriptive modeling.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Choose a level of accuracy appropriate to limitations on measurement when reporting quantities.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Model with mathematics.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Interpret parts of an expression, such as terms, factors, and coefficients.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Interpret complicated expressions by viewing one or more of their parts as a single entity.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Factor a quadratic expression to reveal the zeros of the function it defines.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Complete the square in a quadratic expression to reveal the maximum or minimum value of the function it defines.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Use the properties of exponents to transform expressions for exponential functions.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Create equations and inequalities in one variable and use them to solve problems. Include equations arising from linear and quadratic functions, and simple rational and exponential functions.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Create equations in two or more variables to represent relationships between quantities; graph equations on coordinate axes with labels and scales.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Rearrange formulas to highlight a quantity of interest, using the same reasoning as in solving equations.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Graph linear and quadratic functions and show intercepts, maxima, and minima.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Graph square root, cube root, and piecewise-defined functions, including step functions and absolute value functions.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Graph polynomial functions, identifying zeros when suitable factorizations are available, and showing end behavior.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

(+) Graph rational functions, identifying zeros and asymptotes when suitable factorizations are available, and showing end behavior.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Graph exponential and logarithmic functions, showing intercepts and end behavior, and trigonometric functions, showing period, midline, and amplitude.
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Represent data with plots on the real number line (dot plots, histograms, and box plots).
Education Level: 12
Subject: math

Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties and trends (e.g., reactivity of metals; types of bonds formed, including ionic, covalent, and polar covalent; numbers of bonds formed; reactions with oxygen) of main group elements based on the patterns of valence electrons in atoms.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Plan and carry out investigations (e.g., squeezing a balloon, placing a balloon on ice) to identify the relationships that exist among the pressure, volume, density, and temperature of a confined gas.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Analyze and interpret data from a simple chemical reaction or combustion reaction involving main group elements.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Analyze and interpret data using acid-base indicators (e.g., color-changing markers, pH paper) to distinguish between acids and bases, including comparisons between strong and weak acids and bases.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Use mathematical representations to support and verify the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a simple chemical reaction.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Research and communicate information about types of naturally occurring radiation and their properties.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Develop arguments for and against nuclear power generation compared to other types of power generation.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Construct simple series and parallel circuits containing resistors and batteries and apply Ohm's law to solve typical problems demonstrating the effect of changing values of resistors and voltages.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Analyze and interpret data for one- and two-dimensional motion applying basic concepts of distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration (e.g., velocity versus time graphs, displacement versus time graphs, acceleration versus time graphs).
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Apply Newton's laws to predict the motion of a system by constructing force diagrams that identify the external forces acting on the system, including friction (e.g., a book on a table, an object being pushed across a floor, an accelerating car).
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Use the laws of conservation of mechanical energy and momentum to predict the result of one-dimensional elastic collisions.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Design and conduct investigations to verify the law of conservation of energy, including transformations of potential energy, kinetic energy, thermal energy, and the effect of any work performed on or by the system.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Design, build, and test the ability of a device (e.g., Rube Goldberg devices, wind turbines, solar cells, solar ovens) to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Use mathematical representations to demonstrate the relationships among wavelength, frequency, and speed of waves (e.g., the relation v = λ f) traveling in various media (e.g., electromagnetic radiation traveling in a vacuum and glass, sound waves traveling through air and water, seismic waves traveling through Earth).
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Propose and defend a hypothesis based on information gathered from published materials (e.g., trade books, magazines, Internet resources, videos) for and against various claims for the safety of electromagnetic radiation.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Obtain and communicate information from published materials to explain how transmitting and receiving devices (e.g., cellular telephones, medical-imaging technology, solar cells, wireless Internet, scanners, Sound Navigation and Ranging [SONAR]) use the principles of wave behavior and wave interactions with matter to transmit and capture information and energy.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Use mathematical representations to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a chemical reaction.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science

Develop models to illustrate the changes in the composition of the nucleus of the atom and the energy released during the processes of fission, fusion, and radioactive decay.
Education Level: 12
Subject: science